The nationwide escalation of Black Lives Matter protests in the United States (in response to the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor) have made racial inequality in America more visible than in any period since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. They've also spawned a similar movement in Australia, in relation to Aboriginal deaths in custody.
In this week's episode of The Playlist, Fiona and Ben recommend the factual films that they've found most beneficial (as an Anglo-Australian woman and an Asian-Australian man), to shedding light on the racism that devalues black lives.
Listen to the episode
13th
Ava DuVernay's Oscar-nominated documentary interrogates the exploitation of a loophole in the 13th Amendment of the constitution of the United States. It uses archival footage to demonstrate how the amendment - which declares the abolition of slavery - is deeply connected to mass incarceration and disenfranchisement of Black Americans and people of colour.
Burn Motherfucker, Burn!
Sacha Jenkins chronicles how decades of troubled relations between the LAPD and the African-American community served as the prelude to the 1992 Los Angeles uprising.
Where to stream:
I Am Not Your Negro
An unfinished manuscript by James Baldwin was to be a personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Filmmaker Raoul Peck brings the words to life in an urgent - and devastating - analysis of historical racism in the United States.
LA 92
TJ Martin and Daniel Lindsay examine the tumultuous period following the acquittal of four police officers for beating a black motorist, Rodney King.
And explore the wider Black Lives Matter collection, and head to for ongoing coverage of the #BLM movement's resonance with Indigenous Australians.
