Although short, February is a month-long celebration of Black History. The struggles and triumph are all acknowledged. There are a few ways you can learn more about black history: watching movies, listening to music, even listening to your friends and their experiences. Below are five movies to watch, highlighting different time periods and things to learn from.
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO – Directed by Raoul Peck
This documentary was based on James Baldwin, a novelist and activist, and his unfinished book which highlighted the lives of his friends Malcom X, Martin Luther King, and Medgar Evers (all activists with different ways of carrying out their acts of activism). This documentary was very inspirational, but also very sad because it also mentions the assassinations of all three and how the fight for black people to be seen as equal , has never stopped.
12 YEARS A SLAVE – Directed by Steve McQueen
Twelve Years a Slave is a movie that will reel you in. Showing images of what slavery was like, and how much struggle people had to go through before slavery was seen as a negative thing in America. We see what it was like through the eyes of a man named Solomon Northup who goes through a tough life before meeting people who change it for the better.
HIDDEN FIGURES – Directed by Theodore Melfi
Hidden Figures highlights how black people, especially black women, are not given credit for the most important things known to man. Hidden Figures covers the life of three women: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. These women were the human calculators for NASA who helped send the first American into orbit. This movie highlights the struggle these women went through: being segregated from their white counterparts, not being recognized by the American public, and more. This movie is a must watch!
JUST MERCY – Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
Just Mercy is a movie that highlights one of the many struggles black people face within the legal system. Being falsely accused and sent on death row. This is based on a true story about attorney Bryan Stevenson, who helps a man who was put on death row for many years. He did not have a proper trial, and was sentenced to death with no evidence to support that he actually committed a crime. This happens way too often, and this movie shines a light on a system that proves again and again that their version of justice sometimes comes at the expense of black lives.
WHEN THEY SEE US (SERIES) – Directed by Ava DuVernay
This series was based on a true story. Following the lives of four teenagers who were in Central Park at the time that a female had been attacked, who had been arrested and charged with attempted murder. The fifth teenager was not at the park, but went to the police station with his friend for support. This story shows how the NYPD and prosecutors used illegal and unethical tactics to form a story against these five teenagers, which never matched up to the actual events of that day and no strong evidence. Until someone came clean about their crime, these teenagers’ lives were ruined inside and outside of jail. This series will require tissues, but be prepared to have an open conversation with yourself and others on how the media and even bias within yourself contribute to the continued oppression of black people in America.