10 documentaries and films that tackle racial inequality
- 1/11
10 documentaries and films that tackle racial inequality
After the tragic death of African-American man George Floyd in police custody in the US last month, protests quickly sprung up in America and around the world to highlight the racism, inequality and police brutality many Black people face on a daily basis.
Many white allies of Black people are wondering what they can do. A good place to start is acknowledging privilege and educating ourselves about racism and inequality.
We've already collated a list of the best books that do just that, and now we've compiled a list of the best documentaries, films and TV shows that have been recommended to us by our Black colleagues and friends.
From Hollywood blockbusters Selma and Malcolm X, to hard-hitting Netflix documentaries The 13TH and When They See Us, and Prime Video book adaptions The Hate U Give and I Am Not Your Negro, consider this your comprehensive watch list for the next few weeks.
- 2/11
1) 13TH
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, and how the Thirteenth Amendment led to an epidemic of mass incarceration in the United States.
The shocking documentary focuses on the disproportionate amount of Black people filling the nation's prisons, revealing that one in three Black men are expected to be locked up at one point in their lives.
The film follows the harsh sentencing laws brought in by presidents Nixon, Reagan and Kennedy, often narrated by prominent figures in Black history like activists Angela Davis, Cory Booker and Michelle Alexander, as well as highlighting footage of repeatedly violent arrests made by white police officers.
moviemaniacsDE@Youtube - 3/11
2) Dear White People
Based on the acclaimed film of the same name, this Netflix series follows a group of students of colour at Winchester University, a predominantly white Ivy League college.
The students are faced with a landscape of cultural bias, social injustice, misguided activism and slippery politics. The series uses irony, self-deprecation, brutal honesty and humour to highlight racial issues that still plague today's 'post-racial' society.
ONE Media@Youtube 
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- 4/11
3) Selma
Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally desegregated the South, discrimination was still rampant in certain areas, making it very difficult for Black people to register to vote.
In 1965, an Alabama city became the battleground in the fight for suffrage. Despite violent opposition, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (played by David Oyelowo) and his followers set about taking part in an epic march from Selma to Montgomery.
Their efforts resulted in President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Movieclips Trailers@Youtube - 5/11
4) When They See Us
Another hard-hitting series from filmmaker Ava DuVernay, following the lives of five young Black men, who are falsely accused of a violent sexual assault on a female jogger in New York's Central Park in 1989.
The five, nicknamed the 'Central Park Five', maintained their innocence and spent years fighting the convictions, hoping to have them overturned.
The four-part series spans the 25 years that follow, from when they are first questioned as teenagers about the incident, going through to their exoneration in 2002 and ultimately the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.
A harrowing watch, even more so as it's based on a true story.
KinoCheck International@Youtube - 6/11
5) Malcolm X
Filmmaker Spike Lee's tribute to black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation, Malcolm X.
Played by Denzel Washington, he hits rock bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s. He then becomes a Black Muslim and a leader in the Nation of Islam.
His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.
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- 7/11
6) The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
After finding a 16mm roll of film in the basement of a TV station, shot by Swedish filmmakers 30 years ago, filmmakers have turned a collage of images, music, and narration that chronicle the evolution of one of our America's most most notable turning points, the Black Power movement, into this powerful documentary.
Featuring candid interviews with the movement's most revolutionary minds, including Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Stokely Carmichael, and Kathleen Cleaver, the film explores the community, people and radical ideas of the movement.
Movieclips Trailers@Youtube - 8/11
7) The Hate U Give
Starr Carter, an African-American teenager, faces pressure from various communities and tries to stand up for what is right after she witnesses the shooting of her best friend by the police.
Praised by critics as 'a sophisticated adaptation of a hugely important book that adeptly handles its daunting themes, and provides a platform for a star-making performance from Amandla Stenberg'.
WATCH ON NOW TV HERE20th Century Studios@Youtube - 9/11
8) I Am Not Your Negro
Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions James Baldwin's book, Remember This House, as a documentary on screen - after the author died having only complete 30 pages of his manuscript.
The story is a revolutionary personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of Baldwin's close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr, resulting in a journey into Black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter.
Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing@Youtube Yahoo News is better in the app
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- 10/11
9) Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland
Black Lives Matter civil rights activist Sandra Bland was stopped by police in 2015 during a traffic check, three days later she was allegedly found dead in police custody.
The documentary, directed by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, is a behind-the-scenes examination of what really happened in that police cell in Waller County, Texas.
HBO@Youtube - 11/11
10) The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Filmmaker Stanley Nelson examines the rise of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defence, which sought to transform a system of racial oppression in the 1960s.
The film combines archival footage and interviews with surviving Panthers and FBI agents to tell the story of the revolutionary black organisation Black Panther Party, and its impact on civil rights and American culture.
PBS@Youtube
The first step to being an ally is educating yourself
