“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals,” said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the eve of the bloody protests in Selma, Ala.On Jan. 20, students had a chance to see how Dr. King’s words were reflected in his life’s actions. Hall Directors Dennis Scott and Torry Reynolds held a screening of the documentary “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: A Historical Perspective” in Milner lounge.

Reynolds opened the event, explaining how, with each passing January, the details of Dr. King’s life become more shrouded. Without concrete knowledge of his deeds, Dr. King becomes an uplifting but vapid historical presence.

“We grow up celebrating Martin Luther King’s birthday, but not delving into his history,” said Reynolds.

The film began with King’s brisk seminary education and arrival in Montgomery, Ala. Once there, he became a key figure in the Montgomery bus boycott, beginning his struggle for civil rights. He praised the sit-ins in Greensboro, where students protested segregated restaurants by refusing to leave their seats and aided the Freedom Riders in desegregating interstate buses.

Dr. King met opposition from within the black community, particularly from black nationalists who disagreed with his non-violent protest methods. Malcolm X criticized these methods stringently.

In 1965, King began to speak out against the Vietnam War, though this stance damaged his reputation among Americans in general.

The film demonstrated that civil rights for African-Americans were only one facet of King’s quest to unite the “brotherhood of humanity.”

After the screening, Reynolds and Scott invited students to share what they had learned from the film. Sophomores Anne Rappe said she was surprised by how much King’s protest methods connected to Quaker doctrines of non-violence.

“Showing (this movie) in Milner Lounge was a unique opportunity,” said Reynolds. “It’s the students’ own living space and … more (students) came to watch (as the film went on).”

“It was really interesting to hear the details of (King’s) life,” said first-year Emma Lovejoy. “We should have more of these events in a community gathering space, more of these movies with a purpose.”

The documentary upheld a true, unsanitized version of MLK day as it documented the life of the man behind the messiah.