In honor of Kwanzaa, we’re sharing a collection of titles exploring the guiding pillars that keep this tradition close to home, in our communities and in our hearts. This collection features titles from our current season of POV and POV Shorts and brings back some of our favorites that provide visionary, artfully crafted and poetic cinematic representations of the cherished values of Kwanzaa. 

What drives culture, preserves tradition, creates news bonds and community and what keeps it together? From the historical significance of Black rollerskating rinks as sanctuaries in the American South, to finding your chosen sister in the downtown ballroom scene, two films from our 8th season of POV Shorts The People Could Fly  and MnM underscore the concept of Umoja (Unity), the need to maintain unity in family, community and beyond. 

Finding the strength to define and name ourselves - Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) -  is paramount to identity and in some cases, survival. Over the Wall follows the first Black female Nascar pit crew member and tells her story of perseverance. dream hampton’s personal essay film Freshwater examines loss in the wake of a devastating flood in Detroit.  As the film meditates on the effects of climate change on communities of color it shines a light on Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) and the importance of solving problems together, even if they’re not your own. 

Art and politics collide in Shut Up and Paint, a portrait of artist Titus Kaphur who exemplifies Ujamaa (Cooperative economics), in his refusal to silence his activism in order to cater to an insatiable art market. Finding Nia (Purpose) is the foundation of the community of self-liberated Black women featured in You Can’t Stop Spirit who have created their own space of artistic expression and identity in the ‘baby doll’ masking ritual of New Orleans’s Carnival celebration. 

Kuumba (Creativity) was the driving force behind the life and legacy of New York artist Michael Richards whose story is told in Are You Down?. A Mother Apart follows the transformational journey to  finding Imani (Faith), healing and forgiveness and of the Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQI+ activist Staceyann Chin who re-imagines mothering after being abandoned by her own mother.

What defines community? What brings people together? What does community look like? Our latest collection is curated around the nature of community in an era of cultural, social and political division. Springing from a desire to connect with others around shared experience, collective memory and culture, communities provide a pivotal transformative counter to peril, loss and grief. This collection presents POV features and POV Shorts that imagine various ways communities define themselves, their goals, needs and ideals, and how histories, personal experiences and geography influence how communities look and feel.

From undaunted grassroots organizers confronting violence in their communities in Murders That Matter and The Body Politic; to activists united around accessibility and inclusion in All Riders; to American Seams, Águilas and A Story of Bones where bonds are forged by traditional craft, loss and memorial; and MnM and Jardines, intimate portraits of people whose identity and self expression are deeply entwined with dignity and safety.

These stories demonstrate that community is a shared effort built through dreams, perseverance, resistance, and that Getting Back to Abnormal is only possible through collective healing and joy. Watch these visionary stories about community spaces and places and the people who create connections, transform themselves and others, and make a difference out of necessity and hope.

Discover our free resources, thoughtfully created by educators, community leaders, and librarians to inspire learning and dialogue. From reading materials to discussion guides, these tools help you create meaningful impact in your community.

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