She’s Gotta Have It (1986)

The Kansas City Public Library celebrates Black History Month with The Movies We Love: The Most Romantic Black Movies (Ever) as selected by Fox 4 News Film Critic Shawn Edwards on Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. throughout February 2010 in the Stanley H. Durwood Film Vault at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St. Free parking is available in the Library District Parking Garage at 10th and Baltimore.

She's Gotta Have It (1986) on February 13. This groundbreaking and daring comedy is director Spike Lee's first feature film. Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) is a young sexually independent woman who juggles three suitors: the polite and well-meaning Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks); the self-obsessed model Greer Childs (John Canada Terrell); and a fast-talking bicycle messenger Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee). Nola is attracted to the best in each of them, but refuses to commit. Rated R. (88 min.)

The Movies We Love complements a panel discussion hosted by Shawn Edwards called Black Love Stories in Film: Where is the Romance?

Additional films include:

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) on February 20. This film defied conventions in its dealing with the controversial subject of interracial marriage, which was still illegal in 17 states six months prior to the film's release. Matt and Christina Drayton (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) are a liberal couple whose attitudes are challenged when their daughter (Katharine Houghton) brings home a fiancé who is black (Sydney Poitier). Won two Academy Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actress for Hepburn. Directed by Stanley Kramer. Not rated. (108 min.)

Love Jones (1997) on February 27. Darius Lovehall (Lorenz Tate) is a young spoken-word artist in Chicago who begins dating Nina Moseley (Nia Long), a beautiful and talented photographer but the two struggle to find a way to maintain their relationship. The success of the film is largely responsible for an increased interest in poetry slams and spoken word as an art form that has lasted since the film's release. Directed by Theodore Witcher. Rated R. (108 min.)