February is African American History Month and to kick it off, we invite you to sit back, relax and watch these documentaries to learn more about the rich history of the not-so-distant past.

America to Me, is a 10-part series that examines racial, economic and class issues in contemporary American education in this unscripted documentary series. Poignant and funny, epic and intimate, America to Me spends an academic year at Chicagoland’s elite Oak Park and River Forest High School, allowing its students, families, faculty, and administration to tell stories of the pressures and challenges teens face in their own words. Available in full on our streaming database Academic Video Online.

Tell Them We Are Rising highlights black colleges and universities that are a haven for Black intellectuals, artists and revolutionaries and have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field. This documentary examines the impact these institutions have had on American history, culture, and national identity. Come ask about it at the Music & Media Collections.

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice delves into the climate surrounding the courageous 18 African American athletes who carried the weight and hopes of an entire movement on their shoulders as they boarded a ship to Berlin Olympic Games in 1936 – a Nazi propaganda pageant that did not welcome their participation and considered them second class citizens. Their heroic turn at the Games became a seminal precursor to the Civil Rights Movement. Narrated by executive producer and Hollywood actor Blair Underwood. Full documentary available on our streaming database Academic Video Online.

Hoop Dreams follows the high school careers of two young, African American men from inner-city Chicago as they pursue their dream of playing professional basketball.

Check out more documentaries and films like these at Music and Media Collections in OSF 104A.

By Nicole Wanttie