Juneteenth is one of our most powerful American celebrations. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln had enacted the Emancipation Proclamation, meant to free all slaves in the confederate states -- but Texas, a remote and rebellious state, barely attempted to enforce the rule, keeping many enslaved. On June 18th, 1865, 2,000 federal soldiers finally made it to Texas to occupy the state in a show of strength and resilience. One day later, June 19th, General Gordon Granger announced that the Black Americans still enslaved in Texas were emancipated and made free. That announcement has since been celebrated every June 19th in what we call Juneteenth.

To celebrate your Juneteenth weekend, we've curated a list of 20 films that celebrate Black joy, celebration, and inspiration -- and are all available on the most popular streaming services. Enjoy these wonderful films, celebrate this wonderful holiday, and continue the fight for Black justice in every way you can.

Akeelah and the Bee

akeelah-and-the-bee
Image via Lionsgate

Director/Writer: Doug Atchison

Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Keke Palmer, Curtis Armstrong

Streaming on: HBO Max

This timeless classic is about a girl named Akeelah (Keke Palmer) who discovers she has a talent for spelling, which she hopes will take her to the National Spelling Bee. Akeelah and the Bee is one of those films that sticks with you after you watch it because you'll feel so motivated to go out and chase your dreams. For a very short time, I was inspired to actually get into the world of competitive spelling (that dream didn’t last long).

I think the reason Akeelah and the Bee is so rewatchable is because of how the characters are portrayed and how the community is rooting for her. Everyone likes an underdog story and when it's told right it can make for a very compelling and memorable story. Sidenote: It’s been very cool to see Keke grow into the professional she is today. From starring in the blockbuster hit Hustlers to becoming a talk show host, this is Keke’s world and we’re just living it. - Dorian Parks

Black Panther

black-panther-chadwick-boseman
Image via Disney/Marvel

Director: Ryan Coogler

Writers: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole

Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis

Streaming on: Disney+

Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther was a game-changer that reinvented the word Afrofuturism and took the Marvel Cinematic Universe to places we have never seen before! Not only was it the first MCU film to have a Black superhero as the lead, it was also the first movie to win Marvel Studios their first Academy Award. From the original score to the costume design, there has never been a more substantial Marvel film to date.

The film had a bigger cultural impact than could’ve ever been imagined, and was a true wake up to those who didn’t understand why representation was important. Ryan Coogler continues to elevate his game and I’m sure Black Panther 2, which is coming out May 6, 2022, will surpass the original. If you’re curious about how the movie got off the ground, learn about it in our series How the MCU Was Made! - Dorian Parks

Cool Runnings

cool-runnings
Image via Walt Disney Pictures

Director: Jon Turteltaub

Writers: Lynn Siefert, Tommy Swerdlow, Michael Goldberg, Michael Ritchie

Cast: Leon Robinson, Doug E. Doug, Rawle D. Lewis, Malik Yoba, John Candy

Streaming on: Disney+

Based on a true story, Cool Runnings tells the story of Jamaica's first Olympic bobsled team, and the personal struggles and triumphs it took to get there. Despite its status as a Disney-produced family film, Cool Runnings is refreshingly honest in its examinations of societal prejudices, interpersonal conflicts, familial traumas, and exceptionally cathartic redemptions. The film is warm, accessible, heartfelt, and "get up off your couch and cheer" inducing. It's a pitch perfect slice of sports drama that uses much of what we love about the genre's formula and repurposes it with exceptional execution, wonderful performances, and a raw sense of reality underneath its appealing sheen. An instant rewatchable classic. Repeat after me: "I see pride! I see power! I see a bad-ass mother who don't take no crap off of nobody!" - Gregory Lawrence

Dolemite Is My Name

dolemite-is-my-name-image-eddie-murphy
Image via Netflix

Director: Craig Brewer

Writers: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

Cast: Eddie Murphy, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Wesley Snipes

