Martin Luther King Jr.'s family is fighting to protect his legacy

Many have criticized King's family for taking legal actions against companies reprinting or re-airing the activist's iconic speeches.

Since 1978, starting with Paul Winfield's Emmy-nominated performance in the TV miniseries "King," a dozen actors have stepped into the role of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., including Levar Burton in the 2001 film "Ali," Samuel L. Jackson in the 2009 Broadway play "The Mountaintop," and in 2002, King's own son Dexter Scott King in the TV movie "The Rosa Parks Story."

But throughout all the recreations of King's powerful presence and rich baritone voice, very rarely have audiences heard his own words.

For the 2014 film "Selma," considered to be King's first and so-far only biopic from a major studio, director Ava Duvernay wrote original monologues for actor David Oyelowo instead of using the activist's own speeches.

"Martin Luther King's words, most of them anyway, have copyright protection. To use the speech in its entirety, you would need to get permission from the estate," said Lisa Callif, entertainment attorney and partner at Donaldson Callif Perez LLP.

That permission is closely guarded. Since King's death in 1968, his estate — run by his children Martin Luther King III, Bernice King and Dexter Scott King — has denied most requests to use King's words for film and TV.