Films, documentaries, and videos on Race & Racism in the U.S.
Films:
JustWatch is a website that allows you to search its catalog of film titles to find out which streaming services carry these films.
Moonlight, Barry Jenkins, 2016. Academy Award for Best Picture. IMDB plot summary
If Beale Street Could Talk, Barry Jenkins. 2018. Adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel. IMDB plot summary
The Hate U Give, George Tillman, Jr., 2018. Based on novel of same name. IMDB plot summary
Get Out, Jordan Peele, 2017. IMDB plot summary
The Loving Story, Nancy Buirski, 2011. Dramatization of the Supreme Court case that ended laws preventing cross-race marriage. IMDB plot summary.
Fruitvale Station, Ryan Coogler, 2013. Dramatization of police shooting of young man in Bay Area in 2008. IMDB plot summary.
Black Panther, Ryan Coogler, 2018. IMDB plot summary.
Selma, Ava DuVernay, 2014. Dramatization of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery, 1965. IMDB plot summary.
When They See Us, Ava DuVernay, 2019. Four-part series dramatizing the ordeal of the Central Park Five. IMDB plot summary/episodes.
Straight Outta Compton, F. Gary Gray, 2015. IMDB plot summary.
Just Mercy, Destin Daniel Cretton, 2019. Dramatization of early career of civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson, author of memoir of same title. IMDB plot summary.
Mudbound, Dee Rees, 2017. IMDB plot summary.
Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee, 1989. IMDB plot summary.
Malcolm X, Spike Lee, 1992. IMDB plot summary.
Boyz in the Hood, John Singleton, 1991 IMDB plot summary
12 Years a Slave, Steve McQuenn, 2013 IMDB plot summary
Rosewood, John Singleton, 1997 IMDB plot summary
Documentaries:
I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck, 2016. Introduction to James Baldwin via interviews, historical context, his writings. IMDB summary.
13th Ava DuVernay. 2016 documentary on the prison system and racial inequality. IMDB summary.
What You Gonna Do When the World’s On Fire? Roberto Minervini, 2018 documentary re: violence against black citizens in Mississippi and Louisana. IMDB summary.
Crime & Punishment, Stephen Maing, 2018. Documentary that followed active duty officers in the NYPD who exposed illegal “policing quotas” in NYCity. On Hulu. IMDB summary.
Whose Streets? Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, 2017. Documentary on protests in Ferguson, MO. IMDB summary.
Who Killed Malcolm X? Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, 2020. Neflix six-part documentary series that offered evidence to argue the assassination investigation should be re-opened.
The Central Park Five, 2012. Ken Burns documentary. IMDB plot summary.
You Tube videos: (Just a sample of the many available).
Naming Racism. June, 2020 panel discussion sponsored by Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. From original plan to discuss the unequal effects of COVID-19 it broadened out to link those specific effects to the broader pattern of inequities resulting from systemic racism.
The “n” word throughout history. Produced by The Washington Post in 2015. Examines the history of this singular word, its spread through popular culture and its place in the vernacular today. 7 minutes, 23 seconds.
Black in Bend: Being an extreme minority in suburbia, Anyssa Bohanan, TEDxBend. Anyssa Bohanan, 2017, shared her experiences being an extreme minority both at home and abroad, ranging from amusing to life changing. She hopes that by sharing those experiences she can make the difference for at least one other person feeling the same way.
How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them. Verna Myers, TedTalk, 2014. Straightforward talk about not denying our biases and embracing the beauty of young black men. Six years ago, same story.
Using Parental Superpowers to Drive Diversity in Education, Kelly Yiadom, 2020.One of the many ways children develop their identity and build their confidence is by seeing themselves in their school settings. In this talk, Kelly Yiadom delves into the importance of creating educational spaces that are reflective of all students, and she chronicles her experience with creating a parent community, along with dedicated teachers and administrators, committed to developing cultural proficiency in schools.