The Journey
Twenty-eight films.
Twenty-eight days.
One city in motion.
The Journey is the heart of Black New York, a curated path through landmark Black films set across New York City’s five boroughs. Presented day by day throughout February, each selection represents a distinct moment, mood, and pressure point in the city’s cinematic life.
This is not a checklist.
It’s not a ranking.
And it’s not meant to be consumed all at once.
Each film stands on its own, while also speaking to the others, across eras, genres, neighborhoods, and creative movements. Some days take us inside institutions and systems of authority. Others linger in homes, on stages, or in interior lives shaped by love, ambition, faith, or survival. Some confront power directly. Others observe quietly. Together, they form a living archive of Black presence in New York cinema.
Every film in this series is anchored in two guiding ideas:
- Place — the boroughs, blocks, and environments that shape the story
- Meaning — the Gotham Mode that frames how the city functions in that film
By organizing the series this way, Black New York invites you to experience the city cinematically, not in straight lines, but in shifts. From Harlem to Brooklyn. From corporate Manhattan to neighborhood stoops. From silence to spectacle. From inheritance to reckoning.
You can follow the series day by day as it unfolds, or move freely through the archive, revisiting films you know, discovering others for the first time, and noticing how New York changes depending on who is allowed to speak, move, and belong.
This is the journey.
Scroll below to explore all 28 films featured in Black New York. Each title links to its dedicated day, offering context, reflection, and connection to the broader series.
The city is waiting.
Black New York | The Journey
Day 1
For the Love of Ivy
Borough: Manhattan
Gotham Mode: Community & Memory
Day 2
Shaft
Borough: Manhattan / Harlem
Gotham Mode: Power & Enterprise
Day 3
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
Borough: Manhattan
Gotham Mode: Existence & Isolation
Day 4
Losing Ground
Borough: Manhattan
Gotham Mode: Existence & Isolation
Day 5
Cotton Comes to Harlem
Borough: Harlem
Gotham Mode: Community & Memory
Day 6
Across 110th Street
Borough: Harlem
Gotham Mode: Authority & Institutions
Day 7
Beat Street
Borough: Bronx
Gotham Mode: Culture & Creation
Day 8
Putney Swope
Borough: Manhattan
Gotham Mode: Culture & Creation
Day 9
Claudine
Borough: Harlem
Gotham Mode: Community & Memory
Day 10
Mo’ Better Blues
Borough: Brooklyn
Gotham Mode: Culture & Creation
Day 11
Super Fly
Borough: Harlem
Gotham Mode: Power & Enterprise
Day 12
The Landlord
Borough: Brooklyn
Gotham Mode: Power & Enterprise
Day 13
Crooklyn
Borough: Brooklyn
Gotham Mode: Culture & Creation
Day 14
The Education of Sonny Carson
Borough: Brooklyn
Gotham Mode: Authority & Institutions
Day 15
Boomerang
Borough: Manhattan
Gotham Mode: Power & Enterprise
Day 16
Coming to America
Borough: Queens
Gotham Mode: Arrival & Aspiration
Day 17
Hoodlum
Borough: Harlem
Gotham Mode: Power & Enterprise
Day 18
Sugar Hill
Borough: Harlem
Gotham Mode: Power & Enterprise
Day 19
The Warriors
Borough: Citywide
Gotham Mode: Community & Memory
Day 20
The Angel Levine
Borough: Manhattan
Gotham Mode: Existence & Isolation
Day 21
Clockers
Borough: Brooklyn
Gotham Mode: Authority & Institutions
Day 22
She’s Gotta Have It
Borough: Brooklyn
Gotham Mode: Culture & Creation
Day 23
Black Caesar
Borough: Harlem
Gotham Mode: Power & Enterprise
Day 24
Sparkle
Borough: Harlem
Gotham Mode: Culture & Creation
Day 25
New Jack City
Borough: Harlem
Gotham Mode: Power & Enterprise
Day 26
Belly
Borough: Manhattan / Bronx
Gotham Mode: Reckoning & Legacy
Day 27
Do the Right Thing
Borough: Brooklyn
Gotham Mode: Reckoning & Legacy
Day 28
He Got Game
Borough: Brooklyn / Manhattan
Gotham Mode: Authority & Institutions
https://thefilmgordon.com/black-new-york/he-got-game-day-28/