17 Movies to Stream on Hulu for Black History Month

Black History Month is a joy to celebrate. It's a time to reflect on the amazing accomplishments of Black heroes throughout history, from legendary musicians like James Brown to modern-day activists like Angela Davis. Even better? We can honor these greats by reading Black authors, supporting Black businesses and, best of all, binge-watching a variety of powerful films that offer insight into the Black experience.

From The United States vs. Billie Holiday to Bad Hair, keep reading for 17 of the best Black History Month movies you can stream on Hulu year-round. (FYI, if you're new to the streaming service, plans start at just $8 a month.)

• Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton
• Rating: PG-13

Inspired by the life of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the biographical drama tells the story of Joseph, a skilled violinist and composer who rises to fame in France and pursues a risky romance that could threaten his success.

While speaking with Screenrant about the film, he said, "Joseph Bologne's life, the life of the Chevalier, was erased. There's kind of no polite way to say that. Napoleon came into power post-revolution in France and ordered the suppression of Joseph's life [and] his music. As a result, very, very little has been written about Joseph, very little of Chevalier's music remains...He's just one of those figures in history that has been left by the wayside to languish in obscurity until relatively recently.

• Cast: Toni Morrison
• Rating: PG-13

The documentary offers insight into the life and inspiring literary career of Toni Morrison, who made history as the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Oprah Winfrey, Russell Banks, Angela Davis and Barack Obama are just a few famous faces you'll recognize in the film.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders explained why he focused on Morrison's commentary throughout the film, saying, “Toni is center stage, and the other people are talking about her, but not looking at you. They don’t have as much power.”

• Cast: Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund
• Rating: R

This riveting biographical drama depicts how the iconic singer, Billie Holiday, got targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation. Although Day's portrayal of Holiday earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, she revealed that she initially didn't want the role.

As for what changed her mind, she explained that the script was nothing like Lady Sings the Blues. Day told Interview Magazine, "Once I spoke to [director Lee Daniels] and saw the script, I saw that it wasn’t a remake. We were going to tell the truth about how the government went after her, we were going to tell the truth about the first War on Drugs and how its genesis was race, and we were going to vindicate her legacy. After that meeting, I did several auditions and got the gig at the beginning of 2018."

• Cast: Trevante Rhodes, Shamier Anderson, Shinelle Azoroh
• Rating: TV-MA

Fourteen-year-old Darious lives in a loving home with both of his parents. But when he experiences bullying at school, he enlists the help of a mysterious newcomer who, unbeknownst to him, is his biological father. Toxic masculinity, fatherhood and violence are just a few major themes explored in this touching coming-of-age story.

• Cast: David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah
• Rating: R

If you're looking for a compelling Black romance that doesn't feel formulaic or cheesy, then you need to add Rye Lane to your queue. In the film, Jonsson and Oparah star as two strangers who meet each other in South London after dealing with painful breakups. What follows is a day of fun shenanigans and bonding that leads to an unlikely romance.

While the storyline is quite simple, it's charming and genuinely funny (just check out their first exchange in a public restroom). Plus, Jonsson and Oparah's on-screen chemistry is so strong that it feels real. Director Raine Allen-Miller told IndieWire. “I was so scared that once we put them in the room together, maybe they’re not going to have chemistry, but when they went in together, it was even better than I could have imagined.”

• Cast: Brian Tyree Henry, Sonequa Martin-Green, Sunita Mani
• Rating: NR

Henry delivers a strong, scene-stealing performance as Charles, a reclusive editor who accidentally locks himself out of his apartment. With no cash and no way of getting back inside, he's forced to interact with the rest of the world, causing him to reflect on his past and reevaluate his life.

Director Casimir Nozkowski told The Moveable Fest, “This idea of making a film where you saw a whole spectrum of life, but it’s all happening on a block or even in a building—that idea of how small can you make the landscape, but then still make the problems and conflict and love and feelings as big as any size movie, that’s how it got started.”

• Cast: Derek Luke, Joy Bryant, Denzel Washington
• Rating: PG-13

When Antwone, a young sailor with a troubled past, has a violent outburst against a fellow crewman, he's ordered to seek help from a psychiatrist. Though resistant at first, Antwone starts to open up about his traumatic childhood, beginning a long-overdue journey of healing and prompting him to find his real family. (P.S. you can read the real Antwone's story in his autobiography, Finding Fish.)

