feature: five notable african-americans that deserve a biopic

It seems we have entered a time period where many notable African-Americans are starting to get their shine on the big screen – be it Martin Luther King with ‘Selma’ or James Brown in ‘Get On Up’. But with the biopics of influential African-Americans that are slated to come out, not all have received their recognition. Here are a few that deserve some time on screen.

By Philip Jackson, AFROPUNK Contributor

Coretta Scott King

She was a wife, author, and activist. Coretta Scott King made her impact as an African-American woman during the Civil Rights Movement. Back in 2013, Lifetime released the TV movie, “Betty & Coretta” which told the story of the evolving friendship between Betty Shabazz and King prior to the assassination of Martin and Malcolm. But what the film didn’t capture is the full of life of Coretta. Before Coretta had gotten together with Martin, she was already well aware of racial issues in the south in which she took initiative to involve herself in activism.

As a child, her family prepared her to be committed to a cause along which helped enable her to developing into one of the most influential African-American women leaders in our world. When she met King while in school and the two were married, she had to balance the job of raising their four children in the south while also committing herself to civil rights movement work, speaking before churches, colleges and other peace groups. King organized and performed a series of Freedom Concerts which included prose and poetry narration. These concerts were infused with different musical selections that ultimately ended up serving as fundraisers for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference that was spearheaded by Dr. King. And if she did not travel with her husband to a march that was scheduled, she would be home taking care of her children. But, with some of the troubles that were faced in their marriage together everything was not easy. With many of the threatening calls that the King family would receive at night, one could only imagine how life was like when Coretta would be at home by herself while raising her children.

It was in 1959 when Coretta and Martin spent nearly month in India to disciples and sites associated with Mahatma Gandhi. And even prior to King’s stance against Vietnam, she functioned as a liaison to peace and justice organizations and mediated public officials. Coretta’s efforts are often spoken of after her husband’s death, but she was a key component in the Civil Rights Movement behind the scenes while her husband was alive.

Stokely Carmichael

The leader who attended Howard University, marched with Dr. King and coined the term, “Black Power”—Stokely Carmichael was one of the most influential young black leaders of his generation and deserves his life to be covered in details on the big screen.

Carmichael’s influence still streams over into the veins of the young generation today. When he helped Black America to realize that, “The United States has no conscience” he was making his mark—outlining his road as a leader and advocate for equal opportunity for blacks. As a chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Stokely Carmichael firmly embraced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s non-violence movement. He dedicated a lot of his time in the 1960s trying to get southern blacks in Alabama and Mississippi registered to vote.

It was in 1966 when Stokely pushed for “Black Power”, which some have tried to misconstrue for being anti-white. Black listeners who heard this speech and phrase saw it as a shout for self-pride within the African-American community that was needed during a time of disenfranchisement of blacks in America. Stokely was able to see both sides of the fight. He experienced the non-violence movements with Dr. King, seen on video marching alongside King. And then when he gained more influence from Malcolm X is when he would start making his own name. He said in an interview that he remembers how Malcolm destroyed Bayard Rustin in a debate, and this is what sparked his interest.

It became increasingly difficult for Carmichael to live in the United States without being bothered by the FBI. He changed his name to Kwame Ture and left for Guinea. A biopic that covers the life of Stokely Carmichael, just the book Stokely: A Life did by Penial E. Joseph, would be monumental for the youth of today.

Marvin Gaye

One of the most soulful artist to ever let his voice come through a microphone, Marvin Gaye has not just impacted music—but his music has shown cries for peace, love and justice.

There was an announcement in 2013 that Sexual Healing by Julien Temple is being worked on which is set on Gaye’s life coming up to his releasing of Midnight Love. But is that truly enough to cover the life and impact of Gaye? With all of the problems Gaye experienced as child with his father and how it ultimately effected his musical career, a biopic on Marvin Gaye must capture this in order to understand the artist. He lived a complicated life, but developed great music.

He had to deal with hatred from his father, who just so happened to be a preacher that was a cross-dresser. And this troubling relationship that he had with his father all of his life leads to the shooting of Gaye by his own father ending his career abruptly. Along with his struggles with drugs, he also lived a dark sexual side when with women. But his innate skill in music while being inspired to speak out against the killings of blacks due to police brutality should not go unnoticed. In fact, all of the experiences that Gaye went through added the soulfulness to his music that other artists were not able to have for themselves. If a biopic is going to be created about Marvin Gaye, it should cover the parts of his life that impacted him the most that helped his music to become so impactful and influential to his fans.

James Baldwin

Who can be described as the literary conscience of the civil rights movement, James Baldwin was exactly what the African-American community needed in the time of people fighting for human rights. Not only were people fighting for the rights of African-Americans during the 1960s, but there was also a cry for the rights of homosexuals. For James Baldwin to be a homosexual African-American male speaking out for human rights amidst a homophobic America is revolutionary.

Baldwin during his time was so profound in a Black America that needed a literary figure to be able to illustrate with words the struggles and souls of black folk during that time. He left for Paris in 1948 without speaking any French and had only 44 dollars to his name. Baldwin spent five years trudging over his famed novel, Go Tell it on the Mountain. He started the book so young, at the age of 17 and it was finally published ten years after it was started in 1953. This book launched Baldwin’s career and his insight would now be regularly seen on television throughout the 1960s and 70s.

He unwillingly became the critical voice against the treatment of African-Americans and his passion was shown through his criticisms of race and class of blacks in America. James Baldwin’s boyish face and wide smile along with his quaint intellectualism as he spoke in interviews is what makes him still relevant to the movements done today. His writings and words are timeless and the essence and the struggle of blackness is felt in his expression.

Assata Shakur

Former Black Panther Party activist and Black Liberation Army leader, Assata Shakur’s life deserves to be seen by present day young activist on screen. In her own words in an open letter, Shakur describes herself as a, “20th century escaped slave” because of her government prosecution. Assata’s tactics to deal with racism and oppression were among the more radical side of the fight against racial oppression. The political activist was arrested while participating in the struggles during the black liberation movement and also the movement to end the war in Vietnam. She joined the Black Panther Party and by 1969, it had become the number one organization targeted by the FBI’s COINTELPRO program.

The Black Panther Party that hit the ground running in the late 60s to 70s wanted the full liberation of African-Americans in America. The party was led by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale as a Black Nationalist and socialist organization that believed the rights for African-Americans to bear arms in order to protect themselves from police. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director J. Edgar Hoover called the party, “The greatest national threat to the internal security of the country” which is what would lead to many confrontations for people who were members of the party. Assata’s influence in the party was felt. For a woman to be as strong, powerful and as vigorous as Assata had been during her time in America surprised many whites.

Shakur was able to put many in the minds of people in America that women can also lead movements and be successful doing so. Assata would eventually leave the United States in 1979 after being convicted of a murder she was accused of in 1973 of New Jersey State Trooper, Werner Foerster. She left no remorse in her fight for Black liberation in America, providing a new take on the fight for “Civil Rights” after Dr. King was killed and developed a different perspective on the strength of women with leadership in America.

* Phillip Jackson’s blog: emancipatemywords.blogspot.com

  Twitter: @philljabstract