Best Documentary Films about Black America

Lists
Written By Timothy Te

Even up to this day, African-Americans have been the subject of many struggles.   In narrating these realities, documentary films have shone a light on the experiences of the African-American community. 

History of black documentary

The rich history of Black American documentary films can be traced back to the early 20th century. African-Americans began to use moving pictures to document their lives as soon as the technology became available in the early 20th century.

Black photographers like Addison Scurlock, Peter P. Jones, Jennie Louise Touissant Welcome, Ernest Touissant Welcome, and Arthur Laidler Macbeth used their photographic expertise to become some of the world's first documentary filmmakers. 

In 1910 political leader and Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University)  founder Booker T. Washington commissioned filmmaker George W. Broome and the National Negro Business League to document Tuskegee's history.

Early works

Broome’s “A Day at the Tuskegee” is considered as the first African-American documentary. The film opened at Carnegie Hall in New York City and was the first to reveal the documentary's political potential.

Before the advent of World War I several African-American film companies were established which produced silent films and documentaries. These films were screened in theaters, churches and schools. 

Early black documentaries attempt to challenge the rising number of racist films by showcasing the impressive achievements and noteworthy activities of the African-American community.

Dawn of Truth (1915) by photographer and filmmaker Peter P. Jones combined a series of Jone’s shorts into one of the earliest historical survey documentaries. 

Most of the early African-American documentaries were newsreels and short subjects that because of poor archiving have deteriorated or completely lost.

1920s and the rise of Hollywood

In the 1920 with the establishment of Hollywood and the studio system the cost of making movies and creating documentaries became more expensive and less accessible yet filmmakers like Edward Lewis, William Alexander, and Carlton Moss continued working.

Edward Lewis, a photographer and filmmaker created several documentary shorts “Life in Harlem” which was released in 1936.

William Alexander founded the All America Newsreel Company and created the documentary A Call To Duty (1946) which focused on Black Americans serving in the military. Many of these documentaries would document an important segment of Black History. 

World War II

During World War II filmmakers created documentaries that delved on African-Americans in the military. One of these films is "The Negro Soldier" in 1944 created by Carlton Moss, which was commissioned by the American War Department.

👉 Watch The Negro Soldier on Amazon Prime 

👉 Buy The Negro Soldier as DVD on Amazon

1960s documentary activism

At first many of the black documentary filmmakers would struggle in anonymity and isolation. Their films depicting their lives alongside a splice of black history would not be that well known. 

In the 60s with the civil rights movement films were used as a tool to effect societal change particularly uniting the black community. 

Among the noted documentaries include the “Five Cities of June” released in 1963. This documentary was created by Bruce Herschensohn. It was an Academy Award nominated work. The film details the events of June 1963 in five cities. This included the event in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where the racial integration at the University of Alabama.

👉 Watch Five Cities of June Amazon Prime

1970s Black Power Movement

The Black Power movement’s emphasis on preserving Black History which coincided with the rise of the Black independent film movement resulted in the production of an unprecedented number of African-American documentaries.

Among these films include Malcolm X (1972) which is based on the 1965 book “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.” Another acclaimed documentary is the Academy Award-nominated “Jack Johnson” (1970). which details the life of celebrated boxer Jack Johnson.

Another widely acclaimed documentary is “King: A Filmed Documentary… Montgomery to Memphis” about civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. It was nominated for best documentary feature in the Academy Award. It received 100% on the movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

👉 Watch Malcolm X on Amazon Prime

👉 Buy Malcolm X as DVD on Amazon

👉 Watch King: A Filmed Documentary… Montgomery to Memphis Amazon Prime

👉 King: A Filmed Documentary… Montgomery to Memphis as DVD on Amazon

80s and the present day

In the 1980s video technology made documentary filmmaking more accessible. More and more African-American filmmakers produced documentaries featuring a myriad of topics. 

In recent years the number of African-American women and gay filmmakers have grown in number and so are films which address gender and sexuality. These filmmakers are continuously making personal, essay and experimental documentaries.

