Selma

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Actress Tessa Thompson, as her character in the film Selma, sits in a car looking out the window with a serious expression.

Selma

film by DuVernay [2014]

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July 21, 2026

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Selma — Selma David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King in Selma (2014), directed by Ava DuVernay.

The film Selma (2014), directed by Ava DuVernay, chronicles the pivotal 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. These marches were a crucial part of the American civil rights movement, aimed at securing voting rights for African Americans.

The film depicts the intense struggle in Selma, Alabama, where activists faced violent opposition from local law enforcement while attempting to register Black voters. The marches, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., culminated in a 50-mile journey to Montgomery. This historic event directly contributed to the passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, which aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote. DuVernay's direction earned critical acclaim, making her the first African American woman nominated for a Golden Globe for best director.12

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Tarana Burke
…consultant on Ava DuVernay’s film Selma (2014). Later Burke served as director of the Brooklyn, New York, organization Girls for Gender Equality. The organization assists African American girls in building personal development skills. Burke also taught empowerment workshops, and she edited (with Brené Brown) the essay collection You Are Your…
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…consultant on Ava DuVernay’s film Selma (2014). Later Burke served as director of the Brooklyn, New York, organization Girls for Gender Equality. The organization assists African American girls in building personal development skills. Burke also taught empowerment workshops, and she edited (with Brené Brown) the essay collection You Are Your…
Read More

Common
…as Ava DuVernay’s biographical drama Selma (2014), the action adventure Suicide Squad (2016), the comedy Girls Trip (2017), and the crime drama Ava (2020). Common later was cast in Alice (2022), a revenge film about an enslaved woman who escapes from an isolated Southern plantation and discovers the year is…
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…as Ava DuVernay’s biographical drama Selma (2014), the action adventure Suicide Squad (2016), the comedy Girls Trip (2017), and the crime drama Ava (2020). Common later was cast in Alice (2022), a revenge film about an enslaved woman who escapes from an isolated Southern plantation and discovers the year is…
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Ava DuVernay
…was the 2014 historical drama Selma. It chronicles the 1965 civil rights march led by Martin Luther King, Jr., that resulted in the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Selma was critically acclaimed, and DuVernay became the first African American woman to receive a Golden Globe nomination for best director.…
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…was the 2014 historical drama Selma. It chronicles the 1965 civil rights march led by Martin Luther King, Jr., that resulted in the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Selma was critically acclaimed, and DuVernay became the first African American woman to receive a Golden Globe nomination for best director.…
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Cuba Gooding, Jr.
…Fred Gray in Ava DuVernay’s Selma (2014). Gooding also appeared in the 2015 TV miniseries The Book of Negroes and portrayed O.J. Simpson in the acclaimed TV series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016). He later cowrote, directed, and starred in Bayou Caviar (2018). In the romantic…
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…Fred Gray in Ava DuVernay’s Selma (2014). Gooding also appeared in the 2015 TV miniseries The Book of Negroes and portrayed O.J. Simpson in the acclaimed TV series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016). He later cowrote, directed, and starred in Bayou Caviar (2018). In the romantic…
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John Legend
…by them for the film Selma (2014). The song, which invokes a call to end racial injustice, won both a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for best original song.
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…by them for the film Selma (2014). The song, which invokes a call to end racial injustice, won both a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for best original song.
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Jeremy Strong
Early life and career
Dark Thirty (2012), Lincoln (2012), Selma (2014), and The Big Short (2015). During this time he married Danish-born documentary producer and activist Emma Wall.
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Dark Thirty (2012), Lincoln (2012), Selma (2014), and The Big Short (2015). During this time he married Danish-born documentary producer and activist Emma Wall.
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Tessa Thompson
in Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated film Selma, a drama about Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, for equal voting rights. In 2015 Thompson first appeared as Bianca in Ryan Coogler’s Creed, a continuation of the Rocky film
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in Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated film Selma, a drama about Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, for equal voting rights. In 2015 Thompson first appeared as Bianca in Ryan Coogler’s Creed, a continuation of the Rocky film
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Oprah Winfrey
The Oprah Winfrey Show and films
Selma (2014), a film about Martin Luther King, Jr., that Winfrey produced and also appeared in, was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture. She subsequently starred in the HBO TV movie The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017), portraying the daughter of a…
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Selma (2014), a film about Martin Luther King, Jr., that Winfrey produced and also appeared in, was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture. She subsequently starred in the HBO TV movie The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017), portraying the daughter of a…
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