It's been a tough week for all Americans, and parents are potentially in a very tough place trying to explain the protests against racist police violence. But kids are never too young to learn about the fight against racism toward black people in this country, and to learn lessons of equality, compassion and the importance of representation. Although films about protest and dissent are often too violent for young kids, plenty of films about the civil rights movement are available to stream, as well as ones that center on black lives, to help children understand the world, and the racial history that comes with this country.
Amazon has a couple of short and simply animated educational films about important figures in the civil rights movement, including "Rosa" ($1.99) about Rosa Parks, and "March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World" ($1.99), about Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech, as told by his sister, Christine King Farris.
The Oscar-nominated "Hidden Figures" (rated PG and $3.99 on Amazon, YouTube, Vudu) is a wonderful, crowd-pleasing family film about three black female mathematicians at NASA in the early 1960s who were instrumental in the Space Race and specifically astronaut John Glenn's launch. The largely feel-good story directly takes on the gender and racial discrimination the women faced in a largely white male workplace in the 1960s, and shows how they excelled despite the structural obstacles they faced at NASA as black women.
Another PG-rated film that opens up the discussion for parents and kids to talk about racism and discrimination is the 2007 sports drama "Pride" ($3.99 on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu) starring Terence Howard, about a 1974 African American boys swim team in Philadelphia that faced prejudice and excelled in a predominantly white sport.
Kasi Lemmons' 2019 biopic "Harriet" ($5.99 on Amazon, YouTube, Vudu and Google Play), about Harriet Tubman, is appropriate for older kids and teens, as it's rated PG-13 and features some scenes of violence and peril as well as racial slurs, but it's a powerful depiction of Tubman's true life (played by Oscar-nominated Cynthia Erivo), escaping slavery via the underground railroad and guiding more escaped slaves to freedom in the North. While some of the material may be tough, it's a good film for discussing the history of slavery in America with younger people, which underpins so much of the systemic racism in our society.
One uplifting film that did win an Oscar this year is the animated short "Hair Love," written and directed by Matthew A. Cherry, based on the book he wrote. This adorable short features a young African American girl and her father, trying to style her curly natural hair. It's a sweet representation of black fatherly love, and a reminder that it's important to see families of all kinds represented in animation, especially for young children.
Older kids and teens can handle content that more specifically deals with police violence and protest, and two fantastic films aimed at younger audiences tackle this issue sensitively. The excellent 2018 film "The Hate U Give" is available on Cinemax (and for purchase on other platforms) and directly revolves around an officer-involved shooting in Los Angeles, as well as subsequent protests. Amandla Stenberg gives a stunning performance, as does Russell Hornsby as her father. The Independent Spirit award-winning 2019 Netflix film "See You Yesterday" takes a more fantastical approach, with a couple of New York City teenagers trying to create a time-travel device to stop a police shooting and learning the hard way just how impossible it is to try and change the past.
