In honor of Black History Month, our streaming video provider Kanopy has curated a collection of films that offer various perspectives on the Black experience in America. These films, both narrative and documentary, highlight the history and culture of the Black community while noting the trials and tribulations endured during periods of racial injustice. By telling the stories of leaders and those working behind the scenes to improve civil rights, as well as displaying facets of Black identity, these cinematic works provide valuable commentary of race relations across several generations.
To browse the complete collection, visit:
https://vhlibrary.kanopy.com/category/40898
Black Boys
This documentary explores the body, mind, voice, and heart of Black boys and the
double-edged sword of having to build up their own self worth while knowing the world
is not built for them. As various Black men and boys open themselves up to the camera,
the emotional landscape of racism and its effects on them are revealed.
vhlibrary.kanopy.com/product/black-boys
Brother Outsider: The Life of Freedom Fighter Bayard Rustin
On November 20, 2013, Bayard Rustin was posthumously awarded the prestigious
Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Who was this man? He
was an important part of the Civil Rights Movement — but always in the background.
Brother Outsider asks "Why?" It presents a vivid drama, intermingling the personal and
the political, about one of the most enigmatic figures in 20th-century American history.
vhlibrary.kanopy.com/product/brother-outsider
Daughters of the Dust
At the dawn of the 20th century, a multi-generational family in the Gullah community on
the Sea Islands off of South Carolina — former West African slaves who adopted many of
their ancestors' Yoruba traditions — struggles to maintain their cultural heritage and
folklore while contemplating a migration to the mainland, even further from their roots.
vhlibrary.kanopy.com/product/daughters-dust
The French Way
This farcical romantic-comedy set in WWII France is about young lovers forbidden to
marry by their respective families. Josephine Baker plays Zazu, the owner of a nightclub,
who inherits the job of restoring harmony between the two families and allowing the
young lovers to "se marier."
vhlibrary.kanopy.com/product/french-way
Fresh Dressed - The Evolution of Rap Fashion
A fascinating chronicle of hip-hop, urban fashion, and the hustle that brought oversized
pants and graffiti-drenched jackets from Orchard Street to high fashion's catwalks and
Middle America shopping malls. Director Sacha Jenkins's music-drenched history draws
from a rich mix of archival materials and in-depth interviews with rappers, designers, and
other industry insiders.
vhlibrary.kanopy.com/product/fresh-dressed
Jayhawkers
Directed by Oscar-winner Kevin Willmott, Jayhawkers tells the powerful fable of how a
small group of unlikely allies modernized college sports and changed a small Midwestern
town, serving as a parallel to the Civil Rights movement that would transform an entire
American society.
vhlibrary.kanopy.com/product/jayhawkers
Sounder
Set in rural Louisiana during the Depression, this heartfelt story tells of a sharecropper
family struggling to overcome adversity. After stealing to feed his family, Nathan is sent
to a prison camp. In their fight for survival, his determined wife and their eldest son hold
the family together. Once the boy becomes an adult, he searches for his father but
instead discovers manhood.
vhlibrary.kanopy.com/product/sounder
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson—the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World, whose
dominance over his white opponents spurred furious debates and race riots in the early
20th century—enters the ring once again in Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of
Jack Johnson a provocative PBS documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns.
vhlibrary.kanopy.com/product/unforgiveable-blackness
To browse the complete collection, visit:
https://vhlibrary.kanopy.com/category/40898
