film Great Movies About Racism Against Black People  

Ranker Film
1.6k votes 313 voters 23k views 33 items

Movies about racism are some of the most emotional and dramatic films to ever hit the silver screen. The top black racism movies feature characters fighting for their basic rights from the time of slavery to more modern forms of discrimination. This is a list of African American racism movies featuring everything from 12 Years a Slave to The Help to Selma.

What movies will you find on this list of movies about racism against black people? Fruitvale Station concerns a modern tragedy. Based on the real-life death of Oscar Grant, this award-winning film proves that racism still exists in modern times – and it can be deadly. The Color Purple is another great film that examines the ugly truths about racism in the United States.

While most movies about racism are dramas, Mel Brooks took on this serious issue with the hilarious comedy Blazing Saddles. Other good films featured on roundup of top movies about racism list include Crash, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and Django Unchained.

Which movie about racism do you think deserves the top spot on this list? Vote the best films up to number one, and get in on the conversation in the comments section.

list ordered by

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12 Years a Slave is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
12 Years a Slave Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch 12 Years a Slave is a 2013 period drama film directed by Steve McQueen, based on the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free ...more

2
82 24
The Help is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
The Help Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard The Help is a 2011 American period drama film directed and written by Tate Taylor, and adapted from Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel of the same name. Featuring an ensemble cast, the film is about ...more

3
86 27
Django Unchained is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Django Unchained Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson Django Unchained is a 2012 American revisionist Western film directed by Quentin Tarantino. With the help of a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz), a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) sets out to ...more

4
63 14
The Color Purple is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
The Color Purple Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurence Fishburne The Color Purple is a 1985 American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was Spielberg's eighth film as ...more

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The Green Mile is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
The Green Mile Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Sam Rockwell The Green Mile is a 1999 American fantasy drama film directed by Frank Darabont and adapted from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name. The film is told in a flashback format and stars ...more

6
52 18
Malcolm X is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Malcolm X Denzel Washington, Al Sharpton, Nelson Mandela Malcolm X is a 1992 American biographical drama film about the African-American activist Malcolm X. Directed and co-written by Spike Lee, the film stars Denzel Washington in the title role, as ...more

7
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A Time to Kill is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
A Time to Kill Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey A Time to Kill is a 1996 drama film adaptation of John Grisham's 1989 novel of the same name, directed by Joel Schumacher. Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kevin ...more

8
43 15
Selma is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Selma Oprah Winfrey, Common, Cuba Gooding Jr. Selma is a 2014 historical drama film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb. It is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by James Bevel, Hosea Williams, and ...more

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42 15
Remember the Titans is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Remember the Titans Hayden Panettiere, Ryan Gosling, Denzel Washington Remember the Titans is a 2000 American sports drama film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay, written by Gregory Allen Howard, is based on the true story of ...more

10
47 19
To Kill a Mockingbird is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
To Kill a Mockingbird Robert Duvall, Gregory Peck, William Windom To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Horton Foote was based on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee. ...more

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American History X is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
American History X Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly DAngelo American History X is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. It stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong, and co-stars Fairuza Balk, Stacy Keach, ...more

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40 17
Fruitvale Station is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Fruitvale Station Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer Fruitvale Station is a 2013 American biographical drama film directed by Ryan Coogler, based on true events. The story of Oscar Grant III (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, ...more

The Greatest Black Characters in Film History

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Glory is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Glory Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Matthew Broderick Glory is a 1989 American drama war film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes and Morgan Freeman. The screenplay was written by Kevin Jarre, ...more

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33 14
The Butler is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
The Butler Mariah Carey, Robin Williams, Oprah Winfrey The Butler is a 2013 American historical drama film directed and produced by Lee Daniels and written by Danny Strong. Loosely based on the real life of Eugene Allen, the film stars Forest ...more

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Mississippi Burning is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Mississippi Burning Willem Dafoe, Gene Hackman, Frances McDormand Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker and written by Chris Gerolmo. It was loosely based on the FBI investigation into the murders of three civil ...more

