“Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History” presents stories on the unsung heroes of black history

Doug Speicher

Staff Writer

Netflix’s “Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History” takes an educational approach on black history month, which is unusual for Kevin Hart who is known for his continuously comical approach to serious matters. In the film, Hart teaches his daughter, who is portrayed by Saniyya Sidney, about lesser known figures of black history. Their inspirational stories teach the audience about perseverance and intelligence, enlightening the viewer with their fascinating stories that, for the most part, were never told until now.

Overall, Hart takes a very family friendly approach on his guide to black history. The film does a good job combining unusual figures, like Henry “box” Brown, and focus on abolitionist history and comedy, which are totally expected from Hart.

Hart is casted as a father teaching his frustrated daughter about racism. He resolves most of his daughters frustration through showing her all the great accomplishments of unsung African American heroes, and how they had to persevere in order to reach their goals today, where discrimination is a prevalent topic.  

Hart’s guide to black history does a great job implementing comedy into his movie. In the starting scene Hart starts off the comedic routine right away by pulling out  a huge book titled, The Big Book of Black History.

One of the most notable of the unacknowledged heroes was the story of Henry “Box” Brown, who was an African American that earned his freedom by shipping himself in a box, and then would later share his story and support abolitionists. Each of these stories is reenacted in a very light hearted comedic way, making them more visual, with great acting.

After watching the whole hour long special, Hart does a great job keeping the viewer interested while celebrating otherwise uncelebrated heroes with comedic reenactments. This is a great special to sit down with family and watch this month to celebrate untold stories of courageous African Americans.

Released on Feb. 8, “Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History” can only be found on Netflix.