Black History Month 2021
by rachaeldlpierce | created - 03 Feb 2021 | updated - 03 Feb 2021 | PublicCelebrating Black Art and Black Stories
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1. The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2013)
TV-PG | Documentary
Professor Gates describes the history of the African American people by talking to historians, authors, and the people who made history.
Stars: Henry Louis Gates Jr., Vincent Brown, Bernard E. Powers Jr., Peniel E. Joseph
Votes: 291
2. Roots (2016)
TV-MA | 388 min | Drama, War
An adaptation of Alex Haley's "Roots." Chronicles the history of an African man and his descendants sold into slavery in America.
Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Malachi Kirby, Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne
Votes: 8,477
3. Harriet (I) (2019)
PG-13 | 125 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes, whose courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
Director: Kasi Lemmons | Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monáe, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn
Votes: 30,747
4. Glory (1989)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 144,558 | Gross: $26.83M
5. Django Unchained (2012)
R | 165 min | Comedy, Drama, Western
With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
Votes: 1,696,869 | Gross: $162.81M
6. Harlem Nights (1989)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
During the 1930s, a New York City illegal gambling house owner and his associates must deal with strong competition, gangsters, and corrupt cops in order to stay in business.
Director: Eddie Murphy | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello
Votes: 24,809 | Gross: $60.86M
7. The Color Purple (1985)
PG-13 | 154 min | Drama
A tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery
Votes: 97,425 | Gross: $98.47M
8. The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Unrated | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.
Director: Cheryl Dunye | Stars: Cheryl Dunye, Guinevere Turner, Valarie Walker, Lisa Marie Bronson
Votes: 3,674
9. 42 (2013)
PG-13 | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie
Votes: 102,783 | Gross: $95.00M
10. Marshall (2017)
PG-13 | 118 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Thurgood Marshall, the crusading lawyer who would become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases.
Director: Reginald Hudlin | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Sterling K. Brown
Votes: 26,833 | Gross: $10.05M
11. King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1969)
185 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Follows Martin Luther King's life and decades-long civil rights activism.
Directors: Sidney Lumet, Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Ben Gazzara, Charlton Heston
Votes: 628
12. Sylvie's Love (2020)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, Music, Romance
When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father's record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.
Director: Eugene Ashe | Stars: Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Eva Longoria, Aja Naomi King
Votes: 6,453
13. Hidden Figures (2016)
PG | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
Director: Theodore Melfi | Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner
Votes: 255,496 | Gross: $169.61M
14. Malcolm X (1992)
PG-13 | 202 min | Biography, Drama, History
Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee
Votes: 102,099 | Gross: $48.17M
15. Selma (2014)
PG-13 | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
A 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.
Director: Ava DuVernay | Stars: David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 95,525 | Gross: $52.08M
16. Freedom Summer (2014)
PG | 113 min | Documentary, History
A look back at the summer of 1964, when more than 700 student activists took segregated Mississippi by storm, registering voters, creating freedom schools and establishing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Director: Stanley Nelson | Stars: Karin Kunstler Goldman, Julian Bond, Peggy Jean Connor, Dudley Connor
Votes: 231
17. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, History
Footage shot by a group of Swedish journalists documenting the Black Power Movement in the United States is edited together by a contemporary Swedish filmmaker.
Director: Göran Hugo Olsson | Stars: Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Abiodun Oyewole
Votes: 2,498 | Gross: $0.26M
18. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
PG-13 | 93 min | Documentary, History
Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X
Votes: 23,519 | Gross: $7.12M
19. Dreamgirls (2006)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
Director: Bill Condon | Stars: Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover
Votes: 77,313 | Gross: $103.37M
20. American Gangster (2007)
R | 157 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin
Votes: 452,802 | Gross: $130.16M
21. Ali (2001)
R | 157 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A biography of sports legend Muhammad Ali, focusing on his triumphs and controversies between 1964 and 1974.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles
Votes: 105,590 | Gross: $58.20M
22. Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019)
PG-13 | 120 min | Documentary
This artful and intimate meditation on the legendary storyteller examines her life, her works and the powerful themes she has confronted throughout her literary career.
Director: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | Stars: Toni Morrison, Hilton Als, Oprah Winfrey, Russell Banks
Votes: 922 | Gross: $0.88M
23. Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed (2004)
Not Rated | 76 min | Documentary
A documentary on Brooklyn-based Congresswoman Shirley's Chisholm's 1972 presidential bid.
Director: Shola Lynch | Stars: Shirley Chisholm, Walter Cronkite, George Wallace, Ralph Abernathy
Votes: 325
24. Amazing Grace (2018)
G | 89 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary presenting Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972.
Directors: Alan Elliott, Sydney Pollack | Stars: Aretha Franklin, James Cleveland, Alexander Hamilton, Cornell Dupree
Votes: 5,154 | Gross: $4.45M
25. Remember the Titans (2000)
PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst
Votes: 232,066 | Gross: $115.65M
26. Just Mercy (2019)
PG-13 | 137 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
World-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner.
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton | Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Charlie Pye Jr.