Streaming on: Netflix

Easily one of the best movies of 2019, Dolemite Is My Name is a biopic about comedian Rudy Ray Moore and the creation of his stand-up persona Dolemite. Eddie Murphy stars as Moore, taking us through the comedian’s journey from struggling artist to underground hit to nationwide star, all leading up to the 1975 blaxploitation movie Dolemite. Rather than being a straight biopic, Dolemite Is My Name leans heavily into comedy; Murphy is at the top of his game as Moore, and there’s a genuine laugh-out-loud moment in pretty much every scene, including the opening few lines. The supporting cast is loaded with hilarious performers like Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Keegan-Michael Key, and a transcendently maniacal Wesley Snipes as Dolemite director D’Urville Martin. Like most biopics, it plays around with details and timelines (for instance, many of the scenes we see Moore and his friends film for Dolemite are actually from the sequel, The Human Tornado), but the film is so fun and earnest that it gets a pass. It’s an extremely funny movie about following your dreams and using your success to uplift your friends and community, featuring one of the best performances of Murphy’s career. - Tom Reimann

Fast Color

fast-color-gugu-mbatha-raw-lorraine-toussaint-saniyya-sidney
Image via Lionsgate

Director: Julia Hart

Writers: Julia Hart, Jordan Horowitz

Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, Saniyya Sidney, Christopher Denham, David Strathairn

Streaming on: Amazon Prime, Hulu

One of the most underrated, overlooked movies of 2019 was Julia Hart’s Fast Color. The movie stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a young woman with supernatural abilities who is on the run when her powers are discovered. When she has nowhere else to go, she goes back to her family and the farmhouse she abandoned long ago. There, while being pursued by the local sheriff, she starts to mend her broken relationships with her mother and daughter and starts to trust her powers.

It is important to tell more grounded superhero stories like this in order to make sure the genre itself doesn’t get repetitive and stagnatic. Although it didn’t get the box office justice it deserved, the movie is being adapted into a series at Amazon with Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s Juvee Productions executive producing it! Hart will also be attached to the project to ensure it captures the same magic as the movie did. - Dorian Parks

Homecoming

beyonce-coachella-homecoming
Image via Netflix

Director/Writer: Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

Cast: Beyoncé, Destiny's Child, Jay-Z, Kelly Rowland, Les Twins, Michelle Williams, Solange, Blue Ivy Carter

Streaming on: Netflix

Homecoming is a peerless concert film/behind-the-scenes documentary about one of our generation's most relentlessly creative human beings -- Beyoncé -- crafting one of our generation's most relentlessly powerful performances -- her 2018 Coachella show. Oh, and she also directed the frank film herself. Phenomenal music, powerful thematic statements, a testament to the strength that comes from hard work and self-advocacy; watch this damn flawless movie already! -- Gregory Lawrence

The Incredible Jessica James

incredible-jessica-james-jessica-williams
Image via Netflix

Writer/Director: James Strouse

Cast: Jessica Williams, Chris O’Dowd, Noël Wells, LaKeith Stanfield, Megan Ketch, Zabryna Guevara

Streaming on: Netflix

Pretty much immediately upon her arrival on The Daily Show, it was clear that Jessica Williams was a star. And she got the chance to lead her own film with 2017’s The Incredible Jessica James, which is a delightful coming-of-age romantic comedy. Williams plays Jessica, a fiercely independent woman who has recently split with her boyfriend and strikes up a flirtatious relationship with a man named Boone (Chris O’Dowd). The film doesn’t really follow the traditional romcom format and instead puts an intense focus on the character of Jessica—her desires, hopes, dreams, and failings. In that way it’s a more well-rounded and complex version of a traditional romantic comedy, and Williams absolutely knocks it out of the park. - Adam Chitwood

Juanita

juanita-alfre-woodard
Image via Netflix

Director: Clark Johnson

Writer: Roderick Spencer

Cast: Alfre Woodard, Blair Underwood, Marcus Henderson, Adam Beach, Ashlie Atkinson, Tsulan Cooper, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Kat Smith

Streaming on: Netflix

A simple story of self-discovery, told a little bit less than simply. Juanita stars the always-phenomenal Alfre Woodard as a woman in need of some reinvention. To get there, she hops on a bus from Ohio to Montana, acquainting herself with all kinds of colorful characters along the way, and coming to new terms of self-actualization. Director Clark Johnson, an accomplished actor himself, renders his performances with beauty and acumen, walking a tonally tricky tightrope (the film maneuvering between grounded drama and some silly detours) with refreshing excellence. We need to give Woodard an Oscar every single year from now on, please and thank you. - Gregory Lawrence

