Below, CCPL presents a list of 8 of the most popular titles available through Kanopy to celebrate Black History Month. If you haven’t signed up for Kanopy already, now’s the time. All you need is your library card and pin number. You’ll find a mixture of documentaries, dramas, and romances below along with some synopses. So check them out and start watching!
I Am Not Your Negro: James Baldwin and Race in America – Documentar (2016)
“In his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material.” ~ Kanopy
Moonlight – Drama (2016)
“Oscar-winner for Best Picture, MOONLIGHT is a moving and transcendent look at three defining chapters in the life of Chiron, a young man growing up in Miami. His epic journey to adulthood, as a shy outsider dealing with difficult circumstances, is guided by support, empathy and love from the most unexpected places.” ~Kanopy
The Watermelon Woman – Drama (1996)
“A video store clerk and fledgling filmmaker, Cheryl becomes obsessed with the “most beautiful mammy,” a character she sees in a 1930s movie. Determined to find out who the actress she knows only as the “Watermelon Woman” was and make her the subject of a documentary, she starts researching and is bowled over to discover that not only was Fae Richards (Lisa Marie Bronson) a fellow Philadelphian but also a lesbian.” ~ Kanopy
Daughters of the Dust – Drama (1991)
“At the dawn of the 20th century, a multi-generational family in the Gullah community on the Sea Islands off of South Carolina – former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions – struggle to maintain their cultural heritage and folklore while contemplating a migration to the mainland, even further from their roots.” ~ Kanopy
Ken Burns: The Central Park Five – Documentary (2012)
“This Peabody Award winning film chronicles the Central Park Jogger case, for the first time from the perspective of the five teenagers whose lives were upended by this miscarriage of justice.” ~ Kanopy
Whose Streets?: An Unflinching Look at the Ferguson Uprising – Documentary (2017)
“Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, WHOSE STREETS? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and left lying in the street for hours, it marks a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis, Missouri.” ~ Kanopy
Beyond the Lights – Romance (2014)
“The pressures of fame have put superstar singer Noni on the edge, until she meets Kaz, a young cop who works to help her find the courage she needs to develop her own voice and break free to become the artist she was meant to be.” ~ Kanopy
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus – Drama (2015)
“Spike Lee’s stylized thriller… is a new kind of love story. Dr. Hess Green becomes cursed by a mysterious ancient African artifact and is overwhelmed with a newfound thirst for blood. He, however, is not a vampire. Soon after his transformation he enters into a dangerous romance with Ganja Hightower that questions the very nature of love, addiction, sex, and status in our seemingly sophisticated society.” ~ Kanopy
