In honor of Black History Month, we take a look at some stellar films and performing artists that tell the true stories of real-life Black Americans. Some of the subjects of these biopics are household names, while others are less known but have important stories to share. This week we look at iconic entertainers. Learn about their lives by checking out some of these films.

There is no shortage of biopics about iconic Black entertainers. Everyone knows the names Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Tina Turner, but are you familiar with Rudy Ray Moore, Ralph "Petey" Greene, or Ma Rainey? Each of them have been the subjects of films released in the last two decades.

"Dolemite Is My Name" (2019) tells the story of filmmaker and comedian Rudy Ray Moore, played by Eddie Murphy. Moore was familiarly known as Dolemite, the character he portrayed in his stand-up routines and a series of blaxploitation films. Wesley Snipes co-stars as D'Urville Martin, who directed and co-starred in the first "Dolemite" film, released in 1975. The filming of "Dolemite" (1975) was a disaster, and nobody involved in its production expected anyone to actually see the film. However, it found an audience and is today considered a cult classic.

Ralph "Petey" Greene was a Washington, D.C. radio personality and the subject of the film "Talk to Me" (2007), starring Don Cheadle. Greene was a drug addict and ex-con who turned his life around and became a popular talk show host and community activist. He first began his radio career as the disc jockey at the prison where he was incarcerated. In 1966, he co-founded Efforts From Ex-Convicts, Inc (EFEC), an organization committed to helping ex-cons rebuild their lives. His memory lives on through that organization, which gives $1,000 scholarship grants in his name to the children of ex-offenders, and the Petey Greene Program, which supports the academic goals of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.

Influential blues singer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, dubbed the "Mother of the Blues," recorded more than 100 songs during the Jazz Age. Viola Davis stars as the legendary performer in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (2020), adapted from the August Wilson play of the same name. The film transpires in a single day in the summer of 1927 during a turbulent recording session with Rainey and the Georgia Jazz Band. Her bandmates, including fictional trumpeter Levee Green (Chadwick Boseman, in his final performance), clash with both Rainey and the white record producers on a steamy Chicago day.

If you are looking for additional films to watch in honor of Black History Month, check out "Lady Sings the Blues" (1972), starring Diana Ross as Billie Holiday; "Bird" (1988), starring Forest Whitaker as Charlie "Bird" Parker; "What's Love Got to Do with It" (1993), starring Angela Bassett as Tina Turner; "Ray" (2004), starring Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles; "Notorious" (2009), starring Jamal Woolard as the Notorious B.I.G.; "Straight Outta Compton" (2015), starring Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., Aldis Hodge, and O'Shea Jackson Jr. as members of N.W.A.; All Eyez on Me (2017), starring Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tupac Shakur; and "Respect" (2021), starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin.