best black documentaries streaming right now

Documentary junkies and curious watchers alike, there are some real finds available across streaming platforms this month that you should really check out. Even if documentaries aren’t your thing, if you’re interested in music (and we know you are) or just Black history, there are a bunch of docs just waiting for you!

Quincy

Co-written and co-directed by daughter Rashida Jones with Alan Hicks and produced by Paula DuPré Pesmen, Quincy offers an intimate look into the life and legacy of producer/musician/artist extraordinaire Quincy Jones through archival footage, interviews with friends and loved ones, and a candid narration by Jones himself. A must-see for appreciators of music.

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami

A personal look into the private life of Grace Jones and her performance persona, Bloodlight and Bami gives fans of the icon brand new insight into her creative process, passion, and personality. Told by director Sophie Fiennes, the film goes beyond traditional musical doc by fusing personal visual diary with dynamic live performances.

20 Feet From Stardom

I watch this documentary every time it’s on streaming and it never fails to send chills down my spine. A revealing look back through Motown, soul, R&B, and rock-n-roll history, 20 Feet From Stardom brings you up close and personal with some of the most prolific background and supporting singers of the 20th and 21st centuries. From Merry Clayton is best known for her visceral performance on the Rolling Stone’s track “Gimme Shelter” to Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder contributor Judith Hill to the otherworldly Lisa Fischer. 20 Feet shines a bright light on the under-recognized voices of some of your favorite songs.

Netflix

Ronnie Coleman: The King
Floyd Norman: An Animated Life
Chasing Trane
Princess Shaw
Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown
I Call Him Morgan
Jim Hendrix: Voodoo Child
Who Shot The Sheriff?
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Imba Means Sing
Breaking A Monster
This Is the Life
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
13th

Hulu

The Gospel According to André
Tales Of the Grim Sleeper (tw: violence, sexual assault, murder)
Whose Streets?
Kiki
B.B. King: On The Road
Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat