What's better than a great movie with a developed and dynamic Black female lead?

The representation of Black women in television and film, particularly when it comes to starring roles, is still fraught with inequity. Black girls and women make up 6.5% of the U.S. population, 5.7% of leading characters in 2019 family films, but only 3.7% of leads/co-leads in the 100 top-grossing films of the last decade. These figures are troubling as 1) the 5.7% of leads only refer to family films as opposed to accounting for representation across all genres, and 2) the second figure denotes co-leads which includes Black women as “sidekicks” who may play second fiddle to the stars.

That said, I've listed some of my favorite movies starring and centering Black women below. Celebrate Women's History Month with these slightly oldie but certainly goody films featuring bold and badass women.

The Incredible Jessica James

This romantic comedy brings us along for the ride with Jessica James, a vibrant and blunt aspiring playwright who lives in Brooklyn. We see her navigate a painful breakup and struggle with being a 25-year-old theater teacher who is in a transitionary phase.

As Jessica reluctantly dives back into the dating scene, a recent divorcee by the name of Boone enters her life. The two embark on an awkward and sarcastic relationship.

Actress Jessica Williams is an absolute natural in her role as Jessica James. She is infectious and steals every scene. I was not aware of Williams as a former Daily Show correspondent and this movie serendipitously introduced me to her. Her command of the role, employing sheer charisma that carries the film, drew a very fine line between her as James and her as Williams; especially after seeing 2 Dope Queens, I felt like I knew Williams from seeing her as James. This is likely because the film's director was comfortable with Williams improvising lines.

Jessica James is my girl for quite a few reasons, one of the main one's being that she authors a book entitled, The ABCs of Subverting the Patriarchal Paradigm and declares, “It's never too soon to start questioning the system.” Her confidence is also unbridled and defiant. She is both quirky and self-possessed, something that's still hard to find in on-screen portrayals of Black women. In an interview, Williams says of the movie, “We wanted to be like, well, what if a woman had self-confidence and the crux of the movie wasn’t about her figuring out self-confidence? That narrative has been done, and we wanted to try something a little different.”

Race isn't highlighted in this movie and I think that's what makes it all the more lovable; Jessica is allowed to shine as her raw authentic self, politics aside.

An official 2017 Sundance selection, The Incredible Jessica James is available to stream on Netflix.

Fast Color

This sci-fi drama follows a young woman, Ruth, with supernatural powers who must live life on the run to avoid being detained after her capabilities are discovered. She soon returns to her childhood home where her mother, Bo, and the daughter she left behind, Lila, reside.

Dubbed a tale of “Black Girl Magic” by Jamie Broadnax, the mystical abilities Ruth possesses span more than three generations; her mother and daughter also have powers collectively related to affecting the energy of the earth, altering materiality and experiencing color undulations.

The movie features superb visuals, with the story being mainly framed around a drought-stricken wasteland with large swaths of starlit skies and parched brush.

The major themes of the film include generational trauma and being internally broken and unable to magically “fix” one's self (in spite of having powers). It's a moving story about mother-daughter relationships, harnessing power and strengthening familial bonds.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as Ruth, alongside Lorraine Toussaint who plays Bo and Saniyya Sidney who plays Lila. All three of the ladies did a phenomenal job evoking emotional performances.

Fast Color is available to stream on Netflix and Hulu.

The Forty-Year Old Version

This Netflix original comedy written and directed by Radha Blank is hilarious. It is loosely based on Blank's life. Similar to the lead in The Incredible Jessica James, the protagonist Radha Blank is a playwright who works as a drama teacher and lives in New York City. However, in juxtaposition to the aforementioned movie, race is a key theme in this film. Radha struggles with being told by white producers that she has to pen slave screenplays and incorporate white characters, when she instead wants to tackle issues like gentrification by headlining developed Black characters.

As Blank approaches forty with decaying confidence and a waning writing career, she turns to rap as a form of self-expression and empowerment. She adopts the moniker RadhaMUS Prime and sets out to create a mixtape whilst producing a play that is not completely in line with her original vision. On her journey to becoming a rapper, she meets D, a young producer who is supportive of her artistry.

Writer and director Blank intertwines many aspects of her own personal life into the movie, including elements of her familial life and an appearance by her brother.

Blank says of the movie's major message: “Beauty, passion, exploration...self-discovery can come at any age.”

The Forty-Year Old Version is available to stream on Netflix.