Taraji P. Henson

Harry Belafonte

Novella Nelson

Martin Luther King

A look at the life of poet, Nikki Giovanni and the revolutionary historical periods through which she lived, from the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter.

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (2023)

Elvis Presley

Tom Parker

Petula Clark

The film is the authentic, fully authorized and true, behind-the-scenes story of how Elvis' 1968 Comeback Special came to life and helped put the fading star back on the map. Director-Producer Steve Binder, is the only person in the world who can legitimately speak to the making of the Special since HE made it. Prior to the '68 Special, Elvis' career was in decline due to his uninspired selection of projects; he was becoming a sell-out. And even though Elvis knew this deep down, no one would admit it to his face out of fear of retaliation from his all-controlling, manipulative manager, Colonel Tom Parker. But that all changed when a young and bold television-music director named Steve Binder convinced Elvis that he needed to do a special that reverted back to the original style that made him famous. Intrigued by Binder's boldness and also in agreement with him, Elvis took his career back into his own hands to make the special, which became a smashing hit. Indeed, it put Elvis back in the center of the public's adoration and is so iconic and celebrated by major talent and the public today.—Parixit Pathak

Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback

Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback (2023)

Annette Bening

Taylor Hackford

Jimmy Carter

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave young Americans the opportunity to serve their country in a new way by forming the Peace Corps. Since then, more than 200,000 of them have traveled to more than 60 countries to carry out the organization's mission of international cooperation. Nearly 60 years later, Americans-young and old alike-still want to serve their country and understand their place in the world; current volunteers work at the forefront of some of the most pressing issues facing the global community. Yet the agency has struggled to remain relevant amid sociopolitical change. More than once it had to fight for its very existence, and now-between a rise in nationalist sentiment and deep cuts to governmental-agency budgets-the Peace Corps is again confronting a crisis of identity: What role should it play around the world and in the lives of engaged citizens? Directed by Alana DeJoseph and narrated by Annette Benning, A Towering Task is the first feature documentary to chronicle the remarkable history of the Peace Corps while considering its future at a critical juncture.

A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps

A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps (2019)

Paul Simon

Sipho Mabuse

Lorraine Gordon

Mama Africa

Mama Africa (2011)

Eddie Murphy

Whoopi Goldberg

Bill Cosby

A look at the work and influence of African-American stand-up comedienne, Moms Mabley.

Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley

Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley (2013)

Julie Robinson

Lynn Hamilton

Nita Talbot

After the American Civil War, many freed slaves head out West in search of free land and a better life. Former slave and Union Army sergeant Buck becomes a self-employed wagon master to wagon trains of freed slaves heading West. Buck knows the region well and he charges fair wages from the wagon trains employing him. He also has a working relationship with the local Indian tribes that charge trespassing fees from the wagon trains heading West across Indian lands. In return, they allow the settlers to move across Indian territory unhindered and to hunt a few buffalo needed to feed the wagon-train settlers. However, not everyone in the region is friendly toward the westward-traveling Black settlers. Owners of Southern plantations, dismayed by the loss of slave manpower that previously worked the plantations for free, hire band of white rogues and outlaws to prevent former Black slaves from going West. In order to achieve this aim, the hired bands of rogues attack wagon trains and destroy the wagons, the supplies and the food resources of the former slaves. They threaten the Black settlers with harm and they tell them to return to the Southern states where they came from and work the plantations. Wagonmaster Buck encourages the freed slaves to continue their trek westward and to not give up their dream of settling in the West. Knowing this, the band of rogues led by DeShay plans to capture and kill Buck. The DeShay gang sets up ambushes and traps but Buck always manages to avoid capture. The gang resides in the town of Copper Springs where the sheriff, an honest man, doesn't agree with the gang's ruthless tactics against wagon trains of freed slaves. Chased by the DeShay bunch, wagon master Buck and his tired horse arrive at a river where a Black preacher, Reverend Willis Oakes Rutherford, is bathing. Desperate, Buck switches horses with the preacher against his will, and rides off to meet his wagon train. The preacher heads to Copper Springs where he bumps into DeShay's gang. Recognising Buck's horse, the gang interrogates the preacher about Buck's whereabouts. DeShay promises a $500 reward to the preacher if he finds Buck and captures or kills him. DeShay also instructs the preacher to convince all Black settlers to turn back East toward the Southern plantations and abandon their westward trek. The preacher agrees with DeShay and leaves town. Outside town he meets a wagon train formed of freed slaves and led by none other than Buck. After an angry exchange between the preacher and Buck, the preacher joins the wagon train. During the following days of travel, the preacher notices that all the money of the wagon train is kept in a money belt one of the women carries around her waist. A few days later, a distrustful Buck orders the preacher to leave the wagon train and he himself rides away to scout the area and to pay in cash a right of passage to the local Indian tribe in behalf of the trespassing wagon train. The preacher follows Buck and he witnesses the payment made by Buck to the Indian chief for safe passage of the settlers. When Buck, followed by the preacher, returns to the wagon train, a gruesome scene awaits. DeShay's gang attacked the wagon train, stole the settlers' money, destroyed their food and supplies and even killed a few settlers. Heartbroken, the surviving settlers want to turn back but Buck encourages them to go on. Angry at the devastation, Buck and the preacher decide to ride to the town of Copper Springs and exact revenge on DeShay's gang and also try to retrieve the money DeShay stole from the Black settlers. There are only two against many, but those two are determined to succeed.—nufs68

