17 Films, Shows, and Documentaries That Can Help Educate Your Tweens and Teens About Race

5 years ago

In addition to diversifying your family’s bookshelves, listening, protesting, donating, and speaking out against racism, having necessary conversations with your kids about race is a vital action parents, especially white parents, should be taking to eradicate racism. Parents should foster conversations about race with their kids – not just one time, but all the time! – but if you’re finding it difficult to know where to start or how to further educate yourself and your family, there are so many great works that can help spark these important discussions.

Keep scrolling for the movies, documentaries, and shows you can watch with your tweens and teens to ensure you work together to educate yourselves.

Everett Collection / IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

A Ballerina's Tale

Description: “Iconic ballerina Misty Copeland made history when she became the first African-American woman to be named principal dancer of the legendary American Ballet Theater. Get the incredible, behind-the-scenes story of how she overcame a tumultuous upbringing and near career-ending injuries to become one of the most revered dancers of her generation. More than just a ballet success story, Copeland’s journey is a hugely inspirational, universal tale of perseverance.”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 9 and up

Where to Watch It: Rent A Ballerina’s Tale on YouTube here or watch it for free with a Sling TV subscription

Everett Collection / 20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Hidden Figures

Description: “The incredible untold true story of Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) & Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) – brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. This stunning achievement galvanized the world and inspired generations to dream big.”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 10 and up

Where to Watch It: Rent Hidden Figures on YouTube here or watch it on Hulu with a live TV add-on subscription

Everett Collection / Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

Remember the Titans

Description: “Based on real events, this remarkable story celebrates how a town torn apart by friction and mistrust comes together in triumphant harmony. After leading his team to fifteen winning seasons, beloved football coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton) is demoted and replaced by tough, opinionated Herman Boone (Denzel Washington). How these two men overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions is a remarkable portrait of courage and perseverance.”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 10 and up

Where to Watch It: Watch Remember the Titans on Disney+ here

ABC / Lara Solanki

Black-ish

Description: “Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson has a great job, a beautiful wife, Rainbow, five kids, and a colonial home in the ‘burbs. But has success brought too much assimilation for this black family?”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 11 and up

Where to Watch It: Watch Black-ish on Hulu here and catch new episodes on ABC

ABC / Kelsey McNeal

Mixed-ish

Description: “In this spinoff of the hit series Black-ish, Rainbow Johnson recounts her experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the ’80s, and the constant dilemmas they had to face over whether to assimilate or stay true to themselves. Bow’s parents Paul and Alicia decide to move from a hippie commune to the suburbs to better provide for their family. As her parents struggle with the challenges of their new life, Bow and her siblings navigate a mainstream school in which they’re perceived as neither black nor white.”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 10 and up

Where to Watch It: Watch Mixed-ish on Hulu here and catch new episodes on ABC

Everett Collection / Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

42

Description: “In 1946, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), legendary manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, defies major league baseball’s notorious color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) to the team. The heroic act puts both Rickey and Robinson in the firing line of the public, the press and other players. Facing open racism from all sides, Robinson demonstrates true courage and admirable restraint by not reacting in kind and lets his undeniable talent silence the critics for him.”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 11 and up

Where to Watch It: Rent 42 on Amazon Prime Video here

Everett Collection / Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection

Harriet

Description: “From her escape from slavery through the dangerous missions she led to liberate hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad, the story of heroic abolitionist Harriet Tubman is told.”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 12 and up

Where to Watch It: Rent Harriet on Amazon here

Everett Collection / ERIKA DOSS

The Hate U Give

Description: “A teen witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend by a trigger-happy cop and must decide whether to testify or not.”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 13 and up

Where to Watch It: Watch The Hate U Give on Hulu with a Cinemax add-on subscription

Everett Collection / Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Just Mercy

Description: “A powerful and thought-provoking true story, Just Mercy follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Brie Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds – and the system – stacked against them.”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 13 and up

Where to Watch It: Watch Just Mercy on Google Play here

Everett Collection / Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Selma

Description: “Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally desegregated the South, discrimination was still rampant in certain areas, making it very difficult for blacks to register to vote. In 1965, an Alabama city became the battleground in the fight for suffrage. Despite violent opposition, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his followers pressed forward on an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, and their efforts culminated in President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 13 and up

Where to Watch It: Rent Selma on Amazon here

Everett Collection / Courtesy Everett Collection

The Color Purple

Description: “An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie’s abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing ‘Mister’ Albert Johnson (Danny Glover), things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.”

Ages It’s Best Suited For: 14 and up

Where to Watch It: Rent The Color Purple on Amazon here

Everett Collection / Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix

When They See Us

Description: “In the spring of 1989, five boys of color are arrested, interrogated and coerced into confessing to the vicious attack of a woman in Central Park.”