LibGuides: African American History: Media

Featured Streaming Media

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America in the 20th Century: The Civil Rights Movement (90:00) A part of the series America in the 20th Century. Anyone who thinks the civil rights movement began and ended with Martin Luther King Jr. will discover a new, eye-opening view of history in this program. It reveals a long-running struggle for racial equality starting with Civil War– and Reconstruction-era events, moving through the blight of Jim Crow and the formation of the NAACP and other groups, and depicting the drama of King’s movement in varied, evolving phases. The work of Malcolm X, the rise of the Black Power movement, and the future of America’s ongoing equality battles are also examined.
Buffalo Soldiers: An American Legacy (44:00) By the end of the Civil War, nearly 200,000 black soldiers were serving in the Federal Army. After the war, many decided not to return to a life of sharecropping and racial oppression, instead volunteering to battle outlaws and Indian raiders along the western frontier. This program uses dazzling reenactments and the expertise of military historians to tell the multifaceted story of the Buffalo Soldiers, a name given to black troops by their Native American adversaries. Viewers learn about the daily lives and daunting assignments of these proud African-Americans, the harsh environments in which they conducted missions, and the deeds of individual Buffalo Soldiers such as Sgt. Emanuel Stance, Lt. George Burnett, and Henry Flipper—the first black cadet to graduate from West Point, whose promising career was ended by an unjust and later discredited court martial. Hosted by well-known TV judge Joe Brown.
HBO Black Art: In The Absence Of Light (01:26:18) At the heart of this feature documentary is the groundbreaking Two Centuries of Black American Art exhibition curated by the late African American artist and scholar David Driskell in 1976. Held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, this pioneering exhibit featured more than 200 works of art by 63 artists and cemented the essential contributions of Black artists in America in the 19th and 20th centuries. The exhibit would eventually travel to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Brooklyn Museum. The film shines a light on the exhibition’s extraordinary impact on generations of African American artists who have staked a claim on their rightful place within the 21st-century art world.
The March on Washington, 1963 (21:00) This period film footage captures the mood and the magic of the civil rights march in Washington, D.C., in August 1963, through stirring scenes such as huge crowds singing, thousands of marchers carrying signs, musical performances, and speakers at the podium, including the Reverend Martin Luther King. From the National Archives and Records Administration.
PBS Series Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali brings to life one of the best-known and most indelible figures of the 20th century, a three-time heavyweight boxing champion who insisted on being himself unconditionally and became an inspiration to people everywhere.
PBS Series The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross Written and presented by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., director of W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University, this six-hour series explores the evolution of the African-American people, as well as the multiplicity of cultural institutions, political strategies, and religious and social perspectives they developed -- forging their own history, culture and society against unimaginable odds. Commencing with the origins of slavery in Africa, the series moves through five centuries of remarkable historic events right up to the present -- when America is led by a black president, yet remains a nation deeply divided by race.
The Rosa Parks Story (01:34:40) This scripted narrative follows Rosa Parks' life from the time she was a private-school student, to her rise to infamy. Part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Parks fought against discrimination and segregation. But, it was her refusal to relinquish her seat on a bus and subsequent arrest, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which thrust her into the spotlight. This American-made film directed by Julie Dash features Angela Basset as Rosa Parks and Cicely Tyson as her mother.
Soundtrack for a Revolution: Freedom Songs from the Civil Rights Era (82:00) On picket lines, in organizational meetings, even in police wagons and jail cells, songs of protest and inspiration helped drive the civil rights movement. Showcasing many of those songs, this stirring documentary explores the history of the era through archival footage, interviews with key civil rights activists, and performances by contemporary artists assembled specifically for the film. Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young, former NAACP chairman Julian Bond, freedom rider Hank Thomas, civil rights organizer Jim Lawson, former King aide Dorothy Cotton, and music legend Harry Belafonte are among those interviewed. On-camera performers include John Legend, Joss Stone, Wyclef Jean, and The Roots. Featured songs: Wade in the Water, This May Be the Last Time, Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ’Round, We Shall Not Be Moved, and more.

More Media

In addition to streaming media, we have DVDs, images, audio and more media.

Amistad Chronicles the 1839 revolt on board a slave ship bound for America. Much of the story involves the court-room drama about the slave who led the revolt.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman The history of blacks in the South as seen through the eyes of a 110-year-old former slave. Based on the novel by Ernest J. Gaines
BlacKkKlansman In the early 1970s, Ron Stallworth becomes the first African-American detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Determined to make a difference, he bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan. He recruits a seasoned colleague, Flip Zimmerman, into the undercover investigation. Together, they team up to take down the extremist organization aiming to garner mainstream appeal. BlacKkKlansman offers an unflinching, true-life examination of race relations in 1970s America that is just as relevant in today's tumultuous world
Green Book uring the nineteen sixties, a bouncer, whose nightclub closes for renovations, finds a temporary employment as a driver for black pianist Don Shirley going on a tour into the Deep South states.
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.
King : Go Beyond the Dream to Discover the Man Forty years after Martin Luther King's assassination, newsman Tom Brokaw, takes viewers through the extraordinary life and times of America's civil rights visionary. Go beyond the legend to portray the man, the questions, the myths, and the relevance of Dr. King's message in today's world.