Buck and the Preacher

Buck and the Preacher (1972)

Robert Horton

Dorothy Dandridge

Philip Hepburn

Based on the story, See How They Run (The Ladies' Home Journal June 51), and subsequently won that year's Christopher award. The story was

Bright Road

Bright Road (1953)

Cicely Tyson

Mary Barnett

Robert Battle

Alvin Ailey was a visionary artist who found salvation through dance. An immersive portrait told in his own words and through the creation of a new commission inspired by his life, Ailey fully profiles this brilliant and enigmatic man who-when confronted by a world that refused to embrace him-was determined to build one that would.

Ailey

Ailey (2021)

Michael Jackson

Roxie Roker

Patti LaBelle

The documentary explores the history of the series and the expression of Haizlip's expansive vision. We see archival footage from the series, including interviews with Amiri Baraka, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Muhammad Ali, and James Baldwin, among others, as well as performances from Patti LaBelle, Ashford and Simpson, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, and Earth, Wind and Fire. We hear performances from The Last Poets and see the footage of Nikki Giovanni interviewing James Baldwin that recently went viral on social media, reflecting the series' key role in bringing the poetry, literature, and the Black Arts Movement to the attention of the public, even today. Haizlip's slyly-provocative interviewing style, and his ability to get his guests to open up, takes viewers into an intimate Black sphere that was ordinarily kept hidden from public view. SOUL was a signature cultural artifact of the Black Power era, and we hear many of the militant voices that defined the era, thrilling some listeners while outraging others. Mr. SOUL captures that critical moment in our nation's cultural rise, whose impact continues to resonate across generations and cultures. With the current ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, and with our nation on the eve of a great racial reckoning, Ellis Haizlip's vision, his show, and the artists to whom he gave a platform, have become even more important now than ever.—Melissa Haizlip

Mr. Soul!

Mr. Soul! (2018)

Oprah Winfrey

Paul McCartney

Paul Simon returns to South Africa to explore the journey of his Graceland album, including the political backlash he received for allegedly breaking the UN cultural boycott of South Africa designed to end the Apartheid regime.

Under African Skies

Under African Skies (2012)

Richard Roundtree

Sidney Poitier

Isaac Hayes

A report on the National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972, a historic event that gathered black voices from across the political spectrum, among them Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Coretta Scott King, Richard Hatcher, Amiri Baraka, Charles Diggs, and H. Carl McCall.

Nationtime

Nationtime (1972)

John Williams

James Mason

Joan Collins

Set on a fictitious island in the Caribbean during colonial British rule, the film focuses on the life of a charismatic, handsome young Black man with political aspirations. Upon returning home, he is taken aback when his romantic liaison with a white female runs into conflict with his political views. As rumor has it, an interracial screen kiss caused quite a commotion in the U.S. when this movie was released. The plot is further strengthened by a look at the lives of a white expatriate family also living on the island who are forced to deal with problems of infidelity, racism, and murder. The family has to deal with problems of infidelity, racism, and murder.—Warren D. Mottley

Island in the Sun

Island in the Sun (1957)

Diahann Carroll

Brock Peters

At an all-Black army camp, civilian parachute maker and "hot bundle" Carmen Jones is desired by many of the men. Naturally, she wants Joe, who's engaged to sweet Cindy Lou and about to go into pilot training for the Korean War. Going after him, she succeeds only in getting him into the stockade. While she awaits his release, trouble looms for both of them. Songs from the Bizet opera with modernized lyrics.—Rod Crawford

Carmen Jones

Carmen Jones (1954)

