The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
Film. 2002. 4 episodes — 56 minutes each.
Documentary on the history of the Jim Crow era.
Continue reading
Documentary on the history of the Jim Crow era.
Resource Type: Films
Below is a collection of our recommended films for middle and high school.
We offer additional lists and articles about films. See the links here:
Films with a Conscience is an annotated list of films that we recommend for middle and high school. It includes many of the titles listed further below.
Teaching People’s History with Film offers some strategies for viewing films with students in the classroom that invite insight and critical reflection.
Film Clips is our collection of short clips, many of which are from the Voices of a People’s History “People Speak” productions.
Race — The Power of an Illusion
Film. By California Newsreel. 2003. Three episodes – 56 minutes each.
A three-part documentary series that questions the very idea of race as biology.
Continue reading
A three-part documentary series that questions the very idea of race as biology.
Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1985
Film. Produced by Henry Hampton. Blackside. 1987. 360 minutes.
Comprehensive documentary history of the Civil Rights Movement.
Continue reading
Comprehensive documentary history of the Civil Rights Movement.
The Story of Stuff Project
Film. By Annie Leonard. 2009. 21 minutes.
Series of short films on environmental and economic issues that make complicated issues easy to understand for middle school to adult viewers.
Continue reading
Series of short films on environmental and economic issues that make complicated issues easy to understand for middle school to adult viewers.
Slavery by Another Name
Film. By Sam Pollard, Catherine Allan, Douglas Blackmon and Sheila Curran Bernard. 2012. 90 minutes.
Reveals the interlocking forces in the South and the North that enabled “neoslavery” post-Emancipation Proclamation.
Continue reading
Reveals the interlocking forces in the South and the North that enabled “neoslavery” post-Emancipation Proclamation.
First Light
Film. By Upstander Project. 2015. 13 minutes.
Story of forced removal of Native American children in Maine sent to boarding schools.
Continue reading
Story of forced removal of Native American children in Maine sent to boarding schools.
Columbus in America
Film. By Paul Puglisi. 2017. 89 minutes.
Documentary on the symbol of Columbus in the United States and the campaign for Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Continue reading
Documentary on the symbol of Columbus in the United States and the campaign for Indigenous Peoples' Day.
Reconstruction: The Second Civil War
Film. By Elizabeth Deane and Dion Graham. 2004. 174 minutes.
Through the voices of several historians and dramatic re-enactments by actors, PBS’s Reconstruction: The Second Civil War uses the stories of ordinary citizens to paint a picture of the Reconstruction era.
Continue reading
Through the voices of several historians and dramatic re-enactments by actors, PBS’s Reconstruction: The Second Civil War uses the stories of ordinary citizens to paint a picture of the Reconstruction era.
Now Can We Talk? 40 Years Later
Film. By Lee Anne Bell and Markie Hancock. 2013. 45 minutes.
This DVD and discussion guide offer a powerful way to engage students, teachers, and community groups in honest dialogue about the ongoing problems of racism and what we can do to address them.
Continue reading
This DVD and discussion guide offer a powerful way to engage students, teachers, and community groups in honest dialogue about the ongoing problems of racism and what we can do to address them.
Banished
Film. Center for Investigative Reporting and Two Tone Productions. 2007. 84 minutes.
Filmmaker Marco Williams examined four examples of primarily white communities violently rising up to force their African-American neighbors to flee town.
Continue reading
Filmmaker Marco Williams examined four examples of primarily white communities violently rising up to force their African-American neighbors to flee town.
You Got to Move: Stories of Change in the South
Film. Directed by Lucy Massie Phenix and Veronica Selver. 1985. 86 minutes.
Documentary about people who learned to organize, and received peer support, at the Highlander Center.
Continue reading
Documentary about people who learned to organize, and received peer support, at the Highlander Center.
Segregated by Design
Film. Directed by Mark Lopez. Written by Mark Lopez and Richard Rothstein. 2019. 18 minutes.
An animated documentary of how the federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in the U.S. through law and policy.
Continue reading
An animated documentary of how the federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in the U.S. through law and policy.
A Message from the Future with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Film. Narrated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and illustrated by Molly Crabapple. The Intercept. 2019. 7 minutes.
The film flips the script on our future by illustrating one where we survive climate change and thrive because we took action today.
