Best Black History Movies on Netflix

Its February meaning it is Black History Month. Netflix has created a Black History Month Section to highlight Black Movies, Shows and Documentaries. There are many more on Netflix that I didn’t add because they are for adults but this is a great list for kids.

All American

Spencer James is a rising high school football player and A student at South Crenshaw High, but when coach Billy Baker recruits him to join his team in Beverly Hills, Spencer’s mother, Grace, and his best friend, Coop, convince him it’s an opportunity he has to seize. Forced to move in with Billy and his family to protect his transfer permit to Beverly, Billy’s son Jordan, who is also the starting quarterback, is less than thrilled to be sharing his father’s attention — or the team spotlight. While Spencer struggles to find his footing, he makes an unlikely friend in Jordan’s sister, who is struggling with her own demons.

DC’S Legends of Tomorrow

`Arrow’ and `The Flash’ have some new superhero company in Sky’s lineup with the addition of `DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’. After seeing what doom the future holds, time-travelling rogue Rip Hunter realises heroes alone are not enough to prevent the impending catastrophe that threatens not only the planet, but all of time itself. Tasked with recruiting both heroes and villains, Rip brings together a ragtag team of divergent talents, which includes Sara Lance, Jay Jackson, Ray Palmer, Hawkgirl, Captain Cold and Heat Wave

Princess and the Frog

Hardworking and ambitious, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) dreams of one day opening the finest restaurant in New Orleans. Her dream takes a slight detour when she meets Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), who has been turned into an amphibian by evil Dr. Facilier. Mistaking her for a princess and hoping to break the spell, Naveen plants a kiss on poor Tiana — thereby turning her into a frog as well. The pair hop along on an adventure through the bayous to seek the help of a powerful voodoo priestess.

Lupin

A retelling of the classic French story about Arsène Lupin, the world-famous gentleman thief and master of disguise.

AJ and the Queen

Robert, a down-on-his-luck drag queen who performs as Ruby Red, prepares for a new adventure, heading out on a journey in a van across America. Joining Robert on the trip is tough-talking 10-year-old stowaway AJ. Ruby gets a chance to step back into the spotlight along the way, and AJ comes up with a crafty plan to earn some extra cash. The tour hits a snag as the vehicle rolls into Texas, and it comes to an end when Ruby competes in the Miss Drag USA pageant.

Project Power

A former soldier teams up with a cop to find the source behind a dangerous pill that provides temporary superpowers.

A Babystiiter’s Guide to Monster Hunting

Recruited by a secret society of babysitters, a high schooler battles the Boogeyman and his monsters when they nab the boy she’s watching on Halloween.

Half & Half

Half-sisters Mona and Dee Dee are virtual strangers who have grown up separately and suddenly become neighbors in the same San Francisco apartment building. Mona is a budding music executive raised by her single mother to be free-spirited and independent. By contrast, younger Dee Dee is a privileged honor-roll collegian who grew up in a two-parent home but seeks her identity out of the shadow of her overbearing mother.

Raising Dion

A single mother must hide her young son’s superpowers to protect him from exploitation while investigating their origins and her husband’s death.

Always a Witch

Carmen is a 19-year-old who is a slave and a witch. She has fallen for a white man, which is a crime that has her scheduled to be burned at the stake. She receives salvation, though, when an old wizard offers her the ability to jump in time to a place where nobody believes in witches. She agrees to not use any of her powers in exchange for the time-traveling, so she is transported to modern-day Colombia. There, she starts a new life, meets new friends and even goes to college. But one constant remains — once a witch, always a witch.

Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker

A chronicle of the incredible story of Madam C.J. Walker, who was the first African American self-made millionaire.

We Are the Brooklyn Saints

The stories of driven young athletes in an inner-city youth football league, as well as the coaches and parents rallying behind them.

Girlfriends

An ensemble sitcom focusing on a mixed batch of black women who face life’s tests and triumphs together. From dating to divorce and friends to family to relationships, Joan, Maya, Lynn and Toni support each other despite their differing backgrounds, learning about true friendship in the process.

Pose

Set in the 1980s, `Pose’ is a dance musical that explores the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in New York: the ball culture world, the rise of the luxury Trump-era universe, and the downtown social and literary scene. Blanca forms a `house’, a self-selected family that provides support to LGBTQ youth who have been rejected by their birth families. Damon is a dancer who joins Blanca’s house. Together, they compete in the balls — where house members challenge each other in various categories and are judged on their outfits, attitude, or dance skills — against Blanca’s former house mother, Elektra. Pray Tell is Godfather to the children who compete in the balls. Angel is a streetwalker who develops feelings for a new client, Stan, who has a loving wife, Patty. James Van Der Beek co-stars as Stan’s boss, Matt.

