African American Movies

  • 1998
    Thug Life in D.C.

    Thug Life in D.C.

    Thug Life in D.C.

    01998HD

    Aundrey Burno, a black youth looking down the wrong end of a murder charge -- for which a conviction could result in a lifetime in prison -- appears...

    Thug Life in D.C.
  • 2017
    Pride of the Buffalo Soldier

    Pride of the Buffalo Soldier

    Pride of the Buffalo Soldier

    02017HD

    African American soldiers throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries faced discrimination and segregation, yet many still chose to fight for their...

    Pride of the Buffalo Soldier
  • 2022
    Leaders of Madison’s Black Renaissance

    Leaders of Madison’s Black Renaissance

    Leaders of Madison’s Black Renaissance

    82022HD

    Despite Blacks making up only 7% of Madison WI's population, they are leading in so many important areas from education to politics, and are...

    Leaders of Madison’s Black Renaissance
  • 2023
    A Couple's Betrayal

    A Couple's Betrayal

    A Couple's Betrayal

    102023HD

    Three couples meet up for a summer vacation weekend but secrets, lies, and hard truths come out to spoil the fun.

    A Couple's Betrayal
  • 1938
    Hits and Bits of 1938

    Hits and Bits of 1938

    Hits and Bits of 1938

    01938HD

    This musical comedy with an all-black cast imagines what television entertainment will be like in the near future.

    Hits and Bits of 1938
  • 1978
    Everybody Needs a Forever Home

    Everybody Needs a Forever Home

    Everybody Needs a Forever Home

    01978HD

    Four African American families relate their experiences with adoption.

    Everybody Needs a Forever Home
  • 2021
    Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color

    Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color

    Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color

    102021HD

    Alma W. Thomas lived a life of firsts: the first Fine Arts graduate of Howard University (1924), the first Black woman to mount a retrospective at...

    Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color
  • 2017
    Remembering Port Chicago

    Remembering Port Chicago

    Remembering Port Chicago

    02017HD

    In California's Bay Area, a painful memory lingers of the Port Chicago disaster of WWII, when hundreds of the Navy's first Black Sailors perished,...

    Remembering Port Chicago
  • 1996
    Maceo Parker: My First Name Is Maceo

    Maceo Parker: My First Name Is Maceo

    Maceo Parker: My First Name Is Maceo

    01996HD

    Documentary about the life of jazz and funk saxophonist, Maceo Parker

    Maceo Parker: My First Name Is Maceo
  • 1973
    Queen Mother Moore Speech at Greenhaven Prison

    Queen Mother Moore Speech at Greenhaven Prison

    Queen Mother Moore Speech at Greenhaven Prison

    01973HD

    Two years after the riots and deaths at Attica, New York, a community day was organized at Greenhaven, a federal prison in Connecticut. The event was...

    Queen Mother Moore Speech at Greenhaven Prison
  • 1970
    Haunted Holiday

    Haunted Holiday

    Haunted Holiday

    01970HD

    Eight high school students enter into an abandon movie studio to have some Halloween fun, little do they know that a wanted killer is hiding inside,...

    Haunted Holiday
  • 1970
    Everything Is Fine

    Everything Is Fine

    Everything Is Fine

    01970HD

    Evanston, a suburb just north of Chicago, touts its progressivism and inclusion. It was the first city in the U.S. to offer reparations for Black...

    Everything Is Fine
  • 2017
    Buffalo Soldiers, Victorio and Manifest Destiny

    Buffalo Soldiers, Victorio and Manifest Destiny

    Buffalo Soldiers, Victorio and Manifest Destiny

    02017HD

    A look into the 19th century American-Indian Wars, Manifest Destiny, and the conflicts between Apache tribes and the African-American Buffalo soldier...

    Buffalo Soldiers, Victorio and Manifest Destiny
  • 2021
    Black Enough

    Black Enough

    Black Enough

    02021HD

    A gritty look at two friends differing viewpoints as they react to a video one of them has made.

    Black Enough
  • 2019
    Follow the Drinking Gourd

    Follow the Drinking Gourd

    Follow the Drinking Gourd

    02019HD

    FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD is a feature documentary about the Black food justice movement. Family-friendly, funny, and moving, this 60-minute film...

    Follow the Drinking Gourd
  • 2016
    The Blackboard

    The Blackboard

    The Blackboard

    02016HD

    A documentary exploring the issue of racial identity among African-Americans through the lens of skateboarding.

    The Blackboard
  • 1976
    The Black Indians of New Orleans

    The Black Indians of New Orleans

    The Black Indians of New Orleans

    01976HD

    “This classic award-winning documentary is the first definitive treatment of the origins and rituals of the Black Mardi Gras Indians of New...

    The Black Indians of New Orleans
  • 1908
    Nellie, the Beautiful Housemaid

    Nellie, the Beautiful Housemaid

    Nellie, the Beautiful Housemaid

    01908HD

    Comedy short (only fragments remain at LoC)

    Nellie, the Beautiful Housemaid
  • 1975
    Being Me

    Being Me

    Being Me

    01975HD

    A 1975 documentary short about how children perceive themselves in terms of their surroundings, family, and ethnicity.

    Being Me