Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "african-american-history"
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1. The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Unrated | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.
Director: Cheryl Dunye | Stars: Cheryl Dunye, Guinevere Turner, Valarie Walker, Lisa Marie Bronson
Votes: 3,691
2. Bamboozled (2000)
R | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A frustrated African-American TV writer proposes a blackface minstrel show in protest, but to his chagrin, it becomes a hit.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael Rapaport
Votes: 12,362 | Gross: $2.27M
3. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
PG-13 | 93 min | Documentary, History
Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X
Votes: 23,537 | Gross: $7.12M
4. Muhammad Ali (2021)
445 min | Documentary, Biography, History
An in-depth look at the life of boxer, Muhammad Ali, including his years as an activist and philanthropist.
Stars: Gerald Early, Todd Boyd, Salim Muwakkil, Jerry Izenberg
Votes: 1,376
5. The Green Book: Guide to Freedom (2019 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary, History
A deeper look into the real story of Victor H. Green's "The Negro Motorist Green Book" during the Jim Crow era and beyond.
Director: Yoruba Richen | Stars: Yoruba Richen, Marquette Folley, Karen Allen Baxter, Jennifer Ivey
Votes: 1,034
6. Disco: Soundtrack of A Revolution (2023)
Documentary, History, Music
From the sweaty basement bars of 70s New York to the glittering peak of the global charts, how disco conquered the world - its origins, its triumphs, its fall and its legacy.
Stars: David Depino, Nicky Siano, Ana Matronic, Allen Roskoff
Votes: 59
7. Black Wall Street Burning (2020)
R | 78 min | Drama
This film is a retelling of the worst act of American terrorism and racism in American History. The Tulsa race massacre of 1921, when mobs of white residents rampaged. attacked, and murdered black residents of the Greenwood District.
Directors: Marcus Brown, Notis Studios | Stars: Dan Belcher, Rhonda Blake, Faith Bloomer, Marcus Brown
Votes: 79 | Gross: $0.04M
8. Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre (2021 TV Movie)
Approved | 59 min | Documentary, Crime, History
It will focus on a specific period, from the birth of Black Wall Street to its downfall over the course of two bloody days, and finally the fallout and reconstruction.
Directors: Stanley Nelson, Marco Williams | Stars: Chris Okawa, Michele Mitchell, Robert R.A. Turner, James Hirsch
Votes: 232
9. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004)
TV-PG | 214 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
The story of Jack Johnson, the first African-American Heavyweight boxing champion.
Director: Ken Burns | Stars: Jack Johnson, Keith David, Samuel L. Jackson, Adam Arkin
Votes: 1,692
10. Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street (2021)
TV-Y | 98 min | Documentary
A documentary celebrating the Black cultural renaissance that existed in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, OK, and investigates the 100-year-old race massacre that left an indelible, though hidden stain on American history.
Director: Salima Koroma | Stars: Alicia Odewale, Hannibal Johnson, Kary Stacklebeck, Chief Egunwale Amusan
Votes: 199
11. Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali (2021)
PG-13 | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, History
From a chance meeting to a tragic fallout, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali's extraordinary bond cracks under the weight of distrust and shifting ideals.
Director: Marcus A. Clarke | Stars: Ilyasah Shabazz, Rahman Ali, Cornel West, Todd Boyd
Votes: 1,210
12. A Huey P. Newton Story (2001 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 86 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
The story of how the radical Huey P. Newton developed the Black Panther Party based on his 10-point program for social reform.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Roger Guenveur Smith, Rahum Brown, Brenda Lee, Georgina Ransley
Votes: 853
13. Lawman (2017)
Not Rated | 13 min | Short, Western
Based on True Events. 1875, Indian Territory. Bass Reeves, the first African-American deputy arrests an outlaw and brings him toward encampment. A battle of wills arises between them as the outlaw tries to escape.
Director: Matthew Gentile | Stars: Tory Kittles, Lance Reddick, Erica Tazel
Votes: 36
14. Fly
Action, Drama, Romance | Announced
In 2009 Atlanta, four young African American women, a Latina executive and a Caucasian heiress work for an airline at the world's busiest airport while confronting personal and professional challenges.
Stars: Bruce Boxleitner, Tatyana Ali, Glynn Turman, Dan Lauria
15. The Language You Cry In (1998)
Not Rated | 53 min | Documentary, History
THE LANGUAGE YOU CRY IN tells an amazing scholarly detective story that searches for, and finds meaningful links between African Americans and their ancestral past. It bridges hundreds of ... See full summary »
Directors: Angel Serrano, Alvaro Toepke | Star: Vertamae Grosvenor
Votes: 33
16. Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking (2021)
80 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A look at the life and work of Oscar Micheaux, a pioneer of the African-American film industry.
Director: Francesco Zippel | Stars: Gian Luca Farinelli, Chuck D, Amma Asante, Kwame Kwei-Armah
Votes: 204
17. Black Confederates (2002)
75 min | Documentary, History, War
One of the unspoken aspects of the American Civil War is the story of the African-Americans who fought for the Confederacy during those four years that tore the country apart. In their grey... See full synopsis »
Director: Stan Armstrong | Stars: Harold Ford, Steve McIntyre, Authur Webb
18. Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston (2019 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. Eight years later, he died but friends questioned the cause of his death.
Director: Simon George | Stars: Nigel Collins, Helen-Jean Long, Jerry Izenberg, Mike Tyson
Votes: 427
19. The Legend: The Bessie Coleman Story (2018)
108 min | Documentary
In 1921, aviation pioneer Bessie Coleman arose from the poverty of the Texas cotton fields to capture the hearts of the Black population of America.
Director: Gardner Doolittle | Stars: Aneva Walker, Bessie Coleman
Votes: 41
20. Herbie Hancock Presents Living Jazz (1996 Video Game)
Adventure, Music
Herbie Hancock's interactive tour that follows the evolution of jazz sound from its origins in the red-light district of Storyville, New Orleans in the 1920s to the sound it might have in the future. Hancock performs the music.
Stars: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Billie Holiday
21. Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands (2022)
90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Documentary on Marian Anderson an African American woman, an international singing star in the twentieth century, who succeeded over racial prejudice and became an inspiration for America's civil rights movement.
Director: Rita Coburn | Stars: Eric Carter, Lia Fitzgerald
Votes: 53
22. The Golden Ghosts (2024)
60 min | Western | Completed
In 1852, a lone Black woman trudges along a riverbed watched by two Black men in the trees. They assume she is looking for gold, as they are, but conclude that the important thing is what she and they are fleeing. Slavery.
Director: Mark Oliver | Stars: Ethan Howe, John Welsh, Bobby Milhouse
23. Africobra: Art for the People (2011 TV Movie)
23 min | Documentary
Director: Juan Delcan | Stars: Jeff Donaldson, Jae Jarrell, Wadsworth Jarrell, Napoleon Jones-Henderson
24. Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten (2021)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, History
Deadly assault on the 100th anniversary of the crime in the context of other racial massacres and police killings.
Director: Jonathan Silvers | Stars: Michel Martin, Robert R.A. Turner, DeNeen L. Brown, Betsy Warner
Votes: 83
25. Ships of Slaves: The Middle Passage (1997 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 45 min | Documentary
A documentary narrated by Debbie Allen that chronicles the the plight of African-Americans during the Middle Passages and the Atlantic Slave Trade.
Director: Chris Harty | Stars: Debbie Allen, Jon Erik, Steven Spielberg
Votes: 30
26. Hate Crimes in the Heartland (2015)
Not Rated | 60 min | Documentary, Crime, History
"Hate Crimes in the Heartland," a feature documentary explores the 250,000 hate crimes committed in America each year through the powerful stories of two crimes committed in Tulsa, Oklahoma... See full summary »
Director: Rachel Lyon | Stars: Dewey Bartlett, Warren G. Blakney Sr., Clark Brewster, David Hall
Votes: 70
27. Before They Die! (2008)
92 min | Documentary, Crime, History
This is the story of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, the worst case of domestic terrorism in American history. It is about the few remaining survivors and their fight for justice and ... See full summary »
Directors: Reginald Turner, St. Clair Bourne, Michael Hausfeld, John Rogers, J. Denise Clement | Stars: Franklyn Ajaye, Otis Clark, Olivia Hooker, Charles Ogletree
Votes: 15
28. The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story (2000 TV Movie)
80 min | Documentary
This is a Documentary of the infamous Tulsa Massacre of 1921, locally called "The Tulsa Race Riot." Most of the Black section of town was burned and many Black citizens were murdered by ... See full synopsis »
Director: Michael Wilkerson | Stars: Roscoe Lee Browne, Nell Carter, Bill Cosby, Rocky Frisco
Votes: 40
29. Mo' Funny: Black Comedy in America (1993 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 90 min | Documentary
"Mo' Funny: Black Comedy in America" is a 1993 documentary that traces the cultural humor of African-Americans dating back to the minstrel shows in the early 1900s to the golden age of ... See full summary »
Director: Yvonne Smith | Stars: Steve Allen, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Pearl Bailey, Louise Beavers
Votes: 74
30. Legendary Equestrians: The Story of Edward D. Brown and the First Black Horsemen
Biography, Drama, Family | Announced
The plot revolves around an African American jockey-trainer combo in post-antebellum America along with his apprentices, whose love for horses and a desire to settle into a new world leads them on a journey of a lifetime.
31. Otis' Dream (2020)
15 min | Short, Biography, History
In 1946, when attempting to vote was literally deadly, some among us were willing to do whatever was necessary to vote. This film follows Otis Moss, Sr. through his day long journey to cast... See full summary »
Directors: Jason Gerber, Sarah Blue Winslow Gerber | Stars: Christopher A. Greer, Casey Freund, Tiffany Renee Johnson, Ruth Kaufman
32. Black Wall Street (I)
Biography, Drama | Announced
As the nation is ignited in extreme racism, Negros from across the country seek prosperity in the Promised Land, Tulsa, Oklahoma,
Director: Dennis Delemar | Star: Yasmine Mejia
33. Sammy-Gate (2020)
Biography
A dark political satire about how Sammy Davis, Jr. caused Watergate.
