Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "civil-rights-era"

1. Hairspray (2007)

PG | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.

Director: Adam Shankman | Stars: John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer

Votes: 138,753 | Gross: $118.87M

2. The Secret Life of Bees (2008)

PG-13 | 114 min | Drama

In 1964, a teenage girl in search of the truth about her mother runs away to a small town in South Carolina and finds a family of independent women who can connect her to her past.

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys

Votes: 27,962 | Gross: $37.77M

3. Hairspray Live! (2016 TV Movie)

TV-PG | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

A teenage girl living in Baltimore in the early 1960s dreams of appearing on a popular TV dance show.

Directors: Kenny Leon, Alex Rudzinski | Stars: Dove Cameron, Martin Short, Ariana Grande, Kristin Chenoweth

Votes: 3,812

4. 13th (2016)

TV-MA | 100 min | Documentary, Crime, History

An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

Director: Ava DuVernay | Stars: Melina Abdullah, Michelle Alexander, Cory Booker, Dolores Canales

Votes: 37,691

5. Son of the South (2020)

PG-13 | 105 min | Biography, Drama

The true story of one young white Southerner in the Summer of 1961, caught in a place and time where he had to choose which side he was on.

Director: Barry Alexander Brown | Stars: Lucas Till, Jim Klock, Michael Sirow, Jake Abel

Votes: 2,444

6. JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass (2021)

TV-14 | 118 min | Documentary, History

Declassified files related to President Kennedy's assassination in a far larger context, aiming to shine more light on what really happened in 1963.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Whoopi Goldberg, Oliver Stone, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Votes: 4,239

7. There Goes My Baby (1994)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Drama

Graduates of a Los Angeles high school in 1965 see America's culture and politics gradually change.

Director: Floyd Mutrux | Stars: Dermot Mulroney, Ricky Schroder, Kelli Williams, Noah Wyle

Votes: 1,171 | Gross: $0.12M

8. The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973)

PG | 102 min | Action, Drama, Crime

A black man plays 'uncle Tom' in order to gain access to CIA training, then uses that knowledge to plot a new American revolt.

Director: Ivan Dixon | Stars: Lawrence Cook, Janet League, Paula Kelly, J.A. Preston

Votes: 1,568 | Gross: $1.00M

9. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974 TV Movie)

TV-PG | 110 min | Drama, History

Story of a black woman in the South who was born into slavery in the 1850s and lives to become a part of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Director: John Korty | Stars: Cicely Tyson, Eric Brown, Richard Dysart, Joel Fluellen

Votes: 2,506

10. Heart of Dixie (1989)

PG | 95 min | Drama

Three young sorority women try to find love with potential men, while worrying about changes in their way of life when integration begins at their college in 1957 segregated Alabama.

Director: Martin Davidson | Stars: Ally Sheedy, Virginia Madsen, Phoebe Cates, Treat Williams

Votes: 835 | Gross: $1.10M

11. King of Cool (2021)

107 min | Documentary, Biography, History

The story of Dean Martin.

Director: Tom Donahue | Stars: Dean Martin, Frankie Avalon, Jerry Blavat, Bill Boggs

Votes: 888

12. MLK/FBI (2020)

TV-PG | 104 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Based on newly declassified files, Sam Pollard's resonant film explores the US government's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Director: Sam Pollard | Stars: Martin Luther King, J. Edgar Hoover, David Garrow, Clarence B. Jones

Votes: 1,757

13. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)

TV-PG | 360 min | Documentary, History

A documentary about the American Civil Rights Movement from 1952 to 1965.

Stars: Julian Bond, Coretta Scott King, John Lewis, Andrew Young

Votes: 737

14. 1968: The Year That Changed America (2018)

43 min | Documentary, History

A four-part series that looks back at 1968, a year marked by seismic shifts in American politics, social movements, and global relations, including cultural icons who forever changed the landscape.

Stars: Dan Rather, Mark Bowden, Rick Perlstein, Tim Naftali

Votes: 268

15. Gospel Hill (2008)

Unrated | 99 min | Drama

A former Sheriff of the southern town dealing with past sins, and a former civil rights worker, withdrawn since the martyrdom of his brother thirty years before, confront a threat to their town.

