You can currently find a documentary on just about anything, especially with the influx of streaming networks that’ve risen in the wake of Netflix dominating the lane of movies-on-demand.
One of the most popular subjects to focus on when it comes to documentaries has proven to be Black culture in all of its complexity. MSNBC Films recently announced that a new four-part docu-series alongside NBC News Studios titled Model America will premiere soon, illustrating “America’s complicated relationship with race through the lens of the people of Teaneck, New Jersey, a ‘racial utopia’ turned unlikely ground zero for the modern Black Lives Matter Movement.”
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More on what will be included in Model America below, via Variety:
“‘Model America’ details the fallout events that took place after 16-year-old Phillip Pannell was fatally shot by Gary Spath, a White police officer, on April 10, 1990. As the tragic death shakes up the city, rumors and misinformation begins to spread begging those in Teaneck to question if the city is really a home without racial tensions.
While the city questions whether Pannell was surrendering or attempting to pull out a when Spath fired his weapon, Civil Rights leaders descend upon the city during the investigation and trial –– adding fuel to an already building fire.
30 years later the Teaneck community still struggles with how to move forward. After the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, a new lens is being offered through which to view Phillip’s case.”
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The description alone is enough to send chills down anyone’s spine that has been paying attention even on a surface level to the BLM Movement. We’ll be sure to tune in when it begins airing on September 18 at 10 PM ET/PT via MSNBC, but it also got us thinking about a few other prominent moments in our culture that could use the documentary treatment.
Take a look at five important events in Black history that we hope get added to the queue of documentaries being made:
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1. Mississippi Black Codes (1865)
The story of slavery was one thing, but what our people had to go through after the fact is a whole other chapter to our gruesome past. Imagine having laws put in place that made it illegal for Black people to be unemployed after decades of being enslaved?
2. The Story Of Bridget “Biddy” Mason (1818-1891)
Biddy’s inspiring story of triumph, from being born a slave to becoming a real estate mogul and one of the richest African Americans, is truly a story that should be known by the world.
3. The Lynching Of George “Joe Coe” Smith (1891)
With the new lynching laws that passed earlier this year, we owe it to ourselves to understand how and why it took so long to become a hate crime. While this could potentially be hard for many to watch, sometimes the much-needed truth hurts.
4. The Detroit Walk To Freedom (1963)
Everyone is familiar with Dr. King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C., but understanding the lead-up that began in Detroit just weeks prior would really put the importance of his words and message into perspective.
5. SCOTUS Nomination Of Ketanji Brown Jackson (2022)
We already know it’s coming! Our only hope is that a doc on KBJ is done with taste, honesty and gives a full look into Justice Brown Jackson’s historic rise up the political ladder.
