The New Black (2013): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2013, The New Black is a drama and documentary film directed by Yoruba Richen, running about 80 minutes. “Family, faith and the fight for equality” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. The New Black is a documentary that tells the story of how the African-American community is grappling with the gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight over civil rights. The film documents activists, families and clergy on both sides of the campaign to legalize gay marriage and examines homophobia in the black community's institutional pillar-the black church and reveals the Christian right wing's strategy of exploiting this phenomenon in order to pursue an anti-gay political agenda. The New Black takes viewers into the pews and onto the streets and provides a seat at the kitchen table as it tells the story of the historic fight to win marriage equality in Maryland and charts the evolution of this divisive issue within the black community.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.3/10, The New Black has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The New Black page.

If you liked it. Fans of The New Black tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.