Continue reading
The film flips the script on our future by illustrating one where we survive climate change and thrive because we took action today.
Young Voices for the Planet: “Words Have Power”
Film. By Lynne Cherry and Young Voices for the Planet. 2019. 6 minutes.
This short documentary features the activism of Jaysa Mellers, a young adolescent girl who rallied her community to challenge local air polluters.
Continue reading
This short documentary features the activism of Jaysa Mellers, a young adolescent girl who rallied her community to challenge local air polluters.
Dirt and Deeds in Mississippi
Film. Produced and directed by David Shulman. Narrated by Danny Glover. 2015. 82 minutes.
Documentary about the pivotal role played by Black landowning families during the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi who controlled over a million acres in the 1960s.
Continue reading
Documentary about the pivotal role played by Black landowning families during the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi who controlled over a million acres in the 1960s.
Trinkets and Beads
Film. By Christopher Walker. 1996. 52 minutes.
This documentary reveals the funny, heartbreaking, and thrilling story of the battle waged by indigenous people to preserve their way of life in the Amazon, in the face of international capitalism and colonialism.
Continue reading
This documentary reveals the funny, heartbreaking, and thrilling story of the battle waged by indigenous people to preserve their way of life in the Amazon, in the face of international capitalism and colonialism.
NECESSITY: A Two-Part Documentary Series on Climate Resistance
Films. Directed by Jan Haaken and Samantha Praus. 58 minutes & 57 minutes.
Oil, Water, and Climate Resistance explores the work of attorneys, valve turners, and other water protectors in Minnesota. Climate Justice and the Thin Green Line examines climate resistance in the Pacific Northwest.
Continue reading
Oil, Water, and Climate Resistance explores the work of attorneys, valve turners, and other water protectors in Minnesota. Climate Justice and the Thin Green Line examines climate resistance in the Pacific Northwest.
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Film. Directed by Phillip Noyce. 2002. 79 minutes.
In 1931, three aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained as domestic staff and set off on a journey across the Outback.
Continue reading
In 1931, three aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained as domestic staff and set off on a journey across the Outback.
Triangle Fire (Film)
Film. Written by Mark Zwonitzer and Directed by Jamila Wignot. 2018. 52 minutes.
After a tragic workplace accident, the private industry of the American factory would never be the same.
Continue reading
After a tragic workplace accident, the private industry of the American factory would never be the same.
Battle of Algiers
Film. Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. 1966. 123 minutes.
This film documents the armed insurgency against the French colonial powers in Algiers, showing the brutality and desperation of war.
Continue reading
This film documents the armed insurgency against the French colonial powers in Algiers, showing the brutality and desperation of war.
Glory
Film. Directed by Edward Zwick. 1989. 122 minutes.
The all-Black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment is brought to the screen in this star-studded Civil War film.
Continue reading
The all-Black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment is brought to the screen in this star-studded Civil War film.
At the River I Stand
Film. Directed by David Appleby, Allison Graham, and Steven Ross. 1993. 58 minutes.
Documentary film on the African American sanitation workers' 1968 fight for human dignity and a living wage in Memphis.
Continue reading
Documentary film on the African American sanitation workers' 1968 fight for human dignity and a living wage in Memphis.
The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords
Film. Directed and produced by Stanley Nelson. 1999. 83 minutes.
This documentary chronicles 150 years of Black journalists, printers, and Black-owned newspapers in the United States.
Continue reading
This documentary chronicles 150 years of Black journalists, printers, and Black-owned newspapers in the United States.
How to Survive a Plague
Film. Directed by David France. Public Square Films. 2012. 109 minutes.
This documentary is about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, and the grassroots movement of activists, many of them in a life-or-death struggle, who seized upon scientific research to help develop the drugs that turned HIV from a mostly fatal infection to a manageable disease.
Continue reading
This documentary is about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, and the grassroots movement of activists, many of them in a life-or-death struggle, who seized upon scientific research to help develop the drugs that turned HIV from a mostly fatal infection to a manageable disease.
Crip Camp
Film. Directed by Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht. Netflix. 2020. 107 minutes.
A groundbreaking summer camp galvanizes a group of teens with disabilities to help build a movement, forging a new path toward greater equality.
Continue reading
A groundbreaking summer camp galvanizes a group of teens with disabilities to help build a movement, forging a new path toward greater equality.