We are currently going through a racial revolution where we are all coming together for change. Non-black people want to educate themselves and learn more about the movement and why people are fighting. With American history, they don't teach you about black history, just America's. In elementary school, high school, even college, they'll teach a chapter on the Tran Atlantic Slave Trade and give you the basics over the civil rights movement. Thankfully we have filmmakers and producers that have put out the stories and created films and TV stories so that people can know the real stories, out stories
1) Just Mercy
Just Mercy is based on the true story of Brian Stevenson fighting for justice of Walter McMillian, a man who was on death row for a crime he didn't commit. This story takes place in 1987 in Alabama, the bible belt of racism, and Brian fought tooth and nail for Walter to have a new trial. This kind of injustice is still happening today, and this film will educate you on how the justice system is convicting black men for crimes they never committed. It's free to rent online in June to watch.
2) Selma
The movie is based on the true story of Martin Luther King and his leadership during the civil rights movement, specifically the historic walk across the Montgomery, Alabama bridge. The film shows things that weren't taught in the history books about the movement, including the events that happened, such as Bloody Sunday and the original march in Alabama. It's free to rent for the entire month of June.
3) Fruitvale Station
Fruitvale Station is about the true story of Oscar Grant and his final day of life. The police killed him at Fruitvale Station on New Year's Eve, and it was caught on camera. Michael B Jordan's portrayal showed Oscar Grant as a kind father trying to do the right thing. A story that we've heard too many times when men are gunned down by police because of the color of their skin.
4) When They See Us
The Netflix mini-series by Ava Devaurny tells the story of The Central Park Five, five black and brown teenage boys who were falsely accused and convicted of the sexual assault of a jogger in Central Park. It shows the corruption of the New York Police Department back then, which continues to this day. Their lives and their families' lives were turned upside down, and their innocence took years to be proven. It's triggering and will have you emotional through the hold sitting. It's available to watch on Netflix and is four one-hour long episodes.
5) Hidden Figures
This movie tells of the women behind the US Space Launch Mission. This is another part of history that had been kept out of history books. The black women who were behind getting astronauts into space are finally having their story told here. They worked for NASA while enduring the racism in the 1960s and fought for their seats in the office. Their stories are just as important as the rest of them.
6) The Hate U Give
This movie is based on the book The Hate U Give, about a high school girl who witnesses police kill her childhood friend. The story shows racism as well as what black kids have to go through today growing up where police presence has them fear for their lives. It also shows how the death of an unarmed black man impacts an entire community.
7) Thirteenth
This Ava DuVernay documentary 13TH refers to the 13th amendment to the Constitution, banning treatments of slavery, but it continues to be present in the American prison system. You watch who prisoners are mistreated and are thrown into the rotating prison pipeline. The people in prison were mistreated and held like slaves due to a loophole in the amendment. This is available to watch on Netflix right now.
8) The Death and Life of Marsha P Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson was one of the icons of the gay rights movement in the 1960s in New York and was the first to throw a brick at the stonewall riots. She was murdered, and her killer has never been found to this day. Show fought for the LGBTQ community to have equal rights, and her actions let to the progression that has been made today.
9) Time: The Kalief Browder Story
This documentary series is about a 16-year-old student from the Bronx who spent three years on Rikers Island without ever being out of solitary confinement. He was falsely accused and endured unimaginable treatment in the prison system, and that trauma led to him committing suicide after being released. This exposes how the justice system works against black people and how it will try to mentally and physically destroy you.
10) Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story
Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story shows the timeline following the death of Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman. His death sparked the beginning of the Black Lives Matter Movement in America and the fight for change in the justice system. Many of us are old enough to remember this case. We were teenagers when this happened, and now we're adults, and we still see this happen. The six-part docu-series is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
