The media hasn’t been quick to embrace Black creatives nor has Juneteenth been something on its radar for long. (Historically, when black performers hit television, discussion of black holidays tended to be non-existent, with only an occasional look at Kwanzaa thrown around December.) holiday – which honors the emancipation of the last enslaved people here in the States United on June 19 – could, or at the very least Should, pop up more on large and small screens.
Channing Godfrey Peoples made his directorial debut against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 with ‘Miss Juneteenth’: a feature film starring Nicole Beharie and Alexis Chikaeze as a mother-daughter duo navigating their dreams opposites for the future of the young girl . Before that, ‘Juneteenth’ was the title of Season 1, Episode 9 in Donald Glover’s beloved ‘Atlanta’: an FX comedy-drama that breaks the boundaries on Blackness and celebrity with a surrealist twist.
From game-changing tentacles at the box office (see “Get Out” and “Black Panther”) to minor indie hits (“Fruitvale Station,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” and yes, “Moonlight”), not all picks that appear in the following list of recommendations have stories or themes centered around Juneteenth, per se. However, all honor and revere Black actors and other creatives, as well as tell moving, powerful, emotionally resonant, and interesting stories to revisit for Juneteenth 2023. All integers are listed chronologically by year of release; in alphabetical order within it.
With editorial contributions from Wilson Chapman, Jacqueline Coley, Jude Dry, Kristen Lopez, Leonardo Adrian Garcia, Jenna Marotta, Wilson Morales, Noel Murray, Anne Thompson and Ben Travers.
