Overview: In Becoming Frederick Douglass, acclaimed director Stanley Nelson and co-director Nicole London bring to life the story of an American icon. Using Douglass's own powerful, profound speeches and writing, the story retraces his journey from a man born and raised in slavery to one of the most prominent elder statesmen and inspiring voices for freedom in American history. With additional context and insight provided by historians, scholars and Douglass's descendants, the filmmakers recount the brutality and trauma of his childhood while illuminating his strength of character, defiance against the bonds of slavery and the influences that guided his lifelong quest for freedom. The most celebrated Black man of his era, Douglass's legacy and achievements continue to resonate today. His life and work still inspires activists, educators and citizens in the fight for freedom, equality and a more just American society.

Genres: Documentary

Overview: Reviewing the pursuit of democracy within the U.S. on the anniversary of the 2021 Capitol riot.

Genres: Documentary

Overview: Fareed Zakaria explains the modern explosion in white supremacy, why the ideology is growing in the U.S. and abroad, who the leaders are, and what they want.

Genres: Documentary

Overview: Examines the often overlooked, yet insidious issue of voter suppression in the United States in anticipation of the 2020 presidential election. With the perspective and expertise of Stacey Abrams, the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, the film offers an insider’s look into laws and barriers to voting that most people don’t even know is a threat to their basic rights as citizens of the United States.

Genres: Documentary History

Overview: In 1831, Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in the United States that resulted in the murder of local slave owners and their families, the eventual execution of 55 rebels and the retribution lynching of more than 200 innocent slaves. Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property examines how the story of Turner’s revolt has been interpreted throughout history and how it continues to raise new questions about the nature of terrorism and other forms of violent resistance to oppression. The film adopts an innovative structure by interspersing documentary footage and interviews with dramatizations of these different versions of Turner’s story. A unique collaboration between MacArthur Genius Award feature director Charles Burnett, acclaimed historian of slavery Kenneth S. Greenberg and Academy Award-nominated documentary producer Frank Christopher, Nat Turner is a compelling look at one of history’s most mysterious figures.

Genres: Documentary

Overview: Black Is the Color highlights key moments in the history of Black visual art, from Edmonds Lewis’s 1867 sculpture Forever Free, to the work of contemporary artists such as Whitfield Lovell, Kerry James Marshall, Ellen Gallagher, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Art historians and gallery owners place the works in context, setting them against the larger social contexts of Jim Crow, WWI, the civil rights movement and the racism of the Reagan era, while contemporary artists discuss individual works by their forerunners and their ongoing influence.

Genres: Documentary History