Stay Woke

When I was a child my daddy would jokingly say, “You should be a lawyer. You’re always taking up for your brothers but they don’t ever take up for you.”

My daddy was right, although I think given the opportunity my brothers would have had my back too.  I thought about his statement most of last night.

On February 3^rd, I did a quick Google search to see where I Am Not Your Negro would be playing. I wasn’t surprised that a film with the word Negro in it was only available at a few theaters.   Unfortunately for me, all of the theaters were near downtown or on the south side.

This past weekend, I learned that the film would be offered at my local theater. I was excited. I was pumped. I would use my lazy Sunday evening and finally check out the film that I had been hearing so much about.

I was livid when I learned that the film based on James Baldwin’s unfinished memoir, Remember This House, would only be shown once per day at my local theater.  The amount of showings wasn’t as upsetting as the timing. This literary work of art turned documentary would only be shown at 10:45PM.

My first thought was, “Certain people in powerful positions are trying to deter folks from seeing the film.”  

My second thought was, “This was an executive decision made by men who had no desire to see the film, but wanted to avoid potential lawsuits or bad PR during Black History Month.”

My third thought was, “Given the nature and context of the film, in order to avoid riots or other demonstrations, the executive team decided only to show the film once per day at a time that statically had the least traffic.”

I had a lot of thoughts.

Ultimately, whatever the thinking, a cowboy-like decision was made in a boardroom by folks that were only looking at bottom lines.

I called the theater and was surprised when an actual person answered the phone instead of a recording.

I asked a few simply questions:

“Will I Am Not Your Negro be shown at any other times besides 10:45PM?”

-          No.

“Will the film be shown past next week?”

-          No.

“Why is it only being shown once and so late in the day?”

-          The film was offered at another timeslot; however, it didn’t receive a good showing so only the 10:45 slot remained.

I appreciated the feedback, but none of the answers were really what I was looking for.

February is the shortest month of the year.  Based on the feedback from the manager at my local theater, showings had not been good. That tells me that the theater used at minimum two weeks of statistics in order to arrive at the decision to only offer one showing. Although the statistics could have been true, we (black people) don’t do a good job of supporting our own work. We do, however, support foolery and pettiness whenever possible.  My entire Facebook feed is more concerned about the Remy and Nikki beef then what the hell is going in the white house or learning new Black History facts.

I had a few more thoughts.

I would write a letter or send an email to the manager of the theater describing my frustration with the theaters decision. 

I had another thought…

Who am I fighting for?

I remembered my daddy’s statement from my childhood. I remembered my mentor’s advice, “Pick your battles, Christy.”

Was this my fight?

I couldn’t have been the only person to find this issue disturbing.  I realized there were a lot of people talking but not doing anything.  Everyone was hurt but then after a few hours of discussions, drinks, and food no one was doing anything.

Perhaps the theater was right, no one showed up for the show.  So, why fight for those and make demands if I’m the only one standing on the frontline?

What’s the point? 

James Baldwin helped me to arrive at my conclusion.  Perhaps things could have been handled differently but without all of the facts this is a one sided argument. 

I decided to write from the heart.  I decided to share my thoughts, my frustrations, and my views with the theater leadership.  Maybe nothing would come of it, but at least I would have used my voice, my platform.

Malcolm, Martin, Medgar, and James are gone and although their stories live on their individual fights are over.  It is up to those of us that remain to let our voices be heard and speak from the heart.

****************************************************************************

C.A.C.H