8 films & shows to watch on Netflix's Black Life Matter collection
Netflix has curated a collection of films, TV shows, stand-up specials and documentaries under the tag 'Black Lives Matter', to highlight stories about the Black experience and the ongoing battle against racial injustice.
On 10th June, the streaming giant tweeted: 'When we say "Black Lives Matter," we also mean "Black storytelling matters." With an understanding that our commitment to true, systemic change will take time – we're starting by highlighting powerful and complex narratives about the Black experience.'
Netflix continued: 'When you log onto Netflix today, you will see a carefully curated list of titles that only begin to tell the complex and layered stories about racial injustice and Blackness in America.'
The collection consists of a wide range of films and TV series, including the latest drama from Spike Lee Da 5 Bloods, which was released on 12th June, and two of filmmaker Ava DuVernay's most prominent works; When They See Us (about the Central Park Five) and Academy Award-nominated 13th, exploring the 'intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States'.
It comes as protests over racial inequality and police brutality continue to take place across the world, and as millions of allies pledge to further their anti-racism by educating themselves about systemic racism and white privilege. It also follows Netflix's removal of The Help, which quickly became one of the most-watched movies on the site earlier this month, yet was written and directed by two white creators and hinges on the archetypal 'white saviour' Hollywood trope. Needless to say, that is not the type of material that should be used as an educational resource on race and the history of racial inequality.
So, here are some of the best films and TV series on Netflix that should be used to educate yourself on Black Lives Matter.
13th (2016)
Ava DuVernay’s powerful, gutting Academy Award-nominated documentary analyses and exposes the flaws in the U.S criminal justice system – from the 1865 Thirteenth Amendment loophole, to the modern day mass incarceration of African Americans – that disproportionately affects the Black community.
Jewel's Catch One (2016)
Owned by Jewel Thais Williams, Jewel's Catch One was the longest running black gay dance bar in Los Angeles. This is the story of how Jewel defied discrimination for 42 years.
LA 92 (2017)
This documentary traces decades of police brutality and the uprisings surrounding the 1992 acquittal of the four white LAPD officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King.
Time: The Kalief Browder Story (2017)
Kalief Browder, a Black Bronx teen, spent three years imprisoned at the notorious Rikers Island jail complex – much of it in solitary confinement – despite never being convicted of a crime. This documentary tells his story.
Dear White People (2017-)
Adapted from the film of the same name, the Netflix series focuses on Black students navigating various forms of discrimination and microaggressions at an Ivy League college.
When They See Us (2019)
Also from Ava DuVernay, When They See Us tells the story of the 'Central Park Five' – Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise and Raymond Santana. When a woman is attacked whilst jogging in Central Park in the summer of 1989, five Black teens from Harlem are arrested, coerced into confession, and convicted.
Da 5 Bloods (2020)
In Spike Lee's latest work, four African American vets return to Vietnam decades after the war in search of their fallen comrade – and a stash of buried gold.
Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (2020)
Octavia Spencer plays Madame C.J. Walker, a Black beauty mogul and the first female self-made millionaire.