Films for Context on the Battle Over Black History + 25% Off Select Films
“Battles over the past are almost always tied to efforts to win some war being waged in the present.”
— Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker¹
Black History Month kicked off this February against the backdrop of a resurgent right-wing effort to restrict the teaching of Black history and the history of racism in this country.
From a wave of state and local laws limiting how public schools can address the history of race and racism to Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to withhold federal funding from schools that teach slavery, we’re witnessing in real-time how views of the past are often shaped by political battles in the present.²
Below you’ll find films that give context to this accelerating backlash while shining much-needed light on the history of race, racism, racial struggle, and Black achievement in the U.S. and the West.
We want to call special attention to our brand-new release The Black Atlantic: Modernity & Double Consciousness, featuring British historian, sociologist, and cultural studies scholar Paul Gilroy, one of the preeminent theorists of race and racism in the world today. In the film, Gilroy revisits the key themes he explored in his acclaimed 1993 book of the same title, a landmark work in the study of slavery, diasporas, and their transformative impact on Black identity and modern culture in the U.K. and the U.S.
In addition, you’ll find Behind the Shield: The Power & Politics of the NFL, featuring acclaimed Nation magazine writer Dave Zirin, which takes a sustained look at how the politics of race and racial backlash have played out on the high-profile stage of America’s most popular and profitable sports league. You’ll also find bell hooks: Cultural Criticism and Transformation, an early MEF collaboration with the late educator and scholar that’s as relevant today as ever. In the video, hooks combines a fierce intersectional critique of white supremacy, patriarchy, and imperialism with an equally passionate embrace of community and healing.
From now through the end of February, we’re offering 25% off our entire Race and Representation Collection – with the code BLACKHISTORY25.
(1) Ron DeSantis Battles the African American A.P. Course – and History,” by Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker, Jan. 29, 2023.
(2) “Which states are restricting, or requiring, lessons on race, sex and gender,” Washington Post, June 13, 2024. And “’He’s Not Kidding,’ Advocates Warn as Trump Threatens to Defund Schools for Teaching US History,” by Julia Conley, Common Dreams, Oct. 18, 2024.