Ahmir-Khalib Thompson

Erykah Badu

Richard Nixon

Footage shot by a group of Swedish journalists documenting the Black Power Movement in the United States is edited together by a contemporary Swedish filmmaker.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011)

Barbara Smith Conrad

Icy Simpson

A gifted black music student at the University of Texas is thrust into a civil rights storm that changes her life forever. Barbara Smith Conrad is cast in an opera opposite a white male classmate fueling a racist backlash from members of the Texas legislature. Barbara's expulsion from the cast escalates the incident to national news, prompting unexpected support from a pop superstar. This small-town girl, whose voice and spirit stem from her roots in East Texas, emerges as an internationally celebrated mezzo-soprano and headlines on stages worldwide.—SXSW

When I Rise

When I Rise (2010)

Rosalind Cash

Flip Wilson

Steve Jackson and Wardell Franklin sneak out of their houses to visit Madame Zenobia's: a high-class but illegal nightclub. During their visit, however, the place is robbed and they are forced to hand over their wallets. Steve's wallet turns out to have contained a winning lottery ticket, and together they must recover their stolen property.—Murray Chapman

Uptown Saturday Night

Uptown Saturday Night (1974)

Paul Newman

Johnny Carson

While the country was embroiled in a divisive election with racial tensions flaring, Civil Rights activist and trailblazing performer Harry Belafonte guest hosted The Tonight Show for one week in 1968. This documentary examines the importance of this lost broadcast history.

The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show

The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show (2020)

Eli Wallach

Milo O'Shea

Anne Jackson

Morris Mishkin is a elderly religious Jew in New York. His wife Fanny is very ill. He's a tailor, but he can't work because his back has given out. He doesn't even have enough money for Fanny's medicine. Finally, a black fellow appears from nowhere in the Mishkin kitchen. He says he's an angel from God, sent to help Mishkin. The black angel is even Jewish, named Alex Levine? But will Morris believe in the angel? And can the angel perform the miracle that he promises?—Martin Lewison

The Angel Levine

The Angel Levine (1970)

Mel Ferrer

Inger Stevens

Ralph Burton is a miner who is trapped for several days as a result of a cave-in. When he finally manages to dig himself out, he realizes that all of mankind seems to have been destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. He travels to New York City only to find it deserted. Making a life for himself there, he is flabbergasted to eventually find Sarah Crandall, who also managed to survive. Together, they form a close friendship until the arrival of Benson Thacker who has managed to pilot his small boat into the city's harbor. At this point the tensions rise between the three, particularly between Thacker, who is white and Burton, who is black.—garykmcd

The World, the Flesh and the Devil

The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)

Hugh M. Hefner

Sammy Davis Jr.

Walter Cronkite

On stage Nina Simone was known for her utterly free, uninhibited musical expression, which enthralled audiences and attracted life-long fans. But amid the violent, haunting, and senseless day-to-day of the civil rights era in 1960s America, Simone struggled to reconcile her artistic identity and ambition with her devotion to a movement. Culled from hours of autobiographical tapes, this new film unveils the unmitigated ego of a brilliant artist and the absurdities of her time. At the height of her fame Simone walked away from her family, country, career and fans, to move to Liberia and give up performing. The story of her life leading up to that event poses the question, 'how does royalty stomp around in the mud and still walk with grace?'

What Happened, Miss Simone?

What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)

20 YIFY Movies Found

6.8 / 10

ActionDocumentary

7.6 / 10

ActionDocumentary

5.9 / 10

Documentary

7 / 10

ActionBiography

7.9 / 10

ComedyDocumentary

6.6 / 10

ActionAdventure

6.7 / 10

ActionDrama

6.8 / 10

ActionBiography

7.8 / 10

Documentary

7.7 / 10

ActionBiography

7.2 / 10

ActionDocumentary

6.1 / 10

ActionDrama

6.8 / 10

ActionDrama

7.6 / 10

ActionDocumentary

8.5 / 10

BiographyDocumentary

6.6 / 10

ActionComedy

7.6 / 10

ActionDocumentary

6 / 10

ActionDrama

6.8 / 10

ActionDrama

7.6 / 10

ActionBiography

Action
Documentary

Action
Documentary

Action
Biography

Comedy
Documentary

Action
Adventure

Action
Drama

Action
Biography

Action
Biography

Action
Documentary

Action
Drama

Action
Drama

Action
Documentary

Biography
Documentary

Action
Comedy

Action
Documentary

Action
Drama

Action
Drama

Action
Biography