Racial Justice Toolkit: Films, Videos & Podcasts

Recorded Webinar ( 1hr:01min:33sec). Hosted by ProQuest
"Hassan Kwame Jeffries, associate professor of history at Ohio State, discusses teaching with primary sources to complicate normative narratives of slavery, the civil rights movement and Black Lives Matter protests"

"Harvard insights, events, and conversations addressing systemic racism, racial justice, and anti-racism. "Includes 41 videos, and growing...

(29min.:51sec.) A documentary on the Native American Boarding School Experience in Western New York.

(8 min. 26 sec.)"Mni Wiconi features water protectors from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and allies trying to stop the 1,100-mile Dakota Access Pipeline - DAPL...." Created by Divided Films with support from the WK Kellogg Foundation.

Sponsored by the New York Times. An evening of conversation and performance at TheTimesCenter, featuring Nikole Hannah-Jones, Jamelle Bouie, Mary Elliott, Eve Ewing, Tyehimba Jess, Yusef Komunyakaa, Wesley Morris and Linda Villarosa.
(YouTube- 2 hrs, 11 min., 46 sec.)

"an 8-part video series that shows how racism shows up in our lives across institutions and society: Wealth Gap, Employment, Housing Discrimination, Government Surveillance, Incarceration, Drug Arrests, Immigration Arrests, Infant Mortality…"
Featuring Jay Smooth, produced by Kat Lazo.

Webinar recorded June 12, 2020.

Weekdays. "...unapologetically confronts the reasons why the May 14 mass shooting occurred in Buffalo. Each hour-long episode is hosted by WBFO News Director Dave Debo, WBFO Managing Editor Brigid Jaipaul-Valenza, and WBFO Morning Edition Host Jay Moran, and will amplify voices that have traditionally been marginalized. The show provides a forum for open, honest, and candid conversations about what happened, what’s next, and what role each of us can play in solving the problems that caused it."

Conversations about race hosted by journalists of color

Guide from the University of British Columbia

Regularly updated list by Player FM

This list covers a range of investigative reporting, arts, culture, and history topics
By Izzy Gravano, Minnesota Monthly - June 22, 2020

"...[G]uests from the worlds of activism, arts, academia and beyond join Rick Harp for lively, insightful conversation that goes beyond the headlines to get at what matters most to Indigenous peoples...."

Regularly updated — Listen to the top podcasts discussing race, racism, systemic racism, racial & social inequality

 Directed by Ava DuVernay, this film is an "in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality."
13th available on Netflix
WorldCat.org: 13th at various libraries
 

(31 min.) 2021. Available online for UB folks.
Harris, Kamala, Michelle Obama, and Brian Stewart. " The battles for African American women fought 100 years ago -- for a constitutional right and against segregationist and discriminatory Jim Crow laws in the South echo today as American women continue to work against voter suppression and for full access to the polls. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Black women played an active role in the struggle for universal suffrage. They participated in political meetings and organized political societies, as well as attend political conventions at their local churches where they planned strategies to gain the right to vote. In the late 1800s, more Black women worked for churches, newspapers, secondary schools, and colleges, which gave them a larger platform to promote their ideas. But in spite of their hard work, many people didn't listen to them. Black men and White women usually led civil rights organizations and set the agenda and often excluded Black women from their organizations and activities. Though Black women are less well remembered, they played an important role in getting the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments passed"

(1hr. 59 min.) "The story of the five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who were wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in New York City's Central Park in 1989. Directed and produced by Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns, the film chronicles the Central Park Jogger case, from the perspective of the five teenagers whose lives were upended by this miscarriage of justice." From Ken Burns. "Central Park Five" at various libraries (Worldcat.org) 

(54 min.) Available on YouTube (free)
" No human being is illegal. When Dartmouth College students challenged anti-immigrant language in the Library of Congress, their activism sparked a movement--and a cataloging term became a flashpoint in the immigration debate on Capitol Hill. Watch this film and learn why “words are also actions.”"

