One Shoe: Nailed To The Floor

Actor John David Washington gives a stunning performance in Spike Lee’s new film.

We went to see “Blackkklansman” at Cinemark in Boca on the one year anniversary of the unite the right rally in Charlottesville.
It was not an easy movie to watch.

Blackkklansman is a Spike Lee movie that tells the true story of two Colorado Springs undercover police officers who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 70s. One of the officers was black. The other Jewish.
It’s a remarkable film that touches on issues of race, anti-semitism, violence and hate. Unfortunately it’s more than relevant in 2018.
When the movie ends–with news footage of Charlottesville– many in the audience were in tears.

It’s hard to watch a movie in which the characters spew unspeakable insults and vitriol at other human beings; simply because of the color of their skin or their religion.
It’s especially dispiriting because this kind of thinking/behavior is antithetical to what America is supposed to be.

And yet…

And yet we struggle with race, religion and a host of other “differences.”
And it breaks my heart.
We are stuck and I don’t know why.
If we think this is some esoteric issue being waged in places like Ferguson, Missouri or Baltimore we are blind to the struggle in our own backyards. It’s right here folks. Until we deal with it we will have a society in which one foot is nailed to the floor.
Go see Blackkklansman. If you tear up at the end– as many do– there’s hope. If you’re able to walk out and just go about your life well…
Regardless, it’s not just about getting choked up it’s about work. About making a conscious change. We have a whole lot of work to do.

Comments

  1. Ellen Kentner says

    Yes, we do. Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative built a National Memorial to help bring about a conscious change for many. It opened in Montgomery, Alabama (of all places) in April 2018. A group of us may make a trip from Palm Beach County to Montgomery this fall, to experience the Memorial. If you’d like more information, please feel free to email me.

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