The Cherokee Kid (1996)

Starring:

• Sinbad
• James Coburn
• Gregory Hines
• A Martinez
• Ernie Hudson
• Mark Pellegrino
• Vanessa Bell Calloway
• Hal Williams
• Burt Reynolds
• Obba Babatundé
• Reginald T. Dorsey
• Dawnn Lewis
• Lorraine Toussaint

Storyline

Isaiah Turner (Sinbad) didn't want to be a hero — all he wanted was revenge. Orphaned when both his parents were cruelly murdered by the wealthy and powerful Cyrun Bloomington (James Coburn), the young Isaiah grew up with one aim: to find the man who killed his folks and take him down.

So the Cherokee Kid, as he came to be known, sets out on the trail of his parents' killers, unsure of his way, uncertain how to shoot a gun, and unaware that Bloomington's men are on his track. But with the help of a few friends, he makes along the way — Otter Bob, a man of the wilderness (Burt Reynolds); Juan Cortina, a Mexican rebel (A Martinez); and notorious bank robber Nat Love (Ernie Hudson) — the Cherokee Kid will become the kind of man who can give as good as he gets, and be ready to take when it comes to taking revenge!

Black Like Me (1964)

 

Starring:

• James Whitmore
• Sorrell Booke
• Roscoe Lee Browne
• Al Freeman Jr. 
• Richard Ward 

Storyline

Based on the true story of a white reporter who, at the height of the civil-rights movement, temporarily darkened his skin so that he could experience the realities of a black man's life in the segregated South.  

Whitewash (1994)

Starring:

• Ruby Dee
• Serena Henry
• Ndehru Roberts

IMDB.com
This film chronicles the story of two young Black kids being raised by their grandmother in the Bronx. One day, on the way home from school, the children are assaulted by a racist White gang. The gang members hurl shockingly brutal racial epithets and the startling confrontation is culminated when the young boy is beat up and the girl is sprayed white. The film continues by showing how the community responds - the media, the classroom, the family itself. My initial response to the film was horror - I was watching it with my 8-year-old daughter and was extremely surprised at the coarse language. Yet, it is very real and I was pleased at the conversation that we were able to have afterward. My daughter told me that she felt the theme of the film was "being strong". I highly recommend the film, but the viewers must be braced for the powerful reaction younger audiences may have.

The Proud Valley (1940)

Starring:

1. Paul Robeson
2. Edward Chapman
3. Simon Lack

IMDB.com
In a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens.