Black History Month Binge: 10 Amazon and Netflix Titles Worth Streaming
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It’s impossible to try to pack Black History Month into 28 (or 29 when it’s a leap year) days to celebrate critical Black figures, moments that pushed the movement forward and causes that support and amplify Black voices. However, February is the perfect time to reference historical notables within the Black community that has contributed to the movement and risen past the struggles of being Black in America as well as honor the ways in which Blackness is being expressed and celebrated onscreen.
Here’s a round-up of some amazing shows, movies and documentaries to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix during Black History that shed light on notable names and significant moments throughout history.
1. Becoming (2020)
Becoming is a documentary that was filmed while Michelle Obama was on her 2019 book tour for her memoir of the same name. As one of the most influential African American voices in modern history, Obama has been able to use her platform to accomplish a lot since being the first Black First Lady. In the film, she uses her own story to inspire the younger generation. “If we can open up a little bit more to each other and share our stories, that’s what breaks down barriers,” she says.
2. 13th (2016)
In the groundbreaking Oscar-nominated 2016 documentary 13th, filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores “the intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States.” The film, titled after the 13th amendment of the Constitution which forever abolished slavery as an institution, follows the history of race relations in America, from Jim Crow to the Black Lives Matter movement.
3. Dear White People (2017-2021)
The Netflix original series Dear White People is based on a film of the same name. It focuses on escalating racial tensions through the lens of several Black college students at a fictional Ivy League university. The comedy series touches on issues such as police brutality, sexual politics and microaggressions. Even though the series had its fair share of haters, it still remains one of the most highly-rated shows on Netflix.
4. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
One of the most important writers in American history is James Baldwin. Before his death, Baldwin was working on a memoir that detailed his personal recollections of the lives and deaths of Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, and Malcolm X. Though the manuscript for “Remember This House” was never finished before Baldwin’s death, director Raoul Peck used it as the basis for his 2016 documentary I Am Not Your Negro. The film brings Baldwin’s manuscript to life through a compilation narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.
5. LA ’92 (2017)
Made 25 years after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the Emmy-winning documentary LA ’92 looks at the events surrounding the six-day uprising that occurred after a jury acquitted four police offers involved in the beating of Rodney King. Viewers will be transported back in time to the turbulent period through stunning and rarely seen archival footage.
6. Loving (2016)
The biographical romance Loving is a great choice for anyone looking for a Black History Month-Valentine’s Day crossover. In 1964, Loving v. Virginia became a landmark civil rights decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. The court overturned the Racial Integrity Act and prohibited race-based restrictions on marriage across the county. The movie follows the couple’s journey from the Virginia countryside all the way to the Supreme Court in defense of their love.
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7. Red Tails (2012)
Red Tails starring Academy Award Winner Cuba Gooding Jr. and Academy Award Nominee Terrence Howard tells the story of the real-life adventures of the first African-American combat unit to serve in World War II. As the war takes its toll on Allied forces in Europe, a squadron of black pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen are finally given a chance to prove themselves in the sky and fight the Nazis as they experience racism back on the ground.
8. Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (2020)
Self Made is based on entrepreneur and philanthropist Madam C.J. Walker who rose from poverty to build a beauty empire and become the first female self-made millionaire in the U.S. She used her position to advocate for racial justice and help other Black women achieve financial independence. Self Made is as much a testament to Walker’s entrepreneurial spirit as it is a love letter to Black women and the way they’ve revolutionized and challenged the beauty industry for centuries.
9. The Long Walk Home (1990)
The Long Walk Home starring Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek tells the stories of two women and their families at a critical turning point in Montgomery, Alabama during the 1955 bus boycott. The boycott, led by a young local preacher named Martin Luther King Jr., grew into the civil rights movement. This drama proclaims that racial equality cannot be eased into effortlessly and requires the attention of change and commitment.
10. Whose Streets? (2017)
Whose Streets? explores a monumental period in modern Black history ignited by the police killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The documentary is told by the activists who turned their grief into resistance during the Ferguson unrest, propelling the Black Lives Matter movement and a whole new generation of leaders to the forefront.
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