This October we are celebrating Black History Month, an annual month-long celebration of the achievements, impact and contributions of Black people around the globe.

While Black History Month takes place throughout October in the UK (and has done since 1987), the celebration is held throughout February in the US. In 1926, historian Carter G Woodson established “Negro History Week”. The aim was to teach Black history in the nation’s public schools. At the start of 1970, Black educators at Kent State University held the first Black History Month. Six years later, it was being celebrated across the USA.

Four collections on Virgin TV that you can find in On Demand > Box Sets feature a range of shows, films and documentaries celebrating the achievements and contributions of Black people globally. They also present an opportunity to learn more about the impact of racism and how to challenge negative stereotypes.

Here’s a selection of what you can watch…

Celebrating Black Artists

Destiny’s Child: Live In Atlanta

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > Sky Arts

A classic live performance from one of the all-time great R&B vocal groups at their absolute finest. Recorded during the trio’s triumphant Destiny Fulfilled… final tour in 2005, the set includes “Say My Name”, “Independent Women Part 1”, “Lose My Breath”, “Survivor“ and many, many more hits.

Oscar Peterson: Black + White

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > Sky Arts

A fascinating documentary celebrating the life and work of the Canadian jazz pianist known as “the Maharaja of the keyboard”, including archive footage and interviews. 

Black History Month: Documentaries

The Making Of Mandela 

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > Discovery

A compelling portrait of the freedom fighter turned revered political statesman, who emerged from 27 years in prison to become President of South Africa.

Micah Richards: Tackling Racism

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > Sky Documentaries

The ex-footballer and pundit talks to people in the game about the prejudice they have encountered and looks at possible solutions for overcoming racism.

Will.I.Am – The Blackprint

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > ITV

The rapper and TV personality was born in California but in this hour-long programme he looks at what it means to be Black and British, meeting members of the UK’s Black community from trailblazers to schoolchildren.

Charlene White: Empire’s Child

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > ITV

Journalist and newsreader Charlene White traces her family history from the UK to the West Indies and uncovers how the British Empire has shaped the course of her life – and the lives of the Caribbean diaspora as a whole.

Forbidden Games: The Justin Fashanu Story

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > Sky Documentaries

A look into the complicated life of Justin Fashanu: a brilliant footballer, a Black man raised mostly by white adoptive parents, and a gay man at a time when this was not tolerated in the game or beyond. Tragically, he took his own life aged 37. The documentary includes contributions from John Barnes, Glenn Hoddle and Justin’s brother John.

Lenny Henry’s Race Through Comedy

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > GOLD

The legendary comedian takes a tour through the history of people of colour in British comedy over the past five decades, taking in sitcoms, sketches and stand-up.

Ashley Banjo: Britain In Black And White

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > ITV

After Diversity received some negative reactions to their televised dance routine in support of Black Lives Matter, the group’s leader Ashley Banjo made this eye-opening documentary examining British attitudes to race.

Celebrating Black Talent

House Of Lies

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > Sky Comedy

Don Cheadle (Avengers: Infinity War) stars in this horribly entertaining and entertainingly horrible comedy about unscrupulous management consultants who stop at nothing to strike the deals that make them rich.

Random Acts Of Flyness

Find it in On Demand > Box Sets > Sky Comedy

Avant-garde film-maker Terence Nance created this innovative, ambitious sketch show addressing Black life in America and much more, featuring Nance himself alongside guest stars such as Whoopi Goldberg and Lakeith Stanfield.

Famalam

Find series 2 in On Demand > Box Sets > Dave

Samson Kayo (Bloods), Gbemisola Ikumelo (Prime Video’s A League Of Their Own) and some of the UK’s finest young comic talent appear in this hilarious sketch show, with characters including garage MC Scribbler P and Professor Lufoku, the Croydon witch doctor.

