IVC Productions 
BlacKkKlansman is 2018’s Get Out. Now, before you get the wrong impression, this is not another creepy thriller about a biracial couple, but it’s bound to set off some much-needed conversation about America, racial issues, and the state of this country.
Directed by Spike Lee and produced by Jordan Peele, BlacKkKlansman, tells the true story of Ron Stallworth, the first African-American police officer and detective of the Colorado Springs Police Department. His main accomplishment was successfully infiltrating the KKK in 1979, and creating trusting relationships with members with little suspicion. When first hearing the story, it sounds completely impossible and fake. A Black detective (played by Denzel’s son, John David Washington) that becomes a part of one of the most hateful organizations in the nation that prides itself on being the superior race? You really think someone would believe that? It’s unreal to think that a Black man was able to fool and deceive a group of tight-knit White supremacists into thinking he was one of them, but it happened.
BlacKkKlansman was some “fo’ real, fo’ real sh*t,” as Lee puts it. It didn’t dance around the racism or try to present it in a polite way. The actors committed to their roles as nasty feeble-minded White people who hated anyone who was not a part of their superior race to the point where you had to question if they were really acting or not. Topher Grace, the actor that played the former Grand Wizard of the KKK, David Duke, received an angry call from a viewer who told him his role in the movie would ruin race relations. IndieWire reported that Grace was unsettled by his character, but he understood the importance of his role in delivering the story. He said, “…But I thought, people should listen to Spike, because he can speak on a national level with his art. It was so cathartic to work for him and help him say something I agreed with.”
I really enjoyed the indirect shade that was thrown at Donald Trump, his ideals, and the Americans that helped put him in office. Lee definitely knew what he was doing by adding little hints that alluded to present day, and it was tied together in the end with footage of the Charlottesville riots, almost to the day of the one-year anniversary. This film also portrayed one thing that Black people know how to do best–laugh no matter the situation. Although confronting a serious social and political issue head-on, the movie still delivered witty and funny jokes that lightened the mood every now and again. Honestly the movie wouldn’t be so enjoyable without the comedic relief. It would drag on to the point that the story and the reality of the entire situation would be more depressing than eye-opening.
I saw this movie in a theater full of White people. There were literally four Black people in the room. We knew what we were getting into with this movie and most of us already agreed with the ideas it presented, but you don’t understand how shocking those same ideas are to other people. When shown cruel pictures of broken Black bodies being hung, burned, and killed in the street with a crowd of White people cheering, I saw people flinch and let out a gasp. I sat there silent, because I had confronted the reality of my ancestors’ history too many times already. It was almost as if these things had never been exposed to them before. I wonder if these White people were sleep when people marched in the streets rioting about the slaughtering of Black individuals by police officers or if they happened to miss the Charlottesville riots that became violent and even resulted in deaths.
This movie should be powerful and it should reveal the injustices of this messed up country, but these aren’t super profound conclusions. We are all aware of the racial inequality that is still present in America. To this day, we can still see Black people being denied jobs due to their race, or treated as inferior in the justice system. Black people have been preaching about the negative and demeaning ideals of this country and how it wasn’t built to benefit minorities for years. This is nothing new, but of course people only want to recognize the truth when it is delivered to them from a person of importance. Social relevance can go a long way, and I commend Lee and Peele for using their platform in an effective way.
The valuable lesson from this movie is that history repeats itself only if you let it, and to be honest, this time portrayed in history is not one that I’m trying to return to, and you neither should you. BUT, you should go and watch BlacKkKlansman, because it’s definitely worth spending your coins on.
By Kyla Hubbard, Junior, Whitney M. Young
Instagram: @kyy.r
