The article argues that the South is often unjustly portrayed as a backward region unworthy of salvation, despite being home to a majority of the country's Black population. It highlights the cowardly narratives suggesting cities like Manhattan should be saved while places like New Orleans are left to suffer. Writer-director Ryan Coogler's film 'Sinners' is noted for its profound reverence for the Black South, painting a vivid picture of its history and culture, contrasting prevailing negative stereotypes with striking imagery and context.
When I see Looney Tunes images of Bugs Bunny sawing off Florida, I see cowardice in the face of reckoning towards the South's misrepresented narrative.
The majority of this country's Black population is in the South, yet the stories we tell often depict it solely as backward and not worthy of salvation.
As poet Eugenia Collier wrote, 'It is here that the agony of chattel slavery created the history that has yet to be written.' The South is the mythic landscape of Black America.
Sinners, set in 1932, powerfully reveals a deep reverence for the Black South through stunning imagery and characters reflecting its rich, sorrowful history.
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