The Top 10 Best Civil Rights Movies
These Civil Rights Movies Prove How Incredible and Essential the Movement Was and Still Is
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I’m taking a look at the top 10 civil rights movies of all time. For the sake of this list, I’m focusing on civil rights movies focusing on Black Americans and the effort to end institutionalized racial discrimination. I know that women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, and the rights of other minorities are also civil rights, but today’s list is for Black Americans. This list contains quite a few biopics and films based on true events reflecting serious strides the movement made as well as the obstacles it faced along the way. As much as some people would like to believe that we live in a post-racial America, I’m here to say that’s a dumb thing to think considering the systemic racism the BLM is fighting and that we still have a long way to go. Still, I want to celebrate the progress that has been made to help motivate us to keep heading in the right direction. It’s a long march, but it will be worth it.
10. 42
Kicking off this list of civil rights movies is a film that features a man who changed the face of America’s “National Pastime” for the better, Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman). Robinson became the first black player in the MLB in 1947 and one of the all-time greats ever to play the sport. The film follows Robinson as he faces heartbreaking discrimination from not only the public but his fellow players as well. He refused to give up and the tale of his tenacity is what makes 42 not only one of the best civil rights movies but also earned it a spot among the best baseball movies of all time. Most importantly, Robinson’s widow, Rachel Robinson, was involved in the production and has praised 42, saying:
“It was important to me because I wanted it to be an authentic piece. I wanted to get it right. I didn’t want them to make him an angry black man or some stereotype, so it was important for me to be in there. … I love the movie. I’m pleased with it. It’s authentic, and it’s also very powerful.”
-Rachel Robinson
9. Marshall
Chadwick Boseman was an outstanding actor who starred in a number of civil rights movies before his untimely death in 2020. I actually gave a presentation on the protagonist of this next film back in elementary school when I was assigned to pick a black historical figure and tell the class why they were so important to American history. Thurgood Marshall (Boseman) was the first black man appointed to the U.S. supreme court, but Marshall focuses on one of the many cases that earned him respect from attorneys across the country (often begrudging respect given the times), the State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell Bridgeport. As an NAACP lawyer, Marshall defended Joseph Spell, a chauffeur accused of raping his employer, Eleanor Strubing. Even with the odds stacked against him, Marshall proved himself to be one hell of a lawyer and a man truly worthy of the most honorable legal position in the country.
8. Mississippi Burning
I felt like it was important to include a film on this list of civil rights movies that showcased the importance of allies during the movement. While they’re definitely not as important as the Black Americans who fought for these rights, it’s germane to note that standing alongside the movement is something that all Americans should do regardless of ethnicity. Mississippi Burning is based on the true story of two FBI agents (Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe) who investigated the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi. The two agents find themselves confronted by a wall of silence due to the grip of the Ku Klux Klan on the community. The agents refuse to back down in the face of intolerance and ignorance and instead decide to get down in the mud in order to wrestle the truth out of them. The national spotlight on the case helped contribute to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which makes it an tragic, but crucial moment for the movement.
7. Loving
Look, I have a lot of love for my country, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to turn a blind eye to the darker aspects of its history. One such moment is the focus of the next entry on this list of civil rights movies, Loving. As recently as the 1950s interracial marriage was still illegal in most parts of the country. Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton star as a couple who were lawfully married in Washington D.C. only to be arrested in Virginia because they were an interracial couple (aka a couple) and therefore violated anti-miscegenation laws. Over the course of the film, their case goes all the way to the supreme court which unanimously holds that laws prohibiting interracial marriage are unconstitutional. Now, I’m a firm believer that love is love as long as it’s consensual, so this was one of the first films I thought of for this list and I’m glad that it showcases the events that led to the repeal of such archaic laws.
6. Driving Miss Daisy
While Driving Miss Daisy doesn’t focus on a specific moment or person related to the civil rights movement, it showcases why the movement was so important. Morgan Freeman stars as a chauffeur working for a wealthy Jewish widow played by Jessica Tandy (who won an Academy Award for her performance). Almost all the other civil rights movies on this list tell the stories of those on the inside of the movement looking out, but Driving Miss Daisy is a film that reveals what it was like for those witnessing the events unfold from the outside through the eyes of those who are most affected by it, a black man and a Jewish woman (Tandy’s character even attends a dinner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at). The two develop a relationship far beyond simply employer and employee and become family over the decades. It’s a wonderfully heartfelt story and a truly must-see movie.