Votes: 75,809
27. The Black Godfather (2019)
TV-MA | 118 min | Documentary, Biography
Follows the life of Clarence Avant, the ultimate, uncensored mentor and behind-the-scenes rainmaker in music, film, TV and politics.
Director: Reginald Hudlin | Stars: Clarence Avant, Hank Aaron, Gwen Adolph, Dina R. Andrews
Votes: 1,538
28. Paris Is Burning (1990)
R | 78 min | Documentary
A chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.
Director: Jennie Livingston | Stars: Brooke Xtravaganza, André Christian, Dorian Corey, Paris Duprée
Votes: 17,626 | Gross: $3.78M
29. Whitney (2018)
R | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
An in-depth look at the life and music of Whitney Houston.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Whitney Houston, Ellen White, Michael Houston, Cissy Houston
Votes: 7,876 | Gross: $3.03M
30. Do the Right Thing (1989)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson
Votes: 112,509 | Gross: $27.55M
31. Becoming (II) (2020)
PG | 89 min | Documentary, Biography
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.'
Director: Nadia Hallgren | Stars: Elizabeth Alexander, Adrian K. Collins, Valerie Jarrett, Gayle King
Votes: 6,697
32. Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America (2020)
Not Rated | 115 min | Documentary, History
Discover how the advent of the automobile brought new mobility and freedom for African Americans but also exposed them to discrimination and deadly violence, and how that history resonates today.
Directors: Ric Burns, Gretchen Sullivan Sorin | Stars: Gretchen Sullivan Sorin, Fath Davis Ruffins, Allyson Hobbs, Craig Steven Wilder
Votes: 170
33. When They See Us (2019)
TV-MA | 75 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
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.
Stars: Asante Blackk, Caleel Harris, Ethan Herisse, Marquis Rodriguez
Votes: 137,976
34. Love & Basketball (2000)
PG-13 | 124 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
Monica and Quincy love and play basketball together through many life challenges from childhood to adulthood.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Glenndon Chatman, Jess Willard
Votes: 24,340 | Gross: $27.44M
35. Soul Food (1997)
R | 115 min | Comedy, Drama
One person can keep a family together and, when that one person is gone, a family can be torn apart.
Director: George Tillman Jr. | Stars: Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach
Votes: 9,017 | Gross: $43.49M
36. Love Jones (1997)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance
Darius Lovehall is a young black poet in Chicago who starts dating Nina Mosley, a beautiful and talented photographer. While trying to figure out if they've got a "love thing" or are just "... See full summary »
Director: Theodore Witcher | Stars: Larenz Tate, Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Lisa Nicole Carson
Votes: 5,644 | Gross: $12.51M
37. The Last Dance (2020)
TV-MA | 49 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Led by Michael Jordan, the 1990s Chicago Bulls establish themselves as one of the most notable dynasties in sports history.
Stars: Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, David Aldridge
Votes: 152,420
38. Barbershop (2002)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
A day in the life of a South Side Chicago barbershop.
Director: Tim Story | Stars: Ice Cube, Cedric The Entertainer, Eve, Anthony Anderson
Votes: 33,556 | Gross: $75.78M
39. Drumline (2002)
PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A band director recruits a Harlem street drummer to play at a Southern university.
Director: Charles Stone III | Stars: Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana, Orlando Jones, Leonard Roberts
Votes: 36,062 | Gross: $56.40M
40. The Princess and the Frog (2009)
G | 97 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A waitress, desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner, is set on a journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being, but she has to face the same problem after she kisses him.
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker | Stars: Anika Noni Rose, Keith David, Oprah Winfrey, Bruno Campos
Votes: 167,025 | Gross: $104.40M
41. Pariah (I) (2011)
R | 86 min | Drama
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Director: Dee Rees | Stars: Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, Aasha Davis, Pernell Walker
Votes: 7,562 | Gross: $0.76M
42. A Ballerina's Tale (2015)
Unrated | 85 min | Documentary
A feature documentary on African American ballerina Misty Copeland that examines her prodigious rise, her potentially career ending injury alongside themes of race and body image in the elite ballet world.
Director: Nelson George | Stars: Misty Copeland, Deirdre Kelly, Susan Fales-Hill, Leyla Fayyaz
Votes: 712 | Gross: $0.10M
43. Moonlight (I) (2016)
R | 111 min | Drama
A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
Director: Barry Jenkins | Stars: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, Alex R. Hibbert
Votes: 332,076 | Gross: $27.85M
44. Black Panther (2018)
PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
T'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.
Director: Ryan Coogler | Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira
Votes: 838,141 | Gross: $700.06M
45. Burning Cane (2019)
TV-MA | 77 min | Drama
Amongst the cane fields of rural Louisiana, an aging mother struggles between her religious convictions and the love of her son.
Director: Phillip Youmans | Stars: Wendell Pierce, Karen Kaia Livers, Dominique McClellan, Braelyn Kelly
Votes: 674
46. Bad Boys for Life (2020)
R | 124 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett must face off against a mother-and-son pair of drug lords who wreak vengeful havoc on their city.
Directors: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah | Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig
Votes: 175,346 | Gross: $206.31M
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