Black History Month Events
Origin Stories: The African Diaspora and Afro Latinidad – A Celebration of History, Culture, and Identity
Black History Month Films & Documentaries 2025
In honor of Black History Month 2025, the Bronx Community College Library is sharing a list of selected films and documentaries celebrating Black History and the Black American Experience.
All of these documentaries, along with a variety of other educational films, can be accessed at Academic Video Online (Alexander Street)
“Innovators of Black History Vol. 1.”, directed by Dwayne Buckle. , produced by Dwayne Buckle, and Vision Laboratories. , Bayview Entertainment, 2024. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/innovators-of-black-history-vol-1.
“The chronicles of Benjamin Banneker, George Washington Carver, and Lewis Latimer, just to name a few of the greatest innovators and inventors of black history. This is their legacy, their inventions, and their story.”
“Ida B. Wells: A Passion For Justice, With Audio Description.” , directed by Anonymous , California Newsreel, 1989. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/ida-b-wells-a- passion-for-justice-with-audio-description.
“Documents the dramatic life and turbulent times of the pioneering African American journalist, activist, suffragist and anti-lynching crusader of the post-Reconstruction period.”
“Immigrant from America.” , directed by Bill Buckley. , Rediscovery Productions, 2011. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/immigrant-from-america.
“Unlike every other immigrant to America, the Black African came to a land of bondage, not freedom. This provocative film explores how the African American has used education, economic strength, and political power to overcome a legacy of racist obstacles.”
“Dr. Daniel Hale Williams: First Black Heart Surgeon In America.”, directed by Rex Barnett. , produced by Rex Barnett. , TMW Media Group, 1997. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/dr-daniel-hale-williams-first-black-heart-surgeon-in-america.
“Daniel Hale Williams was an African American cardiologist that performed the first successful open heart surgery. He also founded Provident Hospital, the first non segregated hospital in the U.S. Dr. Williams was an extraordinary man of incredible talent and merit and his exceptional accomplishments are documented with great care in this inspiring program. Born to freed people of color in 1856, he attended medical school at what is now Northwestern University in Chicago to become a practicing surgeon. His observations that American Blacks were treated as second class citizens within the medical community, both professionally and as patients, motivated him to establish and run the first hospital for Blacks in the United States; Provident Hospital.”
“Finding the Gold Within.”, directed by Karina Epperlein. , produced by Karina Epperlein, and Center for Independent Documentary. , The Video Project, 2014. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/finding-the-gold-within.
“What is it like to grow up as a Black male in America today? Finding the Gold Within provides a rare, intimate look into the lives of six young Black men from Akron, Ohio, each of whom is determined to disprove society’s stereotypes and low expectations.”
“American Reckoning.”, directed by Yoruba Richen, and Brad Lichtenstein. , produced by Yoruba Richen, et al. , Public Broadcasting Service, 2022. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/american-reckoning.
”An unsolved 1960s murder reveals an untold story of the civil rights movement and Black resistance. With Retro Report, the film draws on rarely seen footage filmed more than 50 years ago in Natchez, MS, and follows one family’s search for justice.”
“A Distant Shore: African Americans Of D-Day.”, directed by Douglas J. Cohen. , produced by Samuel K. Dolan, and Douglas J. Cohen. , A&E Television Networks, 2007. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/a-distant-shore-african-americans-of-d-day.
“1.2 million African Americans served in World War II in some capacity, and although largely forgotten by history, nearly 2,000 African Americans stormed the beaches of Normandy.”
“The Real Great Debaters of Wiley College.”, directed by Anonymous , FilmHub, 2008. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/the-real-great-debaters-of-wiley-college.
“A great American story of courage and triumph, this documentary explores the factual events that inspired the acclaimed Denzel Washington film The Great Debaters.”
“Invisible Roots: Afro-Mexicans in Southern California.”, directed by Richard Goldlander, Lizz Mullis, and Tiffany Walton. , produced by Richard Goldlander, Lizz Mullis, and Tiffany Walton. , Third World Newsreel, 2015. Alexander Street,
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/invisible-roots-afro-mexicans-in-southern-california. “More than one million Mexicans are of African descent, yet this heritage is often forgotten, denied, and many times stigmatized, both in Mexico and in Chicanx communities in the United States. INVISIBLE ROOTS is an intimate look at Afro-Mexicans living in Southern California.”
“Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts.”, directed by Dru Holley. , produced by Debra M. Simon, and Dru Holley. , Public Broadcasting Service, 2023. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/buffalo-soldiers-fighting-on-two-fronts.
“The 14th Amendment promised citizenship in exchange for enlistment, prompting many African
American men to do so. These “Buffalo Soldiers” participated in the subjugation of Native peoples and went up against Filipinos in the Spanish-American War. The film examines their role in U.S. history, how they fought in military conflicts abroad, and their civil rights struggles at home.”
“Slavery by Another Name.”, directed by Sam Pollard. , produced by Sam Pollard, et al. , Public Broadcasting Service, 2012. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/slavery-by-another-name-2.
“Slavery by Another Name challenges one of America’s most cherished assumptions — the belief that slavery in the US ended with Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Based on Douglas A. Blackmon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, the film tells how even as chattel slavery came to an end in the South in 1865, thousands of African Americans were pulled back into forced labor with shocking force and brutality.”
