Press Releases | Jan, 16 2015
Paramount Pictures recent release "Selma" depicts the brave campaign for voting rights, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. and waged in Alabama, a half a century ago.
In telling the story, the film portrays the relationship between Dr. King and President Johnson, suggesting that the two men were largely at odds over the effort in Selma. In fact, Dr. King and President Johnson were in accord over the need for voting rights.
Below is archival material that sheds light on the momentous partnership that Dr. King and President Johnson formed in the area of voting rights and on civil rights in general. Though the relationship was complicated, President Johnson encouraged Dr. King to show the worst of voting oppression so that Americans would demand an end to the injustice, just as Dr. King pointed out that opening up the African American vote in the Deep South would expand Johnson's voting base.
Press
In "Selma," a missing message of hope by Luci Baines Johnson, TribTalk, The Texas Tribune
Does the film "Selma" portray LBJ unfairly? LBJ Presidential Library Director Mark K. Updegrove on Face the Nation, January 4, 2015 [VIDEO]
How Many LBJs Did You Skew Today? Slate's The Gist Podcast (starts at 3:58)
Alvin B. Tillery, Jr., explains what it's like to watch the film Selma as a black American history scholar
Whose History Is It, Anyway? by Edward Rothstein, The Wall Street Journal
Visiting the LBJ Library in the Shadow of Selma by Michael Agresta, Texas Observer
'Selma' and celebrating an American triumph By Richard Goodwin, The Washington Post
"Selma" vs. "Selma" by Sam Tanenhaus, The New Yorker
Not Just a Movie by Maureen Dowd, The New York Times
Bill Moyers on Saving Our Democracy, 'Selma' and LBJ by Karin Kamp, BillMoyers.com
The 'Selma' Criticism For How It Portrays Lyndon B. Johnson: Is It Fair? by David Edelstein, NPR Fresh Air
Why Should You Care "Selma" Gets LBJ Wrong by David Kaiser, TIME
Is "Selma's" portrayal of LBJ historically accurate? CBS News
'Selma' vs. History by Elizabeth Drew, The New York Review of Books
They Stood Together by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, The Dallas Weekly
What 'Selma' Gets Wrong About LBJ by Peter Fenn, U.S. News & World Report
President Lyndon Johnson's Black Adviser: MLK and Voting-Rights Talk Were Welcomed by Richard Prince, The Root
'Selma' distorts the truth about LBJ by Richard Cohen, The Washington Post
Rep. John Lewis: An Oral History of Selma and the Struggle for the Voting Rights Act by John Lewis, TIME
'Selma' sets off a controversy amid Oscar buzz by Karen Tumulty, The Washington Post
Depiction of Lyndon B. Johnson in 'Selma' Raises Hackles by Jennifer Schuessler, The New York Times
