LOS ANGELES — When the Civil Rights Movement is mentioned, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often the first figure that comes to mind. Renowned for his powerful speeches and leadership, Dr. King left a lasting impact that continues to resonate through his inspiring words and actions.
However, there’s an often overlooked aspect of his life that played a significant role in his ability to connect with communities. The documentary “Hoops, Hopes & Dreams” explores how Dr. King utilized basketball to engage with youth and mobilize communities during pivotal protests.
In a special segment on ABC’s On The Red Carpet Storytellers Spotlight, the filmmakers behind this documentary shared their insights on unveiling this lesser-known side of Dr. King’s legacy, featuring commentary from someone who has known him her entire life.
“Joining ‘Hoops, Hopes & Dreams’ as an executive producer was a chance for me to share a broader narrative about my father,” expressed Dr. Bernice A. King. “Many viewed him as a monumental leader, yet they often forget that he was an ordinary man performing extraordinary acts and staying true to his calling.”
At just 26, Dr. King was already a pivotal figure in the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, helping to disseminate information about community actions such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He recognized early on that the true strength lay in reaching and empowering the people.
“This wasn’t a leader’s movement,” Dr. Bernice A. King observed. “It was truly a people’s movement, with my father as the voice who wielded influence. He connected with individuals where they were, and due to segregation, few places were available for gathering. The basketball court became one of those vital spaces.”
Glenn Kaino, renowned artist and director of “Hoops, Hopes & Dreams,” had previously made an Emmy-nominated documentary about Olympian Tommie Smith called, “With Drawn Arms.” Kaino’s team also helped Smith start his foundation that first honored Ambassador Andrew Young, a close friend to Dr. King during the movement.
While giving his honoree speech, Young offhandedly mentioned a piece of forgotten history.
“Andrew gets on stage and he says, ‘Tommie, did I ever tell you how great of a basketball player I was?’” Kaino said. “‘How Dr. King and I used to play basketball to connect with kids in the movement?’”
From there, Kaino knew what his next project would be.
Alongside Kaino was actor and activist Jesse Williams, a long-time collaborator and friend.
“I met him at his gallery here in LA and we hit it off,” Williams said. “We just connected on, how do we get ourselves more visible with a purpose? How do we make something that matters and that people can touch and feel? Telling stories that we need to archive, our leaders and our heroes. We need to expand the narrative, not just catalog what already exists, but ask a follow-up question.”
“Hoops, Hopes & Dreams” is an expansion of the historic narrative of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., detailing the focus on connecting with communities and the power of sports that is still used in the movements of today.
“Basketball as a vehicle for cooperation, working together and seeing and being receptive to one another,” Williams said. “Unifying folks who don’t speak the same language, aren’t from the same place, aren’t the same size or age, across all generations and cultural norms, consistently proves to be immeasurable.”
Cross-generational storytelling is a key part of the film, which also touches on how President Barack Obama also used basketball as part of his campaign strategy to connect with voters.
“We naturally saw an updated version of what we were discovering about Dr. King’s process,” Williams said. “That felt familiar.”
To help tell a fully rounded story about the partnership and cross-section of sports and politics, the team brought in Alexys Feaster, who played a key part in Obama’s reelection team.
“One of the first things that I did was create Athletes for Obama,” Feaster said. “We all know the power of the voice of athletes, and my job was to bridge that gap. This film brings out the opportunity for us to find commonality, because there is commonality amongst all of us, even if it’s just that we like the same basketball team.”
Feaster is an athlete herself, being a Junior Olympic champion in racquetball. She would go on to work for the NBA, and currently is an entrepreneur focused on creating social impact through sports and entertainment. The heart of her work has a very personal beginning.
“Something I’m really proud of, is that my dad was the first African American player to integrate the Citadel baseball team,” Feaster said. “And so, when we talk about stories like this, I remember seeing a news clipping of my father, with his afro, sitting on his sofa with his grandparents and getting signed to the baseball team, integrating that team. When we talk about legacy and family, it’s not just this movie. For me, it goes so much deeper.”
This documentary felt like a natural culmination of Feaster’s experiences. In order to bring her onto the team, what was first needed was a simple connection.
“It started with my dear friend Michael Latt,” Feaster said. “I got introduced to him through a friend, and as he started to tell me about this film he was working on with his dear friend Glenn Kaino, he said ‘I don’t know anyone who’s worked in politics and sports the way you have. We’re working on this story, and we need you to be a part of it.’”
Latt was a renowned producer who had worked with people like Ava DuVernay and Common, and was the founder of Lead With Love, a company dedicated to uplifting underrepresented creative voices in Hollywood.
During the production of the film, however, he was tragically killed during a home invasion in late 2023.
“We’re so excited that this film has been so well received at film festivals with our partners at Andscape, it will be seen on Hulu,” Kaino said. “But it doesn’t get easier as the success grows because of the loss of Michael Latt.”
Latt grew up with storytelling, with both of his parents being in the filmmaking sphere around LA. Above all, though, he was a community organizer, activist, marketer and collaborator who knew how to harness the power of storytelling to affect change in the world. “Hoops, Hopes & Dreams” was part of that mission.
“What was interesting about Michael is in high school, he was the starting quarterback for his team,” said Michelle Satter, Latt’s mother. “He understood sports and he understood how important it was to bring people together. It was not about one person, it was about all of them.”
What had really spurned on Latt’s drive for social change storytelling was when his mom introduced him to director Ryan Coogler.
“At the time, Ryan Coogler was in search of a world that would appreciate the work he had done,” said his father, David Latt. “The added connection was Ryan Coogler was a receiver, so it was a receiver and quarterback connecting. Michael saw if you align yourself with storytellers who have something to say, who want to move the world, that’s important work that you can do.”
While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t necessarily telling stories while on the court, he was fostering the kind of connections and community that allowed stories and ideas to be shared. That was the crucial groundwork the movement carried forward.
“This is a human figure who, beyond the movement, work, speeches and oration, was committed increasingly and especially towards the end of his life about togetherness for all people,” Williams said. “Trying to elevate poor and working people and show them to each other and that we are all mirror images of each other.”
That is the heart of “Hoops, Hopes & Dreams,” to let the world know about the leader who inspired people by meeting them face-to-face before he spoke to crowds of thousands.
“Life is about storytelling from generation to generation,” Dr. Bernice A. King said. “If you think about my father’s vision of the beloved community, one of the ways that we can create that beloved community is through storytelling. It removes the defenses and we break through, and we realize that we really are a human family.”
The film is a reminder that as much was accomplished by people like Dr. King, there is still work to be done. To continue their legacy, we must keep building communities to carry stories into tomorrow.
“As far as we’ve come, we’ve got a long way to go,” Kaino said.
“Hoops, Hopes & Dreams” is streaming now on Hulu.
Andres Rovira and Dean Singleton contributed to this report.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Hulu, ESPN and this ABC station.
