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A list of films available to stream for free.  Some require subscription to a streaming service.

"13th"

Combining archival footage with testimony from activists and scholars, director Ava DuVernay's examination of the U.S. prison system looks at how the country's history of racial inequality drives the high rate of incarceration in America.

"Hello Privilege. It's Me, Chelsea"

This a Netflix documentary is about Handler facing off with her white privilege and how systemic racism continues to permeate American culture today. In the documentary, Handler talks with Black comedians, activists, and students, as well as white folks who hold a variety of perspectives about racism. Most importantly, Handler learns a lesson about when it’s essential to use her voice for advocacy—and when it’s time to stop and listen.

"Jim Crow of the North"

Why does Minnesota suffer through some of the worst racial disparities in the nation? One answer is the spread of racist, restrictive real estate covenants in the early 20th century. Jim Crow of the North charts the progression of racist policies and practices from the advent of restrictive covenants after the turn of the last century to their final elimination in the late 1960s.

"White People"

White People is a 2015 American documentary film directed, produced and starring Pulitzer Prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas, and explores white privilege in the United States. The cast includes Dakota Wright, Lucas Nydam, Samantha Slavinsky, Katy, and John Chimento. The film debuted on MTV and now resides on YouTube. Time wrote that "Vargas is excellent at creating a non-threatening atmosphere that encourages these young people, mostly teenagers, to openly express their thoughts – even when not politically correct – about race ... This documentary burns brightly with heat and illumination." The Atlantic wrote that the "best parts of the program try to debunk common, defiant responses white people have when told that they're privileged."

"When They See Us"

In 1989 a jogger was assaulted and raped in New York's Central Park, and five young people were subsequently charged with the crime. The quintet, labeled the Central Park Five, maintained its innocence and spent years fighting the convictions, hoping to be exonerated. This Netflix limited series spans a quarter of a century, from when the teens are first questioned about the incident in the spring of 1989, going through their exoneration in 2002 and ultimately the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014. The cast is full of Emmy nominees and winners, including Michael K. Williams, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, and Blair Underwood. Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Ava DuVernay co-wrote and directed the four episodes. BONUS: Make sure you follow up this series by watching Oprah's interview with the Exonerated Five.

"Gook"

Eli and Daniel, two Korean American brothers who own a struggling women's shoe store, have an unlikely friendship with 11-year-old Kamilla. On the first day of the 1992 L.A. riots, the trio must defend the store while contemplating the meaning of family and thinking about personal dreams and the future.

"Dear White People"

The film focuses on escalating racial tensions at a fictitious, prestigious Ivy league college from the perspective of several black students. A campus culture war between blacks and whites at a predominantly white school comes to a head when the staff of a humor magazine stages an offensive Halloween party.  You might recognize the University of Minnesota campus in some of the outdoor scenes.

"Crash"

Crash interweaves several connected stories of whites, blacks, Latinos, Koreans, Iranians, cops and criminals, the rich and the poor, the powerful and powerless. Over two days in Los Angeles, a handful of disparate people's lives intertwine as they deal with the tense race relations that belie life in the city.  Starring:  Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Ryan Phillippe, Terrance Howard, Thandie Newton.

"Real Women Have Curves"

This is the story of a first generation Mexican-American girl and her passage to womanhood. Although she wants to go away to college, she must battle against the views of her parents, who think she should stay at home and provide for the family. As a compromise, she works with her mother in a sewing factory over the summer and learns some important lessons about life, helping her decide about her future.

"Spinning into Butter"

Amid charges of racism, Sarah Daniels (Sarah Jessica Parker) leaves the school where she's been teaching and relocates to a small college in Vermont. There, she becomes dean without informing anyone of her past. After African-American student Simon Brick (Paul James) becomes the victim of a hate crime, Daniels must confront her attitudes about race when she's called upon to resolve the situation and come up with a plan to defuse tension at the school.

"Get Out"

In this thriller, Chris is invited by his girlfriend for a weekend getaway upstate with her parents. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined. (contains some violence)

"Visible: Out on Television"

This Apple TV original explores the history of the American LGBTQ movement through the lens of television. This five-part documentary series combines archival footage with interviews with key players from the movement and the screen, and is narrated by Janet Mock, Margaret Cho, Asia Kate Dillon, Neil Patrick Harris and Lena Waithe. Each hour-long episode will explore themes such as invisibility, homophobia, the evolution of the LGBTQ character, and coming out in the television industry.