On My Block

“On My Block” follows a quartet of bright, street-savvy friends who are navigating their way through high school, including all the of the triumph, pain and newness they experience along the way. Lifelong friendships are tested as Monse, Ruby, Jamal and Cesar confront the challenges of adolescence and life in their predominantly Hispanic and black neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles in this coming-of-age comedy series.

A Fall From Grace

When a woman is indicted for murdering her husband, her lawyer thinks there may be a conspiracy at play.

Family Reunion

A family struggles to make the transition from life in Seattle to Georgia, where the extended family lives.

The Innocence Files

The untold personal stories behind eight cases of wrongful conviction that the Innocence Project and organizations within the Innocence Network have uncovered and worked to overturn.

The Last Dance

In the fall of 1997, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls allowed a film crew to follow them as they went for their sixth NBA title in eight seasons. That resulted in a stunning portrait of one of the sport’s most iconic athletes and a celebrated team. “The Last Dance” follows the Bulls’ 1997-98 season from start to finish, while also covering the rest of the chapters in Jordan’s remarkable career. The 10-part docuseries follows the Jordan timeline from when he was an emerging star on his high school team to becoming a worldwide marketing force and cultural figure. The series takes its name from a phrase coined by then-Bulls coach Phil Jackson, who knew that the season would likely be the final run for the core members of that 1990s Bulls dynasty.

Step Sisters

Jamilah seems to have it all. She’s the president of her sorority, captain of the step dance crew, student liaison to the college dean, and she has been accepted to Harvard Law School. When the hard-partying white girls from Sigma Beta Beta embarrass the school, Jamilah is ordered to come to the rescue by teaching the rhythmically-challenged how to dance, in hopes of winning the Steptacular, the most competitive of dance competitions.

Trial 4

Charged as a teenager in the 1993 killing of a Boston police officer, Sean K. Ellis fights to prove his innocence while exposing police corruption and systematic racism.

Django Unchained

Two years before the Civil War, Django (Jamie Foxx), a slave, finds himself accompanying an unorthodox German bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) on a mission to capture the vicious Brittle brothers. Their mission successful, Schultz frees Django, and together they hunt the South’s most-wanted criminals. Their travels take them to the infamous plantation of shady Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), where Django’s long-lost wife (Kerry Washington) is still a slave.

Tiffany Haddish Presents They Ready

The comic presents six up-and-coming comics performing half-hour stand-up sets.

Luke Cage

This gritty, action-packed drama follows the evolution of Luke Cage (Mike Colter), a man with super strength and unbreakable skin caused by a sabotaged experiment. After a failed relationship with fellow superhero Jessica Jones, Cage tries to rebuild a quiet life in Harlem, New York –until he is pulled out of the shadows and forced into a battle for his city. Along the way, Cage cannot avoid confronting his past, which he has worked hard to bury. “Marvel’s Luke Cage” is the third show in the Netflix-original Defenders series.

Voices of Fire

Bishop Ezekiel Williams, the uncle of singer Pharrell Williams, attempts to establish the world’s best gospel choir in Hampton Roads, Va.

Free Rein

A 15-year-old from Los Angeles spends the summer at her mother’s childhood home on an island off the coast of England, where she bonds with a mysterious horse.

The Main Event

After discovering a magical mask, an 11-year-old aspiring wrestler enters a competition to become the next WWE superstar.

Good Hair

Prompted by a question from his young daughter, comic Chris Rock sets out to explore the importance of hair in black culture. Rock interviews celebrities such as Ice-T and Raven Symone, and visits hair salons, stylist competitions and even an Indian temple to learn about hair culture.

Who Killed Malcolm X?

In February 1965, Malcolm X is murdered; three men are arrested, but only one admits to being part of the plot; decades later, one activist pledges to find the real killers, and vows to learn the truth about what officials knew regarding the crime.

Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce

Homecoming is a 2019 concert film about American singer Beyoncé and her performance at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, written, executive produced and directed by Beyoncé herself. It was released on April 17, 2019 by Netflix

Nappily Ever After

A soulful barber helps a woman piece her life back together after an accident at her hair salon makes her realize she is not living life to the fullest.

Back of the Net

Soccer student Cory Bailey arrives at a prestigious soccer academy and is determined to beat her rival’s team in the national tournament.

Marainey’s Black Bottom

Time: The Kaleef Browder Story

Dear White People

A campus culture war between blacks and whites at a predominantly white school comes to a head when the staff of a humour magazine stages an offensive Halloween party.

Loving

Interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving fell in love and were married in 1958. They grew up in Central Point, a small town in Virginia that was more integrated than surrounding areas in the American South. Yet it was the state of Virginia, where they were making their home and starting a family, that first jailed and then banished them. Richard and Mildred relocated with their children to the inner city of Washington, D.C., but the family ultimately tries to find a way back to Virginia.

