Film Great Movies About Racism Against Black People  

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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

1
58 5
The Hate U Give is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie The Hate U Give is a 2018 American drama thriller film directed by George Tillman Jr., based on the novel by Angie Thomas. Constantly switching between the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where ...more

2
116 22
12 Years a Slave is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

3
112 29
The Help is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

4
109 28
Django Unchained is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

5
85 18
The Color Purple is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

6
70 20
Malcolm X is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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 dramatizes key events in Malcolm X's life: his ...more

7
61 15
A Time to Kill is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey This film 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 Spacey ...more

8
29 3
Monsters and Men is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr. Monsters and Men is a 2018 American drama film directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. The aftermath of a police killing of a black man, told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an ...more

9
60 18
Selma is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

10
73 27
The Green Mile is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

11
65 24
American History X is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly DAngelo American History X is a 1998 American 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, Elliott ...more

12
55 18
Remember the Titans is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

13
65 25
To Kill a Mockingbird is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

14
51 16
The Butler is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

15
45 13
Rosewood is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Heather D. Stoner added Jon Voight, Don Cheadle, Ving Rhames Rosewood is a 1997 film directed by John Singleton. While based on historic events of the 1923 in Florida, when a white mob takes out blacks and destroyed their town, the film introduces ...more

16
57 22
Fruitvale Station is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

17
45 15
Glory is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Matthew Broderick Glory is a 1989 American drama film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes and Morgan Freeman. The screenplay was written by Kevin Jarre, based on ...more

18
53 21
Mississippi Burning is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Willem Dafoe, Gene Hackman, Frances McDormand Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American thriller film directed by Alan Parker and written by Chris Gerolmo. It was loosely based on the FBI investigation into the incidents involving of three ...more

19
40 15
In the Heat of the Night is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

20
48 22
Driving Miss Daisy is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

21
39 16
Birth of a Nation is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Tre Cooley added Birth of a Nation Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller

22
41 20
Freedom Writers is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

23
37 17
Higher Learning is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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

24
28 14
Red Tails is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
Daniela Ruah, Bryan Cranston, Cuba Gooding Jr. Red Tails is a 2012 American 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 Airmen, a ...more

25
30 16
Amistad is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Great Movies About Racism Against Black People
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 taken and managed ...more