Nappily Ever After

nappily-ever-after-sanaa-lathan-scaled
Image via Netflix

Director: Haifaa al-Mansour

Writers: Adam Brooks, Cee Marcellus

Cast: Sanaa Lathan, Ernie Hudson, Lyriq Bent, Lynn Whitfield, Ricky Whittle, Camille Guaty

Streaming on: Netflix

Like the start of any good charming romcom protagonist, Violet Jones (Sanaa Lathan, a star) has it all. A perfect job, a perfect boyfriend (Ricky Whittle), and "perfect hair" -- which, in this case, means straightened hair (a coding the film has a lot to say about). Of course, as should happen to any good romcom protagonist, all of Violet's perfectly laid plans fall away as life throws her all kinds of other obstacles. Watching Violet discover what her ambitions really should be, who her boyfriend really should be (Lyriq Bent, wonderful), and what power her natural hair possesses makes for compellingly sweet, inspiring cinema, a piece of artisanal romantic comedy candy that will stick to the teeth for some time after you watch. - Gregory Lawrence

The Princess and the Frog

the-princess-and-the-frog
Image via Disney

Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker

Writers: Ron Clements, John Musker, Rob Edwards

Cast: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, John Goodman

Streaming on: Disney+

The Princess and the Frog is primarily remembered for introducing the first (and, as of right now, the only) African American Princess into the Disney Animation canon (and for subsequently welcoming her into the Disney Princess merchandising line, which makes billions of dollars for the company each and every year) – Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) a hard-working waitress in roaring 20s New Orleans who dreams of opening her own restaurant, but who is turned into a frog by a frog prince (Bruno Campos). While directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, legendary Disney filmmakers who returned to the studio for the project, there are a number of key African American contributors to the film, including screenwriter Rob Edwards, supervising animator Bruce W. Smith, who brought the unforgettable character of Dr. Facilier to life, and the incredible vocal cast, which includes Oprah Winfrey, Keith David, and Jenifer Lewis. Most startling, however, is the level of sensitivity that the filmmakers bring to the material, painstakingly bringing dimensionality and life to each and every character, and turning a New Orleans fueled by the African American experience, into a joyous, multifaceted fantasia. – Drew Taylor

The Pursuit of Happyness

pursuit-of-happyness-will-smith-jaden-smith
Image via Columbia Pictures

Director: Gabriele Muccino

Writer: Steven Conrad

Cast: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe, Dan Castellaneta, Kurt Fuller

Streaming on: Netflix, Hoopla

Will Smith gives one of his very best performances in this heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting drama from director Gabriele Muccino. The film is based on the true story of a homeless salesman named Chris Gardner, who spent nearly a year bouncing around motels, shelters, and bus stations with his young son before going on to form his own multimillion-dollar brokerage firm. This is a life-affirming film that reinforces positivity, hard work, and most of all, hope. Without hope, we're left with despair, but either way, that's a choice, and Gardner fought hard to rise above his circumstances, developing a number of ways to make phone sales calls more efficiently and effectively. What elevates this moving drama from your average weepie is the casting of Smith's actual son Jaden Smith as Gardner's son Christopher. Having the right or wrong kid can make or break your movie, and it's hard enough to find these precocious talents, who only come along every few years. Jaden Smith is one such star, and it's no surprise that his chemistry with his father feels natural onscreen. The younger Smith was only 8 years old when The Pursuit of Happyness was released, but the father-son duo fare much better here than the sci-fi movie After Earth. Anyway, their familial bond yields great trust that allows Smith the Elder to dig deep and go to some painful places. In fact, the actor earned his second Oscar nomination for this film, and hasn't been nominated since. The Pursuit of Happyness is a feel-good film about fatherhood, and the type of earnest crowd pleaser we should be celebrating on Juneteenth. - Jeff Sneider

Queen of Katwe

david-oyelowo-queen-of-katwe
Image via Disney

Director: Mira Nair

Writer: William Wheeler

Cast: David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, Madina Nalwanga, Esteri Tebandeke, Peter Odeke, Sheebah Karungi

