Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "african-american-slavery"

1. Django Unchained (2012)

R | 165 min | Comedy, Drama, Western

With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.

Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington

Votes: 1,700,163 | Gross: $162.81M

2. 12 Years a Slave (2013)

R | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History

In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt

Votes: 742,485 | Gross: $56.67M

3. Harriet (I) (2019)

PG-13 | 125 min | Action, Biography, Drama

The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes, whose courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.

Director: Kasi Lemmons | Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monáe, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn

Votes: 30,813

4. Amistad (1997)

R | 155 min | Biography, Drama, History

In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman

Votes: 82,938 | Gross: $44.18M

5. The Birth of a Nation (2016)

R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History

Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher in the antebellum South, orchestrates an uprising.

Director: Nate Parker | Stars: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley

Votes: 21,853 | Gross: $15.86M

6. Beloved (1998)

R | 172 min | Drama, History, Horror

A slave is visited by the spirit of a mysterious young woman.

Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Yada Beener, Emil Pinnock

Votes: 9,593 | Gross: $22.85M

7. Emperor (2020)

PG-13 | 99 min | Biography, Drama, History

An escaped slave travels north and has chance encounters with Frederick Douglass and John Brown. Based on the life story of Shields Green.

Director: Mark Amin | Stars: James Cromwell, Bruce Dern, Mykelti Williamson, Paul Scheer

Votes: 1,548

8. Abina and the Important Men (2017)

55 min | Animation

The story of a young enslaved African woman who escapes her master, flees to the Gold Coast and takes her master to court. Based on actual court transcripts, the films breathes life into ... See full summary »

Director: Soumyaa Kapil Behrens | Stars: Gina Harris, Toni Harry, Rhonnie Washington, Michael A. Behrens

Votes: 10

9. Talking Black in America (2017)

66 min | Documentary, History

Talking Black in America reveals the incredible impact that the most controversial and misunderstood language variety in the history of American English has had on American life and language.

Directors: Danica Cullinan, Neal Hutcheson | Star: Quest MCODY

Votes: 22

10. Tracing the Hairstons

Documentary, History | Post-production

Add a Plot

Director: Princess A. Hairston | Stars: Jerry Hairston, Waller Hairston, Paul Finkelman, Joe Henry Hairston

11. The Language You Cry In (1998)

Not Rated | 53 min | Documentary, History

THE LANGUAGE YOU CRY IN tells an amazing scholarly detective story that searches for, and finds meaningful links between African Americans and their ancestral past. It bridges hundreds of ... See full summary »

Directors: Angel Serrano, Alvaro Toepke | Star: Vertamae Grosvenor

Votes: 33

12. Booth (III)

160 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller | Announced

At the tail end of the great and bloody Civil War, on April 14th, 1865, Good Friday and hearing that Lincoln and Grant will be attending the performance at the Ford Theatre of Our American ... See full summary »

Star: Marc Siciliani

13. The Blue Lady (2015)

Not Rated | 41 min | Short, Drama

A revisionist tale about slavery from a female point of view. The story revolves around the relationship between two slaves in 1830s South Carolina, LaLi, Elizabeth, and The Master's wife, their mistress, Missy.

Director: Sylviatoyindustries Lewis | Star: Sylvia Toy St. Louis

14. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )
Episode: Write My Name in the Book of Life (2021)

TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History

Award-winning music star Pharrell Williams and Hollywood film director and actress Kasi Lemmons learn about their ancestors who suffered during slavery as well as those who had to live with its consequences after it was finally abolished.

Director: Krista Whetstone | Stars: Kevin Bacon, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Kasi Lemmons, CeCe Moore

Votes: 34

15. Who Do You Think You Are? (2010– )
Episode: Spike Lee (2010)

TV-PG | 43 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Director Spike Lee learns about his ancestors in the season finale.

Director: Christopher Bruce | Stars: Daina Ramey Berry, Bill Bragg, Melvin J. Collier, Guinevere Grier

Votes: 42

16. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )
Episode: Family: Lost and Found (2023)

TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History

Joe Manganiello and Tony Gonzalez discover close relatives whose names they've never heard and whose stories they could not have imagined.

Director: Krista Whetstone | Stars: Henry Louis Gates Jr., Tony Gonzalez, Joe Manganiello, CeCe Moore

Votes: 45

17. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )
Episode: Anchormen (2023)

TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History

Henry L. Gates, Jr. introduces trail-blazing journalists Jim Acosta and Van Jones to the ancestors who blazed a trail for them, meeting runaway slaves and immigrant settlers who took enormous chances so that their descendants might thrive.