Director: Giancarlo Esposito | Stars: Chloe Bailey, Adam Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Casey Belville

Votes: 997

16. John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020)

PG | 96 min | Documentary

The film explores Georgia representative's, 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health care reform, and immigration.

Director: Dawn Porter | Stars: Elijah Cummings, Anthony Johnson, Hillary Clinton, Ayanna Pressley

Votes: 1,055

17. Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia (2023 TV Movie)

Documentary, Crime, History

With his mafia wiseguy links and access to entertainment industry star power, Frank Sinatra helped John F. Kennedy into the White House in 1960. But it all came to a bitter end.

Director: David Harvey | Stars: Chuck Granata, Lenny Luizzi, Robert Foster, Robbyn Swan

Votes: 58

18. The Painting (2001)

PG-13 | 97 min | Drama, Romance

A black man is opposed to his sister's falling in love with a white man.

Directors: Peter Manoogian, Joshua D. Rose | Stars: Clifton Davis, Charles Shaughnessy, Stacey Dash, Heath Freeman

Votes: 320

19. Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994)

105 min | Documentary, Biography

A film about the work of the artist most famous for her monuments such as the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the Civil Rights Fountain Memorial.

Director: Freida Lee Mock | Star: Maya Lin

Votes: 534 | Gross: $0.06M

20. Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston (2019 TV Movie)

TV-MA | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime

Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. Eight years later, he died but friends questioned the cause of his death.

Director: Simon George | Stars: Nigel Collins, Helen-Jean Long, Jerry Izenberg, Mike Tyson

Votes: 427

21. Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin (2003)

83 min | Documentary, Biography

Documentary on Bayard Rustin, best-remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington.

Directors: Nancy D. Kates, Bennett Singer | Stars: Bayard Rustin, Dorothy Jackson, John Rodgers, Louis John

Votes: 226

22. An Ordinary Hero: The True Story of Joan Trumpauer Mulholland (2013)

Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary, Biography

The amazing true story of one white Southern woman's courage to choose her convictions and join the Civil Rights Movement. By the time she was 19, Joan Trumpauer was shot at, attacked, and ... See full summary »

Director: Loki Mulholland | Stars: Luvaughn Brown, Dion Diamond, Eric Etheridge, Reginald Green

Votes: 82

23. Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind (2019)

Not Rated | 108 min | Documentary, Biography, Music

The untold story of Charles Manson's obsession to become a rock star, his rise in the LA music scene, the celebrities who championed his music including the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson and his descen...

Director: Tom O'Dell | Stars: Simon Wells, Jeff Guinn, Anthony DeCurtis, Peter Richardson

Votes: 308

24. Days of Rage: the Rolling Stones' Road to Altamont (2020)

107 min | Documentary, History, Music

The decade that began with peace and love was shattered in the late 1960s amidst riots, assassinations and a war that wouldn't end. The Rolling Stones became the voice of this new era, which came to a horrific end at the Altamont festival.

Director: Tom O'Dell | Stars: Michael Lydon, Sam Culter, Ronnie Schneider, Anthony DeCurtis

Votes: 104

25. The Cry of Jazz (1959)

Not Rated | 34 min | Documentary, Short, Music

Discussion of jazz and the role of African-Americans in the United States.

Director: Edward Bland | Stars: George Waller, Dorothea Horton, Melinda Dillon, Andrew Duncan

Votes: 320

26. Now (1965)

5 min | Documentary, Short, Music

A documentary short about racism in the United States.

Director: Santiago Álvarez | Star: Lena Horne

Votes: 760

27. All Power to the People! (the Black Panther Party and Beyond) (1996)

Not Rated | 115 min | Documentary

A recap of the Black Panther Party's often distorted history and an expose of apparent governmental plots that hastened its demise.

Director: Lee Lew Lee | Stars: Mumia Abu-Jamal, Dennis Banks, Marlon Brando, David Brinkley

Votes: 147

28. Elvis: The Rebirth of the King (2017)

60 min | Documentary, Biography, Music

When Elvis Presley began performing in Las Vegas in 1969, many believed that was the end of his career, especially after the excitement of his '68 Comeback Special. This documentary follows... See full summary »

Director: Mike Connolly | Stars: The Beatles, Steve Binder, Bill Bixby, Bill Black

Votes: 46

29. William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe (2009)

Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary

The life of the great American lawyer and advocate for the political underdog, William Kunstler.

