"Beloved" is a 1998 film starring Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Kimberly Elise, and Thandie Newton that was adapted from a Toni Morrison novel. Back in the 1970s while working as an editor, Morrison came across a newspaper clipping about an enslaved woman who attempted to escape but was captured. Distressed at being forced to return to bondage, the woman attempted to kill her children to avoid having them return to slavery. That newspaper article inspired Morrison to write "Beloved". The post Beloved [Movie Review] appeared first on Noire Histoir ..read more

“Who We Are: A chronicle of Racism in America” is a documentary by Jeffrey Robinson, an attorney and ACLU representative, that discusses the history of racism. And not just individual racism, which is what the focus tends to be placed on, but rather the history of institutional racism. The systemized structure and practice of white supremacy that was created at the founding of the country. I love documentaries (and books) like this where people use facts and logic to break down the ridiculous efforts to reframe history to suit agendas. It's especially important as pushes are made to eliminate ..read more

"American Gangster" is a 2007 crime drama set in the 1970s that tells the story of the Harlem kingpin, Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts, the police officer intent on bringing him down. But unlike many other films, "American Gangster" doesn't just focus on the glitz and glam of being a crime boss but also touches on the real-life consequences and drawbacks of the lifestyle. The post American Gangster [Movie Review] appeared first on Noire Histoir ..read more

A review of “Booker's Place”, a documentary about Booker Wright, a waiter in Greenwood, Mississippi who participated in an NBC documentary about his experiences as a black man living in the South under Jim Crow. The post Booker’s Place [Movie Review] appeared first on Noire Histoir ..read more

“Higher Learning” is a 1995 film directed by John Singleton. It's one of the films from his collection, which might be lesser known than some of his other films, but it also offers quite a bit of social commentary. The story provides a look into the social, racial, and gender politics of a college campus. There are certainly main characters, but I look at the film as an ensemble piece that follows multiple characters balancing college with figuring out who they want to be. The post Higher Learning [Movie Review] appeared first on Noire Histoir ..read more

A review of "3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets", a 2015 Sundance-winning documentary that tells the story of the shooting death of Jordan Davis in Jacksonville, Florida. To be more precise, the documentary dives into the events leading up to the murder of Jordan Davis and the resulting trial of Michael Dunn. The post 3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets [Movie Review] appeared first on Noire Histoir ..read more

"Cooley High" is a classic in the Black film canon but sets itself apart as one of the few true Black coming-of-age films. The 1975 film tells the story of two high school friends with big dreams who are growing up in Chicago during the 1960s. Set against a classic Motown soundtrack, the boys cut school to hang out and chase girls. But their lives are forever changed when their teenage hijinks include hanging with the wrong crowd. The post Cooley High [Movie Review] appeared first on Noire Histoir ..read more

"LA 92" is a 2017 documentary about the racial tensions that erupted into riots in Los Angeles in 1992. At the core of the unrest was the acquittal of four White police officers who had been caught on video savagely beating a Black man, Rodney King. The relatively light sentencing of a shopkeeper who shot and killed an unarmed Black girl who she thought was stealing also contributed to the unrest. The documentary explains these two contributing events but also explores the city's decades long history of discrimination and ill-treatment of its Black population. The post LA 92 [Movie Review] ap ..read more

“Respect” is a 2021 film starring Jennifer Hudson as she portrays Aretha Franklin in a biopic about the life and career of the iconic singer and musician. The film features quite a number of big names but underperformed at the box office in part due to having its release thrown off to some degree by the COVID pandemic. But the film itself is also part of the problem in that it had great potential but suffered by some problematic casting and structural issues. It's a missed opportunity as even with the film's shortcomings there is a glimmer of what could have been in Jennifer Hudson's performan ..read more

“High on the Hog” is a 2021 Netflix documentary about how Black American food culture and styles of cooking developed and provided the foundation for much of America’s food culture. Over four episodes the show’s host, Stephen Satterfield, a food writer, visits various locations to learn about Black food history and traditions. The documentary does a great job of showing the historical connection of the Black diaspora’s shared culture. While touching on both familiar and unfamiliar topics, this approach to discussing Black American history feels new and refreshing. The post High on the Hog [Mo ..read more