Celebrate the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. with PBS

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Honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. requires more than reflecting on the past; it demands an ongoing commitment to the ‘Beloved Community’ he envisioned — a society built on justice, equity, and holistic well-being. This curated collection of PBS videos explores Dr. King’s transformative legacy, from his iconic speech at the Lincoln Memorial to his tireless advocacy for the marginalized. These historical clips show the intersection of the civil rights movement with today’s conversations around mental health, community resilience and the social determinants of health, and they are a testament to how Dr. King’s pursuit of racial justice remains a cornerstone of collective wellness in America.

Free at Last | Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thirteen Specials presents this Emmy Award-winning, cinema-verite film, which premiered in April 1968, within days of King’s assassination. Produced by NET’s Public Broadcasting Laboratory, it provides an insightful, behind-the-scenes portrait of the man and his mission – as Dr. King toured southern black communities, planning and organizing the Poor Peoples’ Campaign and March on Washington.

American Experience: Roads to Memphis Extended Preview

On April 4, 1968, escaped convict James Earl Ray shot and killed Dr. Martin Luther King. Explore the fateful tale of two intertwined lives set against the turbulent forces in American society in this extended preview ROADS TO MEMPHIS.

Clips from American Experience: Roads to Memphis

Dr. King Launches the Poor People’s Campaign

Martin Luther King, Jr launched the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 to fight poverty.

They Didn’t Treat Us As A Man

The call of sanitation workers for fair treatment drew Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis.

Roads to Memphis Preview Clip 1

Author Hampton Sides (Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and the International Manhunt for his Assassin) describes why James Earl Ray set his sights on King.

Roads to Memphis Preview Clip 2

Journalist Gerald Posner and former Assistant Attorney General Roger Wilkins discuss the FBI’s surveillance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Roads to Memphis Preview Clip 3

America responds to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Ride Through Memphis

Fifty years after Dr. King’s assassination, two long-time Memphis residents talk about the city.

Enablers of Racial Violence

Whites willing to resort to racist violence found encouragement from high profile figures.

Cops Came from Everywhere

March 1968: Memphis sanitation workers’ march in Memphis ends in police violence.

More PBS Clips About MLK

MLK and Young Black Activists

As black America redefined itself, the civil rights struggle was far from over, and as the 1960s wore on, many young black activists came to see Martin Luther King as out of step with the times. From Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s film Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise

March on Washington

Witness the deep impact the March on Washington had both on the nation and on Jackie Robinson and his family, who traveled to attend. From the Ken Burns film Jackie Robinson

MLK’s “I Have a Dream”

This clip from Ken Burns’s The National Parks explores how the 1963 March on Washington transformed the Lincoln Memorial from a silent monument into a “sacred” stage for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s iconic vision of democracy.

MLK Biography Reveals New Details

The first major biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in roughly forty years is out. Jonathan Eig’s “King: A Life” offers important new revelations about the civil rights leader and the challenges he faced as a public activist and a private citizen. Eig sat down with Geoff Bennett to discuss the new book and his research.