Sky Cinema Black History Month Collection

Beverly Hills Cop

Find it in On Demand > Sky Cinema. Cert 15

Eddie Murphy rode the success of this groundbreaking action comedy to become one of the world’s biggest movie stars. After a friend of his is killed, Detroit cop Axel Foley (Murphy) follows a lead to the titular fancy California city, where the residents – including the local police – are not at all ready for him.

Coach Carter

Find it in On Demand > Sky Cinema. Cert 12

This fact-based drama stars Samuel L Jackson as a high school basketball coach who takes measures to ensure that his players keep their academic performance up – in the face of serious opposition. A rousing tale about a man with an unwavering belief in the principle of hard work.

Django Unchained

Find it in On Demand > Sky Cinema. Cert 18

It’s Samuel L Jackson again, this time in writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s epic drama about a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) on a mission to find his wife. Combining elements of Westerns, revenge thrillers and 1970s “blaxploitation” movies, Django Unchained was acclaimed by critics for its edgy, intense energy as much as for its examination of slavery and racism.

King Richard

Find it in On Demand > Sky Cinema. Cert 12

Will Smith won an Oscar for his performance as Richard Williams, father of – and driving force behind – the two greatest female tennis players of recent times, possibly of all time: Venus and Serena Williams. The script details his struggles to help his daughters achieve the success their talent merits, while the family are treated like outsiders by the tennis community.

Straight Outta Compton

Find it in On Demand > Sky Cinema. Cert 15

This biopic of the wildly popular and influential rap group NWA was a huge, Oscar-nominated hit. Starring Corey Hawkins (BlacKkKlansman) as Dr Dre, Jason Mitchell (Detroit) as Eazy-E and O’Shea Jackson Jr as his own father, Ice Cube, it documents the rappers’ rise in the face of violent prejudice and their own internal conflicts. 

Virgin Media Store Black History Month Collection

Small Axe 

Available to buy on Virgin Media Store. Cert 15

Award-winning film-maker Steve McQueen created and directed this five-part drama anthology telling significant stories from Black British history between the late 1960s and early 1980s, including those of the Mangrove Nine protests in west London and Alex Wheatle, the novelist who was imprisoned after the Brixton riots in 1981. Stars include Malachi Kirby (Boiling Point), Letitia Wright (Black Panther) and John Boyega (Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens).

12 Years a Slave 

Available to buy on Virgin Media Store. Cert 15

Steve McQueen’s shocking, sobering and gripping film about a free man (Chiwetel Ejiofor) abducted and forced into slavery won three Oscars, including Best Picture. Essential viewing, it’s a film that confronts the reality of slaves’ life in the American South like no other has before.

Selma 

Available to buy on Virgin Media Store. Cert 12

The march from Selma to Montgomery, following the church bombing in Birmingham that killed four young girls, was one of the defining moments of the 1960s civil rights protests in the US. Director Ava DuVernay’s dramatisation of events is stirring and passionate, but never loses sight of the humanity of those involved. David Oyelowo (A United Kingdom) is Martin Luther King, with Carmen Ejogo (Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them) as Coretta Scott King.

Hidden Figures 

Available to buy on Virgin Media Store. Cert PG

The hitherto untold story of the three female African American mathematicians who provided the essential calculations that enabled NASA to send a craft to the Moon. Octavia Spencer (Ma), Taraji P Henson (No Good Deed) and Janelle Monáe (Harriet) play the unjustly ignored experts. 

Malcolm X 

Available to buy on Virgin Media Store. Cert 15

Spike Lee’s searing 1992 biopic of Black rights activist Malcolm X established the then 35-year-old director as one of the most important Black voices in the movie industry. Denzel Washington was Oscar-nominated for his portrayal of the uncompromising leader, who was murdered .

Fences 

Available to buy on Virgin Media Store. Cert 12

Denzel Washington directed and starred in this film adaptation of August Wilson’s play. He plays Troy Maxson, a garbage collector struggling to support his family in 1950s Pittsburgh. When Troy clashes with his son Cory (Jovan Adepo, Jack Ryan) about Cory’s future, troubles from his younger days rise to the surface.