While Black History Month is celebrated in February — “the shortest month of the year,” as pointed out by Oscar Proud on the OG Proud Family — people should celebrate Black culture and stories all year long. One way to do that is by watching powerful movies and documentaries. There are so many films that teach us about people who helped change our country’s laws and general way of thinking for the better, such as those who fought for interracial marriage or helped desegregate public buses.
Our society still has a long way to go when it comes to racial equality, but below are several movies about historical Black figures who, if they aren’t already, should all be household names. From athletes to musicians to politicians, we’ve compiled a wide variety of media for your next binge session.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
This biopic about the Black Nationalist leader, born Malcolm Little, explores all aspects of the activist’s life, including his life as a petty criminal, his conversion to Islam, and his eventual assassination.
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
The Tuskegee Airmen follows the events of African American pilots who, despite opposition due to the color of their skin, went on to become a truly powerful fighter group during World War II.
This documentary tells the heartbreaking story of a deadly church bombing during the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 that killed four African-American children: Addie May Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, and Carole Rosamond Robertson.
The Color of Friendship (2000)
This underrated DCOM tells the true story of two teen girls from opposite sides of the world — one living in the United States and the other living in apartheid South Africa — who meet after one American family mistakes a white girl named Mahree for an African exchange student.
Mahree is a fish out of water in America and begins to see the damage her country’s apartheid has on its people and society in general.
Remember the Titans (2000)
This classic sports movie follows a recently integrated high school football team that hires an African-American coach to help bring them to victory.
Chris Rock co-wrote and stars in this documentary that provides an in-depth look at African-American hairstyles and its relation to what society considers “beautiful.”
You’ve listened to The Notorious B.I.G.’s music, now learn his story in this biopic about the late Brooklyn rapper who inspired a generation.
Not to be confused with the 2007 movie Freedom Writers, this documentary tells the story of the brave people who rode interstate buses into segregated Southern states that ignored the laws passed stating segregated public buses were unconstitutional. The historical event took place in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement.
Dark Girls is a documentary about the deep-rooted colorism in the Black community — as well as outside it — that surrounds lighter skin versus darker skin.
12 Years a Slave (2013)
This drama tells the horrifying true story of Solomon Northup, a free-born Black man who is kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery in the South.
Baseball player Jackie Robinson made history when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, becoming the first African-American to play in the MLB. However, not everyone is thrilled about his accomplishment, and Jackie is forced to deal with racism from both audiences and his own teammates. “42” refers to his jersey number.
Fruitvale Station (2013)
Chadwick Boseman plays famous musician James Brown in this biopic that explores his rise from humble beginnings to international fame.
Selma is a historical drama that tells the story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight to acquire equal voting rights for African Americans. The title refers to the town of Selma, Alabama, where the march for equality begins, ending in Montgomery, Alabama, the state’s capital.
3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets (2015)
This documentary chronicles the murder of Jordan Davis, a 17-year-old Black high school student who was shot by a white man after playing music too loudly with his friends.
A Ballerina’s Tale (2015)
A Ballerina’s Tale is a documentary about Misty Copeland, the first African-American woman to hold a main role at the American Ballet Theater.
Queen Latifah gives a knock-out performance in this biopic of Bessie Smith, a famous blues singer of the 1920s and ’30s.
Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Straight Outta Compton is about rap group NWA’s rise to fame in the 1980s. The group’s music revolutionized the industry and created the mega stars we know today, such as Ice Cube and Dr. Dre.
This Netflix documentary explores the prison system in the United States and how racism, slavery, and the United States Consitution all play a part in it.
At long last, the amazing team of female African-American mathematicians who played an important role in the U.S. space race at NASA finally get their incredible story told.
Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson helped astronaut John Glenn become the first American to orbit the Earth.
I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
Interracial marriages are legal now, but they weren’t before the Supreme Court’s historic 1967 decision. Loving examines one couple’s journey to marry the person they love, no matter what their skin color is. Their fight changed history for the better.
Stephan James portrays famous athlete Jesse Owens, a four-time Olympic gold winner who competed in the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics in Nazi Germany. Jesse had to face off against Adolf Hitler’s Aryan nation ideology.
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
This Netflix documentary explores the life and suspicious 1992 death of Marsha P. Johnson, a black gay rights activist who was part of the Stonewall uprisings and was a proud drag queen.
Marshall tells the story of Thurgood Marshall, a lawyer who would eventually become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
This insane true story will make your jaw drop. A Black police officer named Ron Stallworth teams up with his Jewish co-worker, Flip Zimmerman, to infiltrate a Colorado chapter of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1970s.
King in the Wilderness (2018)
The final two years of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life before his 1968 assassination are examined in this HBO documentary.
Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (2018)
Sandra Bland was a 28-year-old Black female who was arrested during a traffic stop in 2015 and found dead in her jail cell three days later. Her death was ruled a suicide. This documentary investigates what really happened to her.
This biopic explores the extraordinary life of Harriet Tubman, a woman who escaped from slavery and later helped hundreds of slaves escape to freedom, too.
A famous civil rights defense attorney races against the clock to prove his client sitting on death row, Walter McMillian, is innocent before the state of Alabama executes him.
This Peacock documentary explores what it’s like to be a Black boy or Black man in America, and how we as a society can do better by them.
Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street (2021)
This documentary highlights the Black cultural renaissance that happened in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, OK during the early 1900s and ultimately led to the atrocious Tulsa race massacre in 1921.
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
As part of a plea deal, William O’Neal becomes an informant for the FBI and infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gain trust and information from deputy chairman Fred Hampton.
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
This documentary, directed by Questlove from The Roots, explores the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival that happened at the same time as Woodstock, yet didn’t garner the same amount of attention.
In 1955, a 14-year-old Black boy named Emmett Till was lynched by white supremacists after he allegedly whistled at a white woman in Mississippi. His story and brutal murder gained worldwide attention after his brave mother, Mamie Till, insisted on having an open casket funeral for her son that showcased his brutalized body.
Senior Editor
Stacey Grant is a senior editor at Seventeen who runs the brand’s Snapchat Discover channel.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
