Virtual MLK march
Filmmaker says his version, which uses archival and fresh footage, will make viewers feel they’re really there
“Dream: Rising Up for Justice,” above, includes a scene on the bus Rosa Parks rode in San Antonio when she was grand marshal of the 1987 MLK march. The film serves as the virtual version of the 2021 march.
Since he was in elementary school, Ya’ke Smith has marched with thousands of fellow San Antonians every January to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Now because of the pandemic, the 40-year-old filmmaker is taking that experience and its message off the streets and onto televisions and touch screens.
His 90-minute film “Dream: Rising Up for Justice” will serve as the virtual version of the 2021 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative march.
It will air at 10 a.m. Monday on WOAI-TV, KABB-TV and TVSA. It also will stream on the Facebook pages of the city of San Antonio, @cosagov, and the San Antonio Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, @mlkcommission.
“Dream” combines archival footage of King and previous MLK marches in San Antonio with newly shot footage of city civic leaders, families and officials, including Mayor Ron Nirenberg, poet laureate Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
Since 1987, San Antonio has celebrated King’s legacy with a series of annual events, culminating in a march that attracts about 300,000 participants.
This year’s virtual version won’t be the same, but Smith said it will be close.
“When you watch this film, (it will) feel like you’re actually at the march and immersed in the
march,” he said. “More so than that, you’re going to hear Dr. King’s words, and you’re going to be charged by his mission.”
Smith, an associate professor of film and associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion at the University of Texas at Austin, teamed up with Sam Lerma of Screenville Films in San Antonio to create the virtual march.
Like the real march, the virtual one kicks off at the Freedom Bridge on the city’s East Side. From there, it proceeds to familiar march spots, such as the Fred Brock American Legion Post 828, where front-line workers and military veterans are honored, and the Greater Corinth Baptist Church, which features a choir singing inside.
The film also features San Antonio families who have lost a loved one to police violence. At one point in the film, family members are shown inside the VIA bus that Rosa Parks rode in San Antonio when she was grand marshal of the city’s MLK march in 1987.
MLK commission and march chair Renee Watson was a student of the late Rev. Raymond “R.A.” Callies, who organized the first March for Justice in San Antonio to shed light on the East Side and its infrastructure.
Watson praised Smith and the other filmmakers for finding such a dynamic way to present and preserve the march experience in San Antonio.
“It’s like something that you just do in San Antonio,” Watson said. “We wanted them to share in the day in some other way.”
As timeless as its message is about Dr. King, “Dream” also weaves in two of the most tumultuous events of the past year: the COVID-19 pandemic and protests against the police killing of George Floyd and other racial injustices.
“I think if we had not thought about, one, a global pandemic, and then also this country’s racial reckoning that it’s going through right now, I think it would have come off as tone-deaf,” Smith said.
The film includes activists who are fighting against police violence and social and racial injustices, Smith said, as well as Police Chief William Mcmanus and other members of San Antonio law enforcement.
“I’ve always said there’s the ‘I have a dream’ Dr. King, but also the man who said, ‘Silence is (betrayal),’ ” Smith said. “The theme of this film is ‘We Rise Up for Justice.’ We want you to feel like after you watch this film you’re empowered.”
Here are more ways San Antonio residents can honor the life of King, including events sponsored by the city’s MLK Commission and highlights from Dreamweek, an annual summit on civic engagement inspired by King’s legacy of civil rights reform.
“We All Live Under the Same Sky”: Mark Menjivar created this window installation that includes hopeful messages from the city’s youth. Thursday through Jan. 24. Doseum, 2800 Broadway. Included in the children’s museum admission, $14 for those ages 2 and older. Timed tickets can be purchased at thedoseum.org.
Don’t Demolish: Save the Alazán Apache Courts and Preserve Public Housing: The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center is sponsoring this discussion about the proposed demolition and redevelopment of the city’s oldest public housing development. 10 a.m. Saturday. Free, Facebook: @Esperanzacenter.
Songs of the Civil Rights and Black Arts Movements: Middle school students and their families are encouraged to join in this interactive singalong featuring famous spirituals, gospels and secular songs of the 1960s and 1970s civil rights and Black arts movements. 3 p.m. Saturday.
Free; register at dreamweek.org to get a link to the event.
Citywide Interfaith Worship Service: A citywide service hosted by the MLK Commission of San Antonio. 4 p.m. Sunday, TVSA and Catholic Television of San Antonio.
Time to Serve: Residents are encouraged to wear MLK shirts while helping pick up trash at any local park or trail, then take pictures of themselves near a park or trail sign or an MLK sign and send the images to the city of San Antonio at Mlk@sanantonio.gov. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday
An Evening with Ashley Blaine Featherson: Featherson, star of the 2014 film “Dear White People” and its Netflix series adaptation, will deliver this year’s MLK Jr. Commemorative Lecture, co-sponsored by Trinity University and the City of San Antonio MLK Jr. Commission. 7 p.m. Tuesday, live.trinity.edu
For more events, visit sanantonio.gov/mlk and dreamweek.org.