February is Black History Month and Disney+ is celebrating with a line-up of new series, documentaries, and animated shorts, including the Disney+ debut of Questlove’s award-winning concert film “Summer of Soul.”
Animated series “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” — a revival of “The Proud Family” — is also set to debut.
The programming initiative, dubbed Celebrate Black Stories, additionally includes “Soul of a Nation Presents: X / o n e r a t e d – The Murder of Malcolm X and 55 Years to Justice,” which profiles Muhammad Abdul Aziz, a man who was wrongfully convicted of Malcolm X’s assassination (it’ll be on Disney+ after premiering on ABC).
“Soul of a Nation Presents: Screen Queens Rising,” a new special that “examines how Black actresses Hollywood have become power brokers and the iconic moments and roles that have paved the way for them today” (also coming to Disney+ after premiering on ABC) is part of the line-up; along with “Clotilda: Last American Slave Ship,” a special documenting a ship that “carried 110 kidnapped Africans to slavery in Alabama.”
Also coming to Disney+ is “Rise Up, Sing Out,” a series of animated shorts “designed to be inspiring, empowering and optimistic about race, culture, community and celebrating differences,” plus the first 12 episodes of ABC’s new iteration of “The Wonder Years.”
All of this is on top of the existing programming on Disney+ designed to Celebrate Black Stories, including Pixar’s “Soul,” Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther,” the original “Proud Family” and Beyonce’s “Black Is King.”
Below is a schedule for the new titles coming to Disney+:
- “Soul of a Nation Presents: X / o n e r a t e d – The Murder of Malcolm X and 55 Years to Justice” (Coming in February, premiering on ABC Feb. 3): “X / o n e r a t e d” profiles Muhammad Abdul Aziz, a man who was wrongfully convicted of Malcolm X’s assassination.
- “Soul of a Nation Presents: Screen Queens Rising” (Coming in February, premiering on ABC Feb. 3): “Screen Queens Rising” explores how Black actresses, a historically overlooked and under-valued group in Hollywood, have in recent years begun to ascend to the top echelons of entertainment and American culture.
- 30 for 30’s “Deion’s Double Play” (Now streaming on Disney+ and on ESPN+): The story of how Deion Sanders played an NFL game for the Atlanta Falcons in between two MLB games for the Atlanta Braves in a twenty-four hour window.
- “Rise Up, Sing Out” (Feb. 2, also airing on Disney Junior and Disney Channel): “Rise Up, Sing Out” is a series of animated, music-based shorts geared towards kids, parents and caregivers, designed to be inspiring, empowering and optimistic about race, culture, community and celebrating differences.
- “Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised)” (Feb. 8, also streaming on Hulu): In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary—part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion.
- “The Wonder Years” Episodes 1-12 (Feb. 9, also streaming on Hulu): Told through the imaginative point of view of 12-year-old Dean, “The Wonder Years” follows the story of the Williams family during the late 1960s.
- “Clotilda: Last American Slave Ship” (Feb. 11, also airing on National Geographic and streaming on Hulu starting February 8): Clotilda, a schooner that carried 110 kidnapped Africans to slavery in Alabama, was the most intact slave shipwreck found to date and the only one for which we know the full story of the voyage, the passengers and their descendants.
- “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” (Feb. 23, Disney+ Original): A continuation of the acclaimed series, “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” follows the adventures and misadventures of newly 14-year-old Penny Proud and her family as they navigate modern life with hilarity and heart.