“Sinners”: Black Strategies for Surviving Jim Crow, the Klan ... and Vampires

Coogler’s Latest Film Leans into the Supernatural and Historical Horrors of Mississippi, with a Double Assist from Michael B. Jordan 

What’s more terrifying after dark: vampires or the Ku Klux Klan? Image credit: George Desipris

Ryan Coogler’s  sensational and commercially successful horror movie “Sinners” might not present as a historical road map for Black survival strategies at first. However, set in Clarksdale, Mississippi, during the Jim Crow era of the 1930s, the film features historically accurate moments sprinkled throughout. The most profound of them illustrates how Black people cultivated survival strategies for withstanding the horrors of Jim Crow South, leaning into internal economies, art and spirituality.  

Locked out of the Mainstream, Black People Created and Leaned into Alternative Economies 

Main characters, Smoke and Stack (a double helping of actor, Michael B Jordan acting as twins) return from war and mob life in Chicago to establish a juke joint in their hometown with money apparently stolen during the war and then from the Irish and Italian mobs. While the capital they used to start their enterprise might seem "sinful," Smoke and Stack used their ill-gotten gains to purchase property, employ (handsomely paid) community members and defend the community against Klan terror.   

In the juke joint, Smoke and Stack accept plantation dollars, a currency with limited use often doled out to Black sharecroppers by plantation owners instead of cash. Expanding the use of the plantation currency drove home the idea the space was for Black folks and by Black folks. In including these scenes, Coogler, reveals how Black people in the South developed alternative economies when locked out of the mainstream ones. 

 

Artful Gathering Soothed the Suffocating Realities of Jim Crow 

Depicted in the church and the juke, ”Sinners” displays how Black people artfully gathered to sing, shout, dance and play instruments to escape the harsh realities Black people faced. In one powerful scene, Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) recounts his friend’s lynching. He begins with a deep hum, swaying while closing his eyes, as if he is rocking a traumatized part of himself to sleep. Science is now catching up to the ancient wisdom of how singing, dancing, and playing instruments contribute to improved mental and physical health and feelings of overall well-being. These art forms, especially done as a chorus, decrease stress hormones and increase endorphins, which act as natural pain relievers and mood boosters.  

Traditional and Alternative Spirituality Offered Relief  

Annie (Wunmi Masaku), a hoodoo healer and spiritual guide serves as the community’s medicine woman. While the twins use brute force  to protect the community, Annie uses intuition, herbs and spells. With the same mission, different tactics, Annie uses her instinct and spiritual wisdom to identify the vampires and develop strategies to fight them.  

The juke was almost as much of a spiritual source of overcome as the church. Blues, not just spirituals, played a significant role in our ancestors’ survival. “Sinners” depicts the “shadow” side of our ancestors' survival and humanizes it by placing it in  context: life threatening circumstances. When considering the horrors of the times, corn whiskey wasn’t much different than the Prozac of today. It was a medicine that helped to numb emotional pain enough to make it to another day. The juke allowed our ancestors to create an alternate reality where they controlled themselves, their joy and pleasure. It offered a sanctuary in its own right, not just a sinful party. How they found freedom was not to be judged but understood as a survival tactic to carry the next generation forward, despite all the barriers to survival.