As we celebrate Black History Month 2024 our focus is centered on African Americans and the Arts, infusing African, Caribbean, and Black American lived experiences through films and literature. The Top Films and Books list reflects actors, actresses, directors, and writers who received significant accolades and distinctions based on their artistic accomplishments and contributions.
Films
1. “Crooklyn" (1994) - Directed by Spike Lee
2. "Watermelon Woman" (1996) - Directed by Cheryl Dunye
3. "Love & Basketball" (2000) - Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood
4. "Good Fences" (2003) - Directed by Ernest Dickerson
5. "Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom" (2008) - Directed by Patrick-Ian Polk
6. "Selma" (2014) - Directed by Ava DuVernay
7. "Hidden Figures" (2016) - Directed by Theodore Melfi
8. "Moonlight" (2016) - Directed by Barry Jenkins
9. "Get Out" (2017) - Directed by Jordan Peele
10. "Marshall" (2017) - Directed by Reginald Hudlin
11. "If Beale Street Could Talk" (2018) - Directed by Barry Jenkins
12. "Sorry to Bother You" (2018) - Directed by Boots Riley
13. "Just Mercy" (2019) - Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
14. "One Night in Miami..." (2020) - Directed by Regina King
15. “Residue" (2020) - Directed by Merawi Gerima
16. "Miss Juneteenth" (2020) - Directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples
17. "Judas and the Black Messiah" (2021) - Directed by Shaka King
18. "The United States vs. Billie Holiday" (2021) - Directed by Lee Daniels
19. "The Underground Railroad" (TV Mini-Series, 2021) - Directed by Barry Jenkins
20. "Inspection" (2022) - Directed by Elegance Bratton
21. "Stamped from the Beginning” (2023) - Directed by Roger Ross Williams
22. "The Color Purple" (2023) - Directed by Blitz Bazawule
23. "American Fiction" (2023) - Directed by Cord Jefferson
24. "Origin" (2024) - Directed by Ava DuVernay
Books
1. "Being Brought from Africa to America" by Phillis Wheatley (1773)
2. "How It Feels to be Colored Me" by Zora Neale Hurston (1928)
3. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)
4. "Native Son" by Richard Wright (1940)
5. "Black Boy" by Richard Wright (1945)
6. "Giovanni’s Room" by James Baldwin (1956)
7. "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker (1982)
8. "All About Love" by Bell Hooks (1999)
9. "Love" by Toni Morrison (2002)
10. "We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity" by Bell Hooks (2003)
11. "Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America" by Ibram X. Kendi (2017)
12. "American Spy" by Lauren Wilkinson (2019)
13. "The Water Dancer" by Ta-Nehisi Coates (2019)
14. "Red at the Bone" by Jacqueline Woodson (2019)
15. "Such a Fun Age" by Kiley Reid (2019)
16. "The Yellow House" by Sarah M. Broom (2019)
17. "The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead (2019)
18. "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson (2020)
19. "The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett (2020)
20. "Real Life" by Brandon Taylor (2020)
21. "Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot" by Mikki Kendall (2020)
22. "The Prophets" by Robert Jones Jr. (2021)
23. "Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019" edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain (2021)
24. "Invisible Generals" by Doug Melville (2023)
25. "Race Rules" by Fatimah Gilliam (2024)