Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning TV miniseries Roots premiered on ABC in 1977. The film, which focused on Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) being taken from Gambia, West Africa and sold into slavery in America, was based on Alex Haley’s novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family.
BET is shining a light on a little known piece of Black history with their new miniseries, The Book of Negroes. This 3-part series chronicles the kidnapping of an African woman who would go on to free thousands of slaves during the Revolutionary War. You can’t miss it.
Set to the hip-hop beats of Questlove and Om’Mas Keith,this documentary reveals how some of today’s most influential Black artists were inspired by the struggle of the Civil Rights movement, proving how we’re all still connected to our past.
Before Ava DuVernay’s Oscar nominated film, there was a TV movie about Bloody Sunday that’s totally worth re-watching. Selma Lord Selma tells the story of the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery through the eyes of an 8-year-old girl (Jurnee Smollett). It’s a classic.
Bill Duke’s premiere documentary about colorism in the Black community helped reveal the history behind our current standards of beauty.
This follow-up to Bill Duke’s acclaimed film, Dark Girls, opened our eyes to the hardships women face on the other end of the color spectrum and is a reminder that Black is beautiful in all shades.
Henry Louis Gates Jr’s award winning six-part series chronicles the African American experienced from the plantation to the White House.
This Disney Channel movie about the American fight against apartheid in South Africa went on to win an Emmy and NAACP Award. It’s humor and drama reminds us that race problems affect everyone, no matter the color of your skin.
What movie would you add to this list?
