The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Movies and music can be powerful reflections of our times, past and present, and tell stories that inform and empower millions of people in ways other media cannot.  This week, we highlight four Oscar-nominated films that have found compelling ways to tell stories about civil and human rights.  The Oscars will be shown on TV this Sunday, February 22.

"Trouble the Water," a documentary that tells the story of the devastation Hurricane Katrina caused through the eyes of a couple from New Orleans' 9th ward, has been nominated for an Oscar in the Documentary Feature category.

The documentary, directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, uses footage filmed by Kimberly Roberts, an aspiring rapper known as Black Kold Madina, and her husband during the hurricane and chronicles their lives in the aftermath of the storm. The Roberts were unable to leave the city and captured the storm as it hit one of the poorest neighborhoods of the city.

By combining the Roberts' footage with archival news footage, the documentary draws attention to the disproportionate impact the hurricane had on New Orleans' poorer residents and the inability of the federal and state governments to respond effectively to the crisis.

With the number of overweight children between the ages of six and 11 having more than doubled in the past 20 years, healthy food advocates are urging Congress to make sure that federal child nutrition programs are updated to meet the challenges of providing healthy meals to the nation's children.

A national poll conducted for Half in Ten after the November 2008 election shows strong support for the fundamental goal of the Half in Ten campaign – cutting poverty in the United States in half within 10 years.

The poll also shows a strong consensus across ideological, age, and race divides that "the negative consequences of poverty" affect everyone rather than "mostly those living in poor neighborhoods." A full 52 percent of respondents said that either they or someone in their immediate family was poor, up from 36 percent who answered that way in a 2001 poll from Pew Research Center.

These numbers show that solving the problem of poverty is a vital part of economic recovery and a matter of core importance to the nation – and not just about solving economic problems for low-income Americans.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was as committed to economic justice as he was to ending segregation. 

And yet, Dr. King's speeches on economic justice and eradicating poverty are still not as well known as his speeches on racial discrimination.  These speeches, about helping the poorest Americans, regardless of race, speak to problems that the nation is still struggling with 40 years later. 

As the nation deals with rising unemployment and an ongoing debate about the need for an economic recovery plan, we have an opportunity to take second look at some of these lesser-known speeches: