Released in theaters on April 18, 2025, “Sinners” has been an instant box office hit.
Starring Michael B. Jordan, it’s a story set in 1932 about twin brothers leaving their troubled life in the so-called free North to return home in the Mississippi Delta to start over.
Millions of Black Americans escaped the overt racism of the South to the North in the Great Migration, only to discover that the North’s racism was alive and well, just more dangerously subtle.
Dressed in fancy suits and driving luxury cars, flush with cash they likely gained through Mafia dealings, they decide to open a nightclub in the heart of rural Mississippi so their poor community, which has suffered through Jim Crow, sharecropping, penny wages and the Klan, can enjoy the fun life. And so the twins can make money.
Club Juke, as they named it, was to be an escape from the daily trauma of Jim Crow South. Live music. Dancing. Liquor. Gambling. The works.
On opening night, as Black revelers laugh, dance and enjoy the sweet sounds of blues geniuses, an odd group of three white folks shows up and asks for entry to the party. They even promise, “we believe in equality!”
The answer initially is “No.” Black folks finally can enjoy themselves without trouble. Why risk inviting even a hint of racism into their bubble of joy? The minute someone accidentally spills a drink on one of them, all hell could break loose.
But then the movie takes a dark turn.
It turns out this small group actually are vampire-like dead roaming the country to offer Black people an escape from the you’ll-never-be-free-in-America life. Unlike other vampires, though, these biting menaces can only infect others if they’re invited in.
Deep symbolism about how only people “invited” into our lives can influence any of us.
To encourage Black people to invite them in, these walking dead offer something quite enticing:
Since you can never be fully free living in America, if you get bitten, you can then dance, sing and celebrate without any fear of being lynched, abused or put down. You can live free of racism forever.
White saviors! But that’s another article altogether.
They offer an escape. To no longer confront the harsh racial realities of America.
It’s an attractive offer, if we’re being honest. Not many people would prefer to switch color and live in Black skin in 1932 America or even in 2025 America.
Who among us would choose to have to step out of our vehicle when caught for speeding? Who wants to be looked at with a suspicious eye? Or shot by someone in uniform despite not posing any threat? Who wants to live near pollution intentionally placed next to you?
Who would ever want to be insulted or verbally assaulted? Who wants to be followed around department stores to make sure you’re not stealing? Who prefers to be denied loans or have little access to capital to start or grow a business simply because of your skin color?
Do any of us want to be mistreated by our healthcare system. Or not given credit when credit is due at work. How many of us would get exhausted of being told we’re “so articulate” when we speak properly at work.
Who wants to be looked at as dangerous? Or loud and angry? Or constantly watch people cross the street when they see us coming?
The offer to run far away from those realities and instead roam the streets of America unscathed seems hard to turn down.
But two characters in the movie nonetheless decline the get-free-quick scheme. They choose hope, and even a half-baked version of freedom, over the eternal “freedom” walking death offered.
Jazz musician Sammie Moore has a dream to play blues and entertain people with his beautiful guitar and voice. Despite knowing that his life won’t be easy as a Black man, he rejects eternal life as a nighttime vampire without society’s shackles. He opts to live out his life in American society and pursue his dreams.
The other character who declines eternal life on earth is Annie, the love interest of one of the twins. She begs Michael Jordan’s character, Smoke, to promise that if she gets bitten, he will put a wooden stake through her before she turns into one of the vampire-like dead. She doesn’t want to forever remain trapped in the death so-called freedom they’ve offered.
She refuses to abandon her faith — the same faith that white people used to sanction the abuse and enslavement of her people — and instead asks to be reunited with God and her ancestors and ascend to heaven.
When she eventually gets bitten, Smoke keeps his promise and drives a stake in her.
What Sammie and Annie understood was that the alluring eternal vampire freedom from racism isn’t truly freedom. Vampires can only come out at night. They will never unite with their ancestors in heaven. They can’t ever have any more real relationships. No more joys of raising children. No more careers. No more dreams. No purpose.
Shortly after Smoke kills Annie, she appears to him in a vision where she is dressed in white, nursing a baby that passed. A baby they conceived that represents the future — hope of what can still come. A vision of love.
As Smoke’s beautiful vision nears its end, he returns to the reality next to him and fires multiple rounds of his machine gun into the already dying body of the Klansman who sold him the property. The racist who intended to take back the property with force.
“Sinners” presents three difficult choices.
To walk in death as a vampire without fear of abuse, all while giving up real life.
To shoot society’s abusers and exact revenge. To mete out justice in the most violent way. Taking out the justified anger on the country that continues to harm its Black citizens.
Or to choose hope and perseverance, knowing full well that racism will continue to place obstacles on top of obstacles.
In the real world, Black people don’t have the vampire escape option, but they are faced with the difficult Sophie’s Choice of punching back or living with hope in a place that isn’t so good to them.
Yet every day, despite the trauma and sadness, despite the stress, Black people continue to courageously choose hope over death or destruction.
“Sinners” reminds us white folks how hard it is for many Black people to breath, walk, work and survive in America.
The film’s charge is for everyone to practice far more empathy and increase our efforts to turn Black hope into reality.
And at the same time, we should envy and learn from Black resilience and strength. It’s hard to imagine how many of us would make the same brave hopeful choices if put in the same situation.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of Jeffrey Kass' work on Medium.