Throughout all of February, channels and streaming platforms celebrated Black History Month by making a variety of newly released documentaries available to the public.
On Feb. 21, the History Channel aired “Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War,” a documentary narrated by NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The one-hour program focused on Black Americans that fought in the Civil War, highlighting both well-known figures like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass as well as figures that are not as talked about like Mary Jane Richards.
Richards was part of an espionage ring formed by abolitionist Elizabeth Van Lew. Working as a Union spy in the Confederate White House, Richards gathered information on Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Meanwhile, PBS aired “Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands,” a documentary focused on singer and civil rights activist Marian Anderson. As a classical musician trained as a contralto, Anderson enjoyed a 40-year career full of milestones.
Crossing racial barriers, she became the first Black singer to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955. In 1939, after she was denied to sing at the Constitution Hall, Anderson, with help from Eleanor Roosevelt, was able to hold a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, drawing an audience of 75,000 Black and white attendees while millions listened on the radio.
Although it’s no longer Black History Month, there are still plenty of upcoming documentaries like“Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War” and “Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands” that focus on influential figures and events in Black history.
Here are five of 2022 documentaries about Black history to look forward to.
- Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star (Netflix): Coming to the streaming platform on April 7, this documentary focuses on the killing of South African soccer legend, Senzo Meyiwa. In 2014, the goalkeeper for the Orlando Pirates and the South African National Team was shot in a robbery at the house of his girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo. His death led to vocal outcries about South Africa’s high crime and death rates. Eight years after the event, Meyeiwa has yet to get justice. In October 2020, five men were arrested for the crime. One year and six months after their arrest, they still have yet to be sentenced as they will be on trial sometime next month.
- Katrina Babies (HBO): Coming soon to HBO, Katrina Babies is a documentary that highlights the stories of people in New Orleans who were children when they witnessed Hurricane Katrina’s destruction in 2005. Directed by Edward Buckles Jr. who was a child when Hurricane Katrina made landfall himself, the documentary showcases the strength of the Black communities of New Orleans who were forced to pick up the pieces of their life after the storm hit. The Category 5 hurricane ravaged the predominantly Black city with 67% of the population being Black Americans, leaving more than 800,000 houses in shambles and parts of the city hidden under 20 feet of water.
- They Call Me Magic (Apple TV): Set for release April 22, They Call Me Magic highlights the life and career of professional basketball player Magic Johnson. Featuring interviews with Johnson himself, Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, L.L. Cool J. and more, the documentary focuses on the Olympic Gold Medalist’s childhood in Lansing, Michigan, his professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers, his public HIV announcement and his businesses outside of his basketball career. This documentary will be released in four parts and is directed by Rick Famuyiwa who has previously worked on “The Mandalorian.”
Making Black America: Through the Grapevine (PBS): Coming to PBS in the fall, the documentary focuses on the organizations made by and for Black people that have helped define what it means to be Black in America and transform the country. Through conversations will scholars, leaders and more, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, shines a light on the histories of the Prince Hall Masons, HBCUs, all-Black towns and more throughout different periods in U.S. history.
Medical Racism (PBS): Scheduled for release in fall 2022, Medical Racism focuses on the history of medical racism in the U.S. and the effect its had on the Black community. The documentary will shine a light on events like the Eugenics Movement and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study when almost 400 Black men with syphilis were deceived into a study that left them without treatment for 40 years. The two-hour documentary is directed by Primetime Emmy Award Winner Stanley Nelson Jr. who previously worked on documentaries “Freedom Riders” and “The Murder of Emmett Till.”
