5 influential Black movies

Over the years, many films have been released to uplift the Black community and force the public to see the problems it faces from the Black perspective. The five movies that will be featured in this list accomplish just that.

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1) Hidden Figures

This movie is based on the true story of three African American women at NASA, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan. They were crucial contributors to the space orbit launch of astronaut John Glenn. The main focus of the movie is how these were so important to the mission of the agency that the racial norms and inequalities were torn down to include them in the project.

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2) Boyz in the Hood

This movie was written and directed by John Singleton, who was nominated for the Academy’s Best Director and Best Original screenplay awards. It follows a high school-age boy sent to live with his father in South-Central Los Angeles. This movie depicts growing up influenced by gang violence, incarceration of black youth, Black fatherhood, and Interactions with police as a Black man in America.  When it came out in 1991, many from the Black community could relate, and even today, the problems the movie showcases are still prevalent.

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3) Fences

Fences follow the life of a Pittsburgh sanitation worker Troy Maxson, played by Denzel Washington, and his relationship with his family, especially the impact he has on his son. The movie's theme is Black fatherhood and how growing up as a Black individual who suffered discrimination can impact how Black fathers raise their sons, almost teaching them to expect the world to be against them and to rise above it all.

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4)The Hate U Give

Following the life of a high school girl living in a predominantly Black neighborhood but attending a predominantly white high school, this movie tackles the idea of code-switching as a Black youth. This is essentially adjusting your personality based on the people you’re around at the moment, and also police brutality. The main character struggles to get through inner turmoil after her close childhood friend who was unarmed was shot and killed by police in front of her.

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5) Selma

This movie depicts one of the most pivotal points in history for the empowerment of Black people in America -  the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama. It documents the violent opposition participants faced from police, as well as  President Linden Johnson's signing of the Voter Rights Act of 1965.