Last week, I went to see Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman in theaters. Though the pervasive strong language and racial slurs, coupled with some violent themes, hold me back from recommending this film as light-hearted entertainment, I think it has the potential to spark thoughtful conversations among mature audiences.
The story, set in 1970s Colorado Springs, follows two police officers (one white and one black) as they infiltrate the local Klu Klux Klan chapter. While Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) initiates phone contact with the Klan and with its president, David Duke, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) plays the part of “white” Ron and makes physical contact with the chapter. In a thrilling climactic moment, the duo successfully protects a local black student leader targeted by the Klan while the chapter’s most dangerous member is killed by his own bomb. Stallworth calls Duke comically revealing his identity and the police chief tells Stallworth and Zimmerman to take a well-earned vacation.
But the story doesn’t end there. The film closes with two masterfully juxtaposed moments. First, a knock sounds at the door of Stallworth’s apartment and he opens the door to reveal a cross ablaze in a nearby field, surrounded by white-robed Klansman. The second moment is taken straight from recent history. The film’s conclusion is real-life footage from the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
The message of BlacKkKlansman is clear: racism never dies. It never takes a break. It’s a dragon that remains unshaken even after decades of much hard work to run it into the ground. In fact, racism has generally become more subtle and yet ironically mainstream instead of disappearing. Those who declare we are living in a racist society now are absolutely right. To go even further, we will always live in a racist society. How do I know this?
Racism is not a social issue, it is a spiritual one.
Films like BlacKkKlansman remind me that sin is the root problem in every social dysfunction that plagues our world. Whether it is racism, greed, abortion or any of the other myriad issues that we face now, we must be aware of the unshaken (and unshakeable) dragon that worms down every street, coils in every house, and breathes in every human soul: sin.
Policies and programs hold little weight in this struggle. They cannot kill the dragon. Only when the soul is freed from this oppression within can any progress be made on the injustices and oppressions without. The root problem must be met with a root solution. A heart of sin must be encountered with a spiritual medicine which only a divine doctor can prescribe. Growing deeper into a relationship with Jesus Christ is the true path towards establishing justice in the world. It requires action, but the action cannot precede the heart change. Sin never sleeps, so we cannot afford to either. We must be vigilantly pressing ourselves closer to Christ and learning to love as he loved us.