Netflix debuted the official trailer for Stamped From the Beginning, an ambitious documentary by Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams bringing Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s best-selling book Stamped From the Beginning to life, using vivid animations and leading female scholars to explore the history of anti-Black racist ideas.

Release Date

Stamped From the Beginning world premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, and will be released in theaters on November 10th, 2023, followed by Netflix on November 20th.

Synopsis

Published in 2016, Dr. Kendi’s National Book Award winner chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Williams’ documentary adaptation uses an innovative animation process that blends live action with the art of the era to illuminate figures and moments both well-known and obscure, both historical and contemporary.

Leading female academics and activists Dr. Angela Davis, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Dr. Jennifer L. Morgan, and Dr. Kendi guide viewers through a searing account of how racist tropes and imagery were developed and enshrined in American culture.

Reviews

Grading the film a B, The Film Stage review said, “Unlike most racism-occupied documentaries that often conclude on a dark note, Williams uplifts his end with an honest, enlightened meaning of unity and an anti-racist society. There’s so much improvement and hope for a better nation. It is not a harmonic kumbaya where people hold hands. In doing so, we do not have to concentrate solely on the nasty side of history and look for the simple things that make people fight for equality while foregrounding the leadership and agency of Black people. Stamped is an inspection of America’s social hierarchies and its ongoing divisions.”

Official Trailer

Watch the official trailer for Stamped from the Beginning.