Beyond 'Da 5 Bloods': Black history that belongs on the big screen

Frank Wills

One of the biggest takeaways I had from director Spike Lee's acclaimed new Netflix film Da 5 Bloods, and I assume other people do to, is how absurd it is that there hasn't really been (with the notable exception of the Hughes Brothers' underrated Dead Presidents) a deep cinematic exploration of the role black soldiers played in Vietnam.

The fact that there have been so many great Vietnam movies prior to this one -- all of them largely centered on white narratives -- only makes this feel even more egregious.

Meanwhile, thanks to Donald Trump's ignorance and callousness, the Tulsa racial massacre was put on the map for many people. Besides being very effectively rendered in the brilliant HBO series The Watchman, it has never been a cultural moment crystalized for people. It's barely taught in school if at all, and so like so many historic events, it could be well-served by a cinematic treatment.

When it comes to pre-video history, and even when it comes to eras where we have footage, like the '60s and '70s, there are so many subjects and real life stories about the black experience worth exploring. Here are just ten examples of people and events worth interrogating.

Frederick Douglass - Sure he's one of the most famous black American historical figures (even Trump knows his name!) but do people even understand why? His autobiography is just as riveting now as when he wrote it hundreds of years ago. An escaped slave turned activist and legendary orator -- any number of movies (hell, a TV series) could and should be made about his remarkable life.

Marcus Garvey - Talk about a colorful character. The flamboyant black leader -- who embraced and briefly succeeded in establishing a 'back to Africa' movement for African-Americans seeking a more just society is begging for a deeper drive. Dismissed in his day as an eccentric, some of his beliefs seems downright prescient today, and his heyday (the 1910s and 1920s) is one of the least explored and yet most crucial periods of black history.

Bass Reeves - You may have seen this incredible badass's story dramatized on Drunk History, and sadly that's probably the only place you've seen it, which is insane. This guy was a former slave who became the first black US marshal. He compiled an amazing record of over 3,000 arrests and is rumored to be the real inspiration for The Lone Ranger. I see a Jamie Foxx action movie here.

Matthew Henson - Outdoor adventurism is usually treated as the sole province of white men, but this black man broke boundaries as an explorer and may have been the first American to reach the North Pole. His exploits were largely overlooked during his lifetime but would make for an exciting action film now. It could be a buddy movie, after all he did some of his most incredible work alongside a white man, Robert Peary.

Ida B. Wells - This woman's story (chronicled in a terrific biography by Paula J. Giddings) has long been a very inspirational one to me, and also a harrowing one. In the early 20th century, she waged a dangerous, lengthy and largely under-appreciated crusade to expose America's brutal history of lynchings. She paid dearly in her personal life for wading into this heinous practice but also played a crucial role in the far too late crackdown on it.

Josephine Baker -What if I told you there was a woman who was not just a bisexual breakthrough crossover song and dance woman but later a spy on behalf of the United States? How is this person not being played by Beyonce like yesterday? She was once one of the most famous performers in the world and now far too few people even know her name.

Fred Hampton - One of the most heartbreaking (and truly prescient) events of the black power movement was the brutal police murder of Fred Hampton. He was gunned down by Chicago police after emerging as a gifted orator who was able to united black radicals and white working people all for the cause of liberation and equality. Who knows what he could have become, but even in his short life he shook up the world.

Ruby Bridges - When she was only 6 years old, this incredible woman faced down potentially violent racist hordes just to integrate a school in Louisiana back in 1960. She had to have armed guards get her in and out of school, where all but one teacher was too racist to even be willing to instruct her. Many people may recognize the iconic and moving Norman Rockwell painting inspired by her, but her actual experience and story should be dramatized in more detail.

John Carlos and Tommie Smith - People have probably seen the image of these two track stars raising their fists in defiance at the 1968 Olympics, but not many folks know the journey that brought them to that unforgettable moment or the devastating fallout and backlash they experienced for doing it. Why not spend money on validating their courage instead of mounting a production of Cats that nobody asked for.

Frank Wills - This one only recently came to my attention -- the man who discovered and reported the Watergate break-in was a black security guard. Woodward and Bernstein got all the credit, but if Wills hadn't been vigilant that night, Richard Nixon's corruption and crimes might never have been exposed. Wills' life was pretty much ruined by this act and he wound up living in poverty. His historic role in changing US history warrants a closer look.