Veteran film critic and social activist Edward McNulty regularly reviews films that have themes about racism and the way it is implanted in American society and around the world.

Shirley (2024)

Christina Jackson as Barbara Lee and Regina King as Shirley Chisholm sit on a bench under a tree, talking.

"Shirley" depicts the 1972 presidential run of Shirley Chisholm, who was the first Black woman to be elected to the United States Congress.

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot (2024)

 Bishop and Donna Martin hug their foster daughter, Teri, sitting on a swing.

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot follows Bishop W.C. Martin and his wife, Donna, as they ignite a fire in the hearts of their rural church to embrace kids in the foster system that nobody else would take. By adopting 77 children, this East Texas community proved that with real, determined love, the battle for America's most vulnerable can be won.

Nightjohn (1996)

John and Sarny kneel as John draws letters in the dirt.

Director/writer Charles Burnett’s adaptation of Gary Paulsen’s award-winning young-adult novel about slavery and literacy is a fine tribute to the freeing power of the literacy.

Just Mercy (2019)

Michael B. Jordan, as attorney Bryan Stevenson, and Jamie Foxx, as defendant Walter McMillian, sit at a table in a courtroom.

“Just Mercy” follows defense attorney Bryan Stevenson and his fight for justice in Alabama. A Harvard graduate, Stevenson goes to Alabama and works with Eva Ansley (Brie Larson), a local advocate, to defend people who have been wrongly convicted. Stevenson faces multiple legal and political tactics and overt racism as he fights for justice with the system stacked against them.

The Color Purple (2023)

Two young black women sit on a large tree on the beach, dressed in long white dresses.

"The Color Purple" is a 2023 American coming-of-age movie musical directed by Ghanaian filmmaker Blitz Bazawule. Marcus Gardley's screenplay is based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker.

Rustin (2023)

Aml Ameen and Colman Domingo stand smiling in a meeting room.

The overlooked civil rights activist, educator, and advisor to Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, often called the architect of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, is finally getting his due, thanks to the new film directed by George C. Wolfe titled "Rustin."

Green Book (2018)

Viggo Mortensen as Tony Lip driving a green car with Mahershala Ali as Dr. Don Shirley in the back seat.

“Green Book,” directed by Peter Farrelly, is inspired by the true story of a 1962 tour of the Deep South by African American pianist Dr. Don Shirley and Italian American bouncer Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga, who served as Shirley's driver and bodyguard.