Biography of labor and civil rights leader, Asa Philip Randolph. Randolph founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, won the first national contract for a black union, led the fight against legalized discrimination in government and the military, and spearheaded the 1963 March on Washington. The special combines archival photos and film footage with interviews. 1h 26m

The glorious strains of gospel music wash over the West Bank in Field’s potent film. As the Palestinian National Theater and an African-American choir mount a touring play about Martin Luther King Jr., written by Stanford Professor and King scholar Clayborne Carson, an impassioned cultural exchange ensues, new friendships are forged and attitudes are altered. A rousing portrait of the changes unfolding in the Middle East as a nonviolent movement grows in Palestine, this dynamic and complex work is born of a brilliantly simple and potent idea: what would happen if African-American Christians—the same group who served as exemplars of the Civil Rights Movement—could witness first-hand the plight of Palestinians today?

The film looks at the sensational 1968 murder trial of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton, accused of killing a white Oakland policeman in an early morning car stop. If the Newton jury came back with the widely expected death penalty verdict against the charismatic black revolutionary, national riots were anticipated. Instead, a system-changing defense revolutionized the rules of a fair trial, and an unusually diverse jury headed by a pioneering black foreman delivered a shocking verdict that reverberates today. 40 min

This is the film the Black Panthers used to promote their cause. Shot in 1969, in Oakland, San Francisco and Sacramento, this exemplar of 1960s activist filmmaking traces the development of the Black Panther organization. In an interview from jail, Minister of Defense Huey P. Newton describes the origins of the Panther Party, Eldridge Cleaver explains the Panthers’ appeal to the Black community, and Chairman Bobby Seale enumerates the Panther 10-Point Program as Panthers march and demonstrate. 14 min

The faultline between Blacks and Jews is one of the most visible symbols of America’s racial divide. This film, made collaboratively by Jewish and Black filmmakers, goes behind the headlines and the rhetoric to try to heal the misunderstanding and mistrust. Blacks & Jews was acclaimed at the Sundance Film Festival for initiating a frank yet constructive nationwide dialogue between these two traditional allies. 85min

On November 20, 2013, Bayard Rustin was posthumously awarded the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Who was this man? He was there at most of the important events of the Civil Rights Movement – but always in the background. Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin asks “Why?” It presents a vivid drama, intermingling the personal and the political, about one of the most enigmatic figures in 20th-century American history. One of the first “freedom riders,” an adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and A. Philip Randolph, organizer of the March on Washington, intelligent, gregarious, and charismatic, Bayard Rustin was denied his place in the limelight for one reason – he was gay. 83min

Follow the courageous journey of John Lewis, a civil rights hero, congressional leader, and human rights champion whose unwavering fight for justice spanned the past 57 years. The son of sharecroppers, Lewis grew up in the segregated South and rose from Alabama’s Black Belt to the corridors of power on Capitol Hill. His humble origins have forever linked him to those whose voices often go unheard. 54min

James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket is considered a classic. Without using narration, The Price of the Ticket allows Baldwin to tell his own story: exploring what it means to be born black, impoverished, gay and gifted – in a world that has yet to understand that “all men are brothers.” 87min

While most may know the widely studied and performed A Raisin in the Sun as their only reference point for Lorraine Hansberry, the documentary Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart makes abundantly clear that there is much more to know about the author. The filmmakers combed archival material and  Hansberry’s personal papers and documents in order to present her complex life. Like Hansberry’s writing and activism, the film draws attention to some of the most outstanding issues of the mid-twentieth Century and beyond (racial justice, colonialism, feminism, class divisions, sexuality) and addresses the role of artists and intellectuals in bringing them to center stage. 118min

Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth was raised in the crucible of segregated Birmingham but he was forged by its attempt to kill him. When the KKK planted a bomb underneath his bed and he emerged unharmed, he was sure he was saved by God to lead a Movement. His work not only ended legal segregation but led directly to the Civil and Voting Rights Acts – and inspired freedom movements around the world. 53 min

Twelve civil rights activists share their experiences with San Francisco students. Includes brief video autobiographies of the activists and a section where students respond with questions, poetry, songs, and essays. 29 min

The World House Project’s documentary “When I Get Grown” has received praise for its educational approach and immersive storytelling. The film, based on interviews with Civil Rights activist Bernard Lafayette, tells the story of Lafayette’s journey to becoming a legend in the civil rights movement. The use of primary sources, such as interviews with Lafayette, helps to immerse students in the past and connect it to current events. “When I Get Grown” and its excerpts are often used in the public lectures and courses offered by The World House Project.

