Black History Month 2021: Celebrate the Black Family
Representation, Identity, Diversity
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and the members of the Black Diaspora. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. The 2021 theme for Black History Month, proposed by Association for the Study of African-American Life and History, is The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.
The Black Family has been explored through many disciplines, including history, literature, the visual arts and film studies, sociology, anthropology, and social policy. Its representation, identity, and diversity have been reverenced, stereotyped, and vilified from the days of slavery to the present day.
Through the Dean's Anti-Racism Grant, the Library is proud to present the following five films which focus on The Black Family, from moments of joy to struggles, these films each present a glimpse at the diversity of experiences and expressions of The Black Family.
These streaming films are available to FSU students, faculty, and staff through Kanopy. FSU login is required.
Questions? Contact Lori Steckervetz, Outreach Librarian for Student Success, at lstecker@fitchburgstate.edu
A former beauty queen and single mom prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the "Miss Juneteenth" pageant.
Miss Juneteenth is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples and starring Nicole Beharie, Kendrick Sampson, and Alexis Chikaeze. The plot follows a single mom and former teen beauty queen who enters her daughter into the local Miss Juneteenth pageant.
Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival and SXSW Film Festival.
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.
Winner of multiple Oscars including Best Picture, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Adapted Screenplay. Golden Globe winner for Best Motion Picture - Drama. Winner of Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Editing at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Daughters of the Dust (113 min)
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.
The first wide release by a black female filmmaker, DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST was met with wild critical acclaim and rapturous audience response when it initially opened in 1991. Casting a long legacy, DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST still resonates today, most recently as a major in influence on Beyonce's video album Lemonade.
Winner of the Cinematography Award and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Chosen for preservation by the National Film Preservation Board, USA.
This New York Times Critics' Pick, filmed with verite intimacy for nearly a decade, is a moving portrait of the Rainey family living in North Philadelphia. Beginning at the dawn of the Obama presidency, Christopher "Quest" Rainey, and his wife, Christine'a "Ma Quest" raise a family while nurturing a community of hip hop artists in their home music studio. It's a safe space where all are welcome, but this creative sanctuary can't always shield them from the strife that grips their neighborhood.
Epic in scope, QUEST, is a vivid illumination of race and class in America, and a testament to love, healing and hope.
Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival and Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a 2019 American drama film. Its plot centers on the efforts of a young Black man to reclaim his childhood home, a now-expensive Victorian house in a gentrified neighborhood of San Francisco.
Jimmie Fails dreams of reclaiming the Victorian home his grandfather built in the heart of San Francisco. Joined on his quest by his best friend Mont, Jimmie searches for belonging in a rapidly changing city that seems to have left them behind. As he struggles to reconnect with his family and reconstruct the community he longs for, his hopes blind him to the reality of his situation.
A wistful odyssey populated by skaters, squatters, street preachers, playwrights, and the other locals on the margins, The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a poignant and sweeping story of friendship, community, and the true meaning of home. Joe Talbot's directorial debut is a deep and resonant meditation on the stories we tell ourselves to find our place in the world.
Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival, and BFI London Film Festival.
The film chronicles the summer 1989 afternoon when the future President of the United States, Barack Obama, wooed his future First Lady, Michelle Obama, on a first date across Chicago's South Side.
Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival.
Join the Fitchburg State campus celebration of Black History Month 2021: The Black Family
For the university's exploration of these topics, Fitchburg State’s Black History Month committee, including cross-sectional representation within the institution, solicited programs from across all campus constituencies.
The result is a diverse array of events including speakers from the university faculty and student body, as well as alumni and invited guests.
Click here for more information on campus wide events.