The Big Picture

Netflix is releasing the documentary Stamped From the Beginning on November 20, which explores the origins and evolution of racist thinking in North America. Directed by Roger Ross Williams, the film combines live-action, animation, and interviews to create a unique visual experience. Stamped From the Beginning highlights the contributions of Black female philosophers and scholars who have dedicated their lives to understanding and fighting against racism in America.

Netflix unveiled today the trailer and release date for Stamped From the Beginning, a documentary that investigates the origins of racist thinking in North America and how it evolved throughout the years. The film is set to premiere a little less than a month from now, on November 20.

The movie is directed by Roger Ross Williams, who is fresh out of directing Prime Video’s Cassandro. The project is adapted from the best-selling book Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by author Ibram X. Kendi. In an interview with Netflix, Williams stated that Stamped From The Beginning is not just a film for Black Americans, but rather a movie about “power and the few clinging to power and using it at the expense of Black Americans.” The director added that he hopes his movie leads people on a “path of antiracism.”

As the trailer showcases, Stamped From The Beginning will mix live-action, animation, and interview styles to form an incredibly distinct-looking movie. Meanwhile, we’ll also get to learn some forgotten – and sometimes not even told – stories that underscore how the United States was built as a nation that severely ignored its own Black history, and that it’s way past time to correct this.

‘Stamped From the Beginning’ Brings Black Female Philosophers Front and Center
Image via Netflix

Williams also revealed that he couldn’t help but notice that, the more he extended his research, the more he realized that he kept coming back to Black icons such as Dr. Angela Davis, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, and Dr. Jennifer L. Morgan. So, he decided that it was important that Stamped From The Beginning reflected that:

“When we started looking at historians and scholars, we came up with a long list. I noticed the pattern that most of the people doing the work around racism in America were Black women. I asked them in pre-interviews, ‘Why do you do this work?’ And many of them said the same thing — that they had no choice. This was their experience and their life. And if they’re going to dedicate their life to something, it’s going to be about changing and understanding racism in America because they can’t escape racism in America. I said to everyone, ‘We’re going to have only Black women in this film.’ It was an important statement to make.”

Netflix premieres Stamped From the Beginning on November 20. You can add it to your watch list now and get notified when it debuts.

Check out the trailer below: