(Ava DuVernay, 2016) Filmmaker Ava DuVernay 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. Streaming via Netflix
(Donald Glover, 2016-) Based in Atlanta, Earn and his cousin Alfred try to make their way in the world through the rap scene. Along the way they come face to face with social and economic issues touching on race, relationships, poverty, status, and parenthood. Streaming via Hulu
(Göran Olsson*, 2011) The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975 is a 2011 documentary film, directed by Göran Olsson, that examines the evolution of the Black Power movement in American society from 1967 to 1975 as viewed through Swedish journalists and filmmakers. *non-Black creator; Streaming via Amazon Prime, YouTube
(Julie Dash, 1991) At the dawn of the 20th century, a family in the Gullah community of coastal South Carolina -- former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors' Yoruba traditions -- suffers a generational split. Young Haagar wants to move to the mainland away from tradition-bound matriarch Nana. Former sex worker Yellow Mary gets a cold shoulder when she returns to the island with her female lover, especially from her sister Viola. Streaming via Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube
(Justin Simien, 2014) A campus culture war between blacks and whites at a predominantly white school comes to a head when the staff of a humour magazine stages an offensive Halloween party. Streaming via Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube
(Spike Lee, 1989) On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence. Spike Lee's opus on racism and police violence in America. Streaming via UT Libraries and available to rent
(Ryan Coogler, 2013) Fruitvale chronicles the final hours of the life of Oscar Grant, the youth who was shot and killed by a BART police officer on Jan. 1, 2009 after he and his friends were pulled off a train at Oakland's Fruitvale Station in connection with an alleged fight. Streaming via Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube
(Jordan Peele, 2017) Now that Chris and his girlfriend, Rose, have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined. Streaming via Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube
(Raoul Peck, 2018) In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. Available through Kanopy and Amazon Prime
(Peter Kunhardt*, 2018) A portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. during the last years of his life, from his part in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to his assassination in 1968. *non-Black creator; Streaming via Hulu and HBO
(Barry Jenkins, 2016) A look at three defining chapters in the life of Chiron, a young black man growing up in Miami. His epic journey to manhood is guided by the kindness, support and love of the community that helps raise him. Streaming via Netflix
(Jennie Livingston*, 1991) Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in it. Critics consider the film to be an invaluable documentary of the end of the "Golden Age" of New York City drag balls, and a thoughtful exploration of race, class, gender, and sexuality in America. *non-Black creator; Streaming via HBO Max; For rent via YouTube, Apple TV
(Melina Moatsoukas, 2019) Slim and Queen's first date takes an unexpected turn when a policeman pulls them over for a minor traffic violation. When the situation escalates, Slim takes the officer's gun and shoots him in self-defence. Now labelled cop killers in the media, Slim and Queen feel that they have no choice but to go on the run and evade the law. When a video of the incident goes viral, the unwitting outlaws soon become a symbol of trauma, terror, grief and pain for people all across the country. Streaming via Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube
(Stefon Bristol, 2019) Two teenage science prodigies spend every spare minute working on their latest homemade invention: backpacks that enable time travel. When one of their older brothers is killed, they put their unfinished project to the test to save him. Streaming via Netflix
(Ava DuVernay, 2014) A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. Streaming via Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube
(F. Gary Gray, 1996) "Four friends, trapped in a cycle of racist poverty in L.A. decide to rob several banks. It was a fresh take on the heist genre that showed that Black women could carry an action film. But it also served as a critique of the racism, police brutality, and sexism that impacts Black communities, especially Black women." - Sesali Bowen Streaming via Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube
(Boots Riley, 2018) In an alternate reality of present-day Oakland, Calif., telemarketer Cassius Green finds himself in a macabre universe after he discovers a magical key that leads to material glory. As Green's career begins to take off, his friends and co-workers organize a protest against corporate oppression. Cassius soon falls under the spell of Steve Lift, a cocaine-snorting CEO who offers him a salary beyond his wildest dreams. Streaming via Netflix
(Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, 2021) A critically acclaimed documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. A combination of modern interviews, professional and stock footage is used to showcase the history and legacy of this Black music and culture concert series. Available via Hulu and Disney+
(Sean Baker*, 2015) It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee, a trans sex worker is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, Sin-Dee and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles.*non-Black creator; Streaming via Netflix
(Stanley Nelson, 2015) Filmmaker Stanley Nelson examines the rise of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and its impact on civil rights and American culture. Available to Stream through the library on PBS Video Collection or Alexander Street.
(George Tillman, Jr., 2018) Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds -- the poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy, mostly white prep school that she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is soon shattered when she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend at the hands of a police officer. Facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and decide to stand up for what's right. Streaming via Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube
(Damon Lindelof*, 2019) Based on the celebrated graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the exciting and dark "Watchmen" takes place in Tulsa, Okla., 34 years after the original story. After a white supremacist attack on the local police department, which leaves only two surviving cops on the beat, laws are passed that allow the cops to hide their identities behind masks. One of these cops, Angela Abar, adopts the identity of Sister Night and fights racists while dealing with the decades-long legacy of the vigilantes. *non-Black creator; Streaming via HBO or available to rent via YouTube
(Cheryl Dunye, 1996) An aspiring Black lesbian filmmaker (Cheryl Dunye) researches an obscure 1930s Black actress billed as the Watermelon Woman. The film is considered to be a landmark work of New Queer Cinema. Streaming via UT Libraries
(Ava DuVernay, 2019) Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story. Miniseries Streaming via Netflix
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