Black History Month is a time to honor the histories, achievements, and lived experiences of Black individuals and communities. It is important to acknowledge that these stories have been sometimes silenced, and this time of reflection gives us space to engage with the past and present, and recognize Black history as an essential part of our collective history. 

Watching films focused on black history connects scholarship to storytelling, and facts with voices and perspectives that have often been overlooked or marginalized. These documentaries and films from Kanopy and Swank invite their viewers to understand the past and present better, making them an important resource for reflection and continued exploration throughout Black History Month and beyond.

 

I Am Not Your Negro: James Baldwin and Race in America (2016)

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, Remember This House. The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends–Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only thirty completed pages of his manuscript.

Now, in his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.  -Kanopy

I Am Not Your Negro uses James Baldwin’s words to reflect on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. Viewers should watch for its powerful perspective and timely relevance, as the film links the Civil Rights movement to present-day struggles and challenges audiences to think critically about race, representation, and American identity.

 

Paul Robeson: “I’m a Negro. I’m an American.” (1989)

A cinematic homage to the African American singer, actor, civil rights activist Paul Robeson (1898–1976). At the peak of his singing career in the late 1940s, Robeson began to work primarily as a political activist and subsequently had to endure years of discrimination and isolation in his own country during the hysteria of 1950s McCarthyism.

The documentary tells Robeson’s story in non-chronological order, using a compilation of materials: rarely shown historical footage, including from the 1949 Peekskill riots; photographs of the U.S. civil rights movement; speeches; performances and visits to East Germany and the Soviet Union. Interviews with Paul Robeson Jr., Earl Robinson, Pete Seeger and Harry Belafonte give insight into the courageous life of a Renaissance man. Commonly referred as the “voice of the other America,” East German officials used Robeson’s image to bolster GDR solidarity with the U.S. civil rights movement. -Kanopy

This documentary explores the life of Paul Robeson, an acclaimed singer, actor, and civil rights activist. He devoted his life to political activism during the late 1940s. This film examines how Robeson faced discrimination and isolation during the McCarthy era. Viewers should watch to better understand the cost of speaking out for justice and to appreciate Robeson’s lasting impact as a global symbol of resistance.

 

Frantz Fanon, His Life, His Struggle, His Work (2001)

Frantz Fanon, was a psychiatrist, originally from Martinique, who became a spokesman for the Algerian revolution against French colonialism. Embittered by his experience with racism in the French Army, he gravitated to radical politics, Sartrean existentialism and the philosophy of black consciousness known as negritude. The film traces the short and intense life of one of the great thinkers of the 20th century. -Kanopy

This film follows the life of Frantz Fanon, a psychiatrist from Martinique who became a leading voice in the Algerian revolution against French colonial rule. Drawing on his experiences with racism and his engagement with radical politics, this documentary explores how Fanon’s ideas shaped anti-colonial thought. Viewers should watch to gain insight into one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century and to better understand the intellectual roots of global liberation movements.

 

Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask: The Life and Work of Philosopher Frantz Fanon (1995)

This documentary was the first film to explore Frantz Fanon, the pre-eminent theorist of the anti-colonial movements of this century. Fanon’s two major works, Black Skin, White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth, were pioneering studies of the psychological impact of racism on both colonized and colonizer. This innovative film biography restores Fanon to his rightful place at the center of contemporary discussions around post-colonial identity.

Director Isaac Julien integrates the facts of Fanon’s brief but remarkably eventful life with his long and tortuous inner journey. Julien elegantly weaves together interviews with family members and friends, documentary footage, readings from Fanon’s work and dramatizations of crucial moments in Fanon’s life. Cultural critics Stuart Hall and Françoise Verges position Fanon’s work in his own time and draw out its implications for our own. -Kanopy

This documentary offers an in-depth portrait of Frantz Fanon, focusing on how his writing and experiences helped shape modern understandings of racism and identity. The film examines both Fanon’s public work and his inner struggles. Viewers should watch for its thoughtful approach to Fanon’s legacy and for the way it places his ideas at the center of ongoing conversations about post-colonial identity and resistance.

 

Unspoken (2022)

Explores the racial divide in America, through the experiences of one small southern town. A resident filmmaker digs deep into the 1946 Moores Ford Lynching, the last mass lynching in the U.S., and its ongoing impact on the community. The film uncovers buried truths and sheds light on the secrecy that still surrounds this tragic event and the continued pursuit of justice, as well as the ongoing impact of segregation and the integration of schools and society in Monroe, Georgia. -Kanopy

By uncovering long-buried truths and community memories, Unspoken shows how an unresolved act of racial violence continues to shape the town today. Viewers should watch for its powerful exploration of historical silence and the ongoing pursuit of justice.

 

4 Little Girls (1997)

A Spike Lee documentary recalling events that led to a racially motivated 1963 bombing at Birmingham’s 16th Street Church in which four children perished. Included: comments from victims’ relatives; political and civil-rights leaders; and other notables, such as George Wallace and Bill Cosby. -Swank

This film revisits the events leading up to the 1963 bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, a racist attack that killed four young girls, and places the tragedy within the broader struggle for racial justice. Viewers should watch to understand the human cost of racial violence and the pivotal role this moment played in the Civil Rights Movement.

 

 

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Drama centered on the tragic shooting of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Bay Area father who was gunned down by a BART subway officer on New Year’s Day in 2009, and whose murder shocked the nation after being captured on camera by his fellow passengers. -Swank

A dramatization of the final day in the life of Oscar Grant, a young father who was murdered by BART police. By focusing on Grant’s humanity rather than just the tragedy, this film shows the personal impact behind a widely publicized act of violence. Viewers should watch for its emotional storytelling and its powerful reflection on racial injustice in America.

 

 

 

Ella Spandorf is a Graduate Library Preprofessional (GLP) at The Catholic University of America Libraries