Black history is American history. And though February is Black History Month, the communities and contributions of Black Americans should be celebrated all year long.
These movies and shows highlight the heroism of Black Americans, both the well-known icons and the unsung figures of the past. Combining education and entertainment, each entry portrays significant events in history through compelling storytelling and standout performances.
Queue up any of these films and series inspired by true stories — all of which are ready to stream anytime throughout the year, not just in February. Looking for even more? Netflix’s Black History Month collection has plenty of new and noteworthy picks worth adding to your list.
This fictionalized drama zooms in on a young Barack Obama (Devon Terrell) as he arrives in New York City in 1981 to begin his junior year at Columbia University — the beginning of a formative period for the titular president-to-be. During this time, he forges his identity and new perspectives through a series of impactful experiences on and off campus. Terrell portrays the future head of state alongside Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Mitchell, Ashley Judd, and Jenna Elfman.
Before NFL superstar Colin Kaepernick made headlines for his activism — and long before he became a starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers — he was a high school all-star in three different sports while upholding a 4.0 GPA. Kaepernick himself narrates this six-episode dramatization, in which the teenager navigates race, class, and culture while aspiring for greatness. Jaden Michael plays the young athlete, with Mary-Louise Parker and Nick Offerman as his parents.
Spike Lee (She’s Gotta Have It) directs this drama about four veterans — played by Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, and Isiah Whitlock, Jr. — who return to Vietnam to find the remains of their fallen Squad Leader (Chadwick Boseman) and the promise of buried treasure. While these characters aren’t direct portrayals of specific veterans, the film is based on the accounts of numerous real-life Black soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War, and includes actual photographs, archival footage, and statistics.
“Can you dig it?” Eddie Murphy stars in this biopic as Rudy Ray Moore, a struggling Los Angeles comedian who took the creative and financial risk to bring his stand-up character to the big screen, and in turn made one of the greatest blaxploitation films of the 1970s. The dramedy about the “Godfather of Rap” has a stacked cast, including Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, and Wesley Snipes.
This Civil War-era drama focuses on the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first Black regiments in the Union Army. Matthew Broderick portrays the regiment’s commanding officer, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, while Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Andre Braugher play the soldiers — some of whom are fictional, but based on accounts from multiple books and Shaw’s personal letters. The movie spans the regiment’s formation and their efforts at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner.
With this biopic, Cynthia Erivo earned an Oscar nomination for playing the titular Harriet Tubman as she makes a harrowing escape from slavery, and then risks her life to lead others to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Alongside Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. portrays William Still, the abolitionist who kept detailed records of the hundreds of people who managed to escape slavery, later publishing the book The Underground Railroad Records. Joe Alwyn, Janelle Monáe, and Jennifer Nettles are also featured in the film.
The U.S. had considered boycotting the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, due to the rise in Nazi propaganda and discriminatory policies in the host country. Amid racial tensions in America and abroad, track-and-field athlete Jesse Owens went on to compete in the Games and win four gold medals, each in Olympic record time. Stephan James (Night Always Comes) portrays the renowned runner in this biopic, alongside Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Irons, and William Hurt.
Named after her signature song, this biopic about Aretha Franklin stars Jennifer Hudson as the Queen of Soul. The drama covers the first three decades of the singer’s life, from her childhood hardships to the recording of her influential live album Amazing Grace in 1972. Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, and Mary J. Blige play Franklin’s family members, friends, and music industry colleagues who cross paths with her as she rises to fame.
At just 14 years old, teen battle rap champ Roxanne Shanté cemented her legacy as one of the first female stars in hip-hop history. In 1985, the New York native recorded “Roxanne’s Revenge,” a song that became an instant hit and is now considered the first diss track of the genre. Chanté Adams depicts the groundbreaking emcee in the film, alongside Mahershala Ali, Nia Long, Elvis Nolasco, Kevin Phillips, and Shenell Edmonds.
Colman Domingo (The Four Seasons) earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Bayard Rustin, the openly gay civil rights leader who dedicated his life to a quest for racial equality. The activist was the driving force behind the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his momentous “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The film features Chris Rock, Jeffrey Wright, Audra McDonald, and Glynn Turman as Rustin’s real-life contemporaries.
America’s first self-made female millionaire was none other than Madam C.J. Walker, an entrepreneur who built an empire of cosmetic and hair care products for Black women in the early 1900s. Octavia Spencer depicts the pioneering mogul, who was a single mother working as a washerwoman before launching her beauty business. Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Blair Underwood are also among the cast of the four-part limited series.
In 1968, Shirley Chisholm made history as the first Black woman elected to US Congress. She again became a political trailblazer in 1972, as the first Black candidate to seek a major party’s nomination for president. Regina King (The Harder They Fall) portrays the Brooklyn native in this drama, which recounts her groundbreaking run for the nomination. Also in the movie: Terrence Howard, Lance Reddick, Brian Stokes Mitchell, André Holland, and Lucas Hedges.
Delivering a three-year backlog of mail — totaling approximately 17 million pieces — to American soldiers fighting overseas during World War II sounds like an impossible task. Not only was the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion the sole Black Women's Army Corps unit stationed in Europe at the time, but these 855 women were also given just six months to complete this daunting task. Tyler Perry directs the depiction of the unique military contribution, starring Kerry Washington as the 6888th’s leader, Major Charity Adams.
This limited series from Ava DuVernay (13TH) is based on a true story that gripped the nation: five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The series’ four episodes span from 1989, when the teens were first questioned about the incident, to their 2002 exoneration, as well as the 2014 settlement made with the city of New York. The ensemble cast includes Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Niecy Nash, and Jharrel Jerome, who won an Emmy Award for his performance.
