from the publishers of: Verywell, Real Simple, EatingWell, Shape, Parents, Health and Allrecipes
If you log in to Netflix this month, you’ll find a Black History Month tab under genres. Building off a Black Lives Matter collection they curated in June 2020, you’ll now find several categories to celebrate and educate this February. Included in the genre tab are collections from black directors (“Black Behind the Camera”), historical fiction and documentaries (“Black History Is American History”), and others.
We recommend starting with these Netflix documentaries, films and TV series, that are part of Netflix’s original Black Lives Matter collection. And for the younger people in your household Netflix has a “Black Stories for Kids” section just for them.
Spike Lee’s most recent (and very timely) release tells a side of the Vietnam story that’s rarely brought to light. The drama cleverly interweaves hard-hitting emotions with social commentary as it explores the mindset of black soldiers who fought for their country at a time when African Americans were being oppressed at home.
Ava DuVernay holds nothing back in this eye-opening documentary—her brutally honest portrayal of the disproportionate placement of African Americans in prison speaks volumes on the institutionalized racism that looms over America.
If you want to see a telling repeat of historical protest, watch LA 92. The documentary showcases the aftermath following the verdict in the Rodney King trial in 1992, when the acquittal of four police officers for beating a black motorist saw several days of protests, violence and civil unrest in Los Angeles.
This Netflix original documentary chronicles the life (and suspicious death) of iconic LGBTQ rights activist Marsha P. Johnson, who was a pioneer of the gay liberation movement and held a leading role in the 1969 Stonewall Riots.
Based on a true story, this story takes place in 1989 when a jogger was assaulted and raped in New York’s Central Park. Five teens from Harlem are falsely accused of the crime, and although they declared their innocence, the quintet spends a quarter of a century fighting the convictions against them—starting from when the teens were first questioned about the incident in the spring of 1989, all the way to their ultimate exoneration in 2002 and settlement with New York City in 2014.
Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning film is rightfully acclaimed: it tells the story of Chiron, a young black man growing up in Miami, and his tumultuous journey into manhood as he struggles with his sexuality and alienation. The film is divided into three chapters—“Little,” “Chiron” and “Black”—the three names used to refer to the evolving protagonist.
While the setting of this historical drama takes place in a rural Mississippi farm in post-World War II America, sadly it contains themes of race and class that are still very much prevalent in today’s society. It centers around two World War II veterans—one white, one black—who return to their farmland homes in the Mississippi Delta where stateside racism and white supremacists challenge their respective lifestyles.
While the series, based on the 2014 film of the same name, is categorized as a comedy-drama, it focuses on some very serious issues, primarily the escalating racial tensions at a predominantly white Ivy League college from the perspective of several black students.
Based on a true story, this Netflix series revolves around the inspirational life of Madam C.J. Walker, an African American washerwoman who rose from poverty to build a beauty empire and become the first female self-made millionaire.
The three-part documentary series explores the complicated conversation surrounding black British creatives finding success in Hollywood. It features over three generations of in-depth interviews with a slew of Hollywood’s most iconic voices, including Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll, John Singleton, Robert Townsend, David Oyelowo, John Boyega, Kasi Lemmons, Barry Jenkins and more.