"Moonlight"

A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.

"Torn Apart: Separated at the Border"

Nearly 3,000 families with children were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018. Torn Apart: Separated at the Border offers first-person stories of how the immigration crisis has affected two of those mothers and their young children, who were separated from each other for months. This intimate 40-minute documentary followed those families for nine months after they fled life-threatening conditions in their home countries to seek asylum in the United States.

"I am Not Your Negro"

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript.

In an engaging and personal talk -- with cameo appearances from his grandmother and Rosa Parks -- human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard truths about America's justice system, starting with a massive imbalance along racial lines: a third of the country's black male population has been incarcerated at some point in their lives. These issues, which are wrapped up in America's unexamined history, are rarely talked about with this level of candor, insight and persuasiveness.

Cultural theorist Brittney Cooper examines racism through the lens of time, showing us how historically it has been stolen from people of color, resulting in lost moments of joy and connection, lost years of healthy quality of life and the delay of progress. A candid, thought-provoking take on history and race that may make you reconsider your understanding of time, and your place in it.

From TED: There's an angry divisive tension in the air that threatens to make modern politics impossible. Elizabeth Lesser explores the two sides of human nature within us (call them "the mystic" and "the warrior”) that can be harnessed to elevate the way we treat each other. She shares a simple way to begin real dialogue — by going to lunch with someone who doesn't agree with you, and asking them three questions to find out what's really in their hearts.

From TED: We're taught to believe that hard work and dedication will lead to success, but that's not always the case. Gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation are among the many factors that affect our chances, says writer and advocate Melinda Epler, and it's up to each of us to be allies for those who face discrimination. In this actionable talk, Epler shares three ways to support people who are underrepresented in the workplace. "There's no magic wand for correcting diversity and inclusion," she says. "Change happens one person at a time, one act at a time, one word at a time."

 



From TED: The subject of race can be very touchy. As finance executive Mellody Hobson says, it's a "conversational third rail." But, she says, that's exactly why we need to start talking about it. In this engaging, persuasive talk, Hobson makes the case that speaking openly about race — and particularly about diversity in hiring — makes for better businesses and a better society.

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

 



From TED: Our biases can be dangerous, even deadly — as we've seen in the cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner, in Staten Island, New York. Diversity advocate Vernā Myers looks closely at some of the subconscious attitudes we hold toward out-groups. She makes a plea to all people: Acknowledge your biases. Then move toward, not away from, the groups that make you uncomfortable. In a funny, impassioned, important talk, she shows us how.

 



From TED: Baratunde Thurston explores the phenomenon of white Americans calling the police on black Americans who have committed the crimes of ... eating, walking or generally "living while black." In this profound, thought-provoking and often hilarious talk, he reveals the power of language to change stories of trauma into stories of healing—while challenging us all to level up.

 



Helen Turnbull, CEO of Human Facets provides a good framework for understanding implicit bias and inclusion.

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Veteran NBA guard Kyle Korver stunned the sports world in 2019 by acknowledging the issues of white privilege and racism in his first-person story in The Players’ Tribune. The rousing response to the words of a white player not known for saying much was a necessary reminder that white words matter in the fight against racism and social injustice.

Good intentions to increase the diversity of organizations have led to “checkbox” approaches that don't account for hegemony, marginalization, and the creation of sustainable shifts in power. Without a closer examination of these practices, we may wake up in a few years wondering what went wrong.

This essay is very helpful for understanding the difference between earned an unearned privilege.  A quick but informative read.

Like all other generations, members of Generation Z have been shaped by the circumstances they were born into, such as terrorism, school shootings and the Great Recession. This article offers the perspective of 16-year-old Josh Miller, a high school student in suburban Minneapolis who also is a speaker, a researcher and the director of Gen Z studies at management consulting firm XYZ University. 