Streaming on: Disney+

Not all true-story sports dramas have to be about contact sports. Disney’s 2016 film Queen of Katwe takes place mostly in Katwe, a slum in Kampala, Uganda where a young girl (Madina Nalwanga) learns to play chess from a missionary (David Oyelowo) and soon becomes a bona fide chess superstar. What sets Queen of Katwe apart, however, is that it hones in on the girl’s family and homestead, chronicling the trials and tribulations that she faces day-in and day-out just trying to stay alive with her sister and single mother (played brilliantly by Lupita Nyong’o). This is a genuinely African story—there’s no whisking away to America or White Savior who comes in to save the day. And the movie is all the better for it. - Adam Chitwood

Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit

sister-act-2-back-in-the-habit-whoopi-goldberg
Image via Buena Vista Pictures

Director: Bill Duke

Writers: James Orr, Jim Cruickshank, Judi Ann Mason

Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Kathy Najimy, James Coburn, Maggie Smith

Admit it: Just looking at that title got "Joyful Joyful Lord" stuck in your head. Sister Act is a wonderful film, to be sure, but the sequel, in which Deloris Van Cartier (Whoopi Goldberg) once again nuns up as Sister Mary Clarence to help a struggling inner city school revive its music program, is even more centered on the Black experience in America. Goldberg is as hilarious as ever, and young Lauryn Hill makes her big-screen debut as the talented but troubled Rita, who becomes the star of the school choir thanks to her beautiful voice. Sequels can be a risky proposition, but Back in the Habit stuck the landing — and has us excited about a potential third film, currently in development at Disney+. - Liz Shannon Miller

Soul Food

soul-food-cast
Image via 20th Century Fox

Director/Writer: George Tillman Jr.

Cast: Vanessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey D. Sams, Irma P. Hall, Gina Ravera, Brandon Hammond

Streaming on: Hulu

A litany of excellent actors gathers around the dinner table to perform George Tillman Jr.'s wonderful script. Soul Food, in many ways, feels like a play, its sense of intimacy, unadorned style, humble scope, and brilliant performances inviting its audience in with open arms. The Joseph family is a big Chicago family that meets together every Sunday for dinner, no matter their individual circumstances. Around these meals, members of the family celebrate joy, bring up frank issues, navigate interpersonal conflicts, and figure out their own sense of navigation even means. Even when the film pivots into explorations of difficulties and tragedies, it yields the welcome message that the power of continued community can overcome even the most dramatic of divisions. - Gregory Lawrence

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

into-the-spider-verse-movie-social
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

Writers: Phil Lord, Rodney Rothman

Cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, Liev Schreiber

Streaming on: Netflix

2018 was an iconic year for Black superheros in mainstream media. Not only did we get T'Challa, aka Black Panther, but the world was also introduced to Miles Morales in Sony’s Academy Award-winning movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. When it was originally announced that Sony would be doing a Spider-verse movie focusing primarily on Miles Morales, I was cautiously optimistic. Flash forward to a year later and it is still my favorite movie of 2018. It even took the number 1 spot on our list of the best comic book movies of the decade!

Into the Spider-Verse is the epitome of what it means to bring a comic book to life. Directors Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, and Bob Persichetti delivered a brilliant story, with universal themes that anyone could relate to while also successfully setting up an animated cinematic universe all in one movie without anything feeling forced. With multiple spin-offs and a sequel coming in April 8, 2022, the Spider-verse universe is shaping up to be something special, and I hope it continues forever and ever. - Dorian Parks

Support the Girls

support-the-girls-image
Image via Magnolia

Director/Writer: Andrew Bujalski

Cast: Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, James LeGros, AJ Michalka, Dylan Gelula, Shayna McHayle, Lea DeLaria, Jana Kramer, Brooklyn Decker, Victor Isaac Perez

Streaming on: Hulu

Regina Hall is one of our greatest comedic actors. No further questions, and I will hear no contrary evidence. Support the Girls is thus not only a gift for us Hall stans, but a gift to Hall herself, as she gets to play nuanced notes within her comedic range that other filmmakers simply need to cast her and let her play. Hall centers a brilliantly authentic ensemble cast as the manager of Double Whammies, a sports bar that just might remind you of Hooters in its, um "focus." Hall and her team of female employees, in a lovely "day in the life" structure loosely yet purposefully crafted by mumblecore master Andrew Bujalski, undergo all kinds of surprises and tribulations, but never lose their sense of optimism, camaraderie, and support. It's a remarkable, quiet, uplifting joy of a picture. More like this, please! - Gregory Lawrence

