In honor of National Women's Month, the Independent Television Service network will be offering viewers a free online film festival showcasing documentaries about phenomenal female pioneers of past and present. Beginning now through March 31, anyone with access to the internet will be able to watch a number of inspirational films perfect for honoring the black women and girls who have changed history. Such films featured in the festival are Sharon La Cruise's  "Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock," Byron Hurt's "Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes," Lisa Merton and Alan Dater's "Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai," and Beth Davenport and Elizabeth Mandel's "Pushing the Elephant."

Each film touches on varies issues crucial to the Diaspora, stemming from the Civil Rights Movement to an environmental Nobel Peace Prize winner in Kenya. Make sure to catch this inspirational festival throughout this month, because in order to go forward it's always best to look back and see where we came from. Given the easy accessibility of these documentaries, planning a screening for each film with friends, family, or classmates would be a cinch.

How important is it that we support and consume these types of works?