Via Flickr
Moonlight
Moonlight explores the life of Chiron, a young, Black, gay man coming of age in Miami, FL. His struggle with the intersections of racism and homophobia, and the varying levels of support he receives from other Black people, made this compelling film the Best Picture winner at the 2016 Oscars!
Pariah
Alternatively celebratory and heartbreaking, Pariah explores the life of Alike, a Black teen coming to terms with her lesbianism and navigating her parents’ expectations for her life.
Bessie
Starring Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith, the “Empress of the Blues,” this biopic charts Smith’s life, from her difficult childhood to eventual superstardom, giving a window into her romantic relationships with men and women along the way.
Paris is Burning
This documentary showcases the struggle and resilience of 1980s New York queer people of color, who carved out spaces for acceptance and joy in a world that rejected them.
It also shows the Black, queer origins of some aspects of what is now mainstream culture, especially slang such as “shade” and “realness” as well as dance such as “vogue.”
Brother Outsider
The story of Bayard Rustin, legendary Civil Rights activist and architect of the 1963 March on Washington, is chronicled here, including the daunting homophobia that he pushed through as he continued to fight for Black liberation.