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Driving Miss Daisy is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Driving Miss Daisy Morgan Freeman, Dan Aykroyd, Jessica Tandy Driving Miss Daisy is a 1989 American comedy-drama film adapted from the Alfred Uhry play of the same name. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford, with Morgan Freeman reprising his role as ...more

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Rosewood is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Heather D. Stoner added Rosewood Jon Voight, Don Cheadle, Ving Rhames Rosewood is a 1997 film directed by John Singleton. While based on historic events of the 1923 Rosewood massacre in Florida, when a white mob killed blacks and destroyed their town, the film ...more

The Best Concert Movies Streaming on Hulu

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Freedom Writers is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Freedom Writers Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Imelda Staunton Freedom Writers is a 2007 drama film starring Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton and Patrick Dempsey. It is based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary by teacher Erin Gruwell who wrote ...more

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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer and written by William Rose. It stars Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine ...more

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In the Heat of the Night is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
In the Heat of the Night Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Lee Grant In the Heat of the Night is a 1967 American mystery drama film directed by Norman Jewison. It is based on John Ball's 1965 novel of the same name which tells the story of Virgil Tibbs, a black ...more

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Blazing Saddles is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Blazing Saddles Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Anne Bancroft Blazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman ...more

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Red Tails is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Red Tails Daniela Ruah, Bryan Cranston, Cuba Gooding Jr. Red Tails is a 2012 American war film directed by Anthony Hemingway in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. The film is about the Tuskegee ...more

List of Black Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

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Higher Learning is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Higher Learning Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Connelly, Tyra Banks Higher Learning is a 1995 American romantic drama film, directed by John Singleton, and starring an ensemble cast. The film follows the changing lives of three incoming freshmen at the fictional ...more

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The Hurricane is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
The Hurricane Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, Rod Steiger The Hurricane is a 1999 biographical film directed by Norman Jewison, and starring Denzel Washington. The script was adapted by Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon from the books Lazarus and the ...more

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Amistad is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Amistad Morgan Freeman, Matthew McConaughey, Anna Paquin Amistad is a 1997 historical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the true story of the 1839 mutiny aboard the slave ship La Amistad, during which Mende tribesmen abducted for the ...more

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Birth of a Nation is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Tre Cooley added Birth of a Nation Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller

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Crash is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Crash Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Ludacris Crash is a 2004 ensemble drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Paul Haggis. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, California. A self-described "passion ...more

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Beloved is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Beloved Oprah Winfrey, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover Beloved is a 1998 American horror-drama film based on Toni Morrison's 1987 novel of the same name, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and Thandie Newton. The ...more

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The Long Walk Home is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
The Long Walk Home Whoopi Goldberg, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen The Long Walk Home is a 1990 film starring Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg, and directed by Richard Pearce. Set in Alabama, it is based on a screenplay about the Montgomery Bus Boycott by John ...more

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Fried Green Tomatoes is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Fried Green Tomatoes Kathy Bates, Mary-Louise Parker, Chris O'Donnell Fried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 comedy-drama film based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. Directed by Jon Avnet and written by Fannie Flagg and Carol ...more

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Glory Road is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Melussss added Glory Road Emily Deschanel, Jon Voight, Tatyana Ali Glory Road is a 2006 American drama sports film directed by James Gartner, based on a true story surrounding the events leading to the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. Don ...more

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Drum is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Tre Cooley added Drum Pam Grier, Ken Norton, Yaphet Kotto Drum is a 1976 American film based on the Kyle Onstott novel of the same name. It was released by United Artists and is a sequel to the film Mandingo, released in 1975. The film stars Warren ...more

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Zebrahead is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Zebrahead Michael Rapaport, N'Bushe Wright, Kevin Corrigan Zebrahead is a 1992 drama film, produced by Oliver Stone, written and directed by Anthony Drazan and starring Michael Rapaport and N'Bushe Wright. Set in Detroit, Michigan, the film is about an ...more