Former political prisoners decide to go back to the places where they used to be interrogated and tortured, to meet their ghosts, rebuild their memories of torture, and find a possible reconciliation with the past as a treatment for their trauma. 64 min

The story of a forgotten people. The story of a people deleted from the world map. The story of a deported people. Uprooted. From 1967 to 1973, in the midst of the Cold War, the Bancoult family and nearly 2,000 other Chagossians were taken from their archipelago, in the Indian Ocean, by Great Britain and the United States. The latter set up one of their most important military bases on the main island, Diego Garcia. It is from Diego Garcia that the B52s leave for the Middle East. The control of the Asian countries is carried out from Diego Garcia. Uprooted, but not resigned, Rita Bancoult, the matriarch, and her children Olivier, Ivo and Mimose have chosen to fight against this injustice and the drama that is affecting their people. This is their story. 73 min

Kinshasa, once called ‘la belle’ (the beautiful) and now referred to as ‘la poubelle’ (the trash), is the third fastest growing city in Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital center of power and wealth. From Belgian Colonialism to the reign of Mobutu to the current battle for resources, the D.R.C has been defined by poverty, systemic corruption and war. Careers in politics are the quickest way to riches and many aspire just to be close to political leaders. (Children of Congo, listen!) delves into the everyday reality of a dysfunctional leadership, a glimpse into the relationship between voters and elected representatives. In a state corroded by systemic corruption, do we expect democracy to work any other way? 70 min

Resource-rich Africa has been a feeding hand for many successful countries and businesses that have never really benefitted the continent itself nor the majority of its people. African challenges have however often been diagnosed as internal or tribal issues mostly attributed to what was deemed a lack of education and inherent inaptitude to self-govern. In a world greatly influenced by western socio-cultural standards, the in-depth story of the various nations of this continent has often been overlooked, leaving its people to piece their heritage together independently from the most widespread narratives. 87 min

The Academy Award-nominated Freedom On My Mind is the first film to chronicle, in depth, the story of Freedom Summer. It vividly tells the complex and compelling history of the Mississippi voter registration struggles of 1961 to 1964: the interracial nature of the campaign, the tensions and conflicts, the fears and hopes. It is the story of youthful idealism and shared vision, of a generation who believed in and fought for the principles of democracy. 110min

A woman is to be enthroned as chief in Nkol Ngock I, a small village in Cameroon. This is a rare occurrence in most African societies where the position of chief is customarily handed down from father to son. This documentary presents a rare glimpse into a community undergoing change. Social attitudes towards gender equality are changing, as men openly acknowledge and speak about the importance of women in development. As Marie-Madeleine beats the real African drum on her enthronement day, the gentle sounds signal a break with tradition. It is the dawn of a new era in the village of Nkol Ngock I; a Woman will be their traditional leader. Residents are optimistic that she will bring much needed development to the village. 66 min

In East Africa, Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior is known as the mother of South Sudan. The country gained independence in 2011 and has been at war for most of its short history. Rebecca’s greatest fear is that her husband, John Garang, along with millions of South Sudanese people died in vain. After years in exile, a fragile peace agreement plants the possibility for her to do something about the precarious situation in the country. Meanwhile, Rebecca’s daughter Akuol is struggling to come to terms with what it means to call herself South Sudanese because she was born and raised in exile. She decides to follow her mother from behind the camera and is forced to come to terms with her own fears. 85 min

Two episodes of Have You Hear From Johannesburg: a History of the global anti-apartheid Movement by Connie Field (click here for more episodes). Selma to Soweto:  Long one of South Africa’s most important and powerful allies, the United States becomes a key battleground in the anti-apartheid movement as African-Americans lead the charge to change the government’s policy toward the apartheid regime. This stunning victory was won against the formidable opposition of President Ronald Reagan. African Americans significantly altered U.S. foreign policy for the first time in history. Oliver Tambo: Described as one of the world’s greatest statesmen, his strategy to the international community to isolate and sanction the Apartheid regime created the most globalized human rights struggle of the 20th century. Regarded as a terrorist in the West, he was hunted by the South African government’s assassins. He narrowly escaped death at their hands and succeeded in leading the overthrow of apartheid and fathered the new constitution of a democratic South Africa.

