FILMS
Please keep in mind that many historical films about Black people have been written and directed by White people, usually White males. For the most part, they will not be listed here.
TV employs the greatest number of writers of Color: https://www.wga.org/uploadedfiles/the-guild/inclusion-and-equity/2019_wga_inclusion_report.pdf
NARRATIVE FILMS
Roots – book/mini-series – The first mini-series ever. Based on Alex Haley’s book of the same name after he researched his own family history. The first filmed representation of slavery ever done in America.
The Hate You Give – book/film – A Black Lives Matter timepiece very timely right now, excellent for the pre-teen and adolescent audience, released in 2018. PG-13 HULU
When They See Us-Four Episode Limited Series on Netflix about the five young Black teens who were wrongly fully accused of a gangrape in Central Park on April 19, 1989 and how they were eventually exonerated after the confession of the real rapist, in 2002.
The Glass Shield – 1994 – Directed by Charles Burnett – Two cops become compelled to act against corruption and discrimination within their police precinct. (Was in and out of the theaters, most people have never heard of it.)
Boyz N The Hood – film Based on the life of the late filmmaker John Singleton. Gives real insight in the psychology behind gang culture particularly in “South Central” and “Crenshaw”, currently known as South L A.
Just Mercy – 2020– See Book List below – After graduating from Harvard, Bryan Stevenson heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned and not afforded proper representation. Great film but the book is a MUST READ.
Nothing But A Man – 1964 – A little known independent drama released during the Blaxploitation era. A love story set during the oppressive racism of the 1960’s. I discovered this movie on TV in the middle of the night while in college. It is one of my favorite movies. YOUTUBE
The Spook Who Sat By The Door – 1973 – Based on the novel by Sam Greenlee. YOUTUBE
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
JOHN LEWIS: Good Trouble – CURRENTLY STREAMING https://www.johnlewisgoodtrouble.com/
Slavery By Another Name – The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II (2008 book by American writer Douglas A. Blackmon) Documents the history of the peonage system in America – A MUST SEE
WATCH HERE: http://www.slaverybyanothername.com/pbs-film/
Eyes On The Prize America’s Civil Rights Years (1954-1965) and Eyes On The Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965-mid 1980s – Documentary Series by Henry Hampton about the Civil Rights Movement
Whose Streets? – An account of the Ferguson uprising as told by the people who lived it. The filmmakers look at how the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown inspired a community to fight back and sparked a global movement. – HULU
I’ll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts (1999) – Henry Hampton’s project about the history of the Black Arts in America. One of my favorite docs ever!
More on Henry Hampton’s life and legacy: https://library.wustl.edu/activist-director-visionary-extraordinary-influence-henry-hampton/
Stanley Nelson is an award winning documentarian:
Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution – Examines the rise of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and its impact on civil rights and American culture.
www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/the-black-panthers-vanguard-of-the-revolution-full-film/
Freedom Riders – Freedom Riders were groups of white and African American civil rights activists who participated in Freedom Rides, bus trips through the American South in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/freedomriders/
Chisholm ’72 – Unbought & Unbossed -Directed by Shola Lynch
The nation’s first African-American congresswoman, the passionate Chisholm launches a campaign for the United States presidency in the 1972 election, and wins an impressive amount of support, given the era and the still-prevailing prejudices of many voters. (based on her autobiography)
Watch here at California Newsreel Various Documentaries: http://newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0012https://
The 13th – Explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation’s prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.
Fahrenheit 911– Uses humor and connect-the-dots investigative journalism to document how cynical profiteering of corporations and a political elite beholden to special interests are all cited as elements of a corrupt system. 9/11 was used as a prop to stoke fear in the US and how the media shaped a narrative against Black people and others of Color that still exist today.
Freeway Rick Ross: Crack In The System – The story of how crack came to be an epidemic in America and all of the facets involved. A MUST SEE. (The rapper Rick Ross stole the real man’s name.)
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/ajam-presents-freeway.html
The House I Live In – doc – History of how drugs came to be what they are in society today and the disparities in jail sentences for different communities. One of my favorite documentaries of all time.
Central Park Five – The story of the now “Exonerated Five” who When They See Us, the Netflix series is based on.
https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-central-park-five/