Black communities have always, and will always, shape American culture and history. Celebrating Black history means honoring the ancestors who have paved the way – in government, organizing, advocacy, research, music, film, innovation, and more – time and time again, to get us where we are today.
Celebrating Black history means celebrating Black art. We curated a collection of essential Black media and culture to read, watch and listen to.
By Michelle Adams (2025)
By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2006)
James Baldwin (1985)
By Octavia Butler (1995)
By Octavia Butler (1979)
By Kellie Carter Jackson (2024)
Ta-Nehisi Coates (2025)
By Erica R. Edwards (2021)
By George Robert Fosty (2004)
By Marlon James (2009)
By N.K. Jamison (2015)
By Ibram X. Kendi (2016)
Jamaica Kincaid (1988)
By Gilbert King (2012)
Tressie McMillan Cottom (2019)
By by Nnedi Okorafor (2015)
By Joy Reid (2024)
By Assata Shakur (1987)
By Alexander Smalls (2020)
By Isabel Wilkerson (2010)
By Rita Woods (2020)
Edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (2017)
Created by Quinta Brunson (2021)
Directed by Spike Lee
Starring P.K. Subban (2022)
Directed by Ryan Coogler starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B Jordan (2018)
Produced by Forest Whitaker, Mark Benjamin, and Marc Levin (2009)
Created by Diarra Kilpatrick (2024)
Starring Forest Whitaker (1999)
Starring Beyonce (2019)
James Baldwin documentary (2022)
Created by Issa Rae (2016-2021)
Directed by Shaka King (2021)
Directed by Shaka King (2021)
Featuring Stokley Carmichael/Kwame Ture, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and others (2022)
Directed by Ava DuVernay (2023)
Directed by Dee Rees (2011)
Created by Raamla Mohamed (2022)
Directed by John Singleton (1997)
Directed by Haile Gerima (1993)
Directed by Questlove (2021)
Directed by Tyler Perry (2024)
Starring Regina King (2019)
Starring Diana Ross (1978)
Frankie Beverly and Maze
Stevie Wonder
SVW
Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Otis Redding
Celia Cruz
Zethu Mashika · ShabZi Madallion
Janelle Monáe and Erykah Badu