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Black History Month Binge List For Movie Night

    A great way to celebrate Black History Month is by watching movies or TV shows that glorifies African American’s talents. Gather friends and family for a TV/movie night! If you are unsure what to watch or where to start, this list will surely help you get started. There are several must see movies that have a strong black lead. Choose a movie from your favorite genre or app and get started on your binge watching!

    black history month

    netflix black history month

    Netflix

    For Black History Month binge ideas on Netflix check out this list of movies and TV shows under the category Black History is American History | Black History in Motion:

    Movies

    Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History

    Kevin Hart highlights the fascinating contributions of Black history’s unsung heroes in this entertaining and educational comedy special.

    Genre: Family movies, Movies based on real life.

    Cast: Kevin Hart, Saniyya Sidney, Lil Rel Howery, & more

    I Am Not Your Negro

    Based on James Baldwin’s unfinished book, this visual essay explores racism through the stories of Medgar Evers, Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr.

    Genre: Documentary Films, Movies Based on Books, Social & Cultural Docs.

    Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Joey Starr

    Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

    In 1927, tensions and temperatures rise at a Chicago music studio when fiery, fearless blues singer Ma Rainey joins her band for a recording session.

    Genre: Music & Musicals, Dramas, Music

    Cast: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, & more

    Becoming

    Join former first lady Michelle Obama in an intimate documentary looking at her life, hopes and connection with others as she tours with “Becoming”

    Genre: Social & Cultural Docs, Documentary Films, Biographical Documentaries

    Cast: Michelle Obama

    TV Shows

    SELF MADE Inspired By The Life Of Madam C.J. Walker

    An African American washerwoman rises from poverty to build a beauty empire and become the first female self-made millionaire. Based on a true story.

    Genre: TV Dramas

    Cast: Octavia Spencer, Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo, & more

    Colin in Black and White

    Colin Kaepernick narrates this drama series recounting his formative years navigating race, class and culture while aspiring for greatness.

    Genre: Teen TV Shows, TV Dramas, Sports & Fitness

    Cast: Collin Kaepernick, Jaden Michael, Nick Offerman, & more

    When They See Us

    Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they are falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on a true story.

    Genre: Crime TV Shows, Social Issue TV, TV Dramas

    Cast: Asante Blackk, Caleel Harris, Ethan Herisse, & more

    HIGH on the HOG How African American Cuisine Transformed America

    Black food is American food. Chef and writer Stephen Satterfield traces the delicious, moving through lines from Africa to Texas in this docuseries.

    Genre: Social & Cultural Docs, Docuseries, Historical Documentaries

    black history month shows on hulu

    Hulu

    For Black History Month binge ideas on Hulu check out this list of movies and TV shows that are under the category Black Stories:

    Movies

    The Hate U Give

    A teen witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend by a trigger-happy cop and must decide whether to testify or not.

    Genre: Black Stories, Drama

    Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby

    Antebellum

    A successful author is plunged into a horrifying reality that forces her to confront her past, present, and future in this tense thriller from visionary filmmakers Bush + Renz, and the producer of Get Out and Us.

    Genre: Black Sroties, Thriller

    Starring: Janelle Monáe, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, Gabourey Sidibe

    Gemini Man

    An aging NSA agent is targeted for death when he discovers his assassin is a younger, cloned version of himself.

    Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction

    Starring: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen

    Underground

    An unflinching story of plantation slaves that band together for the fight of their lives–for their families, their future and their freedom.

    Genre: Drama, Thriller

    Cast: Adina Porter, Alano Miller, Aldis Hodge

    TV Shows

    WU-TANG: An American Saga

    EMMY® NOMINATED Wu-Tang: An American Saga is inspired by “The Wu-Tang Manual” and “Tao of Wu”, and based on the true story of the Wu-Tang Clan. Set in early ’90s New York at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic, the show tracks the Clan’s formation, a vision of Bobby Diggs aka The RZA, who strives to unite a dozen young, black men that are torn between music and crime but eventually rise to become the unlikeliest of American success stories.

    Genre: Drama, Black Stories

    Starring: Ashton Sanders, Shameik Moore, Dave East

    Women of the Movement

    Mamie Till Mobley, who devoted her life to seeking justice for her son Emmett Till following his brutal murder in the Jim Crow South. Inspired by the book “Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement”.

    Genre: Black Stories, Drama

    Starring: Adrienne Warren, Tonya Pinkins, Cedric Joe, Ray Fisher, Glynn Turman

    Grand Crew

    A group of friends find the humor in career moves, dating drama and more as they live their best lives as young, Black professionals in L.A. where they always make time to hangout at their favorite bar for good laughs and great wine.

    Genre: Comedy, Sitcom, TV Series

    Starring: Echo Kellum, Justin Cunningham, Carl Tart, Aaron Jennings, Nicole Byer

    Abbott Elementary

    A group of dedicated, passionate teachers and a slightly tone-deaf principal find themselves thrown together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Though these incredible public servants may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do, even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.

