Birth of a Nation is here.

African Americans in the film industry have been making movies or a career out of movies that deal with racism and racial justice.

Their purpose goes beyond making a career, to make an impact in society.

October 7

This day is an eventful day at the cinema this year. The outstanding race-related film Birth of a Nation is released to movie theaters. I haven’t seen the film, but it is very interesting. It is also topical. And potentially powerful just looking at the surface of it. It comes on the heels of 2013’s race films 12 Years a Slave and The Butler and 2014’s Selma.

Nate Parker directs, writes and acts in the film. The actor has worked alongside Denzel Washington in 2007’s The Great Debaters. He’s also featured in The Secret Life of Bees and Red Tails.

Birth of a Nation is Parker’s feature film directorial debut.

He stars in Birth of a Nation as a slave and literate preacher who inspires a rebellion in the South over 100 years ago.

The film’s title is a reinvention of the 1915 film of the same name.

The censor has given the film an R-rating for disturbing violence.

Race as an issue in movies and the film industry has become more and more visible. From the deliberate ‘black musicals’ To black exploitation action films. To the impact of star Sydney Poitier. To prolific director Spike Lee. To the influence of popular and charismatic actor Denzel Washington. And to issues that impact the various groups in society because of their color and ethnicity. These issues get covered in independent films and sometimes in major films.

Most of the attention today is on racial justice. Any racial justice issue is a life issue because it’s presented as penetrating everything or something about someone who happens to be of a ‘different’ color. Birth of a Nation appears to up the ante in terms of dramatically presenting that.