We’re more than halfway through Black History Month, but it’s not too late to start engaging with Black media and culture. This celebration was created in 1925 by historian Carter G. Woodson and his organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), and was originally named Negro History Week. After spreading across America throughout the 20th century, Negro History Week was expanded into Black History Month in 1976. To learn more about the history of this celebration, visit BlackHistoryMonth.gov.
American University Media Services is celebrating Black History Month by sharing 35 films (and series) from our collection that center Black stories. Whether you watch these films in February or beyond, these movies are all available on DVD for members of the AU community. Don’t have a DVD player at home? Don’t worry! You can borrow one from the library or view these films right here in one of our many screening rooms.
I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
Director: Raoul Peck
Based on James Baldwin’s manuscript Remember This House and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, this documentary uses Baldwin’s memories of prominent civil rights leaders and personal observations to take a look at the history of racism in the United States.
Belle (2013)
Director: Amma Asante
This period drama is inspired by the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the mixed-race West Indian daughter of a British aristocrat in the 18th century.
Rosewood (1997)
Director: John Singleton
A man rallies the Black residents of Rosewood, Florida to defend themselves from a racist white mob in this film inspired by the 1923 Rosewood massacre.
Within Our Gates (1920)
Director: Oscar Micheaux
The oldest known surviving film made by an African-American director, this silent film tells the story of a Black woman who travels to the North to raise money for a rural school in the Deep South.
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Director: Spike Lee
Loosely based on a memoir by Ron Stallworth, this film depicts Stallworth’s experiences as a Black detective in the 1970s infiltrating and exposing the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
Bessie (2015)
Director: Dee Rees
Starring Queen Latifah as renowned blues singer Bessie Smith, this biopic depicts her journey from a struggling young singer into “The Empress of the Blues.”
Serafina! (1992)
Director: Darrell James Roodt
Students in the Soweto Uprising in South Africa fight against the implementation of Afrikaans as the language of instruction in schools in this musical drama.
Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018)
Director: RaMell Ross
This non-linear documentary follows the daily lives of Black residents of Hale County, Alabama.
Glory (1989)
Director: Edward Zwick
This historical war drama tells the story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the earliest African-American regiments in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
Director: Questlove
Questlove’s independent documentary explores the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival using professional archival footage of the festival, stock news footage, and modern-day interviews.
What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)
Director: Liz Garbus
This biographical documentary chronicles the life of singer and activist Nina Simone.
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Director: Shaka King
Starring Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield, this biographical crime drama depicts the betrayal of Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton by FBI informant William O’Neal.
Blindspotting (2018)
Director: Carlos López Estrada
A parolee with three days left on his sentence witnesses a police shooting and is forced to reexamine a lifelong friendship.
Black Panther (2018)
Director: Ryan Coogler
One of Marvel’s most successful movies, this Afro-futurist superhero film features the conflict between T’Challa, the new king of Wakanda, and Killmonger, an American-born challenger for the throne who wants to use Wakanda’s resources to spark a global revolution.
Get Out (2017)
Director: Jordan Peele
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut follows a Black man who discovers shocking secrets and danger when he meets the family of his white girlfriend.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
Miles Morales, a young Afro-Latino who becomes his universe’s new Spider-Man after the death of Peter Parker, learns what it means to be a hero with the help of other Spider-People from various parallel universes.
Malcolm X (1992)
Director: Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s biopic of Malcom X stars Denzel Washington as the Black activist and leader.
Fences (2016)
Director: Denzel Washington
This film is an adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a working-class father trying to raise his family in 1950s Pittsburgh.
The Color Purple (1985)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this coming-of-age film shows the life of a young girl trying to survive through extreme hardships.
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Director: Steve James
This documentary follows the story of two Black high school students in Chicago hoping to become professional basketball players.
Black Dynamite (2009)
Director: Scott Sanders
In this parody and homage to 1970s blaxploitation films, a former CIA agent called Black Dynamite must avenge his brother’s death while ridding the streets of a new drug.
Blue Collar (1978)
Director: Paul Schrader
This film examines working-class life in the Rust Belt as three Michigan auto workers face mistreatment from both the auto plant management and the corrupt union.
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Director: Carl Franklin
Starring Denzel Washington, this neo-noir follows a World War II veteran in desperate need of a job who gets drawn into a search for a mysterious woman.
Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Director: Boots Riley
A young Black telemarketer is advised to adopt a white accent to do well at his job and is subsequently swept into a corporate conspiracy due to his newfound success.
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Director: Norman Jewison
Sidney Poitier stars as a Black police detective involved in a murder investigation in a small Mississippi town.
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Director: Daniel Petrie
A Black family dreams of a better life in a nicer neighborhood but faces backlash from their new white neighbors.
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)
Director: Spike Lee
This four-part documentary explores the devastation of New Orleans following the failure of the levees during Hurricane Katrina.
Moonlight (2016)
Director: Barry Jenkins
This coming-of-age film shows the main character in three stages of his life: childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood.
The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Director: Cheryl Dunye
A Black lesbian working a day job at a video storetries to make a film about Fae Richards, a Black actress from the 1930s known for playing stereotypical “mammy” roles.
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Director: Barry Jenkins
A young woman tries to clear her lover’s name of a crime he didn’t commit before their baby is born.
Small Axe (TV Mini Series 2020)
Created by: Steve McQueen
This British anthology film series tells the stories of West Indian immigrants in London from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement (TV Documentary 1987–1990)
Created by: PBS
This multi-part documentary about the civil rights movement spans topics from Brown v. Board of Education to the Selma to Montgomery marches.
Atlanta (TV Series 2016–2022)
Created by: Donald Glover
This comedy-drama series created by and starring Donald Glover follows a college dropout turned music manager and a rapper as they explore the Atlanta hip hop scene.
Insecure (TV Series 2016–2021)
Created by: Issa Rae
Based on Issa Rae’s web series Awkward Black Girl, this comedy-drama series follows an awkward Black woman navigating daily life in South Los Angeles.
Queen Sugar (TV Series 2016–2022)
Created by: Ava DuVernay
Three siblings deal with the aftermath of their father’s sudden death and must decide what to do with his 800-acre sugarcane farm in rural Louisiana.
Looking for more films and TV series by, about, and/or starring African Americans? Check out Media Services’ African American Cinema and TV collection. All movies and shows listed there are available on DVD for members of the AU community to check out. Happy Black History Month!