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29 Classic Movies To Watch In Honor Of Black History Month

From 'The Color Purple' to '13th,' these are required viewing.
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By 

Senior Culture Writer, HuffPost

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"The Color Purple"
John R Shannon via Warner Bros Pictures/Photofest Warner Bros Pictures

It’s Black History Month , which means there’s really no better time to see a great film that captures the diverse narratives of black people. In theaters, movies like “Hidden Figures,” “Loving,” and “Fences” are telling little-known stories that focus on black lives.

But if you’re in the mood to watch something compelling and enlightening about the black experience right now, below are 29 feature films and documentaries to check out. Spanning everything from a portrait of Barack Obama in his youth to the rise of the Black Power movement in the 1960s, these films are sure broaden your black film vocabulary: 

1
"The Loving Story"
This moving 2011 documentary tells the real story of Richard and Mildred Loving, the interracial couple who went on a legal crusade in 1958 to secure the right to be married to each other. Their legal battle resulted in the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia, which made interracial marriage legal across the United States.

Streaming On: Netflix
2
"The Art of Rap"
Common, Nas, Ice-T, KRS-One and Kanye West are amongs some of the hip-hop heavy weights who appear in this documentary that chronicles not only the history, but the underrated artistry behind rap music.

Stream it on: Netflix
3
"Fruitvale Station"
Ryan Coogler's powerful directorial debut tells the true story of the last day in the life of Oscar Grant. Grant, played by Michael B. Jordan, was a 22-year-old black man who was shot and killed by Bay Area police in 2008 in a shocking display of brutality that went viral on YouTube.

Stream it on: Netflix
4
"Mama Africa"
In her decades-spanning career, Miriam Makeba became not only the most popular African singer in the world, but also the voice of the South African battle against apartheid. This comprehensive biographical documentary chronicles her humble beginnings, her artistry, her activism, and her subsequent exile from South Africa.

Stream it on: Netflix
5
"Tangerine"
Shot entirely on an iPhone 5s, "Tangerine" is one of the most important films exploring the black experience to come out in the last 20 years. The film focuses on two black trans woman sex workers as they navigate their complicated friendship and the everyday realities of survival.

Stream it on: Netflix
6
"The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975"
This stellar documentary consists of rare footage of people who were on the ground and active during the height of the Black Power movement. Based entirely from archives from Swedish filmmakers in the '60s and '70s, the film offers a unique glimpse into a seminal era in black history.

Stream it on: Netflix
7
"Barry"
"Barry" is one of two drama films (of what will surely be many) that take a glimpse at the life of a younger Barack Obama, the man who would one day become the first black president of the United States. Set during his days at Columbia, before he met Michelle Obama, the film is an exploration of young Barry coming to terms with his race and identity.

Stream it on: Netflix
8
"13th"
No black history movie list would be complete without Ava DuVernay's most recent film, "13th." The captivating documentary outlines how slavery continued in America after the Civil War in the form of criminal punishment, eventually leading us to the crisis of mass incarceration and a fault criminal justice system today.

Stream it on: Netflix
9
"Malcolm X"
While he'll always be remembered for the stellar "Do the Right Thing," "Malcolm X" is in many ways Spike Lee's masterpiece. The sweeping tale featuring an iconic performance by Denzel Washington offered an alternative, comprehensive and deeply compelling narrative of the life of the civil rights hero.

Rent it on: iTunes
10
"What Happened Miss Simone?"
"How can you be an artist and not reflect the times?"

This is just one of the many nuggets of greatness from this look at the life of the complex and brilliant Nina Simone. Through the use of archival footage and interviews with the people who knew her best, the film seeks to unravel the genius that made Simone so unique, and that ultimately destroyed her.

Stream it on: Netflix
11
"Selma"
Ava DuVernay made history with "Selma" in 2014, becoming the first black woman to have her film nominated for "Best Picture" at the Oscars. "Selma" is a portrait piece of Dr. Martin Luther King as he led the march from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights.

Stream it on: Amazon
12
"Pariah"
13
"Belle"
From British director Amma Asante, this period drama tells the real-life story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a mixed-race woman and the daughter of a slave who grew up in the British aristocracy during the height of the slave trade.

Rent it on: Amazon Prime
14
"The Watermelon Woman"
Cheryl Dunye wrote, directed and starred in this charming indie feature from 1996 about a young black lesbian woman navigating life and love as she researches a mysterious black actress credited only as "The Watermelon Woman" in a series of mammy roles from the '30s and '40s.
15
"Glory"
Free black men were conscripted to fight in the Union Army during the Civil War, but as this 1989 period drama shows, not even their willingness to sacrifice their lives for their country was enough to shield them from racism and segregation. Denzel Washington stars in the role that would nab him his first Oscar.

