Black Civil Rights
These films and documentaries chronicle the long, painful and often dangerous struggle of African-Americans to gain equality under the law. From the days of the slave trade to the political movements of the 1960s, there have always been extraordinary individuals who were not prepared to accept the status quo. It is almost incredible to think that such a large section of the population, living in 'the land of the free' did not even have full suffrage until 1965. For a broader perspective on racism throughout the world you may also like to try the Special Interest category 'Racial Intolerance'.
Pictured: Iconic Civil Rights Leader, Martin Luther King Jr.
In The Heat Of The Night (1967)
8/10
Director: Norman Jewison
Starring: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates
Winner of five Oscars including Best Picture. Rod Steiger stars as a red neck sheriff who grudgingly accepts help from Sidney Poitier, a black big cit... Read more
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
7.8/10
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Robert John Burke, Topher Grace, Ashlie Atkinson, Adam Driver, Rya...
From Spike Lee comes the incredible true story of an American hero. Its the early 1970s, and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is the first Afri... Read more
Malcolm X (1992)
7.7/10
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall
Spike Lee's three-hour epic tale of the life and times of the small-time crook from Harlem turned revolutionary civil rights activist has Denzel Washi... Read more
The Help (2011)
8.1/10
Director: Tate Taylor
Starring: Allison Janney, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Emma Stone
A 1960s-era Mississippi debutante sends her community into an uproar by conducting a series of probing interviews with the black servants behind some... Read more
Mississippi Burning (1988)
7.8/10
Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Brad Dourif, Gene Hackman, Frances McDormand, R Lee Ermey, Gailard...
The civil rights struggle, as interpreted by Alan Parker, received seven Oscar nominations and one award (Best Cinematography). Gene Hackman and Wille... Read more
12 Years a Slave (2013)
8.1/10
Director: Steve McQueen
Starring: Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch, Quv...
In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Read more
Green Book (2018)
8.3/10
Director: Peter Farrelly
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini
Dr Don Shirley is a world-class African-American pianist, who is about to embark on a concert tour in the Deep South in 1962. In need of a driver and... Read more
Selma (2014)
7.5/10
Director: Ava DuVernay
Starring: Carmen Ejogo, David Oyelowo, Tim Roth, Tom Wilkinson, Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Goodin...
This film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting right... Read more
The Weather Underground (2002)
7.6/10
Director: Sam Green, Bill Siegel
Thirty years ago, a group of young American radicals called The Weathermen announced their intention to overthrow the U.S. government. Fueled by outra... Read more
Roots (1977)
8.4/10
Director: David Greene, Gilbert Moses, John Erman, Marvin Chomsky
Starring: John Amos, Maya Angelou, Edward Asner, Lloyd Bridges, Georg Stanford Brown, LeVa...
His name was Kunta Kinte. Kidnapped from Africa and enslaved in America in 1767, he refused to accept his slave name of Toby. Heirs kept his heroic de... Read more