Although we dedicate every February to celebrating African-American history, it’s never a bad time to acknowledge and appreciate Black excellence as our regality is boundless.
The last two years have wreaked havoc on the country with issues including global health crises, economic uncertainty, emotional trauma, and civil rights events. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic which arose in 2020, there has seemingly been a drop in patience across the world. In May of the same year, the murder of George Floyd sparked Black Lives Matters protests nationwide. Since the tragic event, there’s been a spotlight on the talent and influence of Black arts and culture in America, and as Black History Month begins we’re encouraging you to take it all in.
Several cable and streamings services are offering Black History Month titles that perfectly fit in with celebrating our history and culture so much so that we’ve dubbed them “Black Gems.” Comcast Xfinity reports that it’s investing millions of dollars in showcasing emerging talent from the top Black film festivals with films like Zahra and the Oil Man, Paris Blues in Harlem, Riverment, Twenty Pearls, and Civic Mind. Xfinity boasts that is the only one of its kind endorsed by the African American Film Critics Association, the world’s largest group of Black film critics that gives annual awards for excellence in film and television.
Xfinity adds that this Black History Month, they’re continuing to celebrate the Black community’s remarkable contributions to American culture with a new special collection featuring a retrospective that highlights the cinematic achievements of independent Black films and filmmakers with titles like Fruitvale Station and Eve’s Bayou.
Similarly, Pluto TV is also offering BHM content.
Everyday at 8 pm ET the Black Cinema channel is showing a movie celebrating Black storytelling & artistry. Pluto TV adds that you can learn about iconic Black figures & events throughout history on Pluto TV Documentaries and Pluto TV History. The array of films include I Am Not Your Negro, Michelle Obama: Hope Becomes Change, Obama: Building the Dream, The Obamas: Believe, Jackie Robinson My Story, and Muhammad Ali: The Greatest.
Similarly, BET Her will put Black women front and center through a variety of blockbuster hits, classic movies, music, and original series, including Sister Sister, Moesha, BET Music Blocks, BET Presents The Encore, DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic, It’s Showtime at the Apollo, and Soul!
Children will also have the opportunity to engage with the historical month; every Friday at 7pm ET, the BBC Kids channel will stream Horrible Histories episodes that honor Black historical figures including Jesse Owens, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and President Obama.
On Showtime Selects, Pluto TV will highlight programming including City on a Hill, Ziwe, Desus & Mero, Flatbush Misdemeanors, Attica, You’re Watching Video Music Box, Ricky Powell: The Individualist, Rolling Like Thunder, The One and Only Dick Gregory, Bitchin’: The Sounds and Fury of Rick James, Hitsville: The Making of Motown, and Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics & Men.
These are just a few BOSSIP Black Gems, see more Black stories highlighting our voices significantly below.
If Beale Street Could talk
A young woman embraces her pregnancy while she and her family set out to prove her childhood friend and lover innocent of a crime he didn’t commit.
Where to Watch: Prime Video
Judas and the Black Messiah
A movie about the betrayal and assassination of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party. Starring Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield.
Where To Watch: HBO Max
Da 5 Bloods
Spike Lee’s Screen Actors Guild-nominated war film features four aging Black veterans (including Delroy Lindo) who return to Vietnam to recover lost treasure and the remains of their late squad leader (Chadwick Boseman).
Where To Watch: Netflix
Marshall
Marshall is based on the incredible true story of future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and one of the landmark cases of his life.
Where To Watch: Netflix
Selma
This epic Civil Rights biopic covers the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, which ultimately leads to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Where To Watch: Prime Video
Hidden Figures
The incredible untold true story of Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) & Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae)—brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit.
Where To Watch: Prime Video
John Lewis: Good Trouble
An intimate account of legendary U.S. Representative John Lewis’ life, legacy, and more than 60 years of extraordinary activism.
Where To Watch: HBO Max
Harriet
The story of Harriet Tubman and her many journeys back and forth on the Underground Railroad.
Where To Watch: Prime Video
One Night In Miami
A look at Regina King’s directorial debut of One Night in Miami… What happens when Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke find themselves in the same room.
Where To Watch: Prime Video
Fences
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by August Wilson and directed by Denzel Washington, Fences shows us how regrets and long-lost dreams can plague those around you if you don’t deal with them. A father must deal with his inner demons before it destroys his son’s future.
Where To Watch: Prime Video
Soul
After landing the gig of a lifetime, a New York jazz pianist suddenly finds himself trapped in a strange land between Earth and the afterlife.
Where To Watch: Disney+
Just Mercy
World-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner.
Where To Watch: Prime Video
The Hate You Give
A young girl straddling two worlds—her Black community and the privileged and predominantly white world of her private school—is devastated by a tragic killing of her best friend by a local police officer, forcing her to discover her voice and take a stand for what’s right.
Where To Watch: Prime Video
The Butler
Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” tells the story of a White House butler (Academy Award®-winner Forest Whitaker) who served eight American presidents over three decades.
Where To Watch: Prime Video
I Am Not Your Negro
Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
Where To Watch: Prime Video
12 Years A Slave
A free Black man is kidnapped and sold into slavery and must endure 12 years of enslavement at the hands of a malicious owner.
Where To Watch: Prime Video
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