The Obsidian Collection Partners with TSAAN to Share Black Documentaries with the World
A New Home for Black Documentaries
The Society of African American Narratives (TSAAN) has officially opened its Content Hub to the public, and The Obsidian Collection is proud to stand beside them as a partner. Together we are working to share Black documentaries with the world and to make sure the stories of our people are easy to find, easy to watch and impossible to erase.
At The Obsidian Collection, we preserve and share images from Black legacy newspapers, institutions, organizations and photographers. TSAAN preserves our history through visual storytelling. Our missions are two sides of the same coin: protecting the record of Black life as we lived it and as we told it ourselves.
What You Will Find in the TSAAN Content Hub
The Content Hub brings together more than 600 carefully curated documentaries, interviews, short films and other nonfiction works about African American history, culture and contributions. It is a discovery platform, so each title links out to where it can be watched. Some titles are free, some come with a subscription and others can be rented, purchased or borrowed through a library or school.
Membership is free. Whether you are an educator looking for classroom resources, a parent sharing stories with your family or simply someone who loves learning, the Content Hub was built with you in mind. You can explore at your own pace, follow your curiosity and share what you discover with your community.
Meet Dean Radcliffe-Lynes, Our Obsidian Spotlight
Readers of Obsidian Magazine may already know TSAAN co-founder Dean Radcliffe-Lynes. She was our Obsidian Spotlight in the Winter 2025/2026 Photographers issue (Volume 2). A Yale graduate with roots in theater and television, Dean co-hosted a weekly minority affairs program before moving behind the camera, where she worked on Essence Television with Susan Taylor, America's Black Forum with Julian Bond and The Bottom Line with Kweisi Mfume. She has produced nine documentaries, beginning with The Celebration of Life, A Rise Above Breast Cancer, and created about 40 short videos for the 400 Years of African American History Commission. She is now documenting the life and work of legendary photographer Jim Alexander, her longtime mentor. TSAAN was born when her daughter asked her a simple question: “What do you want your legacy to be?”
As Dean told us, “If you don’t know your past, it’s why things are the way they are today, and you can’t be an advocate for change.”
TSAAN Joins Our Archive Links
As part of this partnership, we are adding TSAAN to our Archive Links as a trusted resource. When researchers, students, educators and families visit The Obsidian Collection to research accurate Black history, they will also find a direct path to the filmmakers and storytellers bringing that history to life on screen. The images we preserve show who we were. The films TSAAN curates let us hear those stories told in our own voices.
Start Exploring Today
There is so much more to our history, and now you can discover it in one place. Create your free TSAAN membership and start watching.
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