“Forever Free.”, directed by Ken Burns. , produced by Ken Burns. , Public Broadcasting Service, 1990.
Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/forever-free.
“This episode of Ken Burns’s The Civil War charts the dramatic events that led to Lincoln’s decision to set the slaves free. Convinced by July 1862 that emancipation was now morally and militarily crucial to the future of the Union, Lincoln must wait for a victory to issue his proclamation. But as the year wears on there are no Union victories to be had, thanks to the brilliance of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.
The episode comes to a climax in September 1862 with Lee’s invasion of Maryland. On the banks of Antietam Creek, the bloodiest day of the war takes place, followed shortly by the brightest: the emancipation of the slaves.”
“Nikki Giovanni: Lecture at ASU.”, directed by Anonymous , Educational Video Group, 2011. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/nikki-giovanni-lecture-at-asu.
“Poet and activist Nikki Giovanni brought her perspective to Arizona State University when she delivered the 2011 Jonathan and Maxine Marshall Distinguished Lecture. Titled ‘The Compassion, The Courage, The Challenge of Poetry,’ the lecture focuses on the individual and the power that an individual has to make a difference in oneself and the lives of others.”
“The Road to Brown.”, directed by Mykola Kulish, and William Elwood. , produced by William Elwood. , California Newsreel, 1990. Alexander Street,
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/the-road-to-brown.
“The Road to Brown tells the story of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling as the culmination of a brilliant legal assault on segregation that launched the Civil Rights movement. It is also a moving and long overdue tribute to a visionary but little known black lawyer, Charles Hamilton Houston, “the man who killed Jim Crow.”
“Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten.”, directed by Jonathan Silvers. , produced by Eric Stover, et al. , Public Broadcasting Service, 2021. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/tulsa-the-fire-and-the-forgotten.
”One hundred years after the destruction of the Black-owned Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history, residents and descendants examine the history of the 1921 tragedy and its aftermath. Through the historical lens of white violence and Black resistance, the film explores vital issues of atonement, reconciliation and reparation.”
“Making Black America: Through the Grapevine, – Episode 1.” , directed by Stacey Holman. , produced by Shayla Harris, et al. , Public Broadcasting Service, 2022. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/episode-1-143.
“As Black people fought for full citizenship, hour one explores how free African Americans exercised their self-determination by building communities, establishing schools, and creating associations that would become the foundational pillars of Black America. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the organizations, networks and artistic impression created by and for Black people.”
“Gumbo.”, directed by Ken Burns., produced by Ken Burns., Public Broadcasting Service, 2000.
Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/Gumbo.
“This video begins in New Orleans, nineteenth century America’s most cosmopolitan city, where the sound of marching bands, Italian opera, Caribbean rhythms, and minstrel shows fills the streets with a richly diverse musical culture. Here, in the 1890s, African-American musicians create a new music out of
these ingredients by mixing in ragtime syncopations and the soulful feeling of the blues. Soon after the start of the new century, people are calling it jazz. In this episode, meet the pioneers of this revolutionary art form: the half-mad cornetist Buddy Bolden, who may have been the first man to play jazz; pianist Jelly Roll Morton, who claimed to have invented jazz but really was the first to write the new music down; Sidney Bechet, a clarinet prodigy whose fiery sound matched his explosive personality; and Freddie Keppard, a trumpet virtuoso who turned down a chance to win national fame for fear that others would steal the secrets of his art.”
“In Search of Bass Reeves.”, directed by Anonymous , FilmHub, 2024. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/in-search-of-bass-reeves.
“This documentary on Bass Reeves traces his journey from slavery to becoming a distinguished lawman. It covers his childhood, the Civil War, personal tragedies, and racial adversities, highlighting his legacy as a symbol of American justice.”
“Reconstruction: Part 1, Hour 2.”, directed by Cyndee Readdean. , produced by Portland Helmich, and Cyndee Readdean. , Public Broadcasting Service, 2019. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/episode-2-9.
“Henry Louis Gates Jr. presents a vital new four-hour documentary series on Reconstruction: America After the Civil War. The series explores the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change.”
“Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child.”, directed by Tamra Davis. , produced by Tamra Davis, et al. , Oscilloscope Pictures, 2010. Alexander Street,
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/jean-michel-basquiat-the-radiant-child. “Director Tamra Davis pays homage to her friend in this definitive documentary but also delves into Basquiat as an iconoclast. His dense, bebop-influenced neoexpressionist work emerged while minimalist, conceptual art was the fad; as a successful black artist, he was constantly confronted by
racism and misconceptions. Much can be gleaned from insider interviews and archival footage, but it is Basquiat’s own words and work that powerfully convey the mystique and allure of both the artist and the man.”
“Making Black America: Through the Grapevine, Episode 3.”, directed by Shayla Harris. , produced by Kevin Burke, et al. , Public Broadcasting Service, 2022. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/episode-3-110.
”In hour three, the Great Depression devastates America’s economy and brings Black America to its knees. To survive, the Black community uses social networks to navigate the oppressive realities of Jim Crow. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores how social networks formed the cultural, economic and political foundation of the Civil Rights Movement which would transform America’s race relations.”