Director: Sabin Streeter | Stars: Jim Acosta, Sterling K. Brown, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Van Jones

Votes: 26

18. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )
Episode: Out of the Past (2023)

TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History

Henry Lewis Gates uncovers the lost roots of actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley.

Director: Sabin Streeter | Stars: Billy Crudup, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Tamera Mowry-Housley

Votes: 27

19. Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan (1954– )
Episode: Episode dated 30 July 2023 (2023)

TV-PG | News, Talk-Show

Extreme heat hits worldwide; Florida's history revisionist education effort; Trump criminal indictments and Texas immigration cruelty.

Stars: Margaret Brennan, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, Neel Kashkari

20. Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023)
Episode: Part VIII (2023)

TV-MA | 53 min | Drama, Western

After a waltz with the devil, Bass, Billy Crow, and Sherrill have a dangerous reckoning with Mister Sundown. Meanwhile, trouble ensues for Jennie, Sally, and Esme back at the Reeves' farm.

Director: Christina Alexandra Voros | Stars: David Oyelowo, Lauren E. Banks, Demi Singleton, Forrest Goodluck

Votes: 467

21. Nova (1974– )
Episode: Lee and Liza's Family Tree (2023)

TV-PG | 54 min | Documentary

Many descendants of enslaved people have little record of their family's ancestry. Follow one family's quest to discover their lost history, and see how science and genealogy can help rebuild a family tree broken by slavery.

Director: Byron Hurt | Stars: Maya Alexander, Jendra Bonner, Andra Mae Grimes Harrell, Anitra Hurt

Votes: 26

22. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )
Episode: Far and Away (2024)

TV-PG | 52 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Journalist Sunny Hostin and actor Jesse Williams learn that their ancestors come from very diverse places.

Stars: Henry Louis Gates Jr., Sunny Hostin, Jesse Williams

Votes: 28

23. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )
Episode: The Brick Wall Falls (2024)

TV-PG | 52 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shares ancestry stories with guests, actor Danielle Brooks and singer Dionne Warwick.

Stars: Danielle Brooks, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Dionne Warwick

Votes: 24

24. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )
Episode: Mean Streets (2024)

TV-PG | 52 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps family trees of comedian Tracy Morgan and actor Anthony Ramos.

Stars: Henry Louis Gates Jr., Tracy Morgan, Anthony Ramos

Votes: 31

25. CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley (1979– )
Episode: Episode #46.11 (2024)

TV-PG | News, Talk-Show

The historical roots of the current crisis in Haiti; author Nicholas Sparks; author Christine Blasey Ford; TV host Ken Jennings (TV series, "Jeopardy"); the Emigration Museum in Ireland; ... See full summary »

Stars: Jane Pauley, Margaret Brennan, Lee Cowan, Thomas Dambo

26. Files of the Unexplained (2024– )
Episode: File: Ghosts of Myrtles Plantation (2024)

TV-14 | Documentary, Crime, Mystery

Visitors and tour guides share their chilling accounts about the Myrtles Plantation, a hot spot for hauntings and a place with a dark, complicated past.

Stars: John Bardes, Hester Eby, Denise Kidder, Morgan Moss

Votes: 124

27. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )
Episode: In the Blood (2024)

TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History

Actor Michael Douglas and writer/director Lena Dunham explore their family roots.

Stars: Michael Douglas, Lena Dunham, Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Votes: 19

28. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )
Episode: We Come from People (2014)

TV-PG | 53 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Actress Angela Bassett, President Obama's political advisor Valerie Jarrett and hip-hop artist Nas discover that there is no singular narrative or preconception about the people who suffered through the era of slavery in America.

Director: Muriel Soenens | Stars: Angela Bassett, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Valerie Jarrett, Nas

Votes: 33

29. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012– )
Episode: Roots of Freedom (2014)

TV-PG | 53 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Actor Ben Affleck, NAACP president Ben Jealous and actress Khandi Alexander discover that their families' long established principles to fight for freedom and civil rights were passed down through generations of ancestors.

Director: Jesse Sweet | Stars: Ben Affleck, Khandi Alexander, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Ben Jealous

Votes: 33

30. Secrets of the Dead (2000– )
Episode: The Woman in the Iron Coffin (2018)

TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary, History, War

Construction workers unearth the body of an African American woman in Queens, New York. NYPD detectives assume that she had been dead for just a few days, but this is far from the truth.

Director: Adam Luria | Stars: Jay O. Sanders, Joe Mullins, Kimberly L. Detherage, Clarence Taylor

Votes: 75