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Documentaries About Equal Rights on Netflix

These 13 Powerful Docs on Netflix About Equal Rights Will Open Your Mind

Tuning into politics has become an emotionally exhausting and daunting task, the news becoming a daily hellscape of sorts. For instance, many are deeply uneasy about how similar the world has become to that of Margaret Atwood's Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale. No easy solutions will come from thin air, of course. But while we can't change entire institutions, it's possible to educate ourselves about issues affecting women, people of colour, the LGBT community, and so on. One small, but meaningful way to learn more about civil rights is by hearing what scholars, organisers, and artists have to say about the world. Netflix is a trove of informative documentaries about social activism, and while one click won't solve all of our problems, it can at least heighten awareness of them.

Scroll ahead to check out the streaming nonfiction movies worth your time, from Seeing Allred, an exploration of the life of women's rights lawyer Gloria Allred, to 13th, Ava DuVernay's powerful project about race and mass incarceration.

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1. Seeing Allred

Seeing Allred examines the public persona and private life of the powerhouse civil rights attorney Gloria Allred, a champion of women's equality who has worked on high-profile cases against men such as Donald Trump and Bill Cosby.

Watch it now.

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2. Mercury 13

Netflix's Mercury 13 delves into the story of 13 rigorously screened female astronauts who were asked to stand aside when only men were selected for space travel, though some of them outperformed their male colleagues. In the '60s, a few of the women went to the White House and Congress to fight for female inclusion in NASA's astronaut program.

Watch it now.

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3. The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson

One of the most important figures of the Stonewall riots, Marsha P. Johnson has been called the "Rosa Parks" of the LGBTQ+ movement. But when she died in 1992, her body suspiciously floating in the Hudson River, her case went cold and was ruled a suicide. In this documentary, trans rights activist Victoria Cruz looks into Johnson's death while paying homage to her friend's strides for the LGBTQ+ community.

Watch it now.

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4. The Freedom to Marry

Other than The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, here's another important LGBTQ+ rights film that you can stream on Netflix. The Freedom to Marry documents the Supreme Court battle to legalize gay marriage in all fifty states as well as the activist groundwork laid down decades before the landmark case.

Watch it now.

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5. 100 Years: One Woman's Fight For Justice

100 Years follows the activism of Elouise Cobell, a Blackfeet woman who looked into the missing money from government managed Indian Trust accounts. She sought justice for 300,000 Native Americans whose mineral-rich lands were mismanaged by United States officials, spearheading the largest class action suit ever filed against the federal government in 1996.

Watch it now.

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6. 13th

Besides Selma, 13th is probably one of Ava DuVernay's most recognised works about race in America. In particular, the director links the unsettling relationship between race and mass incarceration, bringing in the voices of activists such as Angela Davis.

Watch it now.

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7. Miss Representation

Miss Representation takes a closer look at sexism in media and examines, in parallel, the under-representation of women in politics. The subjects in the film come from a whole range of different backgrounds, from government to entertainment.

Watch it now.

8. What Happened, Miss Simone?

What Happened, Miss Simone features not only Nina Simone's beautiful vocals but also her dedication to civil rights. The nuanced rockumentary about the soul singer was nominated for six Emmy awards, winning one in the outstanding documentary or nonfiction special category.

Watch it now.

9. Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

In this provocative Netflix documentary, women look at pictures from the '70s that captured the female liberation movement and reflect on the urgency for continued activism. Interview subjects in the film include women such as Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Laurie Anderson.

Watch it now.

10. The True Cost

The True Cost is about the rise of fast fashion and how it affects not only the environment but also worker's rights in developing countries. For example, it explores the 2013 Savar building collapse, which saw the fall of an eight-story building in Bangladesh.

Watch it now.

11. Reversing Roe

Reversing Roe, as its title succinctly suggests, is about the decades-long efforts to overturn the landmark case that established a woman's right to get an abortion. It looks at historical footage as well as new interviews of both proponents and opponents of abortion.

Watch it now.

12. The Hard Stop

This documentary looks at how the death of Mark Duggan, a black man who was arrested in Tottenham, ignited riots throughout England. It considers police brutality, the political impact of Duggan's death, and daily instances of systemic discrimination.

Watch it now.

13. Inequality for All

Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich looks at the increasing income inequality in the United States and makes the argument that this trend impacts not only the economy but also democracy as we know it.

Watch it now.

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