Juneteenth is one of our most powerful American celebrations. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln had enacted the Emancipation Proclamation, meant to free all slaves in the confederate states – but Texas, a remote and rebellious state, barely attempted to enforce the rule, keeping many enslaved. On June 18th, 1865, 2,000 federal soldiers finally made it to Texas to occupy the state in a show of strength and resilience. One day later, June 19th, General Gordon Granger announced that the Black Americans still enslaved in Texas were emancipated and made free. That announcement has since been celebrated every June 19th in what we call Juneteenth.
To celebrate your Juneteenth weekend, we’ve curated a list of 20 films that celebrate Black joy, celebration, and inspiration – and are all available on the most popular streaming services. Enjoy these wonderful films, celebrate this wonderful holiday, and continue the fight for Black justice inevery way you can.
Akeelah and the Bee
Director/Writer: Doug Atchison
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Keke Palmer, Curtis Armstrong
Streaming on: HBO Max
This timeless classic is about a girl named Akeelah (Keke Palmer) who discovers she has a talent for spelling, which she hopes will take her to the National Spelling Bee.Akeelah and the Beeis one of those films that sticks with you after you watch it because you’ll feel so motivated to go out and chase your dreams. For a very short time, I was inspired to actually get into the world of competitive spelling (that dream didn’t last long).
I think the reasonAkeelah and the Beeis so rewatchable is because of how the characters are portrayed and how the community is rooting for her. Everyone likes an underdog story and when it’s told right it can make for a very compelling and memorable story. Sidenote: It’s been very cool to see Keke grow into the professional she is today. From starring in the blockbuster hitHustlersto becoming a talk show host, this is Keke’s world and we’re just living it.- Dorian Parks
Black Panther
Director: Ryan Coogler
Writers: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis
Streaming on: Disney+
Ryan Coogler’sBlack Pantherwas a game-changer that reinvented the word Afrofuturism and took the Marvel Cinematic Universe to places we have never seen before! Not only was it the first MCU film to have a Black superhero as the lead, it was also the first movie to win Marvel Studios their first Academy Award. From the original score to the costume design, there has never been a more substantial Marvel film to date.
The film had a bigger cultural impact than could’ve ever been imagined, and was a true wake up to those who didn’t understand why representation was important. Ryan Coogler continues to elevate his game and I’m sureBlack Panther 2, which is coming out July 06, 2025, will surpass the original. If you’re curious about how the movie got off the ground, learn about it in our seriesHow the MCU Was Made!- Dorian Parks
Cool Runnings
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Writers: Lynn Siefert, Tommy Swerdlow, Michael Goldberg, Michael Ritchie
Cast: Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Rawle D. Lewis, Malik Yoba, John Candy
Based on a true story,Cool Runningstells the story of Jamaica’s first Olympic bobsled team, and the personal struggles and triumphs it took to get there. Despite its status as a Disney-produced family film,Cool Runningsis refreshingly honest in its examinations of societal prejudices, interpersonal conflicts, familial traumas, and exceptionally cathartic redemptions. The film is warm, accessible, heartfelt, and “get up off your couch and cheer” inducing. It’s a pitch perfect slice of sports drama that uses much of what we love about the genre’s formula and repurposes it with exceptional execution, wonderful performances, and a raw sense of reality underneath its appealing sheen. An instant rewatchable classic. Repeat after me: “I see pride! I see power! I see a bad-ass mother who don’t take no crap off of nobody!"- Gregory Lawrence
Dolemite Is My Name
Director: Craig Brewer
Writers: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Wesley Snipes
Streaming on: Netflix
Easily one of the best movies of 2019,Dolemite Is My Nameis a biopic about comedianRudy Ray Mooreand the creation of his stand-up persona Dolemite.Eddie Murphystars as Moore, taking us through the comedian’s journey from struggling artist to underground hit to nationwide star, all leading up to the 1975 blaxploitation movieDolemite. Rather than being a straight biopic,Dolemite Is My Nameleans heavily into comedy; Murphy is at the top of his game as Moore, and there’s a genuine laugh-out-loud moment in pretty much every scene, including the opening few lines. The supporting cast is loaded with hilarious performers likeCraig Robinson,Tituss Burgess,Keegan-Michael Key, and a transcendently maniacalWesley SnipesasDolemitedirectorD’Urville Martin. Like most biopics, it plays around with details and timelines (for instance, many of the scenes we see Moore and his friends film forDolemiteare actually from the sequel,The Human Tornado), but the film is so fun and earnest that it gets a pass. It’s an extremely funny movie about following your dreams and using your success to uplift your friends and community, featuring one of the best performances of Murphy’s career.- Tom Reimann
Fast Color
Director: Julia Hart
Writers: Julia Hart, Jordan Horowitz
Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, Saniyya Sidney, Christopher Denham, David Strathairn
Streaming on: Amazon Prime, Hulu
One of the most underrated, overlooked movies of 2019 wasJulia Hart’sFast Color. The movie starsGugu Mbatha-Rawas a young woman with supernatural abilities who is on the run when her powers are discovered. When she has nowhere else to go, she goes back to her family and the farmhouse she abandoned long ago. There, while being pursued by the local sheriff, she starts to mend her broken relationships with her mother and daughter and starts to trust her powers.
