About two weeks ahead of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, NBC aired a powerful documentary, Hope & Fury, showcasing how far Black Americans have come and how far our country still has to go regarding race relations.
The documentary is an equally unnerving and enlightening account of the horrors committed against Black Americans and their strides toward equality. The documentary is a must-watch for everyone in the country as a reminder of the tenacity in the Black community in the face of vicious prejudice, racism, and murder encountered today, yesterday, and 60 years ago.
As much as we like to think we’re a post-racial society, we’re not. That fact is made clear every time a slur is hurled, a Confederate flag is flown, or unarmed Black man is shot. The notion that racism is a time-old problem of yesterday is inaccurate and borderline offensive to the experiences of today’s minorities and the work of Civil Rights leaders. John Lewis, featured in the documentary and current Democratic Congressman from Georgia, was a leader beaten during Bloody Sunday, and is still alive. Eight of nine students who formed the Little Rock nine are still alive. Although segregation laws and Jim Crow are no longer in existence and the Civil Rights movement made major strides in legislation towards equality, Black people are not equal and the fight will continue until they are.
Hope & Fury is a powerful reminder of how far Black Americans have left to go, of how pervasive racial hatred was and still is in this country, and the tenacity of defiance and hope that lives within the Black community.
Similar LCR Content: Musings on the State of Race in America
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