Black History Month is a time to recognize and celebrate the achievements, contributions, and resilience of Black individuals and communities throughout history. It offers an opportunity to reflect on the struggles for justice and equality while honoring the cultural, artistic, and intellectual impact of Black voices.

This month, we invite you to explore powerful stories told through film with a curated selection of streaming titles from our collection. From documentaries to feature films, these works celebrate Black voices, experiences, and creativity while encouraging a deeper understanding of the past and its influence on the present.

• 42 – The story of two men—the great Jackie Robinson and Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey—whose brave stand against prejudice forever changed the world by changing the game of baseball.
• Black Panther – A superhero known as Black Panther defends Wakanda, a technologically advanced country in Africa that has hidden itself away from the rest of the world. Now, he must face a dissident who wants to sell the country’s natural resources to fund an uprising.
• District Greenwood: The Amalgamated People – In 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood District, or Black Wall Street, was one of the most prosperous African American communities in the US. This documentary charts that history and explores the lessons from this time period that can be applied today.
• Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement 1954–1985 – Critically acclaimed documentary tells the definitive story of the civil rights era from the point of view of the ordinary men and women whose extraordinary actions launched a movement that changed the fabric of American life, and embodied a struggle whose reverberations continue to be felt today.
• Eyes On The Prize III: We Who Believe In Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 – Inspired by Henry Hampton’s legendary documentary series Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement, this new installment illuminates the bold stories of people and communities who continue to work for equity and racial justice in the years since the birth of the American Civil Rights Movement.
• Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project – An intimate documentary portrait of poet Nikki Giovanni that weaves her reflections on love, activism, aging, and imagination with her lifelong fascination with space and the future.
• Harriet – The incredible true story of one of America’s greatest heroes, Harriet Tubman. From her escape from slavery to the dangerous missions she led, setting free hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad.
• I Am Not Your Negro – This film examines race in America through the words of James Baldwin, using his unfinished manuscript to confront the nation’s history of racism and its enduring impact on Black lives.
• Marshall – This gripping courtroom drama centers on a young Thurgood Marshall in 1941, long before his Supreme Court appointment, as he defends a Black chauffeur accused of assaulting a wealthy white woman in Connecticut.
• Moonlight – A young African American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
• Muhammad Ali – A four-part documentary miniseries about one of the best-known and most indelible figures of the 20th century, a three-time heavyweight boxing champion who insisted on being himself unconditionally and became an inspiration to people everywhere.
• Straight Outta Compton – Chronicle of the seminal rap group N.W.A. and their ‘hood-to-riches success, tracing their story from the mean streets of mid-’80s Compton to their triumphant battles against censorship.
• The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution – Documentary chronicles the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party, exploring its fight against police brutality, racial injustice, and systemic inequality in 1960s and 1970s America. Through archival footage and firsthand accounts, the documentary reveals the movement’s powerful impact, internal conflicts, and lasting legacy.

You can find more films by searching our list of streaming video databases (https://libguides.stthomas.edu/music-media/databases).