What's left to say about Martin Luther King Jr.? Plenty

We’ve been doing MLK Day for a while now, even in Arizona, which will forever be infamous as the last state to adopt the federal holiday. So, there’s little left to say about Dr. King that hasn’t already been said … or is there?

This year, we should consider all the people who haven’t heard King’s story and ask ourselves what should we do about it?

Where, for example, is the definitive King documentary or biopic?

Why is there no definitive MLK documentary?

It’s been nearly a decade since Ken Burns said he couldn’t reach an agreement with King’s survivors on telling the story of the American icon, which, presumably, would include a major chapter on how Martin Luther King Jr. went further than Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey or any other freedom fighter to shut down major cities and force changes that paved the way for liberties and protections that we all take for granted to this day.

Is it time to revisit that conversation?

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And why does Burns need their approval, anyway? Shouldn’t there be enough source material out there to make a project that would help frame King’s legacy in a way that public schools won’t amid the senseless fight over critical race theory?

And what about a major Hollywood production?

We’ve seen “Selma,” and it was a good start.

But what about Spike Lee or Ryan Coogler giving King the full treatment and picking up on the excellent work Ava DuVernay started with the snapshot of MLK’s biggest victory, essentially forcing the nation to do the right thing by tens of millions of its citizens to ensure voting rights?

There are many voices who could tell his story

Can you imagine how King would have handled Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the obstructionist in Democrats’ clothes, during the voting rights debates last year?

It wouldn’t have been a letter-writing campaign and a march. King would have mobilized activists to the point that the upcoming Super Bowl, men’s Final Four and Fiesta Bowls would never have considered playing in Arizona until she reconsidered her narcissistic point of view on the filibuster.

Spike Lee’s treatment of Malcom X influenced a generation. Black Lives Matter leaders are far more likely to sound like hardline separationists, willing to meet violence with violence, than they are to lead with love and compassion, which would force far greater change in American society by taking a path that’s far more difficult to travel.

And Ryan Coogler had his hand on Marvel’s “Black Panther.” Why not recast X, Garvey and King in metaphorical roles, showing the strength, dignity and effectiveness of King’s approach in ways that no audience could mistake?

What about a definitive biography? Jonathan Eig has a project coming out in May, adding to his catalog that includes groundbreaking works on Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali.

Do we really prefer the sanitized King story?

But why not a Black writer, too? White writers should dissect King and his legacy, obviously. But it’s important for African American intellectuals to tell our own stories. Why shouldn’t there be more such works out there to provoke new thought about an old hero?

Why not something from Eddie S. Glaude Jr.? Wasn’t his treatment of James Baldwin in “Begin Again” strong enough for a publisher to toss him a check to examine King?

What about Ta-Nehisi Coates? Nikole Hannah-Jones? Or Leonard Pitts?

Could it be that King’s legacy, and trying to undo its sanitization, is too big and intimidating?

Impossible. This seems like exactly the sort of mountaintop that leading thinkers and artists would have a dream to ascend.

Could it be that the popular version of King's story comes across as too weak to make cultural critics deem him worthy of such projects?

Perhaps. But that makes it all the more important to march toward resolving.

A new generation must 'get' Martin Luther King Jr.

Regardless, no matter how many King Days we’ve celebrated; no matter how much ink has been spilled across newspaper pages; no matter how many times the story has been told; there’s always a new generation that doesn’t get it.

And that puts us in danger of repeating the mistakes of previous generations.

It puts us at risk of needing a new King, a man strong enough to criticize and change a nation he loved to keep it from tearing itself apart.

That’s perhaps the scariest thing about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Do we really think there could be another one?

Because in the history of our nation, there hasn’t been.

It's time to examine King's legacy anew

We need new examinations of King’s life and legacy from a wide scope of creators to make sure his story resonates with the people who need it most.

We need some new, definitive works that dig in on just how difficult it must have been to force change the way King did.

You think he wasn’t tempted to get angry and violent like Malcolm X?

You think he never considered saying, “forget this, I’m leaving” like Marcus Garvey?

Where did King find the strength? How did he stoke the fire of his faith, especially when he had high-profile disputes with other Black leaders? And could any of us tap into that type of resolve to face modern-day challenges? How would King have faced cancel culture, for example?

We can’t know without repeating his story – even if we’ve done it for years.

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Martin Luther King Jr.'s story full story hasn't been told. It's time