Directors: Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler | Stars: Herman Badillo, Harry Belafonte, Clyde Bellecourt, Daniel Berrigan

Votes: 342 | Gross: $0.06M

30. Walls That Bleed

109 min | Documentary, Biography, History | Post-production

Corrupt Politics is the origin of a Revolution! This documentary tells the story of the 1969 Dudley-A&T Uprising. This event will go down as the most successful student-lead revolt in the history of the United States.

Director: Michael Williams

31. Gondola (1974 TV Movie)

60 min | Drama, Mystery

A wealthy civil rights lawyer tries to elicit the truth from a pair of witnesses who perjured themselves at a murder trial. Executive producer Norman Lloyd plays the lawyer in this psychological drama.

Director: Paul Stanley | Stars: Bo Hopkins, Norman Lloyd, Sondra Locke

Votes: 9

32. The Real Malcolm X (1992 TV Movie)

60 min | Documentary, Biography

CBS News looks at Malcolm X, focusing on his public life from 1959 to his assassination in 1965, suggesting that his death was a great loss to the nation. The film intercuts archival ... See full summary »

Director: Brett Alexander | Stars: Dan Rather, Maya Angelou, Ray Barron, Chuck D

Votes: 55

33. King (2008 TV Movie)

120 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Forty years after Martin Luther King s assassination, HISTORY, with newsman Tom Brokaw, takes viewers through the extraordinary life and times of America's civil rights visionary. KING goes... See full summary »

Stars: Juanita Abernathy, Harry Belafonte, Tom Brokaw, Xernona Clayton

Votes: 27

34. Some Torches Don't Burn (2015)

22 min | Short, Drama

The film examines progress (realized or perceived) in the African-American community since the civil-rights era, while telling the story of the film's patriarchal character Winston (Myles Cranford).

Director: Chris Reese | Stars: Derin Adesida, Hilda Boulware, Myles Cranford, Torrey Drake

35. CBS News: 50 Years Later, Civil Rights (2014 TV Special)

History

Add a Plot

Director: Jerry Foley | Stars: Harry Belafonte, Taylor Branch, James Brown, Jason Collins

36. Go South! (2009 TV Movie)

Documentary

Ron Barnes, a white educator in 1964, now retired, took his family to Tuskegee Institute, a black university, to teach for the summer. The stories he has to tell and those from his wife and... See full summary »

Director: Howard E. Rieder | Stars: Betsy Barnes, Lisa Barnes, Ron Barnes, Lou Burrell

37. In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement (2010 TV Special)

TV-PG | 60 min | Music

"In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement" showcases an evening that honored the music from the civil rights movement, and its legacy and ... See full summary »

Director: Ron de Moraes | Stars: Yolanda Adams, Joan Baez, Jill Biden, Joe Biden

Votes: 15

38. Down to Earth (I) (2008)

27 min | Documentary, Short

On April 4 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on the eve of a peaceful march. On the 40th anniversary of this tragic event, we present a documentary about ... See full summary »

Director: David Moreu | Stars: Samuel Kyles, Willie Mitchell, Deanie Parker, David Porter

39. E! True Hollywood Story (1996– )
Episode: Sammy Davis Jr. (2001)

TV-PG | 120 min | Documentary, Biography

The documentary covered the life, times and death of the legendary entertainer, Sammy Davis Jr.

Stars: Jay Bernstein, May Britt, Diahann Carroll, Sammy Davis Jr.

Votes: 16

40. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: Ain't Scared of Your Jails: 1960-1961 (1987)

TV-PG | 57 min | Documentary, History

From PBS - Beginning in 1960, young people on Black college campuses took a more active role in the civil rights movement's leadership and determined their own methods of promoting change.

