Today marks the first day of Black History Month, which resulted from Carter G. Woodson’s Black History Week that was started in the latter part of the 1920s.
A lot of people think of history as a staid affair, with nothing but dates and names no one can pronounce. But there’s a wealth of filmed material about the black experience that can not only teach, but entertain, too.
This week, watch HBO’s The Tuskegee Airmen. You may feel the need to compare and contrast the 1995 made-for-cable movie, freshly out on Blu-ray, with George Lucas’ Red Tails, which is currently playing in theaters. Do. Not. Even if Cuba Gooding Jr. is cast in both movies. The tagline clues you in to the educational portion: “They fought two wars.” The performances, from Laurence Fishburne, Courtney B. Vance and, yes, Gooding, do the rest.
Click here for details on Texas Black Film Festival in Dallas this weekend.
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