Director: Noel Lawrence | Stars: Richard Beatty, Phil Proctor, Peter Henry Schroeder, Durga McBroom
Votes: 27
34. The Journey of the African-American Athlete (1996 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 119 min | Documentary, Sport
Documentary feature exploring the rise of African-Americans to positions of greatness in American sports. Stories are told of boxers, tennis players, runners, and basketball players, ... See full summary »
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Hank Aaron, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali
Votes: 29
35. The Last to Know (2022)
22 min | Documentary, Short, History
Join 89-year-old community activist, Opal Lee (oft referred to as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth"), as she begins a years-long campaign to make her vision of Juneteenth becoming a federally-recognized holiday a reality.
Director: Erica Stevenson | Star: Opal Lee
36. Why Should You Read Toni Morrison's 'Beloved'? (2021)
5 min | Animation, Short
Director: Héloïse Dorsan Rachet | Star: Christina Greer
37. Tulsa 1921: An American Tragedy (2021 TV Special)
60 min | News
Stars: Gayle King, Danya Bacchus, Garrett Bland, G.T. Bynum
Votes: 23
38. Third and Long: The History of African Americans in Pro Football 1946-1989 (2011)
60 min | Documentary
"Third and Long" explores and celebrates the history, racial struggles, sacrifices and triumphs of African Americans in professional football from 1946 through 1989 when Art Shell was named... See full summary »
Director: Theresa Moore | Stars: Jim Brown, Chuck D, Tony Dungy, Harry Edwards
Votes: 9
39. Through the Flak: War Stories of the Tuskegee Airmen (2019)
51 min | Documentary
Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, 96, and Lt. Col. Harry T. Stewart, 93, two of the last living Tuskegee Airmen, recount their pulse-pounding and often heartbreaking experiences as the first ... See full summary »
Director: Jesse Nesser | Stars: Alexander Jefferson, Harry T. Stewart
40. Claim the Sky: We Shall Overcome
Documentary | Post-production
Director: Isaias Gamboa | Stars: Lenny Kravitz, Oprah Winfrey, Pat Boone, Lee Daniels
41. Forgotten Battle of Fort Pillow and the Birth of the Ku Klux Klan (2000 Video)
Not Rated | 83 min | Documentary, History, War
In 1864 Conferderate General Nathan Bedford Forrest gave orders to his all white army battalion to pursue and kill retreating African American troops from the Union north at Fort Pillow, ... See full summary »
Directors: Stan Armstrong, John Barrett
42. We Are Free Because of Harriet Tubman (2019)
5 min | Short
Director: Nadine M. Patterson | Star: Sonia Sanchez
44. Inside Buffalo (2010)
59 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The historic account of the 92nd Infantry Division, the African American segregated combat unit who fought in World War Two.
Directors: Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, Patrick Jeffrey | Stars: Howard Fletcher, Joe Hairston, James McBride, Joe Stephenson
Votes: 12
45. Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre (2021 Video)
20 min | Short
Director: Andy T. Jones | Stars: January LaVoy, Carole Boston Weatherford
46. Unsung (2020)
36 min | Short, Drama
A modern African American Family enjoys the freedoms for which their ancestors fought and endured and yet still suffer some of the same struggles.
Director: Charlie White | Stars: Joy Johnson Coleman, Lucius Rouser, Kenneth Bell Jr., Jessica Oates
47. Where We Danced: The Story of American Social Dance (2012)
56 min | Documentary
"Where We Danced" is the first in a three-part series that chronicles the evolution of American social dance. It tells the story of America's dance through the lives of the dancers who shaped the art form as well as the places they danced.
Director: Brian Lucky Skillen | Stars: Dawn Hampton, Sonny Allen, Sean Lennon, Lowell Deo
48. Bill Powell: More Than A Game (2014 Video)
Not Rated | 8 min | Documentary, Short, Sport
A short film that tells the story of Bill Powell and his triumph in building Ohio's Clearview Golf Club, the first and only public golf course in America designed, built, owned and operated by an African-American.
Director: Dan Levinson | Stars: Jim Awtrey, Jeff Brown, Mary Lou Crocker, Marvin P. Dawkins
49. America's Untold Journey (2016 TV Movie)
48 min | Documentary
The 500 years of African American History in the Americas involves much more than a history of chattel slavery.
Director: J. Michael Carr | Stars: Jason Alan Carvell, Krystal Arguello, Joe Boles, Mandrin Borrero
50. The Rancho High School Riots (2012 TV Movie)
57 min | Documentary, History
Forty years after the tumultuous season of race riots that spread like wildfire through Rancho High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, the participants on all sides of the cultural divide come ... See full summary »
Director: Stan Armstrong | Stars: Michael Brophy, Dan Crevoisier, Antonio Fargas, Dan Gray