Gimme Five! Movies for Black History Month

The Color Purple

An uneducated woman living in the rural American south who was raped by her father, deprived of the children she bore him and forced to marry a brutal man she calls "Mister" is transformed by the friendship of two remarkable women, acquiring self-worth and the strength to forgive. Starring Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover, based on the novel by Alice Walker.

Ray

Ray Charles went blind at the age of seven. Inspired by his mother who insisted he make his own way, he found his calling at the keyboard. "Ray' follows as he overcomes drug addiction while becoming one of the country's most beloved performers. Jamie Fox won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles in a film that has one of the best soundtracks ever.

Malcolm X

Screen version of the life of Malcolm X, who though his religious conversion to Islam, found the strength to rise up from a criminal past to become an influential civil rights leader. Spike Lee directed and Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett starred.

The Wiz

A discontented kindergarten teacher living in Harlem is lost in a blizzard and comes upon the wonderland of Oz. There she meets new friends, tries to find her way home, and discovers that her life is not so bad after all. Diana Ross stars with a cast that includes Richard Pryor and a young Michael Jackson.

Beloved

After Paul D. finds his old slave friend Sethe in Ohio and moves in with her and her daughter Denver, a strange girl comes along by the name of "Beloved." Sethe and Denver take her in and then strange things start to happen. With Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Toni Morrison.