(1 hr. 25 min.The story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, and the events that led to his death in 2009 at the hands of a BART police officer in Oakland. "Fruitvale Station" at various libraries (Worldcat.org) 

(1 hr. 44 min.) "A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point."
Director: Jordan Peele; Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford. "Get Out" on Amazon Prime ; "Get Out" in various libraries (WorldCat.org) 

(1 hr. 30 min.) Produced and directed by Brad Lichtenstein. With Susan Sarandon. "Offers an account of America's most violent prison rebellion, its suppression, and the days of torture that ensued. Uses newly uncovered video of the assault, interviews with eyewitnesses who've never spoken before on camera, and footage of inmates and hostages throughout their battles against the state. This film unravels a deep cover-up, and shows how the riot transformed the lives of its survivors." Available on DVD in the UB Law Library: Law Multimedia Collection DVD HV9475 .N72 A854 2001 ; "Ghosts of Attica" at various libraries (Worldcat.org)
  

Follows a group of public defenders as they work in the South trying to defend their clients who have been charged with a variety of crimes. The attorneys speak about the stress and difficulties working with so many clients, with such limited funds and time to devote to all of them."
Available to UB folks: Gideon's Army on DVD
Available to UB folks: Gideon's Army streaming
WorldCat.org: Gideon's Army available on DVD at various libraries
Gideon's Army on Amazon Prime

(92 min.) A Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation production. This film "chronicles a movement that started a revolution and inspired a nation. By recounting the life story of Dennis Banks, the Native American who co-founded the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1968 to advocate and protect the rights of American Indians, the film provides an in-depth look at the history and issues surrounding AIM"s formation...."

(46min.15sec.) "Discussion of Chief Illiniwek as the University of Illinois mascot, and the effect the mascot has on Native American peoples. Graduate student Charlene Teters shares the impact of the Chief on her family. Interviewees include members of the Board of Regents, students, alumni, current and former "Chiefs" and members of the community...."

(1 hr. 6 min.)"The film explores Georgia representative's, 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health care reform, and immigration. ..."

(2 hr. 17 min.) "World-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner."
"Just Mercy" at various libraries (Worldcat.org)
 

(71 min.)" More Than a Word offers a fascinating look inside the growing movement to change the name of the Washington R*dskins football team.Directed by brothers John and Kenn Little, who are members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, the film traces how the word “r*dskin” evolved from being a term of racist derision and slander to being embraced as the name of one of the NFL’s most beloved franchises...."

(88 min.) "An entertaining and provocative look at Hollywood's depiction of Native Americans, Reel Injun journeys through a century of cinema to set the record straight. Traveling through the heartland of the U.S., to the Black Hills and Monument Valley, Cree "An entertaining and provocative look at Hollywood's depiction of Native Americans, Reel Injun journeys through a century of cinema to set the record straight. Traveling through the heartland of the U.S., to the Black Hills and Monument Valley, Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond examines how the myth of the movie "Injun" has influenced the world's understanding -- and misunderstanding -- of Natives...."

This documentary "follows 30 years of EJI’s work on behalf of the poor, the incarcerated, and the condemned." It is an indictment of "the U.S. criminal justice system for its role in codifying modern systemic racism—and tracks the intertwined histories of slavery, lynching, segregation, and mass incarceration...."
Free access-- streaming online.

PBS American Experience Series. Episodes include:
After the Mayflower.
Geronimo.
Tecumseh's vision.
Trail of Tears.
Wounded Knee.

"Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story."
Creator: Ava DuVernay; Starring: Asante Blackk, Caleel Harris, Ethan Herisse.Available on NetFlix.   "When They See Us" at various libraries (Worldcat.org) 

(82 min.)
PBS, 2017
Streaming - at UB
A haven for Black intellectuals, artists and revolutionaries - and path of promise toward the American dream - Black colleges and universities have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field. They have been unapologetically Black for more than 150 years. For the first time ever, their story is told.