- Published/Updated on:
- February 3, 2022
Join us this month to celebrate the many amazing contributions to the entertainment industry made by Black filmmakers, writers, composers and performers. We’ve put together a few examples of what we have in our catalog along with some other great resources that we hope you will enjoy.
Browse Our Collections
DVDs
Scripts
Blu-Ray
Check Out Our Black History Month Spotify Playlist
Best known for his works with director Jordon Peele, such as: Get Out (2017) and Us (2019).
Notable works include: BlacKkKlansman (2018), 25th Hour (2002), Inside Man (2006), Da 5 Bloods (2020).
Composed for films such as: Clemency (2019), Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019), Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir (2021), Women of the Movement (2022).
Known for his work on: Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021), Bridgerton (2020), When They See Us (2019), and Respect (2021).
An up and coming film composer known for her works on: Dreamland: The Rise and Fall of Black Wall Street and A Black Lady Sketch Show.
Brooklyn-born composer known for her works on: Mudbound (2017), The Assistant (2019) and Shirley (2020).
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Ongoing Tours & Activities
Big Objects, Big Stories
Thursday, February 10, 2022 10:30am - 12:00pm
This program is free for participants. Registration is required.
Community + Conversation with a Docent, Freedom Struggles
This program is free for participants. Registration is required as space is limited to 50 guests.
Community + Conversation, Making A Way
This program is free for participants. Registration is required as space is limited to 50 guests.
Movie Night
Here Are a Few Ways You Can Enjoy Movies by Black Filmmakers
Within Our Gates by Oscar Micheaux
Within Our Gates was produced and directed by Oscar Micheaux in 1919. He is considered to be the first African-American director of feature films and this is the first such film still in existence.
I found the plot difficult to follow, and he does not give full play to the “money” scenes at the conclusion but it is certainly of historic interest.
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
Distinctly referred to as “a redwood tree, with deep roots in American culture,” Dr. Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928-May 28, 2014) led a prolific life. As a singer, dancer, activist, poet and writer, she inspired generations with lyrical modern African-American thought that pushed boundaries. Best known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Random House), she gave people the freedom to think about their history in a way they never had before.
With unprecedented access, filmmakers Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack trace Dr. Angelou’s incredible journey, shedding light on the untold aspects of her life through never-before-seen footage, rare archival photographs and videos and her own words.
