Explore our newest learning companion based on Ava DuVernay’s critically-acclaimed film, ORIGIN. In this curriculum, we dissect the origin of caste systems and roots of human discontent beyond the arbitrary constructs of race, gender, age, religion and class. ORIGIN takes us around the world and reminds audiences how we are more alike than different. Through four lessons and engaging activities, this comprehensive guide builds upon the film’s themes, challenging learners to reframe the way they see their communities and strengthen their relationships within their community. Learners will be encouraged to take action, while bearing witness to caste systems around the globe.

Created by filmmaker Ava DuVernay, and airing for seven seasons, QUEEN SUGAR delved into the heart and soul of Black America through the saga of the Bordelon family. From incarceration, police brutality and gentrification to co-dependency, entrepreneurship, enslavement and identity, the drama series has boldly tackled narrative change with an eye toward true social impact. This guide builds on the shows’s themes, weaving together a timeline of American history with the family history of the Bordelon family.

Simon Frederick’s THEY’VE GOTTA HAVE US tells the story of Black filmmakers who broke down barriers, took chances and beat the odds to create cinematic art that will last forever. Learners will explore the themes of representation, power and agency in the feature film industry and then participate in activities that encourage them to take action to improve institutions and eradicate bias in media.

The television series COLIN IN BLACK AND WHITE recounts the story of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick during his formative years. Created by award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay and Kaepernick, each episode examines pertinent themes related to Kaepernick’s journey from childhood to adulthood. Through multiple lessons and activities, participants will dive into the themes of race, identity, social construction, coded language, equity and power. Learners will then learn how to take action to change themselves, institutions and systems based on their learnings.

The feature film SELMA follows the journey of the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 from the perspective of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This learning companion highlights key themes amplified in the film and explores current day applications that can be used by learners of all ages. Lessons and activities around equality vs equity, resistance and persuasion and protest and power remind users that the lessons taught by SELMA are needed today as much as they were in 1965.

Taking viewers on a journey back in time, the film SANKOFA, written and directed by Ethiopian-born filmmaker Haile Gerima, tells the story of an African American fashion model named Mona who goes on a spiritual journey of resistance to confront her past. Often seen in the form of an Adinkra symbol of a bird with its head turned backward, the word “sankofa” comes from the Akan people of Ghana and translates to “go back to our past in order to go forward.” Gerima uses this symbolic title to encourage viewers to search for the good in the past and bring those learnings forward into the future. Rooted in lessons around community, geneaology, oral history, resistance and reclamation, this learning companion challenges users to use a variety of tools to uplift their communities.

WHEN THEY SEE US tells the harrowing story of New York’s Exonerated Five. A film in four parts, the series chronicles the wrongful arrest and incarceration of teenagers Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana Jr. and Korey Wise. It explores how the five innocent teens were prejudged as guilty by a powerful criminal justice machine and examines how The Exonerated Five, their families and communities were rendered powerless against a biased criminal justice system, coercive police interrogation practices and sensationalist media coverage. With lessons and activities anchored in the themes of rights, power, humanity, criminalization and justice, this learning companion has been developed to deepen the conversation and inspire personal action after viewing WHEN THEY SEE US.