Unfortunately, racism didn't end with Civil Rights.

But as we enter a new era of activism and protest, looking back at the Civil Rights Era can be both informative and inspirational.

The endless cinema on the civil rights era can, at this point, seem redundant. And while it's important to produce contemporary Black stories instead of confining Blackness to civil rights and slavery, it's also important to celebrate the social and political wins, prominent Black role models, and the profound impact of that era on our current landscape.

Prominent figures like Martin Luther King Jr have been endlessly mythologized in history books, on film, and in the American imagination. However, the movement cannot be distilled into the lives and work of one man.

To recognize his legacy is to attempt to understand the complex efforts for Black liberation that defined the civil rights era and continue today. This means everything from understanding the political and legislative barriers that gatekeep Black Americans from participating in democracy, to being introspective about our own socialization by a racist institution.

Martin Luther King Jr day is a reminder — this year more than ever after the call to action of 2020's protests, the election, and the white supremacist insurrection — that the work is never finished, and that it's important to live our values in everything we do.