The Best Film and TV to Address Racial Inequality
Changing the current unequal state of Hollywood starts with educating ourselves. On America’s historic oppression. On systemic racism. On what it’s like to be black in America. We have put together a list of films and television shows that address racial inequality, as well as content created by black filmmakers that everyone should watch. This is by no means a comprehensive list, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.
Films:
13th (2016): Scholars, activists, and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom in this documentary. (Available on Netflix)
Beats, Rhymes, & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest (2011): Actor Michael Rapaport chronicles iconic hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest’s rise to fame as well as the tensions that drove them to break up in 1998. (Available on Crackle and to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube)
Black Girl (1966): A Senegalese girl moves to France to work for a wealthy white couple, but they treat her like a slave. This film powerfully depicts the psychology of colonization and interracial relations. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube)
BlacKkKlansman (2018): Based on actual events and the 2014 memoir Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth, this comedy crime film by the legendary Spike Lee follows the first black detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department as he attempts to expose the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. (Available on HBO Max and to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, and Youtube)
Blindspotting (2018): A man with three days left of probation witnesses a police shooting, threatening his friendship with his childhood best friend. This comedy-drama explores race and class in a rapidly-gentrifying neighborhood in Oakland, CA. (Available on Hulu and HBO Max)
Boyz n the Hood (1991): John Singleton’s best-known film, for which he became the youngest person to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. The story follows three young black men growing up in South Central Los Angeles, experiencing the booming gang culture and navigating race, relationships, and violence. (Available on Hulu)
Clemency (2019): A death row prison warden confronts the psychological toll her job has taken on her as the 12th execution approaches. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, and Youtube)
Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? (2017): Filmmaker Travis Wilkerson investigates the 1946 murder of a black man by his white supremacist grandfather. This is a gripping and personal tale. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon)
Do the Right Thing (1989): Another essential Spike Lee film, this comedy-drama was inspired by the police killings of Michael Griffith and Eleanor Bumpurs. It explores racial inequality in a predominantly black community in Brooklyn. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube)
Fruitvale Station (2013): A film based on the story of Oscar Grant. It follows him through his last moments before being shot by a police officer on a subway platform. (Available on Tubi)
Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018): An intimate and poetic portrait of the black community of Hale County, Alabama, this documentary challenges the stereotypical black depiction. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, and Youtube)
I Am Not Your Negro (2016): A documentary based on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript, Remember This House. It explores the history of racism in the U.S. through recollections of various civil rights leaders. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube)
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018): Based on James Baldwin’s novel of the same name, this romantic drama follows a young woman who must clear her fiancé’s name when he is falsely accused of rape. (Available on Hulu)
Just Mercy (2019): Based on a true story and a memoir of the same name, this drama follows Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer fighting racism and inequality in the legal system. He founded the Equal Justice Initiative which provides legal representation to those who are wrongly convicted, lack effective representation, denied a fair trial, and more. (Available for free throughout the month of June on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube).
LA 92 (2017): This documentary chronicles the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the turbulent period that followed the verdict of the Rodney King trial when police officers were acquitted for beating an unarmed black man. (Available on Netflix)
Loving (2016): A biographical story centering around interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving, the plaintiffs in the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube)
Monsters and Men (2018): A man in Brooklyn films a police officer gun down a black man. This sparks racial tension and questions of morality and humanity. (Available on Hulu)
See You Yesterday (2019): Two teenage science prodigies attempt time travel when one of their brothers is killed by a police officer. (Available on Netflix)
Selma (2014): The year is 1965. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads a march from Selma to Montgomery in an effort to secure equal voting rights. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube)
Shaft (1971): An iconic blaxploitation crime film, it follows John Shaft, a suave black detective, who is hired by a crime lord to retrieve his kidnapped daughter. The film explores race, masculinity, sexuality, and the Black Power movement. It was adopted from Ernest Tidyman’s novel of the same name and resulted in several sequels and imitations. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube)
Sorry to Bother You (2018): Comedy meets science fiction meets dystopia in this film about a black telemarketer who code-switches his way into a world of greed and capitalism. Deemed a “social thriller” (a term coined by Jordan Peele, wherein the villain is at the root of society itself), a nod to popular 2017 satirical horror film Get Out. (Available on Hulu)
Strong Island (2017): Director Yance Ford investigates the 1992 murder of his brother. This documentary is a story of family, grief, and injustice. (Available on Netflix)
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015): This documentary tells the story of the Black Panther Party during the 1960s, particularly its cultural and political impact on the black community as well as America as a whole. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Youtube, Google Play, and iTunes)
The Black Power Mixtape: 1967–1975 (2011): This documentary examines the Black Power and anti-war movement in the U.S. from the perspective of Swedish filmmakers. (Available to rent or buy on Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube)
The Color Purple (1985): Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel, this film follows a black Southern woman through domestic abuse, sexism, and racism, as she forms powerful relationships with the women in her life. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and Youtube)
The Hate U Give (2018): This drama follows a black high school student who witnesses the shooting of her childhood best friend by a police officer. Based on Angie Thomas’s novel of the same name. (Available on Hulu)
Queen & Slim (2019): This crime drama follows a black couple on the run after they kill a police officer in self-defense. Let the record show that the soundtrack is stellar. (Available to rent or buy on Amazon, Google Play, and Youtube)
Quest (2017): Filmed over the course of eight years, this documentary explores the life of the Raineys, a black family living in Philadelphia. (Available to rent or buy on iTunes)
TV Shows:
Dear White People (2017–): Based on Justin Simien’s film of the same name, this comedy-drama follows students of color navigating life at a predominantly white institution. (Available on Netflix)
Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story (2018): A six-part documentary series surrounding the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. It re-examines the encounter, the trial, and the outrage it caused across the nation, bringing to light national issues of racial injustice and gun control. (First episode available for free on Paramount Network, other episodes can be accessed by sign-in or 24-hour free trial. Available to buy on Google Play and Youtube)
When They See Us (2019): Based on a true story, this four-episode series explores the lives of five teens from Harlem who are falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. (Available on Netflix)
Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019–): A fictionalized account of the formation of the Wu Tang Clan. (Available on Hulu)
Black-owned Production Studios:
ARRAY — Ava Duvernay
You might know: The Burial of Kojo, They’ve Gotta Have Us, Echo Park
ARRAY is dedicated to supporting independent films by people of color and women filmmakers globally.
Harpo Productions — Oprah Winfrey
You might know: The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, Selma, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Winfrey moved the company from Chicago to West Hollywood in 2011 and launched the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
Monkeypaw Productions — Jordan Peele
You might know: Key & Peele, Get Out, BlacKkKlansman, Us, Candyman
Monkeypaw is committed to telling stories centered around contemporary social issues while championing underrepresented voices.
SpringHill Entertainment — Lebron James and Maverick Carter You might know: The Wall, Do or Dare
SpringHill also worked on the highly anticipated Space Jam sequel, Space Jam: A New Legacy, set for a July 2021 release.
Tyler Perry Studios — Tyler Perry
You might know: the Madea franchise, A Fall from Grace, Acrimony
In 2019, Perry celebrated the grand opening of his new Atlanta studio location. In terms of size, it is the largest film production studio in the United States (here’s a virtual tour, sort of!), and Perry is the first African-American to own a major film studio.
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