We’ve been asked by friends, family, and readers to recommend movies about systemic racism, police brutality, and civic unrest that can help contextualize the current Black Lives Matter movement. After much consideration, we’ve decided to narrow down our twenty one favorites films dealing with racism in America. The reason we are sticking to the United States is that there are way too many great films from around the world to recommend— so don’t expect to see a film like Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine (France) or Michka Saäl’s Zero Tolerance (Canada) to make an appearance on this list. We hope in the near future, we will be able to write about these other great movies from across the globe. For now, here are twenty essential movies about racism in America that will expand your mind and heart. Winner of the 2017 Best Picture, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight explores the intersection between two minority classes in our society: black people and those in the LGBT community. Focusing on a boy named Chiron at three different times in his life, Moonlight shows how he first discovers his sexuality, explores it briefly, then hides it beneath layers of socially acceptable machismo and a manufactured tough guy persona. However, as he finds himself catching up with a bisexual boy from his youth, Chiron may have one last chance to reveal his true self to the world.