Mamoudou Athie, left, and Courtney B. Vance in a scene from "Uncorked" (2020).

We often learn from movies. They can give you information about a story you never knew before, or a tiny morsel of truth that piques your interest in a subject encouraging you to learn more. Whatever it is that makes you learn something, films and art in general can offer teachable moments to those who view it in the simplest ways possible. But even better than that is when a character realizes something new and grows from it and we the audience are taken along for a ride. This is the third week of Black History Month, so it’s only fitting that the list of teachable moments in film highlights Black stories and moments in history.

“Best of Enemies” (2019) — While it’s overly simplistic, the surprisingly true story about the desegregation of Durham North Carolina schools in 1971 is thought-provoking. It follows the lives of C.P. Ellis (Sam Rockwell), the leader of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter, and Ann Atwater (Taraji P. Henson), a Black civil rights activist, as they are forced to come together to decide if the town’s schools should be integrated by heading a community meeting called a charrette. Eventually, Ellis begins to see that he and Atwater aren’t as different as he first believed. The film is problematic in its chosen perspective of highlighting Ellis’s come to Jesus moment and paints him too much as a kind of white savior, writing off his history of bigotry almost immediately, but there is still a lot that can be taken away from the story. Stream it on Showtime or rent it on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“Chi-Raq” (2015) — This Spike Lee joint is ambitious and a little muddled, but the musical-dramedy based on Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata” certainly packs a punch. Set in Chicago it focuses on Englewood and South Side gangs as they are at constant violent odds with each other. When their wives, girlfriends and other sexual partners become fed up with the bloodshed, they decide to teach them a lesson and withhold sex until the men come to a truce. Filled with all the hard truths usually seen in a Lee film, “Chi-Raq” may not be his best, but is still worth the watch. Stream it on Amazon Prime or rent it on Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“Just Mercy” (2019) — Based on the true story of attorney Bryan Stevenson (played by Michael B. Jordan), it follows his early years as he worked to represent prisoners — usually wrongly convicted — on Alabama’s death row and give them the justice the courts failed to when they were first sentenced. The film focuses on the particular case of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) who was accused of murdering a white teenager and convicted through shoddy and false testimonies. We as the audience learn alongside Stevenson about the criminal justice system and its failings when it comes to BIPOC citizens. Stream it on HBO Max or rent it from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

“Uncorked” (2020) — The understated but surprisingly emotional Netflix original navigates its quiet blend of comedy and drama following the story of Elijah (Mamoudou Athie), a young man who is caught between his dreams of becoming a master sommelier and his father’s (Courtney B. Vance) expectation that he take over the family barbecue business. Both are stubborn and their relationship suffers because of it, but over time and through tragedy they come to see things from the other’s perspective. Stream it on Netflix.

“Waves” (2019) — A gut-punch of a film, “Waves” changes up the typical cinematic structure by putting the shocking climax of the story smack dab in the middle. The emotional tale centers on a suburban Black family, specifically the two children, Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and his younger sister, Emily (Taylor Russell). The first half of the film is fixed on Tyler, a high school wrestling star who is pushed by his father (Sterling K. Brown) to be his best. But a shoulder injury leads Tyler toward sneaking oxycontin out of the medicine cabinet, drinking and light drug use, which escalates when he finds out his girlfriend is pregnant. At the halfway point, we switch perspectives from Tyler toward Emily and how she and her parents navigate the middle climax of the film, softly and gently coming to terms with what has happened. It is a beautiful movie that will make some weep. Stream it on Showtime or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, or iTunes.