‘One Night in Miami’ spurs conversation on racism
The film by Regina King was snubbed for an Oscar, but movie lovers should give it a chance and heed the words of its Oscar-nominated song, ‘Speak Now,” which urges us to listen.
On Monday, the Oscars excluded “One Night in Miami” from the best picture category in a disappointing snub, but movie buffs should still watch it.
The Amazon Studios film directed by Academy Award-winning actress Regina King (”If Beale Street Could
Talk”) imagines an intimate conversation in a hotel room in 1964 among four cultural icons.
Their interaction provides a roadmap for how we should address racism today.
Nation of Islam spokesman Malcolm X, boxing champion Cassius Clay (before he was Muhammad Ali), superstar singer Sam Cooke and legendary football player Jim Brown talk about race, privilege, hypocrisy and double standards in ways that are
neither monolithic nor superficial.
The often tense conversations make the audience uncomfortable, but the characters are uncomfortable too. And that's the point.
The movie's original song “Speak Now,” which is nominated for an Oscar and sung by Academy Award-nominated actor Leslie Odom Jr., repeats the word “Listen” more than 20 times.
Visibility on racial justice has grown, but so have racist violence and indifference
This month alone provided numerous examples for why ignoring or minimizing racist acts and systemic racism just does not serve any good purpose. It only worsens the problem.
Jury selection has begun in the trial of Officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of murder in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Chauvin is white and Floyd was Black.
March 13 marked the one-year anniversary of the killing of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman in Louisville, Kentucky, in a botched police raid.
A white suspect attacked three spas in Atlanta on Tuesday night, shooting and killing eight people, most of whom were Asian women. (Officials, however, say they are still determining the accused killer's motivation).
The Tennessee Senate voted on March 15 to strip slavery as a punishment from the state Constitution, but four members — Frank Nicely, Janice Bowling, Brian Kelsey and Joey Hensley — dissented, even though the language can be found in Article 1, Section 33. The measure now goes to the state House, and if successful, to a popular referendum in 2022.
In recent months, there has been an increase in the visibility, representation, and attention to racism and people of color.
However, there has also been pushback. Americans' attitudes on race have become less sympathetic to the killing of George Floyd, according to a USA TODAY poll in March, with only 36% of respondents saying his death was a murder when 60% said that in a poll last June.
Some observers have conflated Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
A state lawmaker Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-bean Station, who is white, said in a legislative committee hearing that diversity, equity and inclusion training “goes against our people, and our culture.”
I received a lot of correspondence in that vein in response to my recent column calling on the state to move the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust quickly after the Tennessee Capitol and Historical Commissions agreed that Gov. Bill Lee had the authority to move it from the state Capitol building.
We have had this conversation before, and we need to have it again
The first virtual conversation The Tennessean produced as part of the Civility Tennessee campaign in 2018 revolved around racism.
Poet Stephanie Pruitt agreed to be my guest in a live Facebook discussion about how to hold conversations on race and racism.
A recurring theme: showing empathy, being present and listening. This can lead to understanding, respect and amity.
Today, it seems easier to shout our opinions and claim we are being cancelled when others reject our positions.
How often do we take a moment to take a deep breath, reflect and listen?
How often do we try to put our biases in check and open our minds to understanding?
In “One Night in Miami”‘s song “Speak Now,” Odom croons the word “Listen” 14 times before he ever sings “Speak Now.”
How many times do we listen before we speak?