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Documentaries, movies, and shows that provide insight into the Black experience
Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975
MovieThe Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 looks at the people, society, culture, and style that fuelled an era of convulsive change.
Brief
With contemporary audio interviews from leading African American artists, activists, musicians and scholars, The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 looks at the people, society, culture, and style that fuelled an era of convulsive change. Utilizing an innovative format that riffs on the popular 1970s mixtape format, Mixtape is a cinematic and musical journey into the black communities of America.At the end of the '60s and into the early '70s, Swedish interest in the U.S. civil rights movement and the U.S. anti-war movement peaked. With a combination of commitment and naiveté, Swedish filmmakers traveled across the Atlantic to explore the Black Power movement, which was being alternately ignored or portrayed in the U.S. media as a violent, nascent terrorist movement.Despite the obstacles they encountered, both from the conservative white American power establishment and from radicalized movement members themselves, the Swedish filmmakers stayed committed to their investigation, and ultimately formed bonds with key figures in the movement. (pbs.org)
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13th (Ava DuVernay)
DocumentaryAn in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
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13th is a 2016 American documentary by director Ava DuVernay. The film explores the "intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States" and is titled after the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for conviction of a crime. DuVernay contends that slavery has been perpetuated since the end of the American Civil War through criminalizing behavior and enabling police to arrest poor freedmen and force them to work for the state under convict leasing; suppression of African Americans by disenfranchisement, lynchings and Jim Crow; politicians declaring a war on drugs that weighs more heavily on minority communities and, by the late 20th century, mass incarceration of people of color in the United States. She examines the prison-industrial complex and the emerging detention-industrial complex, discussing how much money is being made by corporations from such incarcerations. (Wikipedia)
Blact Now!A Time to Kill
MovieA young lawyer defends a Black man accused of murder.
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In Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan.
Blact Now!Loving
MovieBased on the true story of the fight for interracial marriage.
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The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with the Supreme Court's historic 1967 decision.
Blact Now!Straight Outta Compton
MovieThe rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton.
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The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Blact Now!A Different World
ShowA group of students at a historically Black university struggle to make it through college.
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A group of students at a historically Black university struggle to make it through college.
Blact Now!Say Her Name: The Life And Death Of Sandra Bland
DocumentaryAn investigation into the death of Sandra Bland.
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An investigation into what happened to activist Sandra Bland, who died in police custody after a routine traffic stop.
Blact Now!Blackish
ShowA family man struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity.
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A family man struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity while raising his kids in a predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhood.
Blact Now!Zion: Body of Strength
DocumentaryTeen Zion Clark finds his calling in wrestling.
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Born without legs and stuck in foster care for years, teen Zion Clark finds his calling when he pursues competitive wrestling. A documentary short.
Blact Now!Who Killed Malcolm X?
DocumentarySeeking truth in the name of justice
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Decades after the assassination of African American leader Malcolm X, and activist embarks on a complex mission seeking truth in the name of justice.
Blact Now!What Happened Miss Simone?
DocumentaryThe story of singer and activist Nina Simone.
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Using never-before-heard recordings, rare archival footage and her best-known songs, this is the story of legendary singer and activist Nina Simone.
Blact Now!Uppity
DocumentaryThe first Black man to race in the Indy 500
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This documentary profiles a defiant driver who challenged racial barriers in American auto racing, becoming the first black man to race in the Indy 500.
Blact Now!Trigger Warning with Killer Mike
DocumentaryKiller Mike puts his ideas about social change into action.
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In this funny and provocative series, rapper and activist Killer Mike puts his revolutionary ideas about achieving social change into action.
Blact Now!Time: The Kalief Browder Story
DocumentaryKalief Browder spent three years in jail without being convicted.
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This series traces the tragic case of Kalief Browder, a Black Bronx teen who spent three horrific years in jail, despite not being convicted of a crime.
Blact Now!They've Gotta Have Us
DocumentaryA docuseries that traces the history of Black cinema.
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Powered by candid recollections from esteemed African-American entertainers, this docuseries traces the history of Black cinema.
Blact Now!The Innocence Files
DocumentaryMissteps and deceit in wrongful convictions.
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The Innocence Project unravels missteps and deceit in a series of wrongful convictions, exposing the injustice inflicted on victims and the accused.
Blact Now!The Black Godfather
DocumentaryThe life of rainmaker Clarence Avant.
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This documentary follows the life of Clarence Avant, the ultimate, uncensored mentor and behind-the-scenes rainmaker in music, film, TV and politics.
Blact Now!Teach Us All
DocumentaryExploring why American schools remain segregated
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It's been decades since Brown v. Board of Education, yet American schools remain largely segregated. Some leaders are working to change that.
Blact Now!Strong Island
DocumentaryA documentary explores the murder of Yance Ford's brother.
