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The Most Powerful Movies About Racism

Updated January 6, 2021 12.9k votes 2.3k voters 296.6k views142 items

List RulesMovies with racism as a central theme.

Here is a list of the best racism movies ever made, ranked by movie fans with film trailers when available. This racism movie list is ordered by popularity, so only the greatest movies about racism are at the top of the list. The films on this list are the most famous racism movies of all time, so use it to find some movies that you haven't seen already. Click on these racism movie titles for more information about the films.

This list answers the questions, "What are the best racism movies?", "What is the greatest racism movie of all time?", and other "films like Mississippi Burning." This is because it is far more than the top 25 most important films on race. These films are also different than unintentionally racist films as they show the ugliness of racism.

Various bits of information are included with these popular racism movies, such as who directed them, when they were released and who starred in the films. Whether you're watching these racism movies on Netflix or other streaming service, these good racism movies can be enjoyed no matter what.

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The Color Purple
Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg
Released: 1985
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
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379
86
To Kill a Mockingbird
Robert Duvall, Gregory Peck
Released: 1962
Directed by: Robert Mulligan
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333
72
The Help
Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain
Released: 2011
Directed by: Tate Taylor
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362
84
The Green Mile
Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise
Released: 1999
Directed by: Frank Darabont
More The Green Mile
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273
57
12 Years a Slave
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender
Released: 2013
Directed by: Steve McQueen
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303
71
Mississippi Burning
Willem Dafoe, Gene Hackman
Released: 1988
Directed by: Alan Parker
More Mississippi Burning
#520 of 1,189 Every Oscar Winning Film Ever#75 of 675 The Best Movies Roger Ebert Gave Four Stars
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Remember the Titans
Hayden Panettiere, Ryan Gosling
Released: 2000
Directed by: Boaz Yakin

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353
96
Schindler's List
Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes
Released: 1993
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
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488
159
American History X
Edward Norton, Edward Furlong
Released: 1998
Directed by: Tony Kaye
10
155
19
Hotel Rwanda
Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix
Released: 2004
Directed by: Terry George
Watch Hotel Rwanda now! http://amzn.to/1U5Htz3
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162
24
The Hate U Give
Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall
Released: 2018
Directed by: George Tillman Jr.
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#68 of 170 The Most Utterly Depressing Movies Ever Made#67 of 96 The Best Film Adaptations of Young Adult Novels
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255
71
A Time to Kill
Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey
Released: 1996
Directed by: Joel Schumacher
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Glory
Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington
Released: 1989
Directed by: Edward Zwick
14
228
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Malcolm X
Denzel Washington, Al Sharpton
Released: 1992
Directed by: Spike Lee
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154
28
Get Out
Daniel Kaluuya, Catherine Keener
Released: 2017
Directed by: Jordan Peele
More Get Out
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96
Django Unchained
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
Released: 2012
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
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127
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If Beale Street Could Talk
Kiki Layne, Stephan James
Released: 2018
Directed by: Barry Jenkins
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142
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Green Book
Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali
Released: 2018
Directed by: Peter Farrelly
More Green Book
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42
Chadwick Boseman, Nicole Beharie
Released: 2013
Directed by: Brian Helgeland
More 42
#30 of 172 The Best Sports Movies Ever Made#5 of 66 Great Historical Black Movies Based On True Stories
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Do the Right Thing
Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Lawrence
Released: 1989
Directed by: Spike Lee
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#19 of 63 Movies Set in Brooklyn#233 of 456 The Most Quotable Movies of All Time
21
169
57
The Butler
Mariah Carey, Robin Williams
Released: 2013
Directed by: Lee Daniels
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145
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Amistad
Morgan Freeman, Matthew McConaughey
Released: 1997
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
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#51 of 275 The Best Movies Based On True Stories#266 of 372 'Old' Movies Every Young Person Needs To Watch In Their Lifetime
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Lean on Me
Morgan Freeman, Tony Todd
Released: 1989
Directed by: John G. Avildsen
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#43 of 85 The Greatest African American Biopics#9 of 40 The Most Inspirational Black Movies
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Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood, Dreama Walker
Released: 2008
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
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#29 of 277 The Top Tearjerker Movies That Make Men Cry#348 of 553 The Greatest Epic Movies Ever Made
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In the Heat of the Night
Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger
Released: 1967
Directed by: Norman Jewison