Eight Movies That Explore Racism in America

Understanding the history of racism in America and around the world isn’t easy. It’s uncomfortable and it’s not easy to confront these powers and politics head-on, especially if you’ve never experienced racism directly before. One way to start to understand these problems is through the power of film. These movies explore black stories and experiences and they remind us that these stories are important and they need to be told. 

American Son (dir. Kenny Leon, 2019)

American Son is a film adaptation of Kenny Leon’s stage play of the same name that ran on Broadway in 2018. The film takes place in a Miami police station late at night where Kendra Ellis-Connor’s (Kerry Washington) is waiting to learn where her son Jamal is. Neither of the two white cops, Lieutenant Stokes (Eugene Lee) and rookie Officer Larkin (Jeremy Jordan) can tell Kendra anything. Until her white, estranged husband, Scott (Steve Pasquale) shows up demanding to know where his son is. Kendra and Scott then learn that Jamal and two other black men were pulled over and Jamal’s car has a bumper sticker about police brutality. After learning this, Kendra and Scott argue about Jamal’s upbringing as a biracial teenager and Kendra worries about what could happen if Jamal has to confront the police, based on her experience as a black woman. The cops continue to look for answers to pacify Scott, but they won’t listen to Kendra’s concerns. 

American Son is available to stream on Netflix.

The Hate U Give (dir. George Tillman Jr., 2018)

The Hate U Give is based on the novel of the same name by Angie Thomas. The story follows 16-year-old Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) who lives in two worlds—the black neighbourhood of Garden Heights but she attends a predominantly white private school. One night, Starr goes to a neighbourhood party and a gun goes off, causing everyone to scatter. Starr’s childhood friend Khalil gives her a ride home and they are pulled over by the cops. Khalil follows the officer’s instructions, not wanting to cause any trouble. But when Khalil leans over the car window to grab a hairbrush, the cop shoots him. The film deals with the aftermath of this traumatic event from Starr’s point of view as the key witness as the story becomes a national focus. 

The Hate U Give is available on iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Youtube, and Hulu.

If Beale Street Could Talk (dir. Barry Jenkins, 2018)

If Beale Street Could Talk is based on James Baldwin’s 1974 novel of the same name. In Harlem in the 1970s, Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James), who have been friends forever, begin a romantic relationship when they are older. One night while shopping at a mostly white grocery store, Tish is assaulted and Fonny physically throws the man out of the story. A white police officer shows up and tries to arrest Fonny but the grocery store owner vouches for him and says it wasn’t his fault and calls the officer out on his racism. Later, Fonny is arrested after he is accused of raping a white woman named Victoria Rogers. It would have been nearly impossible for Fonny to get to the scene of the rape from the grocery store in time for his alleged assault on Victoria. Ultimately, his alibi doesn’t hold up because of his romantic involvement with Tish and Fonny ends up behind bars even though he didn’t commit this crime.

If Beale Street Could Talk is available on Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Youtube, Google Play, and Hulu.

Get Out (dir. Jordan Peele, 2017)

Rose (Allison Williams) and Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) have decided it’s time to meet the parents. Rose invites Chris for a weekend getaway upstate. All weekend, Rose’s parents Dean and Missy keep making disconcerting comments about black people. At first, Chris thinks it’s just because they’re nervous and uncomfortable with their white daughter dating a black man but that is just the tip of the iceberg as the whole weekend of horrors begins to unfold.

Get Out is available on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Youtube, and Google Play.

Selma (dir. Ava DuVerney, 2014)

Selma is a historical drama about the voting right marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. Discrimination is still running rampant in Alabama. Dr. Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo) accepts his Nobel Peace Prize. Annie Lee Cooper (Oprah Winfrey) tries to register to vote in Selma, Alabama, but the white registrar turns her away. King meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson and asks for federal legislation to allow black people to vote. The President says he has other things to worry about. But King won’t take no for an answer. King rallies his friends and they organize a series of non-violent protests culminating in the Selma to Montgomery march and President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

Selma is available on iTunes, Youtube, Google Play, and Amazon Prime Video.

I Am Not Your Negro (dir. Raoul Peck, 2016)

I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary based on James Baldwin’s unfinished memoir, Remember This House. The memoir recounts the history of racism in the United States.  The film is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and it focuses on Baldwin’s personal account of the lives and assassinations of his close friends and civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr.,  Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2017 and won the Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award: Documentaries in 2016. 

I Am Not Your Negro is available on iTunes, Youtube, Google Play, and Amazon Prime Video.

Just Mercy (dir. Destin Daniel Cretton, 2019)

After graduating from Harvard Law, Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), an idealistic, young, black lawyer, heads south to Alabama in hopes of defending those who have either been wrongly condemned or who can’t afford proper representation. One of Stevenson’s first cases is defending Walter McMillan (Jamie Foxx) who was convicted of killing a white 18-year-old girl in 1986, despite evidence that he is innocent. Along the way and in the years that follow, Stevenson deals with racism and politics in the courtroom and community as he fights for McMillan’s life and to prove that he didn’t commit this crime.

Just Mercy is available iTunes, Youtube, Google Play, and Amazon Prime Video and is free to rent on digital platforms throughout June. 

Do The Right Thing (dir. Spike Lee, 1989)

Mookie (Spike Lee) is a pizza delivery man who lives in Brooklyn with his sister Jade (Joie Lee). He and his girlfriend Tina (Rosie Perez) have a toddler son named Hector. Mookie works for Sal, an Italian who owns the local pizzeria. However, Sal’s son Pino, dislikes black people and he and Mookie don’t get along. When Mookie’s friend Buggin’ Out asks why the pizzeria’s walls are filled with photos of famous Italian-Americans and demands that Sal put up photos of famous black celebrities since the pizzeria is in a black neighbourhood, all hell breaks loose. The wall becomes a symbol of hate and racism and tensions in the neighbourhood rise to new levels. 

Do The Right Thing is available on iTunes, Youtube, Google Play, and Amazon Prime Video.