Two movies about Black protest movement leaders in the 1960s are playing on home screens during African American History Month during the COVID-19 pandemic. The movies are made by African American moviemakers and are focused on Black protest movements. One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah present the lives and activities of Black…

Contradictions between precious ideals and social realities are often handled by locating the problems of inequality in a limited setting, so that the rest of social life will not be disturbed. Racial inequality in America, starting with slavery, is concretely expressed in the troubled relations between agencies of social control, like the police,…

"Detroit" and "Step" are two recent movies in the context of urban riots in protest of police brutality. They refer to time periods separated by half a century, but there are common themes in the two that seem appropriate to both times. The movies are not primarily concerned with the riot events, but the riot is a major…