Stream it on: Amazon
16
"What's Love Got To Do With It?"
Everything about this film is simply iconic. Angela Bassett delivers what is possibly her greatest on-screen performance ever in this biography of Tina Turner.

Stream it on: YouTube
17
"Eve's Bayou"
Kasi Lemmons hit it straight out of the park with her 1997 directorial debut starring Lynn Whitfield, Samuel L. Jackson, and a young Jurnee Smollet. It's a Southern Gothic drama about a black family in 1950s New Orleans that is shaken to its core when hidden secrets finally come to light.

Stream it on: Amazon
18
"A Raisin in the Sun"
Starring Ruby Dee and Sidney Poitier, this 1961 adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's iconic play is the definitive screen version. It's a film about one black family's quest for the American Dream -- and what happens when that dream is deferred.

Stream it on: YouTube
19
"Paris is Burning"
This classic 1991 documentary gives a vivid and dynamic (though cursory) glimpse into the gay ballroom culture of the '80s and '90s that was dominated by young queer black and Latino people who used the scene as not only a form of escape, but also survival.

Stream it on: YouTube
20
"The Princess and the Frog"
Though flawed, this 2009 Disney animated film features not only some beautiful artwork and great original songs -- it also has the first African-American Disney princess ever, voiced by the talented Anika Noni-Rose.

Stream it on: YouTube
21
"Crooklyn"
There are so few coming-of-age movies about young black girls, which makes Spike Lee's "Crooklyn" such a vital part of black movie history. Starring Zelda Harris and Alfre Woodard, the film is set in the 1970s and follows the young tomboy Troy (Harris) during her both idyllic and difficult childhood in Brooklyn.

Stream it on: Amazon
22
"Black Girl"
Directed by legendary Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, "Black Girl" (or "Le Noire De...") is a seminal moment in black cinema. Released in 1966, it tells the story of Diouana, a young Senagalese woman who travels to Europe with the hope of a better life -- only to be forced into full-time servitude by her rich French employers.

Stream it on: Amazon
23
"When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts"
This 2012 documentary from Spike Lee presented the first truly in-depth look into the human rights disaster that developed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The mismanagement and disregard of government officials is juxtaposed in stark contrast with the devastation endured by the mostly poor, black residents of New Orleans.

Stream it on: YouTube
24
"Within Our Gates"
Before there was Spike Lee there was Oscar Micheaux, a prolific black director who in the 1920s made a series of seminal "race films" starring all black casts. Tackling the daily horrors of Jim Crow including lynching and rape, "Within Our Gates" is perhaps Micheaux's most important movie. It's a striking cinematic answer to the racist imagery of D.W Griffith's wildly popular "Birth of a Nation" that every film buff should see.

Stream it on: YouTube
25
"The Wiz"
"The Wiz" is the feel-good screen adaptation of Charie Smalls 1975 Broadway musical. Starring Diana Ross and a young Michael Jackson, this movie serves up a "black" version of the classic Wizard of Oz story.

Stream it on: Netflix
26
"Carmen Jones"
Dorothy Dandridge became the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress award at the 1954 Oscars for her role in this epic musical, based on Bizet's tragic opera "Carmen."

Stream it on: YouTube
27
"The Color Purple"
Based on a novel by Alice Walker, starring Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg, there's not much more to say than: This. Is. A. Classic.

Stream it on: YouTube
28
"Purple Rain"
What better way to celebrate black history and the life of music legend Prince than by watching "Purple Rain"? The musical drama features some of Prince's most iconic songs -- and outfits.

Stream it on: YouTube
29
"Hollywood Shuffle"
Representation in Hollywood has been a hot topic for the past several years, but decades ago in 1987, writer-director Robert Townsend made "Hollywood Shuffle." The movie is a hilarious, often poignant satire of life as a black actor in Hollywood, from losing out roles for not being "black enough," to being forced to play the same stereotypical roles over and over.

