5 Black History Month Docs: Race & Justice

Throughout February, Full Frame has reached into the archives to share festival alums that highlight the history and culture of the Black experience in America.

In this fourth and final installment, we present five extraordinary films that explore stories and themes of race and justice in our country.

Time

Time (Full Frame 2020) | Director: Garrett Bradley
2020 Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award
2020 Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award

Stream: Amazon Prime

Rendered in evocative black and white, this intimate and artfully shaped documentary follows Fox Rich, who, during desperate times, took part in the attempted robbery of a Shreveport, Louisiana, credit union with her husband, Rob. Released after three years, Fox returns home to raise their sons and take on the relentless fight for Rob’s release, shooting home videos for him while becoming a formidable advocate and entrepreneur.

Always in Season

Always in Season (Full Frame 2019) | Director: Jacqueline Olive

Stream: Amazon Prime

In 2014, teenager Lennon Lacy was found hanging from a swing set in Bladenboro, North Carolina. The circumstances of his death echo the long horror of lynching in the American South and intersect with the stories of two other communities seeking justice and reconciliation.

Mossville: When Great Trees Fall

Mossville: When Great Trees Fall (Full Frame 2019) | Director: Alexander John Glustrom
2019 Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights

Stream: Amazon Prime

Striking and urgent, this harrowing account of environmental racism follows Stacey Ryan, one of the last remaining residents of a historically African American community, as he fights an influx of petrochemical plants into his town.

The Changing Same

The Changing Same (Full Frame 2019) | Director: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson

Stream: POV / PBS

To publicly confront the horrific history of his hometown, Marianna, Florida, Lamar Wilson runs the same 13-mile trek that ended in the 1934 lynching of Claude Neal.

The Rape of Recy Taylor

The Rape of Recy Taylor (Full Frame 2018) | Director: Nancy Buirski

Stream: Hulu

In 1944, Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old black woman, was abducted and raped by six white men in Alabama. The film centers on her unprecedented response—a fight for justice, with the aid of Rosa Parks and other black activists—whose profound influence on the civil rights movement still reverberates today.