10 Powerful Movies That Honor Black History

Cynthia Erivo stars as Harriet Tubman in HARRIET, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features

10 Powerful Movies To Honor Black History Month

By Movieguide® Contributor

Black History Month is celebrated every February to highlight achievements and the rich history of African Americans. It’s a time to honor heroes, reflect on our nation’s history and be inspired by their many contributions. From the Civil Rights Movement to advances in science to the world of sports, this curated list contains stories of people who have made a mark on the fabric of America and the world. Some films contain scenes that may be scary for young children, so please use caution.

42

Quality:

****

Content:

-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

42 tells what happens when the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team signed the first black player in the Major Leagues, Jackie Robinson, in 1947. 42 is an inspirational, superb movie showing how the Christian faith of both Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson helped end racism in professional baseball. However, there is a fair amount of foul language and some racial epithets, so caution is advised, especially for children.

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HARRIET

Quality:

****

Content:

-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

HARRIET is the incredible story about how Harriet Tubman became Harriet Tubman, the woman who saved thousands of slaves and brought them to freedom before the Civil War. HARRIET is an exceptionally well-made movie with a strong Christian worldview, but it does have intense scenes and some foul language.

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SELMA

Quality:

****

Content:

-2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

SELMA is a powerful movie on Martin Luther King Jr’s march on Selma, Alabama for voting rights for African Americans. SELMA is a well-done movie with overt Christian, moral content, but it does have some intense violence and a significant amount of foul language, so strong caution is advised.

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JUST MERCY

Quality:

****

Content:

-2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

JUST MERCY tells the compellingly true story about an African-American lawyer in Alabama who takes the case a black man falsely accused of murder and placed on death row. JUST MERCY is highly emotional, moving and absorbing, with compelling performances and a strong Christian, moral worldview, but MOVEIGUIDE® advises extreme caution due to too much foul language and some mature content.

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HIDDEN FIGURES

Quality:

****

Content:

-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

HIDDEN FIGURES is an engaging, encouraging, uplifting salute to three African-American women who contribute greatly to the 1960s NASA program during the Space Race with Communist Russia. Led by three fantastic actresses, HIDDEN FIGURES is an uplifting movie that exemplifies a positive way to stand with Christian strength and grace in the face of opposition, but caution is advised for older children due to many light obscenities and one strong profanity.

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