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The forces of family, grief, and racial injustice converge in this Oscar-nominated documentary exploring the the murder of filmmaker Yance Ford's brother.
Blact Now!She's Gotta Have It (TV series)
ShowIndependent artist Nola Darling struggles to stay true to herself. (TV series)
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Nola Darling struggles to stay true to herself and her dreams while juggling three lovers in this Spike Lee series based on his breakout film.
Blact Now!She's Gotta Have It
MovieIndependent artist Nola Darling struggles to stay true to herself. (Movie)
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Fiercely independent Brooklyn artist Nola Darling tries to remain true to herself while hooking up with three wildly different men.
Blact Now!Seven Seconds
ShowThe police cove-up of an African American boy's death.
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Tensions run high between African American citizens and Caucasian cops in Jersey City when a teenage African American boy is critically injured by a cop.
Blact Now!Self-Made: Inspired By The Life Of Madam C.J. Walker
DocumentaryThe inspiring story of trailblazing African American entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker.
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The inspiring story of trailblazing African American entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker who built a haircare empire that made her America's first female self-made millionaire.
Blact Now!School Daze
MovieA not so popular young man wants to pledge to a popular fraternity at his historically black college.
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At an all-Black college, a student activist and his cousin pledging a fraternity navigate the social divides, amid parties, protests, and conflicts.
Blact Now!Rodney King
DocumentaryRoger Guenveur Smith's one man show of Rodney King's life.
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Roger Guenveur Smith performs his one man show focusing on the life and times of Rodney King.
Blact Now!Remastered: Who Shot the Sheriff? A Bob Marley Story
DocumentaryThe suppression of the roots reggae movement and CIA's involvement in Bob Marley's shooting.
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The violent political suppression of the roots reggae movement in Jamaica told through an investigation into Jamaican politics and the CIA's involvement in the mysterious shooting of Bob Marley.
Blact Now!Remastered: Who Killed Jam Master Jay?
DocumentaryDespite six witnesses present, no one has been convicted of Jam Master Jay's murder.
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Run DMC's Jam Master Jay was shot and killed in a Jamaica, Queens recording studio in 2002. Despite six witnesses present at the murder, no one has ever been convicted.
Blact Now!Remastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke
DocumentaryAn investigation into Sam Cooke's murder.
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An investigation into the circumstances and controversy surrounding Sam Cooke's murder.
Blact Now!Remastered: The Lion's Share
DocumentaryA journalist searches for the original writers of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
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South African journalist Rian Malan searches for the original writers of the legendary song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
Blact Now!Remastered: Devil at the Crossroads
DocumentaryA look at the short, mysterious life of blues legend, Robert Johnson.
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A look at the short, mysterious life of blues legend, Robert Johnson, who was said to have made a deal with the Devil at a crossroads in rural Mississippi.
Blact Now!Quincy
DocumentaryAn intimate look into the life of icon Quincy Jones.
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An intimate look into the life of icon Quincy Jones. A unique force in music and popular culture for 70 years, Jones has transcended racial and cultural boundaries; his story is inextricably woven into the fabric of America.
Blact Now!Pose
ShowThe juxtaposition of several New York scenes in 1987
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Pose is set in the world of 1987 and "looks at the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in New York: the rise of the luxury universe, the downtown social and literary scene and the ball culture world."
Blact Now!Orange Is The New Black
ShowThe life-changing reality of prison
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Convicted of a decade old crime of transporting drug money to an ex-girlfriend, normally law-abiding Piper Chapman is sentenced to a year and a half behind bars to face the reality of how life-changing prison can really be.
Blact Now!Oprah Winfrey Presents: When They See Us Now
Live RecordingOprah Winfrey talks with the exonerated men once known as the Central Park Five
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Oprah Winfrey talks with the exonerated men once known as the Central Park Five, plus the cast and producers who tell their story in When They See Us.
Blact Now!Mudbound
MovieTwo World War II veterans adjust to life after war
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Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.
Blact Now!Moonlight
MovieA young African-American man grapples with his identity in burgeoning adulthood.
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A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
Blact Now!Miss Virginia
MovieA struggling inner-city mother sacrifices everything to give her son a good education.
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A struggling inner-city mother sacrifices everything to give her son a good education. Unwilling to allow her son to stay in a dangerous school, she launches a movement that could save his future - and that of thousands like him.
Blact Now!Malcolm X
MovieThe extraordinary life of Malcolm X
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Spike Lee's epic drama spans the extraordinary life of activist Malcolm X, whose relentless advocacy for Black liberation made him a humanitarian icon.
Blact Now!Luke Cage
ShowA sabotaged experiment gives Luke Cage super strength and unbreakable skin.
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When a sabotaged experiment gives him super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage becomes a fugitive attempting to rebuild his life in Harlem and must soon confront his past and fight a battle for the heart of his city.