Staring Down the Tiger: Stories of Hmong American Women by Pa Der Vang

In this collection contributors celebrate the power of bonds between daughter and mother, sister and sister, and grandmother and granddaughter. Only after climbing a mountain in Nepal can Kia M. Lor finally understand her mother's life. Pa Xiong provides a recipe for squirrel stew, remembering in telling detail the gender roles that mark each step—and how her mother broke those rules. Kao Kalia Yang sketches the extraordinary everyday achievements of a Hmong leader, her older sister, Dawb. Contributors to this volume bring life and character to the challenges of maintaining identity, navigating changes in gender roles, transitioning to American culture, and breaking through cultural barriers.

All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung 

This raw memoir about growing up as a transracial adoptee will reverberate with anyone who yearns to belong. Chung writes about identity, race, motherhood, and her journey to find her true self. Her book starts with her struggle as a Korean child adopted into a white family, then digs into her growing relationships with her adopted family, husband, birth family, and children. Through letters and emails, Chung makes sometimes difficult discoveries about her birth family. The work closes with reconciliation for her families, the truth about her adoption, and understanding about herself. 

There There by Tommy Orange

The story follows 12 Native Americans as they prepare for a big powwow in Oakland, California. They all come from different places at different stages of their life, but what I loved reading about was their connection to their culture and heritage.

An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim

Thea Lim dives into a science fiction world where one day you’re an American citizen and the next, you’re not. This book shares the feelings of abandonment, the strength to persevere, and gives you a glimpse into a world where you’re not at home anywhere.

Everyone Knows You Go Home by Natalia Sylvester

Everyone Knows You Go Home is about the struggles you face when you’re risking everything for freedom and the strength to continue the fight for those you love. If you wanted to know what life is like when you’ve illegally entered a country, this book depicts it all from the days spent trying to get across the border and then the years spent staying there.

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

This is the story of a young Muslim Indian family moving to California and the life they live as new citizens. As they assimilate to life in a new country, they try to maintain some of the traditions from India. Some family members are able to balance the two cultures, while others find the task to be too much. It’s interesting to read the individual lives of people living and growing in the same house. You’d imagine that having similar upbringings, things would be the same, but nothing could be more different.

 

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

This romance novel does an amazing job representing Asian Americans as well as people with autism spectrum disorder. 

Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala

Speak No Evil tells the story of young Nigerian American boy who had everything ready for him. He has an amazing college to attend, a scholarship in track and field, and family and friends who love him. However, everything changes when he realizes that he’s gay; after that, the book doesn’t stop until the final pages. It’s a mesmerizing novel on one person’s coming out and how sometimes you’re never quite the same.

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

This Young Adult novel follows a young teenager who just lost her mother. Now, she’s asking her father to take her back to Taiwan, her mother’s birthplace, so she may meet her mother’s parents and learn more about the woman she knew. This book shared a beautiful story of finding who we are, even if all we have is a few sticks of incense and a necklace.

Song of a Captive Bird by Jazmin Darznik

Song of a Captive Bird shares the story of the Iranian poet, Forugh Farrokhzad, but it isn’t considered a biography. While not much information about Forugh Farrokhzad is available, Jazmin Darznik fills the gaps of her life with fiction based on real events taking place in Iran during the 1950s. If you don’t know much about this poet, she defied the traditions in her culture to write poetry that spoke to her body, her sexuality, and her life.

The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar

This story follows a young girl and her journey through Syria after her house is destroyed. She and her family follow the same map created in a fairy story she used to hear as a child. It’s her favorite fairy story. However, the only issue with fairytales is that they’re not real and as the reality of her fate starts to emerge, it becomes harder to believe the fairytale as nothing more than a ghost story.

All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Masad

People say all women turn into their mothers sooner or later. But what does that mean when it turns out your mother isn’t who you thought she was? That’s the question All My Mother’s Lovers’ protagonist, 27-year-old Maggie Krause, must grapple with after her mother, Iris—who struggled to accept Maggie’s queerness—suddenly passes away. When Maggie returns to her family home, she discovers Iris has left behind five letters to five lovers Maggie’s never heard of. Maggie takes it upon herself to hand-deliver the letters, hoping that, along the way, she’ll also learn who her mother really was.

