Sport The History of Black Protest in Sport Stay up to date with all the latest news by joining our Docs For Schools email list. Questions? CONTACT US Back to Docs For Schools Today Film Archive: Ball People D: Scott Lazer USA 2013 13 min WATCH NOW More Details The film explores the lives of the US Open Ball Crew who might go overlooked when retrieving and supplying balls for players and officials, but their journeys and love for the sport make them true unsung heroes of the tournament. Bangla Surf Girls D: Elizabeth D. Costa Canada 2021 52 min WATCH ON CBC GEM More Details Shobe, Aisha, and Suma, three teens from Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, are poised to make history as Bangladesh’s first women surfers in an international competition. #Black Boys Skate Too D: Danica Ricamara Canada 2023 5 min WATCH ON CBC GEM More Details Facing the intersectionality of wanting to pursue a sport they love, Tristan and friends unravel the nuances of skating while being Black in a predominantly white sport. High Passes D: Cosima Barzini UK 2019 21 min WATCH NOW More Details High Passes takes us from the beautiful Himalayan mountains of India, to the busy metropolis of Kuala Lumpur while we follow India’s first women’s ice hockey team as they compete for international glory. The History of Black Protest in Sport The New Yorker & RETROREPORT USA 2017 14 min WATCH NOW More Details In an NFL season marked by President Trump’s attacks on football players who have “taken a knee” during the national anthem, this doc explores the legacy of dissent in sports. Nzingha D: Anderson Wright 2016 5 min WATCH NOW More Details Nzingha Prescod is the #2 ranked women's foil fencer in the United States. In 2015, Nzingha became the first African-American woman to win an individual medal at the Senior World Championships. Should she medal individually in Rio at the 2016 Summer Olympics, she will be the first African-American woman to do so in the history of the sport. The Queen of Basketball D: Ben Proudfoot 2021 22 min WATCH NOW More Details Lusia Harris led her team to three national championships, scored the first basket in women’s Olympic history and was officially drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in 1977. Rainbow Ice D: Madison Thomas Canada 2020 8 min WATCH ON CBC GEM More Details Rainbow Ice will follow Keystone, Manitoba's LGBTQ2S curling league as it gears up for another season. Rocio and I D: Louise Monlaü USA, Mexico 2022 11 min WATCH NOW More Details In "Rocío and Me," directed by Louise Monlaü, twenty-nine-year-old Rocío finds solace with an artistic-swimming team whose members also have Down syndrome. Running As One D: Divya Arya United Kingdom 2025 11 min WATCH NOW More Details Divya Arya follows two Indian female athletes with visual impairment as they prepare for the Paris Paralympics, navigating the challenge of finding the right guide runners to compete and make history. The Story Behind the Iconic Olympic Protest VOX USA 2020 9 min WATCH NOW More Details In 1968, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two Black track and field athletes for the USA came in 1st and 3rd in the 200 metre race in world record time. When they received their medals, as the USA national anthem played, they raised their arms in protest. Superfan: The Nav Bhatia Story D: Amar Wala Canada 2022 44 min WATCH ON CBC GEM More Details The incredible story of how a turbaned Indian immigrant's passion for his favorite sport and team took him on a journey from persecution to inclusion, inspiring an entire country along the way. Through the Storm D: Charles Frank, Fritz Bitsoie USA 2025 23 min Recommended for grades 9-12 WATCH NOW More Details For the Red Lake Nation (Ojibwe) high school team, playing football is a source of hope, unity, and resilience. Content warning: Some minor swearing. To Become a Lion D: David Ma Australia 2024 6 min WATCH NOW More Details A martial arts master traces the evolution of lion dancing mapped through his path to teaching. We Clap For Airballs D: Sai Selvarajan 2024 13 min WATCH NOW More Details "It don’t matter how many times you clap, clap even if you miss it because you shot the ball." Sai Selvarajan's short film captures the deep healing and community grown out of Chicago's first QTBIPOC-centered basketball meet-up, Swish. Willie D: Laurence Mathieu-Leger Canada 2019 91 min WATCH ON CBC GEM More Details This documentary explores the life of Willie O'Ree who changed hockey forever on January 18, 1958 when he became the first black player to skate in a National Hockey League game.