Sweetheart

sweetheart-kiersey-clemmens
Image via Blumhouse / Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Director: J. D. Dillard

Writers: J. D. Dillard, Alex Hyner, Alex Theurer

Cast: Kiersey Clemons, Emory Cohen, Hanna Mangan-Lawrence, Andrew Crawford

Streaming on: Netflix

Produced by Blumhouse and directed by Sleight filmmaker J.D. Dillard, Sweetheart is a genre-hybrid character study of Kiersey Clemons‘ Jenn: part survival movie, part monster movie, part relationship drama that centers around how a young woman finally learns what she’s capable of when she wakes up stranded on a small island… and soon discovers a monster lives there too!

Check out our review of the film right here, and if you’ve already seen the movie and want to dive into the details of the ending, we sat with Dillard to pick his brain about it! Dillard has recently been tapped to write a new Star Wars movie, so we can’t wait to see what direction he takes the far, far away galaxy. - Dorian Parks

Uncorked

uncorked-mamoudou-athie-meera-rohit-kumbhani
Image via Netflix

Director/Writer: Prentice Penny

Cast: Mamoudou Athie, Courtney B. Vance, Niecy Nash, Matt McGorry, Sasha Compere, Gil Ozeri, Kelly Jenrette, Bernard David Jones, Meera Rohit Kumbhani, Melisia Lomax

Streaming on: Netflix

Hey. What's up? Wanna watch some nice people learn how to make wine? Fuck yeah, you do.

Uncorked is a wonderful, quiet, family-driven drama about a young man (Mamoudou Athie) who wants to become a master sommelier despite his father's (Courtney B. Vance) wishes for him to stay home and take over the family business. Athie's visits to the world of sommelier classes, his burgeoning friendships (or something more?) with new collaborators and confidants, and dealings with unexpected tragedies are all dealt with an assured, warm, and inviting hand from filmmaker Prentice Penny, who makes me, a guy who's favorite kind of wine is "Mountain Dew," downright jazzed to learn more and more about wine. Uncorked is a wonderful film that speaks universal truths about dreams by zeroing in on a specific one. - Gregory Lawrence

Undercover Brother

undercover-brother-cast
Image via Universal Pictures

Director: Malcolm D. Lee

Writers: John Ridley, Michael McCullers

Cast: Eddie Griffin, Chris Kattan, Denise Richards, Aunjanue Ellis, Dave Chappelle, Chi McBride, Neil Patrick Harris, Billy Dee Williams

Streaming on: Starz

Before John Ridley went on to win an Oscar for writing 12 Years a Slave, he originated the character of Undercover Brother for a webseries and then co-wrote the film for director Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip). An unabashed spoof of the blaxploitation genre, the film follows freelance agent Undercover Brother (Eddie Griffin) as he teams up with secret organization B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. to take down The Man. It's a very silly movie, but it knows how silly it's being, and so you're free to just have fun with it. It also knows how to be sly when it wants, but for the most part, it's just a really good spoof in the vein of films like Black Dynamite and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! – Matt Goldberg

A Wrinkle in Time

a-wrinkle-in-time-storm-reid-oprah-winfrey
Image via Disney

Director: Ava DuVernay

Writers: Jennifer Lee, Jeff Stockwell

Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Storm Reid, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Peña, Zach Galifianakis, Chris Pine

Streaming on: Disney+

Adapting a fantasy classic like Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 story of a young girl who crosses through dimensions to try to rescue her father, Ava DuVernay's interpretation leans on beautiful, wild visuals to tell its story. But its most striking aspect is its approach to casting, putting a mixed-race family at the center of the action and discovering the wonderful Storm Reid, who takes on storms, dystopian worlds, and the sight of Reese Witherspoon as a piece of lettuce. A Wrinkle in Time isn't a perfect movie, but its inclusive approach makes it a beautiful addition to the modern canon of Disney films. - Liz Shannon Miller