The Best Video Streaming Services for Celebrating Black Art

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As far as mainstream Black representation goes, Hollywood has a better track record than, say, video games. However, that’s not a particularly high bar to clear—the victories we have achieved are the results of decades of struggle, and there’s still much work to be done. We should have Black movies win awards without needing to focus on slaves and maids or without having their names incorrectly announced at the Oscars.

Fortunately, the ever-expanding legion of video streaming services is hungry for content, and that includes content made for and by Black people. After all, if you can make streaming services dedicated to anime or the British, you can have streaming services dedicated to Black people. As companies continue to show how much they value Black lives in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 murder by the police and our collective overdue reckoning with white supremacy, streaming services join in by showcasing their Black art…along with throwing “problematic” episodes of old sitcoms down the memory hole.

Below, you’ll find our favorite streaming services for enjoying movies, TV shows, documentaries, comedy specials, and more, all centered around Black art. Our list is a mix of general services with promising Black libraries, as well as services entirely focused on Black material. It doesn’t include everything. Black channels with more traditional cable models, such as TV One or OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), have attractive streaming apps. However, you’ll have to purchase access to them through a bundle like DirecTV Stream or Philo. You'll find some OWN content on Max, which has plenty of Black folks in both unbelievably trashy reality shows as well as prestige HBO shows.

Your mileage may vary, but there are even more underground services to explore, such as American Legacy Network, Black on Purpose, Black and Sexy, X on Demand, or the chaotic Zeus Network. You’ll also see plenty of Black folks on sports streaming services. Still, this article can serve as a jumping-off point for your Black streaming journey.

For our rankings, we've listed Netflix at the top as we believe it to be not only one of the best video streaming services overall, but the best one specifically for Black art. After that, you'll see services dedicated to Black streaming. Finally, we have the remaining, more general services listed by score.

Looking for more to watch? Check out these must-see Black movies and shows.

Stream More Programs

For more on streaming, check out five reasons to ditch your video subscription and keep cable. Learn how to pick streaming services that fit your budget, and enjoy all sorts of reality show trash. Finally, check out our recommended streaming video guides if you don’t know what to watch.

Check out Yahoo's latest streaming advice, based on hands-on testing.

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