10 Movies to Stream for Black History Month

The New York Times published a roundup titled "10 Movies to Stream for Black History Month" by Robert Daniels on Feb. 3, 2026, recommending films that highlight the range and evolution of Black cinema. The selection begins with early race films such as The Flying Ace (1926), which the piece says can be streamed on the Criterion Channel and features a World War I veteran flier investigating a payroll robbery, and Oscar Micheaux’s Murder in Harlem, a politically charged whodunit the article describes as demonstrating the resourcefulness of early Black filmmakers and partially inspired by the 1913 Leo Frank trial.

The article highlights Spencer Williams’s The Blood of Jesus (1941), noted for its depiction of Black religiosity and streaming availability on Tubi and the Criterion Channel, and Zoltan Korda’s Cry, the Beloved Country, starring Canada Lee and Sidney Poitier, which the piece says anticipates integrationist ideas later associated with Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolent teachings.

It also profiles Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl (1966), streamed on the Criterion Channel, calling Sembène a pivotal figure in African cinema.

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