• Cast: James Cleveland, Alexander Hamilton
• Rating: G

This musical documentary follows Aretha Franklin as she records her gospel album, Amazing Grace, with the Southern California Community Choir at a Baptist Church in Los Angeles in 1972. As you'd expect, Franklin's powerful vocals don't disappoint. Among the songs she sings are "Shine a Light," "Wholy Holy" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Plus, the film features cameos by Mick Jagger, Sydney Pollack and Charlie Watts.

• Cast: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight
• Rating: R

This riveting sports drama depicts the life of the iconic boxer and activist, Muhammad Ali, from 1964 to 1974. In this decade, the famous athlete earns his heavyweight title, converts to Islam and makes countless headlines for criticizing the Vietnam War.

Smith's unforgettable performance earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. And even Ali approved of the actor's portrayal. During an appearance on Oprah, Smith said, "The champ looked at me and gave me the nod that I did a good job. I worked as hard as I could possibly have worked."

• Cast: Sven Ruygrok
• Rating: TV-MA

Based on Shaun Assael’s investigative book, The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights, Pariah, the movie follows the career of Black boxer Sonny Liston, who rises to fame after he is crowned heavyweight champion of the world in 1962. It also addresses the mystery surrounding his sudden death from an alleged heroin overdose eight years after his victory.

• Cast: Tony Anderson, Burt Bacharach, David Foster
• Rating: TV-MA

Any fan of Whitney Houston will enjoy this insightful documentary, which offers an intimate look at the late singer's personal life and career. The movie includes archive footage and exclusive interviews with family, friends and record label associates.

Director Nick Broomfield told Rolling Stone, "The thing that originally interested me was when I heard that the record companies in those days had a black division and a white division. One of the first people I spoke to was [Arista Records publicist] Kenneth Reynolds, who said that she was so very carefully manufactured to make her acceptable to a mass, white audience. I had never really thought much about the racial aspect of Whitney Houston at all, but it was something that went to the very core of what the story is about. Namely, that people thought that she was somebody other than who she actually is."

• Cast: Martin Luther King, J. Edgar Hoover, David Garrow
• Rating: PG

Sam Pollard's tell-all film sheds light on the U.S. government's constant monitoring and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr. Using newly discovered evidence, the film explores the FBI's problematic history of targeting Black activists.

Director Sam Pollard told Entertainment Weekly, "As a documentary filmmaker who's always trying to be responsible and balanced in telling the story, even though we're dealing with some very sensitive stuff in terms of Dr. King's personal life, I felt it was an opportunity for us to have a way to see Dr. King as a human being, who was not deified as an icon or a saint... There's lots of things we had to deal with to show he was a human being and had his own flaws. We had a responsibility to try to tell that story, and the story of what the FBI was trying to do to discredit and destroy his reputation."

• Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Billy Brown, Jahi Di'Allo Winston
• Rating: R

Henson steals the show in this intense action thriller, thanks to her charisma and no-nonsense attitude. The actress stars as Mary, an assassin who feels compelled to protect a young boy after a hit job goes south.

Per Essence, in an exclusive behind-the-scenes video, Henson said, “Mary, when you first meet her, is a contract killer for hire. She was homeless as a child. The streets and the gangs raised her. When she meets Danny [a young boy], she sees her life all over again and she wants out, for the sake of saving herself and this boy.”

• Cast: John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr.
• Rating: R

Inspired by the killing of Eric Garner in 2014, Monsters and Men follows the aftermath of a traumatic incident, where a police officer shoots an unarmed Black man. The following events are told through the eyes of a Black police officer, a bystander who filmed the incident and a high-school athlete who decides to protest against the shooting.

While discussing his approach to the heavy subject matter, director Reinaldo Marcus Green told Entertainment Weekly, "We made a conscious decision in this film not to see the killing, not to focus on the victim, but to focus on people whose lives were affected by the image. For me, that was a way for me to deal with it."

• Cast: Elle Lorraine, Jay Pharoah, Lena Waithe
• Rating: TV-MA

Set in 1989, an ambitious young woman named Anna quickly learns that her natural hair is preventing her from succeeding in the television industry. Eager to boost her career, she takes the advice of a senior employee and gets a weave. Initially, it helps her thrive on the job, but things take a dark turn when supernatural events start to occur (like her hair moving on its own).

• Cast: Columbus Short, Meagan Good, Ne-Yo
• Rating: PG-13

When his little brother is murdered in an ambush, street dancer DJ Williams moves to Atlanta and enrolls at a historically Black university. He soon joins a fraternity called Theta Nu Theta and competes with them in step dancing competitions. Do they have what it takes to beat their undefeated rival fraternity?