Blact Now!Let It Fall
DocumentaryAn in-depth look at Los Angeles culture ten years leading up to the Rodney King Riots.
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An in-depth look at the culture of Los Angeles in the ten years leading up to the 1992 uprising that erupted after the verdict of police officers cleared of beating Rodney King.
Blact Now!LA 92
DocumentaryFilmmakers examine rarely seen footage of the Rodney King Riots
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Twenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, filmmakers examine that tumultuous period through rarely seen archival footage.
Blact Now!Jewel's Catch One
MovieThe legacy of a legendary Los Angeles nightclub, Catch One, and the life-changing impact of its owner, Jewel Thais-Williams.
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JEWEL'S CATCH ONE directed by filmmaker C. Fitz celebrates the legacy of a legendary Los Angeles nightclub, Catch One, and the life-changing impact its owner, Jewel Thais-Williams, had on her community breaking down racial and cultural barriers and building the oldest black-owned disco in America. Jewel's story celebrates music, fashion, celebrities and activism that helped changed the course of our country. (C. Fitz)
Blact Now!Imperial Dreams
MovieA reformed gangster's devotion to his family is put to the test
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A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Blact Now!Homecoming
Live RecordingBeyonce's 2018 Coachella performance
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This intimate, in-depth look at Beyonce's celebrated 2018 Coachella performance reveals the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement.
Blact Now!Get on the Bus
MovieA disparate group of African-American men travel by bus to Washington, DC for the Million Man March.
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A disparate group of African-American men travel by bus to Washington, DC for the Million Man March. The film was directed by Spike Lee and premiered on the one-year anniversary of the March.
Blact Now!Bobby Kennedy for President
DocumentaryRare, exclusive footage of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in the 1960s.
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This four-part documentary series weaves together rare and exclusive footage of attorney general, U.S. senator, and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in the 1960s.
Blact Now!Becoming
DocumentaryAn intimate documentary of Michelle Obama's life.
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Join former first lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes and connection with others during her 2019 book tour for 'Becoming.' (IMDb)
Blact Now!Barry
DocumentaryA look into the early life of U.S. President Barack Obama.
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A look at the early life of Barack Obama. Before he became President of the United States, he was one of the few black students at Columbia University NY in the early 80's. Faced with judgmental and racist opinions all around him, he tries to find his place in the world. (IMDb)
Blact Now!All Day and A Night
MovieA young man who committed a homicide deals with the repercussions of his action.
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As soft-spoken Jahkor Abraham Lincoln (Ashton Sanders) struggles to keep his dream of rapping alive amidst a gang war in Oakland, his ill-fated life and real-world responsibilities drive him further and further across the line of right and wrong with tragic consequences. Landing in prison beside his father, J.D. (Jeffrey Wright) whom he never wanted to be like, Jahkor embarks on an unlikely journey of self-discovery, exploring the events that unite them, in hopes of helping his newborn son break a cycle that feels unavoidable. A powerful film from Black Panther co-writer Joe Robert Cole, ALL DAY AND A NIGHT co-stars Isaiah John, Kelly Jenrette, Shakira Ja'Nai Paye, Regina Taylor, Christopher Meyer and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. (Written by Netflix)
Blact Now!#BlackAF
ShowAn American sitcom created by Kenya Barris
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#blackAF uncovers the messy, unfiltered, and often hilarious world of what it means to be a 'new money' black family trying to 'get it right' in a modern world where 'right' is no longer a fixed concept.
Blact Now!When They See Us (Ava DuVernay)
DocumentaryFive teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park.
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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.
Blact Now!The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.)
MovieStarr witnesses the fatal shooting of her best friend. Now, facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what's right.
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Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds: the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what's right. THE HATE U GIVE is based on the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller by Angie Thomas and stars Amandla Stenberg as Starr, with Russell Hornsby, Regina Hall, Common, Anthony Mackie and Issa Rae. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Blact Now!The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
DocumentaryThis documentary tells the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party, one of the 20th century's most alluring and controversial organizations that captivated the world's attention for nearly 50 years.
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This documentary tells the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party, one of the 20th century's most alluring and controversial organizations that captivated the world's attention for nearly 50 years.
Blact Now!Selma (Ava DuVernay)
MovieA 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.
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SELMA is the story of a movement. The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernays SELMA tells the real story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Blact Now!See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol)
MovieTwo Brooklyn teenage prodigies, C.J. Walker and Sebastian Thomas, build makeshift time machines to save C.J.'s brother, Calvin, from being wrongfully killed by a police officer.