A video goes viral, showing a white police officer in South Carolina pull a Black teenager from her school desk and throw her across the floor. Healer-Activist Vivian Anderson uproots her life in New York City to move to South Carolina to support the girl and dismantle the system behind the assault at Spring Valley, including facing the police officer. Adding context, geographer Janae Davis treks the surrounding swamps and encounters the homes of formerly enslaved people of African descent, connecting the past to the present. Against the backdrop of a racial reckoning and its deep historical roots, one incident illuminates how Black girls, with the support of organizers, are creating a more just and equitable future for themselves and our entire education system. 1h 48m

In the 1960’s an anti-war movement emerged that altered the course of history. This movement didn’t take place on college campuses, but in barracks and on aircraft carriers. It flourished in army stockades, navy brigs and in the dingy towns that surround military bases. It penetrated elite military colleges like West Point. And it spread throughout the battlefields of Vietnam. It was a movement no one expected, least of all those in it. Hundreds went to prison and thousands into exile. And by 1971 it had, in the words of one colonel, infested the entire armed services. Yet today few people know about the GI movement against the war in Vietnam.SIR! NO SIR is a film that challenges deeply-held beliefs not just about the Vietnam War and those who fought it, but about the world we live in today. 84 min

When Women Speak is a documentary film that challenges perceptions that Ghanaian women’s activism around existential, and political issues are of more recent or Western origin. The film, shot entirely in Ghana, traces a cohort of 16 women who came of age in the 1960s & 1970s and catalogs their experiences, in their own words, as Ghana passed through periods of single-party, military, and multi-party rule. 105 min

Memphis. Spring 1968 marked the dramatic climax of the Civil Rights movement. At the River I Stand skillfully reconstructs the two eventful months that transformed a strike by Memphis sanitation workers into a national conflagration, and disentangles the complex historical forces that came together with the inevitability of tragedy at the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 58min

Representative Barbara Lee is a steadfast voice for human rights, peace and economic and racial justice in the US Congress who cut her teeth as a volunteer for the Black Panther Party and was the lone vote in opposition to the broad authorization of military force following the September 11th attacks. The film not only introduces the public to Barbara Lee but to many others such as Senator Cory Booker, Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, CNN commentator Van Jones, actor Danny Glover and author Alice Walker who all share insights about what makes Barbara Lee unique as a public servant and as a truth-telling African American woman. 82 min

Digging into her Grandmother’s past growing up Chinese in Augusta, Georgia’s Black neighborhood during Jim Crow, director Crystal Kwok complicates the black-and-white narrative while exposing uncomfortable truths behind today’s Afro-Asian tensions. 77 min

Four friends travel to Cumberland County, NC — posterchild for voter suppression in 2016 — intent on proving that the big idea of American democracy can be defended by small acts of individual citizens.

Narrated by Danny Glover and winner of a Television Academy Award, Dirts and Deeds in Mississippi reveal the extraordinary story of a Delta community called Mileston in which 100 sharecropping families gained control of 10,000 acres of some of the best land in the state as a result of a radical New Deal era experiment in the 1930s and in turn, became leaders of the movement in the 1960s. They were prepared to put their land and their lives on the line in the fight for racial equality and the right to vote in America’s most segregated and violently racist state. 82min.

King in the Wilderness chronicles the final chapters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, revealing a conflicted leader who faced an onslaught of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. While the Black Power movement saw his nonviolence as a weakness, and President Lyndon B. Johnson saw his anti-Vietnam War speeches as irresponsible, Dr. King’s unyielding belief in peaceful protest became a testing point for a nation on the brink of chaos. 111min

In Orangeburg, SC, a battle erupts between the Sons of Confederate Veterans and an ice cream shop owner forced to fly the Confederate flag in his parking lot. 54 min

“To be nonviolent is to be an artist of your humanity,” says Palestinian nonviolence leader and founder of the Taygheer Movement, Ali Abu Awwad, in a new documentary about the power of nonviolence and a new vision of human nature. Drawing on interviews with veteran activists like Civil Rights leader Bernard Lafayette, scientists like behaviorist Frans de Waal and neuroscientist Marco Iacoboni, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, political scientist Erica Chenoweth, futurist Elisabet Sahtouris, and others, this 44-minute documentary will help the general public, often at a loss to understand the protests occurring in many cities, to better grasp just what nonviolence is and how it works. 44min

Marking the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, this is an intimate portrait of Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of Hiroshima, who has devoted her life to ridding the world of nuclear weapons. 82 min

For more than three decades, Alabama public interest attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, has advocated on behalf of the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned, seeking to eradicate racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. An intimate portrait of this remarkable man, True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality follows his struggle to create greater fairness in the system and shows how racial injustice emerged, evolved and continues to threaten the country, challenging viewers to confront it. 101 min

Takes us inside the walls of APAC, the revolutionary Brazilian prison system centered on the full recovery and rehabilitation of the person. 47 min