Black History Month on Kanopy

 

The Kanopy movie streaming database has organized the many African American documentaries and movies available on the database into a Black History Month collection. They have organized the Black History Month collection into the following categories: African American Cinema, History, Major Figures, Current Events, and Blaxploitation. You may watch up to 6 films on Kanopy each month.  The following are a sample of the films available in the Black History Month collection and the descriptions are from the database.

Really Love (2020)

Set in contemporary Washington D.C., a rising black painter strives to break into the competitive art world, while balancing a bittersweet romance he never expected.

Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America (2020)

Chronicling the history and personal experiences of African Americans on the road from the advent of the automobile through the seismic changes of the 1960s and beyond – Driving While Black explores the background of a phrase rooted in realities that have been a part of the African American experience for hundreds of years – told in part through the stories of the people who lived through it.

How It Feels to Be Free (2021)

How It Feels to Be Free takes an unprecedented look at the intersection of African American women artists, politics and entertainment and tells the story of how six trailblazing performers—Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Diahann Carroll, Nina Simone, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier— changed American culture through their films, fashion, music and politics.

Quest: An Intimate Portrait of an African-American Family (2017)

This New York Times Critics' Pick, filmed with vérité intimacy for nearly a decade, is a moving portrait of the Rainey family living in North Philadelphia. Beginning at the dawn of the Obama presidency, Christopher "Quest" Rainey, and his wife, Christine'a "Ma Quest" raise a family while nurturing a community of hip hop artists in their home music studio. It's a safe space where all are welcome, but this creative sanctuary can't always shield them from the strife that grips their neighborhood.

Black Caesar (1973)

A racist, corrupt cop partially cripples a young black boy who later rises to power and becomes BLACK CAESAR, the kingpin of crime in Harlem.

Set in contemporary Washington D.C., a rising black painter strives to break into the competitive art world, while balancing a bittersweet romance he never expe