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High school best friends and science prodigies C.J. and Sebastian spend every spare minute working on their latest homemade invention: backpacks that enable time travel. But when C.J.'s older brother Calvin dies after an encounter with police officers, the young duo decide to put their unfinished tech to use in a desperate bid to save Calvin. From director Stefon Bristol and producer Spike Lee comes See You Yesterday, a sci-fi adventure grounded in familial love, cultural divides and the universal urge to change the wrongs of the past. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Blact Now!King In The Wilderness
DocumentaryA look at the final years in the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The documentary chronicles the final chapters of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life, revealing a conflicted leader who faced an onslaught of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. While the Black Power movement saw his nonviolence as weakness, and President Lyndon B. Johnson saw his anti-Vietnam War speeches as irresponsible, Dr. King's unyielding belief in peaceful protest became a testing point for a nation on the brink of chaos. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Blact Now!Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton)
MovieWorld-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner.
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A powerful and thought-provoking true story, "Just Mercy" follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds-and the system-stacked against them. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Blact Now!If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)
MovieA young woman embraces her pregnancy while she and her family set out to prove her childhood friend and lover innocent of a crime he didn't commit.
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Set in early-1970s Harlem, If Beale Street Could Talk is a timeless and moving love story of both a couple's unbreakable bond and the African-American family's empowering embrace, as told through the eyes of 19-year-old Tish Rivers (screen newcomer KiKi Layne). A daughter and wife-to-be, Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and her artist fiancé Alonzo Hunt, who goes by the nickname Fonny (Stephan James). Friends since childhood, the devoted couple dream of a future together but their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit. Through the unique intimacy and power of cinema, If Beale Street Could Talk honors the author's prescient words and imagery, charting the emotional currents navigated in an unforgiving and racially biased world as the filmmaker poetically crosses time frames to show how love and humanity endure. (Rotten Tomatoes)
Blact Now!I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin)
DocumentaryWriter James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
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I Am Not Your Negro is a 2016 documentary film directed by Raoul Peck, based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript Remember This House. Narrated by actor Samuel L. Jackson, the film explores the history of racism in the United States through Baldwin's reminiscences of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as his personal observations of American history. (Wikipedia)
Blact Now!Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler)
MovieThe story of Oscar Grant III, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.
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Fruitvale Station is a 2013 American biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It is Coogler's feature directorial debut and is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man who was killed in 2009 by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale district station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in Oakland.The film stars Michael B. Jordan as Oscar Grant with Kevin Durand and Chad Michael Murray playing the two BART police officers involved in Grant's death, although their names were changed for the film. Melonie Diaz, Ahna O'Reilly and Octavia Spencer also star.Fruitvale Station debuted under its original title Fruitvale at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival where it won the award for Best First Film. The film was released in theaters July 12, 2013. (Wikipedia)
Blact Now!Dear White People (Justin Simien)
ShowThe lives of four black students at an Ivy League college.
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Winner of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival's Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent, Dear White People is a sly, provocative satire of race relations in the age of Obama. Writer/director Justin Simien follows a group of African American students as they navigate campus life and racial politics at a predominantly white college in a sharp and funny feature film debut that earned him a spot on Variety's annual "10 Directors to Watch." (Rotten Tomatoes)
Blact Now!Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu)
MovieAs she prepares to execute another inmate, prison warden Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill.
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The death row drama, starring Alfre Woodard as a prison warden coming to terms with the demands of her profession and Aldis Hodge as one of her inmates bound for execution, ably examines every facet of such relationships, unearthing both a finely-tuned pair of character studies and a wider look at the flaws of the penal system in the process. (indiewire.com)
Blact Now!Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975
MovieThe Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 looks at the people, society, culture, and style that fuelled an era of convulsive change.
Brief
With contemporary audio interviews from leading African American artists, activists, musicians and scholars, The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 looks at the people, society, culture, and style that fuelled an era of convulsive change. Utilizing an innovative format that riffs on the popular 1970s mixtape format, Mixtape is a cinematic and musical journey into the black communities of America.At the end of the '60s and into the early '70s, Swedish interest in the U.S. civil rights movement and the U.S. anti-war movement peaked. With a combination of commitment and naiveté, Swedish filmmakers traveled across the Atlantic to explore the Black Power movement, which was being alternately ignored or portrayed in the U.S. media as a violent, nascent terrorist movement.Despite the obstacles they encountered, both from the conservative white American power establishment and from radicalized movement members themselves, the Swedish filmmakers stayed committed to their investigation, and ultimately formed bonds with key figures in the movement. (pbs.org)
Blact Now!American Son (Kenny Leon)
MovieAn estranged couple reunite in a Florida police station to help find their missing teenage son.
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American Son is an American drama film directed by Kenny Leon and starring Kerry Washington, Steven Pasquale, Jeremy Jordan and Eugene Lee. The film is based on the Broadway play of the same name. Its writer, Christopher Demos-Brown, also wrote the screenplay. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2019, and was released on Netflix on November 1, 2019. (Wikipedia)
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