Free Rein: Valentines Day

Love is in the air as Zoe and friends go on a quest to find a fabled Maid’s Stone. But when rivalry blinds them to danger, it’s Raven to the rescue! Starring:Jaylen Barron, Joe Ashman, Manpreet Bambra.

Becoming

Former first lady Michelle Obama discusses her life, hopes and connections with others.

The Butler

After leaving the South as a young man and finding employment at an elite hotel in Washington, D.C., Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he is hired as a butler at the White House. Over the course of three decades, Cecil has a front-row seat to history and the inner workings of the Oval Office. However, his commitment to his “First Family” leads to tension at home, alienating his wife (Oprah Winfrey) and causing conflict with his anti-establishment son.

When They See Us

In 1989 a jogger was assaulted and raped in New York’s Central Park, and five young people were subsequently charged with the crime. The quintet, labeled the Central Park Five, maintained its innocence and spent years fighting the convictions, hoping to be exonerated. This limited series spans a quarter of a century, from when the teens are first questioned about the incident in the spring of 1989, going through their exoneration in 2002 and ultimately the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014. The cast is full of Emmy nominees and winners, including Michael K. Williams, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, and Blair Underwood. Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Ava DuVernay co-wrote and directed the four episodes.

I am Not Your Negro

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, “Remember This House.” The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished.

LA 92

Examining the tumultuous period following the verdict in the Rodney King trial in 1992. The acquittal of four police officers for beating a black motorist saw several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles

Hard Lessons

George McKenna (Denzel Washington) confronts a career-defining moment when he accepts a job as principal of a tough, inner city Los Angeles high school. Facing an apathetic student body and indifferent teachers and parents, McKenna, with help from dedicated educator Bobbie Maxwell (Lynn Whitfield), transforms the school from a gang-ridden war zone into a stepping-stone for higher education, and in the process gains the hard-won respect of the community and school administrators.

Fruitvale Station

Though he once spent time in San Quentin, 22-year-old black man Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan) is now trying hard to live a clean life and support his girlfriend (Melonie Diaz) and young daughter (Ariana Neal). Flashbacks reveal the last day in Oscar’s life, in which he accompanied his family and friends to San Francisco to watch fireworks on New Year’s Eve, and, on the way back home, became swept up in an altercation with police that ended in tragedy. Based on a true story.

Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History

Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History is a Netflix variety special starring Kevin Hart

Dance Dreams Hot Chocolate Nutcracer

Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker is an American documentary film directed by Oliver Bokelberg

Miss Virgina

An impoverished single mother is losing her 15-year-old son to the rough streets of Washington, D.C. Unwilling to see him drop out and deal drugs, she places him in a private school. But when she can’t afford the tuition, she soon launches a movement to change the system that is destroying him and thousands of others.

Quincy

An intimate look at the life of Quincy Jones, a music industry giant and winner of 27 Grammys.

The Carter Effect

Vince Carter, the 6-foot-6-inch eight-time NBA All-Star from Daytona Beach, Florida, makes waves in the Canadian basketball scene when he joins the Raptors in 1998.

What Happened Miss Simone?

Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, black power icon and legendary recording artist Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius, and tortured melancholy.

Barry

Barack Obama arrives in New York in the fall of 1981 for his junior year at Columbia University. He struggles to stay connected to his mother, his estranged father and his classmates.

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

An exploration of the musician’s archival photos and home movies.

They’ve Gotta Have Us

Charting the rise of black actors and filmmakers in Hollywood with insight from some of the biggest stars in the industry including Harry Belafonte, Earl Cameron, and Diahann Carroll. They look back at the changes that have taken place over the last few decades where black actors and filmmakers havegone from the backdrop to being centre stage, with `Moonlight’ becoming the first film with an all-black cast to scoop an Oscar for Best Picture. Featuring a look at rule-breaking directors and actors who challenged the status quo.

13th

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation’s prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.

Rodney King

Rodney King is a 2017 American one-man show directed by Spike Lee and written by and starring Roger Guenveur Smith. The film is a one-man show where Roger Guenveur Smith does a multiplicity of voices, alternately taking and opposing Rodney King’s side. 

The Willy T. Birds Story: Uppity

This documentary profiles a defiant driver who challenged racial barriers in American auto racing, becoming the first black man to race in the Indy 500. Watch all you want.

She Did That

A peek inside the lives of black women entrepreneurs committed to opening doors for future generations.

Jewel’s Catch One

Filmmakers explore the history of the oldest black-owned disco in America and of its owner Jewel Thais-Williams, who defied discrimination and hate for 42 years.

Whose Streets?

An account of the Ferguson uprising as told by the people who lived it. The filmmakers look at how the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown inspired a community to fight back and sparked a global movement.

Giving Voice

Students from across the United States audition for a spot in the August Wilson Monologue Competition, culminating in a riveting final round on a Broadway stage.

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