By Caroline Freese

Every child has a unique story. What parts of their cultural background, family history, or lived experiences shape who they are? How can you create opportunities to learn about and celebrate those parts of their identity together?

Connecting with your Black child in foster care can be as simple as celebrating their culture while using the time to bond with and get to know them better. Seeing people who look like them on screen and sharing those moments together can create positive memories.

Here are 10 fun movie night ideas for every occasion to stay connected with your Black pre-teen or teen.

1. Jingle Jangle

Looking for a vibrant, magical movie with heart-felt moments? Jingle Jangle is just the one! When a once-joyful toymaker’s granddaughter enters his life, a world of imagination comes alive in the best way possible. Gather your crew, age 8 and up, for a joyful holiday musical!

  • Genre: Fantasy Holiday Musical
  • Rated: PG
  • Good to know: Features storylines involving grief, parental loss, and family tension.

2. Unstoppable

Grab your teen’s attention with a high-stakes adventure! Look no further, Unstoppable is perfect for a movie night! When a freight train carrying toxic chemicals runs unmanned, a veteran engineer and a young conductor must team up to stop a runaway disaster. Gather your 13+ crew for a heart-pounding action thriller!

  • Genre: Action Thriller
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Good to know: Features profanity, character injury/death, and mild suggestive elements.

3. Skyscraper

Not feeling like a railway disaster? How about a burning skyscraper? In Skyscraper, a former FBI agent must race against time to save his family trapped inside the world’s tallest building after a massive fire breaks out. A perfect action-packed pick for your pre-teens and teens!

  • Genre: Action Thriller
  • Rated: PG-13 (ages 12+)
  • Good to know: Contains gun violence, explosions, fires, and intense heights.

4. The Great Debaters

Loved the inspiration of Remember the Titans? Then look no further than The Great Debaters. Set in 1935 during Jim Crow segregation, this powerful story follows a passionate professor at Texas’s historically Black Wiley College as he mentors a brilliant underdog debate team. Grab your teens for an inspiring film that is sure to spark some powerful conversations!

  • Genre: Historical Drama
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Good to know: Features heavy historical themes, intense depictions of racial violence, and slurs.

5. Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse

Get ready for an action-packed multiversal leap! Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse joins Brooklyn’s own Miles Morales as he gains powers and teams up with Spider-People heroes from other dimensions to defeat the villainous Kingpin. Perfect for an exciting, high-energy movie night with kids ages 8 and up!

  • Genre: Marvel Animated Superhero Adventure
  • Rated: PG
  • Good to know: Contains intense visual sequences with flashing lights and mild peril/character death.

6. The Princess and the Frog

Jump into the animated magic of New Orleans with The Princess and the Frog! Tiana dreams of opening her own restaurant, but her plans go awry when she meets Prince Naveen, who has been transformed into a frog by Dr. Facilier, the Shadow Man. Hoping to break the spell, a kiss turns Tiana into a frog, too! Together, they embark on a hilarious adventure through the bayou to break the curse and return to human form.

  • Genre: Animated Disney Princess
  • Rated: G
  • Good to know: Depicts themes of dark magic/voodoo and character death.

7. Soul

Music lovers, this one is for you! Soul serves up incredible jazz and big heart as Joe Gardner, a passionate musician and teacher, lands in a cosmic realm right when his lifelong dream comes within reach. To make it back to Earth, he must help another soul find her spark. Perfect for kids ages 8 and up who love music and great stories!

  • Genre: Pixar Animated Fantasy/Comedy
  • Rated: PG
  • Good to know: Explores themes of death, the afterlife, and near-death experiences.

8. Black Panther

Ready to step into the incredible, high-tech world of Wakanda? After the passing of his father, King T’Challa must step up to protect his home from the formidable Erik Killmoger who wants to challenge the throne and use Wakanda’s power. It’s an empowering, action-packed pick for your 12+ crew!

  • Genre: Marvel Superhero/Action Adventure
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Good to know: Includes sci-fi action violence, themes of systemic oppression, and emotional family loss.

9. Hidden Figures

In this inspiring true story, Hidden Figures follows three brilliant African American mathematicians working at NASA during the Space Race of the 1950s and 1960s. Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson are sure to inspire your pre-teens and teens by showing them that they can achieve anything they set their minds to!

  • Genre: Biographical Drama
  • Rated: PG (recommended for ages 10+)
  • Good to know: Depicts historical segregation, racism, microaggressions, and mild language.

10. The Hate U Give

Prepare for a powerful story of courage and identity. In The Hate U Give, teenager Starr Carter, navigates two worlds: living in her lower-income neighborhood and attending her wealthy prep school. But her life changes forever when she witnesses the fatal police shooting of her unarmed childhood friend, Khalil. This is a brave and important message that all should experience.

  • Genre: Drama
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Good to know: Depicts police violence, traumatic grief, and strong language.

Remember to ask your child what they are in the mood for, bring out some candy (or whatever snacks you like!), and have fun! Movie night is about so much more than just what’s on the screen; it’s about spending quality time together and making great memories.