Black mothers are special. There’s almost nothing they wouldn’t do for their children. Even when it gets complicated, they find a way to recalibrate with love. And, believe it or not, some films have gotten it right. Here are some to stream or rent that highlight the magnificence (and struggles) of Black motherhood.

Miss Juneteenth (2020), BET+

Nicole Beharie turns in an award-winning performance as a former Texas beauty queen and single mother working hard to make sure her daughter doesn’t get derailed like she was in this debut film from Channing Godfrey Peoples.

Image: courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Steel Magnolias (2012)

This all-Black adaptation of Steel Magnolias starring Queen Latifah, Alfre Woodard, and Jill Scott, in addition to Phylicia Rashad and her own daughter Condola Rashad, is an ode to both motherhood and female friendship that make holding back tears impossible.

Image: courtesy of Lifetime

Miss Virginia (2019), Netflix

Based on a true story starring Uzo Aduba as Virginia Walden Ford, a single mother who sparked a school choice movement in Washington, D.C.

Image: courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (2020), Lifetime Movie Club

The Clark Sisters are one of the greatest groups of all time and they owe it to their mama, the great Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. Aunjanue Ellis delivers perhaps the performance of her career as the unheralded matriarch in a film directed by Detroit native Christine Swanson, a mother herself.

Image: courtesy of Lifetime

Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story (2011), Lifetime Movie Club

Taraji P. Henson actually earned her first Emmy nomination for this film based on the incredibly true story of Tiffany Rubin, a mother who sprang into action and traveled to Korea to reclaim her son after his father kidnapped him.

Image: courtesy of Lifetime

The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story (2016), Lifetime Movie Club

When NBA superstar Kevin Durant won the 2013-2014 MVP Award, he let everyone know that “the real MVP” was his mama, Wanda, who raised him and his brother as a single mother. This film, starring Cassandra Freeman, captures that struggle and triumph.

Image: courtesy of Lifetime

The Devil To Pay (2019)

With her husband gone, a mother in Appalachia goes to all lengths to protect her son even as they are outnumbered and isolated. Danielle Deadwyler, best known as Quita from The Haves and the Have Nots, shares the screen with her own son Ezra Haslam.

Image: courtesy of The Devil To Pay