African American Movies

The Pittsburgh History Series is an ongoing series of hour-long documentaries that highlight various parts of our city's history. Since 1988, these...

To many African Americans, soul food is sacrament, ritual, and a key expression of cultural identity. But does this traditional cuisine do more harm...

The James Brown Story

A powerful documentary starring Morgan Freeman about the genesis of The Blues in the South and the music spreading around the world. Morgan Freeman...

Funk legend Sly Stone disappeared from the limelight for more than 20 years. Musicians and the media tried to find the recluse but failed. In 2005...

Colors explores the bonds of a young family living in the Bronx. They are displaced after unforeseen circumstances take the family to unexpected...

An educational video exploring drug addiction, including footage of real-life addicts going through rehab therapy.

Alma W. Thomas lived a life of firsts: the first Fine Arts graduate of Howard University (1924), the first Black woman to mount a retrospective at...

The untold true story: The rise and fall of the greatest funk band ever, Parliament Funkadelic.

FOLLOW THE DRINKING GOURD is a feature documentary about the Black food justice movement. Family-friendly, funny, and moving, this 60-minute film...

A shell-shocked black soldier is cared for by a miner and his daughter when he wanders into their camp, and makes a fresh start in life with the aid...

Four African American families relate their experiences with adoption.

“This classic award-winning documentary is the first definitive treatment of the origins and rituals of the Black Mardi Gras Indians of New...

Comedy short (only fragments remain at LoC)

A romantic comedy about a man's wife that has a closet secret literally. When James begins to work for the company that rents Closet Spaces, he finds...

To receive their inheritance, business magnate Hudson Graham has mandated his surviving family members return to their homestead and spend his final...

Based on a True Story, we journey back to 1980 to see John King, a 10yr old African American boy, see his mother experience the Joy of Salvation,...

After Phyllis discovers that her daughter Cecilia can read, she’s torn between abiding to her slave owner’s commands or encouraging her...

Despite Blacks making up only 7% of Madison WI's population, they are leading in so many important areas from education to politics, and are...

Evanston, a suburb just north of Chicago, touts its progressivism and inclusion. It was the first city in the U.S. to offer reparations for Black...