Among these documentaries included Marlon Riggs's Tongues Untied (1989) and Isaac Julien's Looking for Langston (1989).

The advancement of digital video technology has made producing documentaries more accessible. Internet and social media platforms have made these films more available to a wider audience. 

Must watch documentaries

Here are the 10 best documentary films about the lives and struggles of African Americans. These films have given them a voice as a means to achieve equality and social justice. Listed in no particular order

Eyes on the Prize

This documentary series tackles the 20th civil rights movement in the United States and is considered a pre-eminent documentary of such a topic. The 14-part documentary premiered in 1987 it details the history of the civil rights movement which started in the 1950s (murder of Emmett Till and the Montgomery Bus Riots) until the 80s.The documentary won six Emmy Awards and an Academy Award nomination.

👉 Watch Eyes on the Prize on Amazon Prime

👉 Buy Eyes on the Prize as DVD on Amazon

I am not your Negro

This 2016 documentary by Raoul Peck is drawn from writer and activist James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript “Remember This House”  The documentary tackles the history of racism in the United States utilizing James Baldwin’s recollections of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Medgar Evers.

Narrated by actor Samuel L. Jackson “I am not your Negro” was nominated for best documentary in the 89th Academy Awards.

👉 Watch I am not your Negro on Amazon Prime

👉 Buy I am not your Negro as DVD on Amazon

Attica

This 2021 documentary explores the 1971 Attica Prison Riot which happened in Attica State Prison in the State of New York, where more than 2,000 prisoners rose up and seized the prison and took hostage 42 people. It ended in a bloodbath with 33 rioters and 10 correctional officers and employees were killed.

The documentary was created by Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry and re-examines the prison uprising which were the result of poor prison conditions and systemic racial discrimination, the aftermath sparked an investigation by government officials which created changes in the prison system.

The archival footage of the event is ably complemented by dramatic tension which gives it a movie-like quality.

The documentary won the award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for Documentaries in the Directors Guild of America Awards and was nominated for best documentary in the 2022 Academy Awards.

👉 Watch Attica on Amazon Prime

👉 Buy Attica as DVD on Amazon

Slavery by Another Name

This 2012 documentary shown on the PBS was taken from the book Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by American writer and journalist Douglas Blackmon.

It explores the lives of black Americans after the Emancipation Proclamation where systematic approaches were used to re-enslaved African-Americans through forced labor of prisoners through the convict lease system instituted after the American civil war and continued until World War 2.

👉 Watch Slavery by Another Name on Amazon Prime

👉 Buy Slavery by Another Name as DVD on Amazon

Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

This 2011 documentary  narrates the Black Power Movement in the eyes of Swedish journalists who had interviewed activists  Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Steale, Angela Davis and Eldridge Cleaver. Thirty years later the interview footage was found in Sweden and brought to life by Swedish filmmaker Goran Olsson and co-producer Danny Glover.

Olsson added contemporary interviews from activists and artists such as  Erykah Badu, Harry Belafonte, Talib Kweli and Melvin Van Peebles who were influenced by the struggle.

"The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975" gives us a peek at an important period of American history or black history which has a defining influence in the civil rights movement. 

👉 Watch Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 on Amazon Prime

👉 Buy Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 as DVD on Amazon

Black Hollywood

This 2008 documentary by Howard Johnson was shot in 1984, Black Hollywood explores the roles of black actors, black directors, and the black audience in the American film industry.

In the early 80s African-Americans were building a foothold in Hollywood. Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy were perhaps the only Black actors making it. And hip-hop culture was just born. The documentary provides historical background to the struggles of African-American actors in the 50s and the 60s.

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross

Created by Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. this six-part documentary mini series chronicles much of black history from the slave trade to the re-election of President Barack Obama.

The series is known for its extensive look into the African-American history  with the filmmaker collaborating with 30 historians for this project. It won an Emmy award in 2014 for Outstanding Historical Programming-Long Form.