It is important to tell more grounded superhero stories like this in order to ensure the genre itself doesn’t get repetitive and stagnatic. Although it didn’t get the box office justice it deserved, the movie is being adapted into a series at Amazon withViola DavisandJulius Tennon’s Juvee Productions executive producing it! Hart will also be attached to the project to ensure it captures the same magic as the movie did.- Dorian Parks
Homecoming
Director/Writer: Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Cast: Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child, Jay-Z, Kelly Rowland, Les Twins, Michelle Williams, Solange, Blue Ivy Carter
Homecomingis a peerless concert film/behind-the-scenes documentary about one of our generation’s most relentlessly creative human beings –Beyoncé– crafting one of our generation’s most relentlessly powerful performances – her 2018 Coachella show. Oh, and she also directed the frank film herself. Phenomenal music, powerful thematic statements, a testament to the strength that comes from hard work and self-advocacy; watch this damnflawlessmovie already!– Gregory Lawrence
The Incredible Jessica James
Writer/Director: James Strouse
Cast: Jessica Williams, Chris O’Dowd, Noël Wells, LaKeith Stanfield, Megan Ketch, Zabryna Guevara
Pretty much immediately upon her arrival onThe Daily Show, it was clear thatJessica Williamswas a star. And she got the chance to lead her own film with 2017’sThe Incredible Jessica James, which is a delightful coming-of-age romantic comedy. Williams plays Jessica, a fiercely independent woman who has recently split with her boyfriend and strikes up a flirtatious relationship with a man named Boone (Chris O’Dowd). The film doesn’t really follow the traditional romcom format and instead puts an intense focus on the character of Jessica—her desires, hopes, dreams, and failings. In that way it’s a more well-rounded and complex version of a traditional romantic comedy, and Williams absolutely knocks it out of the park.- Adam Chitwood
Director: Clark Johnson
Writer: Roderick Spencer
Cast: Alfre Woodard, Blair Underwood, Marcus Henderson, Adam Beach, Ashlie Atkinson, Tsulan Cooper, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Kat Smith
A simple story of self-discovery, told a little bit less than simply.Juanitastars the always-phenomenalAlfre Woodardas a woman in need of some reinvention. To get there, she hops on a bus from Ohio to Montana, acquainting herself with all kinds of colorful characters along the way, and coming to new terms of self-actualization. DirectorClark Johnson, an accomplished actor himself, renders his performances with beauty and acumen, walking a tonally tricky tightrope (the film maneuvering between grounded drama and some silly detours) with refreshing excellence. We need to give Woodard an Oscar every single year from now on, please and thank you.- Gregory Lawrence
Nappily Ever After
Director: Haifaa al-Mansour
Writers: Adam Brooks, Cee Marcellus
Cast: Sanaa Lathan, Ernie Hudson, Lyriq Bent, Lynn Whitfield, Ricky Whittle, Camille Guaty
Like the start of any good charming romcom protagonist, Violet Jones (Sanaa Lathan, a star) has it all. A perfect job, a perfect boyfriend (Ricky Whittle), and “perfect hair” – which, in this case, means straightened hair (a coding the film has a lot to say about). Of course, as should happen to any good romcom protagonist, all of Violet’s perfectly laid plans fall away as life throws her all kinds of other obstacles. Watching Violet discover what her ambitions really should be, who her boyfriend really should be (Lyriq Bent, wonderful), and what power her natural hair possesses makes for compellingly sweet, inspiring cinema, a piece of artisanal romantic comedy candy that will stick to the teeth for some time after you watch.- Gregory Lawrence
The Princess and the Frog
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker
Writers: Ron Clements, John Musker, Rob Edwards
Cast: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, John Goodman
The Princess and the Frogis primarily remembered for introducing the first (and, as of right now, the only) African American Princess into the Disney Animation canon (and for subsequently welcoming her into the Disney Princess merchandising line, which makes billions of dollars for the company each and every year) – Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) a hard-working waitress in roaring 20s New Orleans who dreams of opening her own restaurant, but who is turned into a frog by a frog prince (Bruno Campos). While directed byRon ClementsandJohn Musker, legendary Disney filmmakers who returned to the studio for the project, there are a number of key African American contributors to the film, including screenwriterRob Edwards, supervising animatorBruce W. Smith, who brought the unforgettable character of Dr. Facilier to life, and the incredible vocal cast, which includesOprah Winfrey,Keith David, andJenifer Lewis. Most startling, however, is the level of sensitivity that the filmmakers bring to the material, painstakingly bringing dimensionality and life to each and every character, and turning a New Orleans fueled by the African American experience, into a joyous, multifaceted fantasia.– Drew Taylor
