Unhoused preacher Marvin Booker was killed in 2010. Why a documentary about him is coming to Memphis

Marvin Booker was an unhoused person living and preaching on the streets of Downtown Memphis. Booker was well known to many for his street preaching and his love for educating people about the life and work of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Carrying a book he wrote himself about the life and work of King, Booker held his head high and spoke to most people he met about King.

Booker later died in the custody of the Denver Police Department in July 2010. His family won a $6 million federal lawsuit because of the excessive force used by officers in his death. However, the officers have never been criminally charged.

The story of Booker is not well known among Memphians. He was one of the hundreds of people living between shelters and the streets of Downtown. Booker had a home and was told by his family constantly he was welcomed whenever he wanted to come home, but his passion was street preaching.

The life story of Booker is the focus of the documentary, "Marvin Booker Was Murdered", and details his life, death and the fight his family underwent to get justice after his death. The documentary was released in 2017, but screenings of the film continue to happen around the country.

The documentary producer, Wade Gardner, said Booker's father, Rev. Benjamin Roosevelt Booker, Sr. was one of the many leaders in Memphis who helped bring King to Memphis for his final and fateful trip. Because of this, Booker became inspired by King and wanted to become a religious and civil rights leader just as he was.

"All Marvin wanted to (was) become Martin Luther King. He took over his spirit," Gardner said.

Booker could recite King's speeches word for word, his brother Rev. Spencer Booker said. Booker would pass out copies of his book about King's life and legacy in Downtown Memphis and raise money by reciting King's speeches.

From Memphis, Booker traveled to Denver where he had connections and was trying to gain benefits he had from being in the military, Gardner said. On July 9, 2010, Booker was paying back people he owed money to from a check he had recently received. He was detained by Denver police for a drug possession warrant and was taken to the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center in Denver.

Booker, while waiting to be processed, removed his shoes. After some time, he wanted his shoes back but was ordered to stop trying to get his shoes by a deputy. After Booker swung his elbow in the direction of the deputy, five officers then took him down into a sleeper hold. A taser was also used.

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Booker was pronounced dead after the interaction. The five officers involved were never charged in his death and did not receive any discipline at the department level.

Booker's story touched many people in the community, Garnder said, and continues to be at the forefront of conversations regarding police brutality and homelessness. Gardner said that there are obvious parallels between Booker's death and Tyre Nichols' death.

"The parallels are there in that de-escalation is sometimes overlooked, and the violence. The violence needs to be pointed out point blank from the story," Gardner said.

The documentary is a little under 2 hours long and involves interviews with Booker's family members, lawyers and City of Denver personnel.

"Marvin's story is really about a very beloved man who saw the world a little differently, always had a home. He wasn't homeless, but how the system demonizes people and how Marvins's death touched the lives of many," Gardner said.

A screening of "Marvin Booker was Murdered" will be held at First Congregational Church, 1000 S. Cooper St., on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. A discussion will immediately follow the screening of the documentary.

Rev. Jason Pearson, who was involved in bringing the documentary screening to Memphis said he hopes that conversations about King's legacy and also how to alleviate homelessness will come from the screening. Pearson said that Booker's story is inspiring to him and hopes that the conversations will help aid in the prevention of homelessness and violence towards the unhoused.

"We are consistently creating homeless families, we're consistently creating homeless individuals and at some point, we have to stop and begin valuing the individual so for me that's what... the reflection on Martin Booker's life and even his tragedy," Pearson said. "It is a moment where we can stop, and we can come to some better solutions to how it's possible that we can stop (homelessness) from happening."

Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter @BrookeMuckerman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Documentary about Marvin Booker's death to play in Memphis. Here's why