Real Life: A Novel by Brandon Taylor 

Brandon Taylor’s debut novel heralds a striking new voice with a vital perspective on what it is to be Black and queer in the Midwest. When Real Life’s PhD-candidate protagonist Wallace has an unexpected encounter with a classmate over the course of a fraught weekend, the reverberations threaten to unravel the fabric of their small university town.

Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority by Tim Wise

White Americans have long been comfortable in the assumption that they are the cultural norm. Now that notion is being challenged, as white people wrestle with what it means to be part of a fast-changing, truly multicultural nation. Facing chronic economic insecurity, a popular culture that reflects the nation's diverse cultural reality, a future in which they will no longer constitute the majority of the population, and with a black president in the White House, whites are growing anxious.

We Can’t Talk about That at Work! By Mary-Frances Winters

Conversations about taboo topics, such as race, gender, and religion, happen at work every day and if they aren't handled effectively, they can become polarizing and divisive, impacting productivity, engagement, retention, teamwork, and even employees' sense of safety in the workplace. These conversations, when viewed as necessary and manageable rather than avoidable and tense, are also ground zero for impacting lasting change. The bottom line is that we need to talk about this at work in moving toward a world that works for all. So how can we ensure that they are productive rather than divisive?

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

This New York Times #1 bestselling book, published in July of 2015, is a thought-provoking and emotional analysis of what it means to a Black person in America. Using history and personal narratives, Coates pulls many emotions out of the reader and paints a poignant picture of how race can permeate so many facets of one’s life. For anyone hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of Black people in America, and particularly the Black man, this is an excellent place to start.

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The Latino Threat by Leo R. Chavez 

This 2008 book examines the perceptions of immigrants in the United States, as well as the politics surrounding immigration. Chavez assesses many of the Latino stereotypes focusing particularly on Mexicans and how they are depicted in the media. Through the analysis of history and politics, the author offers an excellent breakdown of how the narratives around this group impact policies and the national conversation. This is an excellent book to help you challenge your beliefs and understanding of American immigration and learn more about the experiences of those directly impacted by these policies.

Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald. Written in 2016, this book examines the implicit biases that each person has, dubbed by the authors as one’s “blindspot.” The authors discuss the Implicit Association Test, one of the most popular tools to measure one’s unconscious or implicit bias. Through a scientific and heavily research lens, Banaji and Greenwald discuss what causes us to have blindspots and how we can overcome our personal biases and adapt our beliefs and behaviors. For anyone hoping to learn more about the underlying causes of our bias as well as some effective strategies to address these biases, this book is a great resource.

No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement by Joseph P. Shapiro 

Despite being published over 20 years ago, this 1994 book is a great resource to help readers better understand the experiences of those who are differently-abled. Shapiro draws on history to help the reader better grasp the experiences of those with different disabilities. This book is timeless and relevant, particularly in this day and age when such a huge portion of the working population experiences physical or mental impairments, which can impact the workplace experiences. For anyone hoping to gain more insight into what differently-able people experience, this book is essential.

American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear by Khaled A. Beydoun. In this book, Beydoun examines the impact of recent historical events and how these events have shaped the public’s perception about Muslims in America. Some of the topics the author discusses include the “war on terror” and the Islamophobia that is pervasive in America. Readers gain deeper insight into the experiences of Muslims in America and how the media has heavily shaped the narrative about this group. Published in 2018, Beydoun discusses how some policies of the current Presidential administration have impacted Muslims and what effects specific terms and rhetoric have on perceptions. This book makes an excellent gift for anyone striving to better understand the Muslim experience in America.

This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism by Ashton Applewhite 

Applewhite shares her journey and experiences with ageism and looks at specific stereotypes that American society holds about older individuals. The author examines different aspects of ageism including ageism in the workplace and in relation to our health, while sharing the history of ageism in our society. By the end of the book, readers will have a better understanding of age discrimination and will be able to assess personal beliefs that may have contributed to ageism in and out of the workplace. Using humor, Applewhite is able to craft a compelling case for how we can combat our ageist beliefs.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Most people will tell you that racism is all about hatred and ignorance. In How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi's follow-up to his National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning, he explains that racism is ultimately structural. Racism directs attention away from harmful, inequitable policies and turns that attention on the people harmed by those policies. Kendi employs history, science, and ethics to describe different forms of racism; at the same time, he follows the events and experiences of his own life, adapting a memoir approach that personalizes his arguments. Kendi's title encompasses his main thesis: simply not being racist isn't enough. We must actively choose to be "antiracist," working to undo racism and its component polices in order to build an equitable society. 

Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White by Frank H. Wu

 In this 2003 book, Frank Wu discusses the unique experiences of Asian-Americans and considers the ever-evolving issues surrounding globalization, immigration and affirmative action. This book examines Asian-American stereotypes and Wu dives into the concept of the model minority, while also analyzing the role that history has played in these stereotypes and perceptions. Using personal narratives and research, Wu shares informative insights into the Asian-American experience; this will be an eye-opening read for many.

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk ��ɫӰ�� Racism by Robin DiAngelo

White people in North America live in a social environment that protects and insulates them from race-based stress. This insulated environment of racial protection builds white expectations for racial comfort while at the same time lowering the ability to tolerate racial stress.  Although white racial insulation is somewhat mediated by social class (with poor and working class urban whites being generally less racially insulated than suburban or rural whites), the larger social environment insulates and protects whites as a group through institutions, cultural representations, media, school textbooks, movies, advertising, and dominant discourses. Racial stress results from an interruption to what is racially familiar. In turn, whites are often at a loss for how to respond in constructive ways., as we have not had to build the cognitive or affective skills or develop the stamina that would allow for constructive engagement across racial divides. White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium. This book explicates the dynamics of White Fragility and how we might build our capacity in the on-going work towards racial justice.

A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota edited by Sun Yung Shin

In this provocative book, sixteen of Minnesota’s best writers provide a range of perspectives on what it is like to live as a person of color in Minnesota. They give readers a splendid gift: the gift of touching another human being’s inner reality, behind masks and veils and politeness. They bring us generously into experiences that we must understand if we are to come together in real relationships. 

Minnesota communities struggle with some of the nation’s worst racial disparities. As its authors confront and consider the realities that lie beneath the numbers, this book provides an important tool to those who want to be part of closing those gaps.

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankin

This book recounts mounting racial aggressions in ongoing encounters in twenty-first-century daily life and in the media. Some of these encounters are slights, seeming slips of the tongue, and some are intentional offensives in the classroom, at the supermarket, at home, on the tennis court with Serena Williams and the soccer field with Zinedine Zidane, online, on TV-everywhere, all the time. The accumulative stresses come to bear on a person's ability to speak, perform, and stay alive. Our addressability is tied to the state of our belonging, Rankine argues, as are our assumptions and expectations of citizenship. In essay, image, and poetry, Citizen is a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our contemporary, often named "post-race" society.

What Does Justice Look Like? By Waziyatawin

During the past 150 years, the majority of Minnesotans have not acknowledged the immense and ongoing harms suffered by the Dakota People ever since their homelands were invaded over 200 years ago. This book explores how we can embark on a path of transformation on the way to respectful coexistence with those whose ancestral homeland this is. Doing justice is central to this process. Written by Wahpetunwan Dakota scholar and activist Waziyatawin of Pezihutazizi Otunwe, What Does Justice Look Like? offers an opportunity now and for future generations to learn the long-untold history and what it has meant for the Dakota People. On that basis, the book offers the further opportunity to explore what we can do between us as Peoples to reverse the patterns of genocide and oppression, and instead to do justice with a depth of good faith, commitment, and action that would be genuinely new for Native and non-Native relations.

This 1:45 video zeroes in on the unconscious biases that black men are forced to confront on a daily basis, highlighting the barriers to acceptance they face in their everyday lives. 

For a shocking number of students, the college experience means living in your car to avoid massive debt. These two students showed us how they get by while homeless and in college.

Between the scenes of The Daily Show host Trevor Noah responds to an audience member’s question about reparations and white privilege.

As the only white person in the audience of a comedy club, Ron Hart was jokingly & relentlessly called out during the show. But, at the end of the show, there was a mic drop moment that Ron will never forget.

The conversations we have but don't want to...that's 'The Talk.'  Scenes of black parents openly sharing truths about bias their children will experience.