    Genre: Comedy, Sitcom

    Starring: Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Chris Perfetti, Lisa Ann Walter

    black history month on hbo max

    HBO Max

    For Black History Month binge ideas on HBO Max check out this list of movies and TV shows that are under the category Black Voices:

    Movies

    The Color Purple

    An epic drama of an African-American woman’s struggle to overcome poverty, adversity, and a marriage to a brutal husband. She eventually found her dignity in a period that spans over forty years from the turn-of-the-century.

    Cast & Crew: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey, Rae Dawn Chong

    Just Mercy

    This film follows, young lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his battle for justice as he defends a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence.

    Cast & Crew: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson

    42

    In 1946, Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signs Jackie Robinson to the team in defiance of major league baseball’s notorious color barrier.

    Cast & Crew: Chadwick A. Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni

    TV Shows

    Insecure

    Created by and starring Issa Rae, this comedy series looks at the friendship of two modern-day black women and all of their tribulations.

    Cast & Crew: Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales, & More

    Love Craft Country

    A man’s journey in search of his missing father becomes a struggle to survive racist terrors and terrifying monsters.

    Cast & Crew: Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett, Micheal Kenneth Williams, & More

    Watchmen

    HBO’s epic series based on the groundbreaking graphic novel set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws.

    Cast & Crew: Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jean Smart, Jeremy Irons

    black stories on disney plus

    Disney +

    For Black History Month binge ideas on Disney+ check out this list of movies and TV shows that are under the category Celebrate Black Stories:

    Movies

    Soul

    Pixar’s “Soul” Introduces Joe, who lands the gig of his life at the best jazz club in town. One mishap lands Joe in a fantastical place: The Great Before. There, he teams up with soul 22, and together they find the answers to some of life’s biggest questions.

    Genre: Family, Comedy, Fantasy, Animation, Music

    Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Angela Bassett, & more

    The Princess and the Frog

    A modern twist on a classic tale from Walt Disney features a beautiful girl named Tiana who dreams of owning her own restaurant. In the movie, she meets a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, a fateful kiss leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana, with the villainous voodoo magician Dr. Facilier in hot pursuit.

    Genre: Family, Animation, Comedy, Musical, Fantasy

    Starring: Anika Noni Rose, Keith David and more

    Black Is King

    Based on the music of “The Lion King: The Gift,” and starring the album’s featured artist and some special appearances, “Black Is King” is a celebratory memoir for the world on the Black experience. the film is a story for the ages that informs and rebuilds the resent. A reunion of cultures and shared generational beliefs. A story of how the people left the most broken have an extraordinary gift and purposeful future.

    Genre: Dance, Music, Musical

    Starring: Beyonce, Blue Ivy Carter, Nyaniso Dzedze, Jay-Z, Lupita Nyong’o, & more

    TV Shows

    The Proud Family

    Follow the adventures and misadventures of Penny, a typical African american girl who’s doing her best to navigate through the early years of teen-dom.

    Genre: Animation, Comedy, Coming of Age

    Starring: Jo Marie Payton, Kyla Pratt, Tommy Davidson, and more

    Welcome to EARTH

    It might seem humans have mapped every inch of out planet’s surface, but look closer and you’ll discover that there is still so much more to uncover-the age of exploration is far from over! Welcome to Earth follows Will Smith on an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime adventure around the world to explore Earth’s greatest wonders and reveal its most hidden secrets.

    Genre: Docuseries, Animals & Nature Starring: Will Smith

    Starring: Will Smith

    Movies by Genre With a Black Lead

    Just to name a few other movies that would be great for a Black History Month movie binge, see the below list.

    Comedy

    coming 2 america black history month

    Coming to America

    bad boys black history month

    Bad Boys

    friday movie black history month

    Friday

    Romance

    this Christmas black history month

    This Christmas

    black history month love

    Love & Basketball

    romance black history month

    Brown Sugar

    black history month

    Beyond the Lights

    black history month janet jackson

    Poetic Justice

    Drama

    baby boy

    Baby boy

    12 years a slave movie

    12 Years a Slave

    Judas and the Black Messiah

    Judas and the Black Messiah

    ATL Movie

    ATL

    Action

    equalizer, action movie

    Equalizer

    black panther

    Black Panther

    menace II society

    Menace II Society

    Django Unchained

    Django Unchained

    Horror

    candy man

    Candy Man

    US

    US

    Get out

    Get Out

    Blacula

    Blacula

    Si-Fi

    Will Smith, Si-Fi, Black movie lead

    Men in Black

    The brother from another planet

    The Brother from Another Planet

    Sorry to bother you

    Sorry to Bother You

    A Wrinkle in Time

    A Wrinkle in Time

    Family

    The Wiz, Michael Jackson

    The Wiz

    The karate Kid, Jaden Smith

    Karate Kid

    Anne, Jamie Foxx

    Anne

    Hidden Figures

    Hidden Figures

    black fist, powerful, black history month

    I hope this was a great list to get your binge night started. Please leave a comment below with your favorite black lead movie(s) or TV show(s). For more event ideas check out the below links:

    Holiday Event Ideas

    Event Checklist

    Atiya Cheung
    Latest posts by Atiya Cheung (see all)

    2 thoughts on “Black History Month Binge List For Movie Night”

    1. Love this! So many great shows, movies to chose from for black history month! Thankyou for the variety of suggestions 🤗

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