Renewing Our Mission Learning Opportunities
Watch A Movie!
At home, on your own time schedule, check out some of these movies, documentaries, TV shows, Podcasts, You Tube offerings…. Only some are suitable for young children.
Movies – Oldies
To Kill a Mockingbird – Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the Depression-era South, defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his children against prejudice.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinnner – A couple’s attitudes are challenged when their daughter introduces them to her African American fiancé.
Mississippi Burning – Two FBI agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.
Do the Right Thing – On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone’s hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
Glory – Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War’s first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Malcolm X – Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam.
The Butler – As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man’s life, family, and American society.
12 Years a Slave – In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
In the Heat of the Night – An African American police detective is asked to investigate a murder in a racially hostile southern town.
A Soldier’s Story – An African American officer investigates a murder in a racially charged situation in World War II.
The Help – About African American maids’ point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.
Amistad – In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.
The Tuskegee Airmen – The true story of how a group of African American pilots overcame racist opposition to become one of the finest US fighter groups in World War II
Ghosts of Mississippi – A Mississippi district attorney and the widow of Medgar Evers struggle to finally bring a white racist to justice for the 1963 murder of the civil rights leader.
A Long Walk Home – Two women, black and white, in 1955 Montgomery Alabama, must decide what they are going to do in response to the famous bus boycott lead by Martin Luther King.
Freedom Songs – A tale about a young man’s bout in the 1960s, in Mississippi, before Blacks were allowed to vote, and did sit ins at White establishments. The harrowing ordeals people wanting the same opportunities had to go through.
Selma – A chronicle of Martin Luther King’s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.
Freedom Writers – A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
Losing Isaiah – The natural and adoptive mothers of a young boy are involved in a bitter, controversial custody battle.
The Color Purple – A black Southern woman struggles to find her identity after suffering abuse from her father and others over four decades.
Lean on Me – The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school that he is determined to improve.
Black Like Me – Based on the true story of a white reporter who, at the height of the civil-rights movement, temporarily darkened his skin so that he could experience the realities of a black man’s life in the segregated South.
Cry, The Beloved Country – A South-African preacher goes to search for his wayward son who has committed a crime in the big city.
Rosewood – A dramatization of a 1923 horrific racist lynch mob attack on an African American community
Podcast
Pod Save the People – A free, podcast talks about culture, social justice, and politics by exploring the history, language, and people who are shaping the struggle for progress — and talking about the steps that each of us can take to make a difference.
Recent Movies
Marshall – Opened nationwide on Friday, October 13. It is about the young Thurgood Marshall who was sent in 1941 to conservative Connecticut to defend a black chauffeur against his wealthy socialite employer. At age 32 he had already argued before the United Sates Supreme Court. This turned out to be one of Justice Marshall’s career-defining cases and is a good example of how institutional racism works. It is directed by East St. Louis native Reginald Hudlin.
A United Kingdom – The story of King Seretse Khama of Botswana and how his loving but controversial marriage to a British white woman, Ruth Williams, put his kingdom into political and diplomatic turmoil
Queen of Katwe – A Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.
Mr. Church – “Mr. Church” tells the story of a unique friendship that develops when a little girl and her dying mother retain the services of a talented cook – Henry Joseph Church. What begins as a six month arrangement instead spans into fifteen years and creates a family bond that lasts forever.
Hidden Figures – The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
Loving – The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in the 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with the Supreme Court’s historic 1967 decision.
Moonlight – A chronicle of the childhood, adolescence and burgeoning adulthood of a young, African-American, gay man growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.
Fences – A working-class African-American father tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life.
Zootopia – In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.
The Land – A story of four teenage boys who devote their summer to escaping the streets of Cleveland, Ohio to pursue a dream life of professional skateboarding.
Southside – With You The film chronicles the summer 1989 afternoon when the future President of the United States, Barack Obama, wooed his future First Lady, Michelle Obama, on a first date across Chicago’s South Side.
Documentaries
I’m Not Your Negro – James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House
Hidden Colors – A documentary about the real and untold history of people of color around the globe. This film discusses some of the reasons the contributions of African and aboriginal people have been left out of the pages of history.
Freedom Riders – Black and white Americans risked their lives—and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South.
Racial Profiling – “Crisis of Distrust: Police & Community In Toronto” Explores the issue of ‘carding’ and profiling in Toronto.
Racism in the Media: The Modern Racist Paradigm – The White media depicting Caucasians in positive roles while usually depicting Non-Caucasians in negative themes and stereotypes.
Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible – It features the experiences and stories of White women and men who are social justice advocates. They have worked to gain insight into what it means, as White people, to challenge notions of race, racism, culture and White identity development in the United States.
Impact of Media on the Justice System: The Central Park Five – Examines the harrowing story of five African American and Latino youths who were wrongfully arrested, tried and convicted of the 1989 rape of a white woman in New York City.
The Talk– Race in America – A PBS documentary about the increasingly necessary conversation taking place in homes and communities across the country between parents of color and their children, especially sons, about how to behave if they are ever stopped by the police.
Eyes on the Prize – A documentary about the American Civil Rights Movement from 1952 to 1965.
Other
Shots Fired – A 10 episode TV series depicting an explosive look at the criminal justice system via the prism of 2 racially charged shootings in a small town similar to “Ferguson”. (Find on Uverse)
You Tube Video – Cracking the Codes: Joy DeGruy, A Trip to the Grocery Store
You Tube Video – Black Parents Explain How to Deal with the Police