The best Ahmir-Khalib Thompson’s movies of 2021

During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost—until now.

Filmed at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony honors Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go's, JAY-Z, Foo Fighters, and Todd Rundgren in the Performer category; Kraftwerk, Charley Patton, and Gil Scott-Heron for Early Influence; LL Cool J, Billy Preston, and Randy Rhoads for Musical Excellence; and Clarence Avant for the Ahmet Ertegun Award. The special music event also features a host of all-star presenters, performers, and special guests, including Angela Bassett, Christina Aguilera, Mickey Guyton, H.E.R., Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Drew Barrymore, Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie, and many others.

For more than a half-century, Sesame Street has addressed and explained diversity, equity, and inclusion around the globe by using the universal tools of music, empathy and celebrity. Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days reflects upon the efforts that have earned the show respect and qualification around the globe. The special also chronicles the creation and introduction of a Black family of Sesame Street Muppets, Wes and Elijah Walker, a father-and-son duo who are at the heart of Sesame Workshop’s new racial justice initiative Coming Together.