Director: Orlando Bagwell | Stars: Julian Bond, Angeline Butler, James Farmer, Jacqueline Kennedy

Votes: 36

41. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: Awakenings: 1954-1956 (1987)

TV-PG | 57 min | Documentary, History

The beginnings of the U.S. Civil rights struggle is profiled, including the Emmett Till murder trial and the Rosa Parks arrest/Montgomery bus boycott.

Director: Judith Vecchione | Stars: Ralph Abernathy, Joe Azbell, Frances Belser, Unita Blackwell

Votes: 44

42. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: Bridge to Freedom: 1965 (1987)

TV-PG | 57 min | Documentary, History

From PBS - Ten years after the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, the civil rights leadership has become more sophisticated in its use of protest strategy.

Directors: Callie Crossley, James A. DeVinney | Stars: Ralph Abernathy, Wilson Baker, Harry Belafonte, James Bevel

Votes: 50

43. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: Fighting Back: 1957-1962 (1987)

TV-PG | 57 min | Documentary, History

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown Vs the Board of Education decision, the civil rights movement presses the issue of desegregation in schools. From Little Rock High School and ... See full summary »

Director: Judith Vecchione | Stars: Lindsay Almond Jr., Melvin Bailey, Ross Barnett, Lucius Christopher Bates

Votes: 42

44. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: Mississippi: Is This America?: 1962-1964 (1987)

TV-PG | 57 min | Documentary, History

1964 sees the advent of Freedom Summer. Volunteers from across the country travel to the south to register Negro voters. Despite the disappearance of three volunteers in Mississippi who are... See full summary »

Director: Orlando Bagwell | Stars: Ella Baker, Rita Schwerner Bender, Unita Blackwell, Julian Bond

Votes: 41

45. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: No Easy Walk: 1961-1963 (1987)

TV-PG | 57 min | Documentary, History

From PBS - This episode depicts major civil rights movement events in three American cities.

Directors: Callie Crossley, James A. DeVinney | Stars: Ralph Abernathy, William G. Anderson, Melvin Bailey, James Bevel

Votes: 35

46. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: Power!: 1966-1968 (1990)

TV-PG | 55 min | Documentary, History

Exploring the influence of the idea of black power on freedom movement. Follows leaders of three black communities in their efforts to gain political and economic power that would enable advancements in employment, housing and education.

Directors: Louis J. Massiah, Terry Kay Rockefeller | Stars: Julian Bond, Elaine Brown, H. Rap Brown, Charles Butts

Votes: 19

47. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: The Promised Land: 1967-1968 (1990)

TV-PG | 58 min | Documentary, History

Martin Luther King, Jr. stakes out new ground for himself and the rapidly fragmenting civil rights movement. He is assassinated in Memphis at the Lorraine Motel.

Directors: Jacqueline Shearer, Paul Stekler | Stars: Martin Luther King, Juanita Abernathy, Ralph Abernathy, Harry Belafonte

Votes: 16

48. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: The Time Has Come: 1964-1966 (1990)

TV-PG | 55 min | Documentary, History

Episode focuses on black militancy and the roots of the black power movement. Also tracks the influence of ideas of black separatism and black nationalism on a new generation of blacks and ... See full summary »

Directors: James A. DeVinney, Madison D. Lacy | Stars: Ralph Abernathy, Muhammad Ali, Tracy Amalfitano, A. Peter Bailey

Votes: 20

49. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: Two Societies: 1965-1968 (1990)

TV-PG | 57 min | Documentary, History

Northern cities served as the backdrop for confrontations on a scale the civil rights movement had never seen before the mid-1960s. Scarred by widespread discrimination, black inner-city ... See full summary »

Directors: Sheila Curran Bernard, Sam Pollard | Stars: Ralph Abernathy, Julian Bond, Herb Boyd, Edward Brooke

Votes: 16

50. Eyes on the Prize (1987–1990)
Episode: A Nation of Law?: 1968-1971 (1990)

TV-PG | 58 min | Documentary, History

Black activism is increasingly met with violent and unethical response from local and federal law enforcement. A five-day inmate takeover at Attica Prison calls the public's attention to ... See full summary »

Directors: Louis J. Massiah, Thomas Ott, Terry Kay Rockefeller | Stars: Amiri Baraka, L.D. Barkley, LaVerne Barkley, Herbert X. Blyden

Votes: 21