A Century of Black Cinema

Country music has always been Black music. For Love & Country examines the genre's past through the lens of a new generation of Black artists claiming space in Nashville, and transforming country music in the process.

This documentary captures the sounds and images of a nearly forgotten era in film history when African American filmmakers and studios created “race movies” exclusively for black audiences. The best of these films attempted to counter the demeaning stereotypes of black Americans prevalent in the popular culture of the day. About 500 films were produced, yet only about 100 still exist. Filmmaking pioneers like Oscar Micheaux, the Noble brothers, and Spencer Williams, Jr. left a lasting influence on black filmmakers, and inspired generations of audiences who finally saw their own lives reflected on the silver screen.

Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy is a feature-length documentary film highlighting the history of the Crownsville State Mental Hospital in Crownsville, MD.

A haven for Black intellectuals, artists and revolutionaries—and path of promise toward the American dream—Black colleges and universities have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field. They have been unapologetically Black for 150 years. For the first time ever, their story is told.

Through first person accounts and searing archival footage, this documentary tells the story of the local movement and young Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizers who fought not just for voting rights, but for Black Power in Lowndes County, Alabama.

Explore the complicated history of African Americans’ place in San Francisco politics in African Americans and The Vote – a collaboration between Citizen Film and the San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society. African Americans and the Vote features San Francisco’s first Black mayor, Willie Brown and members of the next generation of leadership. Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema will be screening African Americans and the Vote virtually Tuesday, October 27 as a part of their “Best of Bernal” live streaming event!

The history of warfare as it relates to global Black society, broken down into 7 chapters that examines the ways the system of racism wages warfare from a historical, psychological, sexual, biological, health, educational, and military perspective.

A look at the Black revolution in 1970s cinema, from genre films to social realism, from the making of new superstars to the craft of rising auteurs.

When the Civil War ended in 1865, more than four million slaves were set free. Over 70 years later, the memories of some 2,000 slave-era survivors were transcribed and preserved by the Library of Congress. These first-person anecdotes, ranging from the brutal to the bittersweet, have been brought to vivid life in this unique HBO documentary special, featuring the on-camera voices of over a dozen top African-American actors.

Prepare for an eye-opening journey into the heart of identity and division. 'Tethers' is a groundbreaking interview-style documentary that delves deep into the complex tapestry of cultural differences, racial tension, and the ethnocentric divide between Africans, African Americans, and Foundation Black Americans.

Documents the race riot of 1921 and the destruction of the African-American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With testimony by eyewitnesses and background accounts by historians.