TV Review: Nick News - Martin Luther King

Part of: The NUBIANO Exchange

This article is part of a series in celebration of a new, dynamic voice in Black America: the NUBIANO Exchange. Brace yourself for the NUBIANO experience.

Nick News: Martin Luther King reflects on the life and times of Martin Luther King by examining his legacy through the eyes of children and three distinguished community leaders (Julian Bond, Jesse Jackson, and Martin Luther King, III). Going beyond the typical news format, Nick News host Linda Ellerbee encourages young viewers to ask important questions so that they may know more about the world around them.

While some adults have difficulty discussing the Civil Rights Movement, Nick News makes heavy concepts, like racial identity and social awareness, palatable to youth. With Linda Ellerbee's signature flair, this timely piece is an essential blueprint for navigating history sans the "black history month" fluff.

Ellerbee introduces Nick News: Martin Luther King with the following monologue: "Do you ever wonder what it would take to change the world? Do you think you could do it? Would you be surprised if I told you, ‘I know you can?' One person. Sometimes that's all it takes. One person to stand up. One person to speak up."

The opening segment covers Jim Crow laws and Southern segregation; non-violent protest, with special attention given to 1955's Montgomery Bus Boycott; the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964; and the death of King on April 4, 1968. Images of seminal events are complemented with voice-overs that describe their significance — offering younger viewers some sense of their historical context and manageable doses of social commentary. When addressing the legacy of King, Julian Bond notes that he was "[s]omeone that could lift [black citizen's] spirits up and give [them] a kind of strength that [they] didn't know [they] had."

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Article Author: Clayton Perry

Over the past few years, Clayton Perry has interviewed some of the BIGGEST entertainers in music, film and television. Check out his digital archive with 180+ definitive conversation pieces.

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