*Let’s try and not Netflix and chill this weekend. Instead, let’s curl up and watch a Black movie that you aren’t going to find on most streaming services.

Some of these Black movies were imagined after reading books before they hit the big bucks on cinema screen. We are, however, very happy that people like Oprah Winfrey and Spike Lee did everything they could to bring these stories to the big screen.

Doesn’t this already sound like a great weekend indoors? Well, let’s give you everything you need apart from the snack and drinks. Here are the most iconic Black movies that were adapted from great books.

1.     The Color Purple (1985)

The Color Purple was a book that had been written by Alice Walker in 1982 and it even secured the Pulitzer Prize for the Fiction category. Walker was the first Black person to win in this category, and this helped to give the book more awareness among the public. It was inevitable that a big screen adaptation would follow. This iconic film was directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Whoopi Goldberg as Celie, whose performance was one of the reasons why this movie exceeded all expectations.

2.     Roots (1977)

This miniseries has won a lot of Emmys and Golden Globes since it first premiered in 1977 on ABC. It focuses on Kunta Kinte who is taken from West Africa to be sold as a slave in America. While a lot of people may have seen this miniseries, many people have not acquainted themselves with “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” the novel by Alex Haley on which it is based.

3.     Waiting to Exhale (1995)

Waiting to Exhale is a move that explore the relationships in a family full of women while all of their love lives come across obstacles and challenges. The story is full of relatable moment that play off amazing family dynamics and demonstrate how women get strength from each other with a few twists and turns along the way. You can even choose to read the book first by Terry McMillan, which is also a rewarding experience.

While these 3 should be enough to keep you busy during the weekend, we would like to prepare you for the next as well. Try looking up Beloved, What’s Love Got to Do with It, Think Like A Man, and The Secret Life of Bees. Believe it or not, there are a lot of instances where books and movies have presented narratives that address and uplift Black folks.

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