Check out the trailer for Sam Pollard’s ‘MLK/FBI’ documentary

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theGrio has a first look at the upcoming documentary MLK/FBI directed by Emmy-winner Sam Pollard. 

Millions of people know Dr. Martin Luther King for his “I Have a Dream” speech and have a good understanding of how his work helped change race relations in the United States. However, the truth about his journey isn’t widely known. While he’s remembered as a hero now, this country didn’t always see him that way. 

Read More: Martin Luther King Jr. cartoon in Missouri paper draws backlash

MLK/FBI has been on the festival circuit since September and has earned rave reviews. The provocative film illustrates in vivid detail how the government identifies and suppresses “enemies of the state.”

MLK/FBI is the first film to uncover the extent of the FBI’s surveillance and harassment of King. Based on newly discovered and declassified files, utilizing a trove of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and unsealed by the National Archives, as well as revelatory restored footage, the documentary explores the government’s history of targeting Black activists and the contested meaning behind some of our most cherished ideals. 

Featuring interviews with key cultural figures, including former FBI Director James Comey, MLK/FBI tells this astonishing and tragic story with searing relevance to our current moment.

Here’s the official synopsis: 

 “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered today as an American hero: a bridge-builder, a shrewd political tactician, and a moral leader. Yet throughout his history-altering political career, he was often treated by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies like an enemy of the state. In this virtuosic documentary, award-winning editor and director Sam Pollard lays out a detailed account of the FBI surveillance that dogged King’s activism throughout the ’50s and ’60s, fueled by the racist and red-baiting paranoia of J. Edgar Hoover. In crafting a rich archival tapestry, featuring some revelatory restored footage of King, Pollard urges us to remember that true American progress is always hard-won.”

Read More: Families of Jackie Robinson, MLK blast Trump for using their images in ad

MLK/FBI debuts in theaters and VOD on January 15. 

Check out the trailer: 

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