👉 Watch The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross on Amazon Prime

👉 Buy The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross as DVD on Amazon

America To Me

This 10 part documentary created by Steve James was filmed entirely at the Oak Park and River Forest High School during the 2015-2016 school year.

This documentary series tackles the issues of race through a different angle. It takes a detailed look at race inequality through the lens of a storied Illinois high school.

👉 Watch America To Me on Amazon Prime

Freedom Riders

The term Freedom Riders were used to describe civil rights activists who would ride interstate buses into segregated Southern United States in an effort to challenge the non-enforcement of Supreme Court jurisprudence which ruled segregated buses as unconstitutional.

The two-hour documentary recalls the events during the summer of 1961 when 400 Black and white Americans risked their lives deliberately violating Jim Crow laws traveling together in the segregated South to protest segregation.

This outstanding documentary by Stanley Nelson gives viewers a front-row seat to freedom rides that profoundly influenced and changed history.

👉 Watch Freedom Riders on Amazon Prime

Dark Girls

This 2011 documentary by Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry is an expose on the prejudices and discrimination experienced by dark skinned women in America.

This documentary invokes a soul searching look on the effects of racism on the self-image of black women tackling deep-seated biases against skin color outside of and within Black American culture.

👉 Watch Dark Girls on Amazon Prime

👉 Buy Dark Girls as DVD on Amazon

Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

This 2015 American documentary film by Stanley Nelson Jr. provides historical insights to the rise of the Black Panther Party. It combines archival footage and interviews with surviving members of the black power political organization.

The documentary premiered in 2015 at Sundance and had a limited theatrical release.

👉 Watch Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution on Amazon Prime

👉 Buy Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution as DVD on Amazon

More Than A Month

Documentary filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman travels across America asking the question “Should Black History Month be ended?” Tilghman interviews experts at revered organizations around the country in addition to everyday people he meets along the way. 

Tilghman searches to learn more about race and power in contemporary America by asking the question. More Than a Month is  an amusing and thought-provoking look at the implications of celebrating Black History Month which tells us about the dynamics of race and power in America. 

👉 Watch More Than A Month on Amazon Prime

👉 Buy More Than A Month as DVD on Amazon

High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America

This 2021 docu-series shown on Netflix is a long overdue documentary on black cuisine. Writer and Chef Stephen Satterfield takes on a journey tracing the cuisine from its West African connections evolving into a cuisine which has a rich identity of its own but sadly been reduced to the fringes of mainstream American cuisine. 

More than just a culinary documentary the docu-series gives black culture a historical anchor which elevates it from being a mere caricature.

Quincy

The life and legacy of music extraordinaire Quincy Jones is brought into the screen with the documentary “Quincy” by Alan Hicks and Rashida Jones.

Multiple Grammy winner Quincy Delight Jones Jr worked with the likes of music icons such as Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and many others. The documentary takes the audience an unprecedented access to his private life and rich personal stories from his storied 70-year career.These are just among the best documentaries about Black America which you could watch.

Through A Lens Darkly

A powerful affecting look at race relations through photographs, documentary filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris explores the way black photographs used the camera to portray and empower African Americans. Through the lens it presents an untold story of representation, relations and empowerment.

These are just among the best documentaries about Black America which you could watch. These range from Black history documentaries which detail a largely unknown aspect of our country’s history to contemporary documentaries which tackle the lives and struggles of the African American people. These documentaries are a wonderful tool to educate young people about the lessons of history.

There is so much to learn about these documentaries created not just by African Americans but also by others who have documented the struggle like the Swedish filmmakers in Black Power Mixtape. 

These documentaries tackle shameful moments of our country’s history like the Jim Crow era south where segregation was enforced and where freedom riders tried to fight prejudice. It also shows the continuing fight for equality and social justice and the search for identity, which is lost and now found. 

👉 Buy Through A Lens Darkly as DVD on Amazon

 

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Timothy Te
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