Windows to the Past, Part 2: 10 Docu-Dramas and Books for Black History Month
Editor’s Note: PlanetOIT’s month-long celebration of Black History Month concludes this week with a deep dive into docu-dramas and books that chronicle the people and events that have shaped Black history in the U.S.
Here is a select, suggested list of films inspired by Black history along with where you can find them on popular streaming services.
Selma: David Oyelowo portrays Martin Luther King Jr. in this 2014 film depicting the civil rights leader's historic voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Available on Amazon Prime.
Harriet: Cynthia Erivo helped bring the overdue story of the Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman to the big screen in 2019. Watch it on HBO and Amazon Prime Video.
Bill Russell: Legend: Directed by Sam Pollard, Bill Russell: Legend examines every facet of the 5-time NBA MVP’s life, from his roots in rural Louisiana, to his championship-filled run as a player and coach with the Boston Celtics, to his passing in July of 2022. Available on Netflix.
42: Chadwick Boseman provides a larger-than-life portrayal of Jackie Robinson, the first Black athlete to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era. Available on HBO Max and for rental or purchase on Google Play, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, and Vudu.
African Queens – Queen Njinga: A docu-series about the life and legacy of Njinga, the complex, captivating, and fearless 17th-century warrior queen of Ndongo and Matamba, the territory known in the modern day as Angola. The series premiered on Netflix on Feb. 15.
Glory: A 1989 Civil War historical drama film about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the Union Army's earliest African American regiments to fight in the conflict between the states. It stars Matthew Broderick as Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the regiment's commanding officer, and Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, and Morgan Freeman as fictional members of the 54th. Glory is currently available on Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play Movie, and Redbox.
The Tuskegee Airmen: A compelling war drama chronicling the journey of Black combat pilots in World War II starring Laurence Fishburne, Allen Payne, Cuba Gooding Jr., Andre Braugher, and Courtney B. Vance. Available on HBO and Amazon Prime.
If you’re looking for a good book to curl up with, check out the following readings from noted African American authors.
The 1619 Project: A long-form journalism endeavor developed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, writers from The New York Times, and The New York Times Magazine, which "aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States' national narrative."
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents: A non-fiction book by journalist Isabel Wilkerson that examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.
Hidden Figures: The phenomenal true story by Margot Lee Shetterly of the Black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space and the basis for the Academy Award-nominated film streaming on Disney Plus and Hulu.