Ball People D: Scott Lazer USA 2013 13 min WATCH NOW More Details The film explores the lives of the US Open Ball Crew who might go overlooked when retrieving and supplying balls for players and officials, but their journeys and love for the sport make them true unsung heroes of the tournament.
Bangla Surf Girls D: Elizabeth D. Costa Canada 2021 52 min WATCH ON CBC GEM More Details Shobe, Aisha, and Suma, three teens from Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, are poised to make history as Bangladesh’s first women surfers in an international competition.
#Black Boys Skate Too D: Danica Ricamara Canada 2023 5 min WATCH ON CBC GEM More Details Facing the intersectionality of wanting to pursue a sport they love, Tristan and friends unravel the nuances of skating while being Black in a predominantly white sport.
High Passes D: Cosima Barzini UK 2019 21 min WATCH NOW More Details High Passes takes us from the beautiful Himalayan mountains of India, to the busy metropolis of Kuala Lumpur while we follow India’s first women’s ice hockey team as they compete for international glory.
The History of Black Protest in Sport The New Yorker & RETROREPORT USA 2017 14 min WATCH NOW More Details In an NFL season marked by President Trump’s attacks on football players who have “taken a knee” during the national anthem, this doc explores the legacy of dissent in sports.
Nzingha D: Anderson Wright 2016 5 min WATCH NOW More Details Nzingha Prescod is the #2 ranked women's foil fencer in the United States. In 2015, Nzingha became the first African-American woman to win an individual medal at the Senior World Championships. Should she medal individually in Rio at the 2016 Summer Olympics, she will be the first African-American woman to do so in the history of the sport.
The Queen of Basketball D: Ben Proudfoot 2021 22 min WATCH NOW More Details Lusia Harris led her team to three national championships, scored the first basket in women’s Olympic history and was officially drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in 1977.
Rainbow Ice D: Madison Thomas Canada 2020 8 min WATCH ON CBC GEM More Details Rainbow Ice will follow Keystone, Manitoba's LGBTQ2S curling league as it gears up for another season.
Rocio and I D: Louise Monlaü USA, Mexico 2022 11 min WATCH NOW More Details In "Rocío and Me," directed by Louise Monlaü, twenty-nine-year-old Rocío finds solace with an artistic-swimming team whose members also have Down syndrome.
Running As One D: Divya Arya United Kingdom 2025 11 min WATCH NOW More Details Divya Arya follows two Indian female athletes with visual impairment as they prepare for the Paris Paralympics, navigating the challenge of finding the right guide runners to compete and make history.
The Story Behind the Iconic Olympic Protest VOX USA 2020 9 min WATCH NOW More Details In 1968, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two Black track and field athletes for the USA came in 1st and 3rd in the 200 metre race in world record time. When they received their medals, as the USA national anthem played, they raised their arms in protest.
Superfan: The Nav Bhatia Story D: Amar Wala Canada 2022 44 min WATCH ON CBC GEM More Details The incredible story of how a turbaned Indian immigrant's passion for his favorite sport and team took him on a journey from persecution to inclusion, inspiring an entire country along the way.
Through the Storm D: Charles Frank, Fritz Bitsoie USA 2025 23 min Recommended for grades 9-12 WATCH NOW More Details For the Red Lake Nation (Ojibwe) high school team, playing football is a source of hope, unity, and resilience. Content warning: Some minor swearing.
To Become a Lion D: David Ma Australia 2024 6 min WATCH NOW More Details A martial arts master traces the evolution of lion dancing mapped through his path to teaching.
We Clap For Airballs D: Sai Selvarajan 2024 13 min WATCH NOW More Details "It don’t matter how many times you clap, clap even if you miss it because you shot the ball." Sai Selvarajan's short film captures the deep healing and community grown out of Chicago's first QTBIPOC-centered basketball meet-up, Swish.
Willie D: Laurence Mathieu-Leger Canada 2019 91 min WATCH ON CBC GEM More Details This documentary explores the life of Willie O'Ree who changed hockey forever on January 18, 1958 when he became the first black player to skate in a National Hockey League game.
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