As we approach MLK Jr. Day, we’re thinking about faith not just as belief but as something lived out in public and carried through personal struggle. This week, we’re turning to two films that look at justice and belief from different angles. One follows a movement pushed to its limits, where prayer, restraint, and conviction are tested under government pressure. The other brings us into an unexpected sanctuary, where music, humor, and shared responsibility help restore a struggling neighborhood.

Watched together, these movies reveal how faith shows up during moments of change — sometimes through sacrifice, sometimes through joy, and often through both. They invite us to think about how people keep going, care for one another, and hold onto hope long enough for real change to occur.

Directed by Ava DuVernay and starring David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this film centers on the 1965 voting rights marches in Alabama. It captures MLK grappling with fatigue and doubt, stepping forward not from ambition, but from necessity. Leadership takes shape through vulnerability, while nonviolence demands constant restraint. The movie shows freedom as action, not words, at a pivotal moment in American history.

WHERE TO WATCH →

Led by Whoopi Goldberg, with supporting performances by Maggie Smith and Kathy Najimy, this comedy follows a nightclub singer who takes refuge in a convent and gradually changes its relationship with the surrounding neighborhood. Beyond its humor, the movie explores responsibility, service, and joy as forces that hold a community together. The film shows belief as action expressed through music, laughter, and everyday involvement.

WHERE TO WATCH →

Before Tyler Perry became a household name, he turned to writing as a way to process abuse he experienced as a child. Born Emmitt Perry Jr. in New Orleans, he grew up in a violent home, but found a sense of refuge in church, where his mother took him each week. In his early twenties, after hearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show that writing could help people work through pain, Perry began writing letters to himself. Those writings became the foundation for his first stage production, I Know I’ve Been Changed.

After moving to Atlanta, Perry used his life savings to stage the play. It failed, and he lost money year after year. Rather than walking away, he kept rewriting and restaging it, trusting the message would reach its audience. Over time, he forgave his father, grounding that choice in faith rather than resentment. When the play finally found success, it did so through connection rather than approval. His stories resonated because they spoke to lived experience.

Perry’s journey mirrors this week’s movies: belief carried through hardship, pain reshaped into purpose, and joy emerging not in spite of struggle, but through it.

The results are in… and it’s a tie! Half of you voted for Eavesdrop wherever you are. and Immerse yourself in your character’s life like a method actor. in last week’s poll: How do you find and tell authentic stories?

Currently fundraising on Seed&Spark, Primus is a sci-fi short from filmmaker Dwight Wilson II, whose work includes directing the BTS documentary for the 2016 Sundance hit The Birth of a Nation and producing award-recognized shorts.

The film follows a 12-year-old boy whose chance encounter with a mysterious girl leads to unsettling discoveries that reshape his understanding of reality.

A finalist for the 2022 Ida B. Wells Grant, Primus champions imagination, emotional honesty, and human connection.

_{*Plumb News is not affiliated with “Primus” or Seed&Spark and does not receive compensation for featuring it. We’re highlighting it because we believe stories like this deserve support.}

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair” (2 Corinthians 4:8). And Jesus tells us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).

Taken together, these verses don’t rush past suffering or pretend justice comes easily. They acknowledge pressure, confusion, and longing as part of the story. They speak to people who are tired and uncertain, but still willing to keep going. There’s no promise of quick resolution here — only the assurance that faithfulness matters, even when the outcome isn’t clear.

The plumb line in these verses is the reminder that hardship isn’t the end of the story. The New Testament holds the classic definitions of tragedy and comedy together: pain is real and justice takes work, but hope keeps showing up to guide us to ultimate victory. For people of faith, joy isn’t denial — it’s stamina. It’s how we keep going.

As we celebrate MLK Jr. Day, take time to practice that kind of hope. Watch closely. Listen carefully. Show up where you are needed. Let faith, joy, and care guide what you do next.

Until next time,

THE PLUMB NEWS TEAM