Stream it on: Amazon

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Before You Go

35 Queens Of Black History Who Deserve Much More Glory
Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005)(01 of35)
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Chisholm broke major barriers when she became the first black congresswoman in 1968. She continued on her political track when she ran for president four years later, making her the first major-party black candidate to run. (credit:New York Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Claudette Colvin (1939-present)(02 of35)
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Several months before Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a bus, Colvin was the first person arrested for resisting bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, at the age of 15. She also served as one of four plaintiffs in the case of Browder v. Gayle, which ruled that Montgomery's segregated bus system was unconstitutional. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Septima Poinsette Clark (1898–1987)(03 of35)
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Clark was an educator and civil rights activist who established citizenship schools that helped many African Americans register to vote. Regarded as a pioneer in grassroots citizenship education, she was active with the NAACP in getting more black teachers hired in the South. (credit:Charlotte Observer via Getty Images)
Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954)(04 of35)
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This women's suffrage activist and journalist was the first president of the National Association of Colored Women and a charter member of the NAACP. She was also one of the first African-American women to be awarded a college degree. (credit:Stock Montage via Getty Images)
Angela Davis (1944-present)(05 of35)
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Davis is a revolutionary American educator. The former Black Panther has fought for race, class and gender equality over the years. Davis authored one of the of the most distinguished books in the field of women's studies called Women, Race & Class. She's also an advocate of prison reform. (credit:Hulton Archive via Getty Images)
Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931)(06 of35)
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Wells helped bring international attention to the horrors of lynching in the South with her investigative journalism. She was also elected as the Secretary of the Colored Press Association in 1889. (credit:Fotosearch via Getty Images)
Kathleen Cleaver (1945-present)(07 of35)
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Kathleen Cleaver is one of the central figures in Black Panther history. She was the first communications secretary for the organization and is currently a law professor at Emory University. She also helped found the Human Rights Research Fund. (credit:Ted Streshinsky Photographic Archive via Getty Images)
Dr. Dorothy Height (1912-2010)(08 of35)
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Dr. Height was regarded by President Barack Obama as "the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement.” She served as the president of the National Council of Negro Women for over two decades and was instrumental in the integration of all YWCA centers in 1946. (credit:The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)(09 of35)
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Wheatley was a former slave who was kidnapped from West Africa and brought to America. She was bought by a Boston family and became their personal servant. With the aid of the family, she learned to read and eventually became one of the first women to publish a book of poetry in 1773. (credit:Stock Montage via Getty Images)
Audre Lorde (1934-1992)(10 of35)
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This Caribbean-American writer and activist was a self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior and poet." She empowered her readers with her moving poetry often tackling the injustices of racism, sexism and homophobia. She's known for her poetry and memoirs such as, From a Land Where Other People Live,The Black Unicorn and A Burst of Light. (credit:Robert Alexander via Getty Images)
Flo Kennedy (1916-2000)(11 of35)
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Kennedy was a founding member of the National Organization of Women and one of the first black female lawyers to graduate from Columbia Law School. She helped found the Feminist Party in 1971, which later nominated Representative Shirley Chisholm for president. (credit:Duane Howell via Getty Images)
Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992)(12 of35)
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Johnson was an outspoken and fearless trans woman who played a vital part in the fight for civil rights for the LGBT community in New York. She was known as the patron at Stonewall Inn who initiated resistance on the night the police raided the bar. (credit:Wikimedia Commons)
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883)(13 of35)
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Born Isabella Baumfree, she escaped slavery with her infant daughter and changed her name to Sojourner Truth. She's best known for her speech delivered at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851 titled "Ain't I A Woman?" (credit:MPI via Getty Images)
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977)(14 of35)
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Hamer was a civil rights activist and organizer of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Fannie Lou Hamer. She helped blacks register to vote and co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. (credit:Afro Newspaper/Gado via Getty Images)
Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955)(15 of35)
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Dr. Bethune was an educator and civil rights activist who believed education was the key to racial advancement. She served as the president of the National Association of Colored Women and founded the National Council of Negro Women. She was also the president and founder of Bethune-Cookman College in Florida. (credit:Chicago History Museum via Getty Images)
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000)(16 of35)
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This poet was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for her 1949 book titled Annie Allen. (credit:Robert Abbott Sengstacke via Getty Images)
Bessie Coleman (1892-1926)(17 of35)
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Coleman became the first black woman to earn a pilot's license and the first black woman to stage a public flight in the United States. She specialized in stunt flying and parachuting and remains a pioneer for women in aviation. (credit:Fotosearch via Getty Images)
Lena Horne (1917-2010)(18 of35)
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Horne was a popular actress and singer who was most known for her performances in the films "Stormy Weather" and "The Wiz." She worked closely with civil rights groups and refused to play roles that stereotyped black women. (credit:Gilles Petard via Getty Images)
Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994)(19 of35)
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Nicknamed "the black gazelle," Rudolph was born premature and was stricken with polio as a child. Though her doctor said she would never be able to walk without her brace, she went on to become a track star. She became the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympics in 1960. (credit:STAFF via Getty Images)
Billie Holiday (1915-1959)(20 of35)
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Holiday was an extremely influential jazz vocalist who was known for her "distinctive phrasing and expressive, sometimes melancholy voice." Two of her most famous songs are "God Bless the Child" and "Strange Fruit," a heart-wrenching ballad about blacks being lynched in the South. (credit:Gilles Petard via Getty Images)
Diane Nash (1938-present)(21 of35)
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Nash is a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She was instrumental in organizing the Freedom Rides, which helped desegregate interstate buses in the South. She also planned the Selma Voting Rights Movement in response to the Birmingham 16th Street Church bombing that killed four young girls. (credit:Afro Newspaper/Gado via Getty Images)
Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)(22 of35)
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Hurston was an anthropologist and author of the Harlem Renaissance. Though she didn't receive much recognition for her work while she was alive, her works of fiction, especially Their Eyes Were Watching God, became staples in American literature. (credit:Fotosearch via Getty Images)
Hattie McDaniel (1893-1952)(23 of35)
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As an actress, McDaniel appeared in more than 300 films and was the first African American to win an Oscar in 1940. She was also the star of the CBS Radio program, "The Beulah Show." (credit:CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images)
Ruby Bridges (1954-present)(24 of35)
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Ruby Bridges was six years old when she became the first black child to integrate an all-white school in the South. She was escorted to class by her mother and U.S. marshals due to violent mobs outside of the Louisiana school.

