As a film lover, one of my favorite ways to celebrate the culture is with a movie where the history is property told and our dynamic and diversity is appreciated. To kick off Black History Month – even though I celebrate all the time – I came up with this list of the films about the fight for freedom during the Civil Rights Movement that resonates with me the most.
- Selma (2014)
The story travels back in time to the infamous 1965 march, organized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to peacefully protest in favor of equal voting rights. The inspiring film, starring David Oyelow as Dr. King, recounts the violence that opened America’s eyes and ultimately led to President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. “Selma” was directed by none other than, the renowned teller of black stories herself, Ms. Ava DuVernay. After its release on Christmas Day in 2014, the film went on to win four NAACP Image Awards, the BET Award for Best Movie, and more.
2. Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
This 2013 historical drama is inspired by Will Haygood’s Washington Post article, “A Butler Well Served by This Election.” Cecil Gaines arrives in Washington, D.C as a young Southern man when he is hired to serve as a butler in the White House. The story follows Cecil, played by Forest Whitaker, through 30 years of servitude as he acts as a trusted member of each administration that is elected. Although he is a valuable asset to the Oval Office, Cecil’s loyalty causes problems at home with his wife and anti-government son. Cecil begins his tenure with the Eisenhower administration and ends at the onset of the Obama administration. Lee Daniels takes the audience through the progression of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of one former slave-turned-American-Hero with a front-row seat to America’s politics. The powerful film features heavy hitters like Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding Jr., Mariah Carey, and the late Robin Williams. The cast and crew took home two NAACP Image Awards in 2014.
3. Loving (2016)
Loving v. Virginia was the groundbreaking 1967 Supreme Court decision to legalize interracial marriage between black and white people in the South, specifically in the state of Virginia. This story is the struggle of Mildred, a black woman, and Richard, a white man, Loving’s relationship. Because it was illegal for the pair to marry in their home state of Virginia, they traveled to Washington, D.C. to tie the knot once Mildred discovered she was pregnant. Virginia law enforcement quickly caught wind of their nuptials, arrested them, and banned them from Virginia. The Lovings were put on trial for their allegedly illegal union but refused to give up on being free to love in the state that they called home. Their fight took the case all the way to the Supreme Court, where judges voted unanimously to expel the last laws that allowed segregation in the U.S. Director Jeff Nichols brought “The Loving Story” by Nancy Buirski to life by orchestrating an emotional and the cast. Stars Ruth Negga, Mildred, and Joel Edgerton, Richard, light up the screen as the Loving couple while portraying the passion and strength that it surely took to obtain such a victory in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement from the South.
4. Hairspray (2007)
Originally released in 1988 and directed by film mogul John Waters, this musical dramedy follows overweight and bubbly teen, Tracy Turnblad. Tracy fulfills her dream of auditioning for the Corny Collins Show, a popular daytime television show in her home city of Baltimore. She shatters the status quo of being thin and glamorous on TV, irritating some of her new cast members. Once a month, the Corny Collins Show hosts ‘Negro Day’ in which black cast performs songs, dances, and skits to the show’s regular audience. After meeting these black cast members, Tracy begins to advocate for more ‘Negro Days,’ and eventually for a desegregated cast. She acts as an ally to her new friends, landing her in trouble with her white counterparts. In the midst of her fight for desegregation on the air, Tracy goes through the motions of any other teenager with her best friend Penny, boytoy Link, two overbearing but extremely loving parents, and nemesis, Amber. The 2007 and 2008 the movie won two Critics’ Choice Awards, a People’s Choice Award, and Teen Choice Award Summer Movie: Comedy.
5. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
In 1967 a group of Swedish journalists traveled to the United States following stories of civil unrest and revolution in black communities. The team gained access to forces in the Black Power movement. This documentary includes raw and real interviews with Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, Eldridge Cleaver, Bobby Seele, and more. The foreign filmmakers captured leaders in some of their most vulnerable moments ever seen on camera. The 30-year-old film was discovered after being abandoned at the Swedish Television headquarters. Among nine sections to represent each year of footage, the story covers a number of pertinent topics of the Black Power movement including the Vietnam War, the War on Drugs, and the Black Panther Party. Director Göran Olsson creatively took viewers on a backseat drive through the 60s and 70s most impactful moments regarding such influential black leaders. Hearing directly from figures like Davis, Carmichael, and more breathes life into a moment in time that should never be forgotten by the black community and America as a whole.
Film is a necessary part of any culture to document history, then be enjoyed and understood by future generations. This month, I appreciate these movies, alongside many others, that have documented black history to encourage change.