Conversations About Race: Watch

Movies Adults (and families with older teens)

Do The Right Thing (1989)
Quintessential movie about police brutality.

Fruitvale Station (2013)
The story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old black man who was shot to death by police at an Oakland, California, metro station.

Moonlight (2016)
This Academy Award-winning picture shows the grief and trauma of black men through an entirely different lens than police brutality while also highlighting the black LGBTQ community.

Dead Presidents (1995)
One of the few movies about Vietnam that focuses on the black veteran experience.

In the Heat of the Night (1967)
This film came at the height of Sidney Poitier’s career, several years after he became the first black star to win best actor at the Oscars (for “Lilies of the Field”). It includes a powerful scene that experts call “the slap heard round the world.”

13th (2016)
Ava DuVernay’s documentary explains the prison industrial complex and is timely as it spans from the 1800s through to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

To Sleep With Anger (1990)
A film about a black family living in Los Angeles whose lives are interrupted when one of their old friends from down South shows up unexpectedly.

The Hate You Give (2018)
Based on Angie Thomas’ 2017 young-adult novel and takes on themes of Black Lives Matter, police brutality and black identity and puts them in the thought-provoking story of a black girl growing up in a predominantly black inner city while attending a white private school across town. This film is especially important for families with budding teenagers as it depicts how early the trauma and grief can start for some children.

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Adapted from Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name and follows the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer (Gregory Peck) who represents a black man (Tom Robinson) accused of raping a white woman. The Broadway play (closed due to the pandemic) is also worth a trip to the city.

Malcolm X (1992)
Stars Denzel Washington as the activist and base don Alex Haley and Malcolm X’s “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.” The film takes you through monumental events in his life, from his criminal history to joining the Nation of Islam to his assassination. A foundational film for those who wish to learn more.

Let the Fire Burn (2013)
Depicts the police bombing of the MOVE organization (a black liberation group) in Philadelphia in 1985. The standoff led to the deaths of 11 people, included children.

 

Fr. Brian Massingale on Racism and White Privilege

“The Other” Homily by Fr. Prentice Tipton

Pentecost Sunday | Bishop Fernand Cheri, OFM

 

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