Correction: This slide previously misstated that Bridges attended school in Mississippi. (credit:Getty)
Charlayne Hunter-Gault (1942-present)(25 of35)
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Hunter-Gault was the first black woman to enroll at the University of Georgia. She became an award-winning journalist after she graduated and worked for outlets such as the New York Times, PBS and NPR. (credit:Yvonne Hemsey via Getty Images)
Daisy Bates (1914-1999)(26 of35)
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As a civil rights activist and journalist, Bates documented the fight to end segregation in Arkansas. Along with her husband, she ran a weekly black newspaper and became the president of the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP. (credit:Afro Newspaper/Gado via Getty Images)
Dr. Mae Jemison (1956-present)(27 of35)
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Dr. Jemison is the first black woman to be admitted into the astronaut training program and fly into space in 1987. Jemison also developed and participated in research projects on the Hepatitis B vaccine and rabies. (credit:Science & Society Picture Library via Getty Images)
Ella Baker (1903-1986)(28 of35)
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Baker was the national director for the NAACP. She also worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. As one of the leading figures in the civil rights movement, Baker is known for her leadership style which helped develop others' skills to become leaders in the fight for a better future. (credit:Afro Newspaper/Gado via Getty Images)
Katherine Johnson (1918-2020)(29 of35)
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Katherine Johnson overcame the prejudices thrown at her while working as a "human computer" at NASA to make the calculations that successfully launched the first Americans into space. Johnson's work helped mark a turning point in the United State's race to space with the Soviet Union. Johnson's untold story has recently been popularized through the critically acclaimed film "Hidden Figures." (credit:Smith Collection/Gado via Getty Images)
Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919)(30 of35)
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Madam C.J. Walker became one of the first female self-made millionaires in the world when she inventing a line of hair care products specially for African Americans in 1905. She traveled around the country to promote her products and give hair care demonstrations. She eventually founded Madame C.J. Walker Laboratories to manufacture cosmetics and train beauticians. (credit:Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images)
Josephine Baker (1906-1975)(31 of35)
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After getting her start in New York, Josephine Baker found fame and fortune when she moved to France in the 1920s and became one of Europe's most beloved performers, entrancing her audiences with her enticing dance moves and vocals. During World War II, she worked for the French Resistance, smuggling messages hidden in her sheet music and underwear. Baker frequently returned to the United States to join the Civil Rights Movement efforts. She was even a speaker at the 1963 March on Washington. (credit:Keystone-France via Getty Images)
Linda Martell (1941-present)(32 of35)
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Linda Martell was the first black woman to appear on the Grand Ole Opry. The country and blues singer went on to make 11 more appearances on the international radio program throughout her career and she landed a Top 25 song with her 1969 single "Color Him Father." (credit:Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images)
Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972)(33 of35)
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Mahalia Jackson, the Queen of Gospel, is one known as one of the greatest musicians in American history. Jackson sang at the 1963 March on Washington right before Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have A Dream" speech. While giving his speech, Jackson interjected with “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” Jackson's words led King to improvise the pivotal latter part of his speech. (credit:Apic via Getty Images)
Dominique Dawes (1976-present)(34 of35)
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Dominique Dawes became the first African American to win an individual Olympic medal in women's gymnastics for her floor performance at the 1996 games in Atlanta. Dawes also won a gold medal with the U.S. women's gymnastics team. She participated in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics before she retired. (credit:Doug Pensinger via Getty Images)
Dr. Patricia Bath (1942-2019)(35 of35)
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Patricia Bath, Ph.D., was the first black female doctor to receive a medical patent and the first African American woman to complete a residency in ophthalmology at NYU. In 1986, she created the Laserphaco Probe, a tool used to treat patients with cataracts with more precision and less pain. Bath was able to help restore the sight of people who had lost their eyesight for more than 30 years.

Correction: This slide has been updated to reflect that Bath was the first African American woman to complete a residency in ophthalmology at NYU, not the first African American to complete a residency in ophtalmology. (credit:Jemal Countess via Getty Images)
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