The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
Film. 2002. 4 episodes — 56 minutes each.
Documentary on the history of the Jim Crow era.
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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.
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A three-part documentary series that questions the very idea of race as biology.
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.
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Series of short films on environmental and economic issues that make complicated issues easy to understand for middle school to adult viewers.
First Light
Film. By Upstander Project. 2015. 13 minutes.
Story of forced removal of Native American children in Maine sent to boarding schools.
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Story of forced removal of Native American children in Maine sent to boarding schools.
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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This film documents the armed insurgency against the French colonial powers in Algiers, showing the brutality and desperation of war.
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.
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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.
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This documentary chronicles 150 years of Black journalists, printers, and Black-owned newspapers in the United States.
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.
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A groundbreaking summer camp galvanizes a group of teens with disabilities to help build a movement, forging a new path toward greater equality.
9to5: The Story of a Movement
Film. Directed and produced by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar. Working Women Documentary Project LLC. 2021.
While Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" song is well known, this documentary captures the real-life 9-to-5 organizing to address issues of working women in the early 1970s that led to a union.
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While Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" song is well known, this documentary captures the real-life 9-to-5 organizing to address issues of working women in the early 1970s that led to a union.
The First Rainbow Coalition
Film. Directed and produced by Ray Santisteban. Nantes Media LLC. 2019. 56 minutes.
In this documentary, Chicago's Black Panther Party forms alliances across lines of race and ethnicity with other community-based movements in the city to collectively confront issues such as police brutality and substandard housing.
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In this documentary, Chicago's Black Panther Party forms alliances across lines of race and ethnicity with other community-based movements in the city to collectively confront issues such as police brutality and substandard housing.
The Boys Who Said No
Film. Directed by Judith Ehrlich. 2020. 95 minutes.
A documentary uses interviews and found footage to tell the inspiring story and impact of the anti-Vietnam War draft resistance movement.
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A documentary uses interviews and found footage to tell the inspiring story and impact of the anti-Vietnam War draft resistance movement.
The Neutral Ground
Film. Directed by C. J. Hunt. 2021. 82 minutes.
A co-production of POV and ITVS, in association with the Center for Asian American Media. A student-friendly documentary on the fight over Confederate monuments and the Lost Cause narrative.
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A co-production of POV and ITVS, in association with the Center for Asian American Media. A student-friendly documentary on the fight over Confederate monuments and the Lost Cause narrative.
The Way to Freedom: Selma and the Making of a Movement
Film. National Park Service. 2020. 23 minutes.
Documentary about the role of young people in the voting rights movement in Alabama in the 1960s.
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Documentary about the role of young people in the voting rights movement in Alabama in the 1960s.
La Operación (documentary)
Film. Directed by Ana María García. 1982. 40 minutes.
La Operación is a 1982 documentary that shows the widespread sterilization operation led by the U.S. during the 1950s and 60s in Puerto Rico.
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La Operación is a 1982 documentary that shows the widespread sterilization operation led by the U.S. during the 1950s and 60s in Puerto Rico.
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Film. Directed by Johanna Hamilton and Yoruba Richen. Produced by Soledad O’Brien. 2022. 101 minutes.
This documentary sheds light on Rosa Parks' extensive organizing, radical politics, and lifelong dedication to justice.
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This documentary sheds light on Rosa Parks' extensive organizing, radical politics, and lifelong dedication to justice.
Harlan County USA
Film. Directed and produced by Barbara Kopple. 1976. 103 minutes.
This documentary tells the story of a Kentucky coal miners' strike and the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
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This documentary tells the story of a Kentucky coal miners' strike and the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power
Film. Directed by Sam Pollard and Geeta Gandbhir. 2022. 90 minutes.
The story of young SNCC organizers who fought for voting rights and Black power in Lowndes County, Alabama.
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The story of young SNCC organizers who fought for voting rights and Black power in Lowndes County, Alabama.
Cooked: Survival by ZIP Code
Film. Directed by Judith Helfand. 2020. 54 minutes.
This documentary focuses on Chicago’s heat wave to look at how a weeklong tragedy is really a story about the “slow-motion disaster” caused by race and class inequality.
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This documentary focuses on Chicago’s heat wave to look at how a weeklong tragedy is really a story about the “slow-motion disaster” caused by race and class inequality.