Systemic & Institutional Racism

An Oscar-nominated documentary narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO explores the continued peril America faces from institutionalized racism. SNHU Login Required.

From 1860 to 1920 hundreds of US counties expelled all of their African American inhabitants. BANISHED visits three of these still all-white towns today. Meanwhile the descendants of those displaced and disinherited seek redress. SNHU Login Required.

Slavery by Another Name, narrated by Laurence Fishburne, is a 90-minute documentary that challenges one of Americans' most cherished assumptions: that slavery in this country ended with the Emancipation Proclamation. The film tells how even as chattel slavery came to an end in the South after the Civil War, new systems of involuntary servitude took its place with shocking force and brutality. SNHU Login Required.

This PBS town hall meeting, moderated by PBS NEWSHOUR co-anchor and managing editor Gwen Ifill, explores events following Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri. The program, recorded before an audience on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, will include national leaders and prominent thinkers in the areas of law enforcement, race and civil rights, as well as government officials, faith leaders and youth. SNHU Login Required.

This new PBS town hall meeting, moderated by Gwen Ifill, explores the many issues around race relations that have come to the fore during this tense few months, after a white gunman shot and killed nine African-American parishioners in Charleston, South Carolina, and the removal of the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds that followed. SNHU Login Required.

Ranging from the routine harassment of minority students in an affluent Brooklyn community to the killings and protests in Staten Island and Ferguson, Missouri, PROFILED bears witness to the racist violence that remains an everyday reality for black and Latin people in this country. SNHU Login Required.

Teachers traditionally turn to literature, history and current events to open up these conversations, but it’s always helpful to have a bigger toolbox to tackle such important and difficult issues. That’s why we pulled together these 26 short New York Times documentaries that range in time from 1 to 7 minutes and tackle issues of race, bias and identity.

“42,” tells the story of two men - the great Jackie Robinson and legendary GM Branch Rickey - whose stand against prejudice forever changed the world by changing the game of baseball. In 1946, Rickey put himself at the forefront of history when he signed Robinson to the team, breaking MLB’s infamous color line. But the deal also put both Robinson and Rickey in the firing line of the public, the press, and even other players. Facing unabashed racism from every side, Robinson was forced to demonstrate tremendous courage and restraint by not reacting in kind, knowing that any incident could destroy his and Rickey’s hopes. Instead, Number 42 let his talent on the field do the talking - ultimately winning over fans and his teammates, silencing his critics, and paving the way for others to follow. SNHU Login Required.

Black ballerina Misty Copeland is profiled in this documentary, which explores her career, her recovery from a serious injury and the lack of diversity in the world of dance. SNHU Login Required.

A black detective sets out to infiltrate the Colorado chapter of the Ku Klux Klan with the help of his Jewish colleague. In the midst of the 1970s civil rights movement, they risk their lives to obtain insider information on the violent organization. SNHU Login Required.

Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption. SNHU Login Required.

Civil-rights activists march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery to secure voting rights for black Americans in this docudrama, which focuses on the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. SNHU Login Required.

Chronicle of the seminal rap group N.W.A. and their 'hood-to-riches success, tracing their story from the mean streets of mid-'80s Compton to their triumphant battles against censorship. SNHU Login Required.

"What Is Systemic Racism?" is an 8-part video series that shows how racism shows up in our lives across institutions and society: Wealth Gap, Employment, Housing Discrimination, Government Surveillance, Incarceration, Drug Arrests, Immigration Arrests, Infant Mortality… yes, systemic racism is really a thing.