Hate vs. Help: the Role of Religion in “BlacKkKlansman”
Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman (2018) highlights the KKK’s unique use of religion in their Klan practices. From holding masses together to asking God to help them take down African Americans, The Ku Klux Klan believes that it is their moral and spiritual duty to make America a more white country. Contrary to the KKK, the Colorado College Black Student Union (BSU) uses religion to strengthen and free themselves from the oppression they face. Throughout his 22nd movie, Spike Lee establishes religion as both a force for hate in the KKK and a force for hope in the Black Student Union.
One particular scene in BlacKkKlansman demonstrates the KKK’s treatment of religion particularly well. In this scene, David Duke (leader of the KKK played by Topher Grace) holds a mass with Klan members to celebrate a new member's initiation. Duke prays to God, asking him to “give us true white men… give us men of worth. Let wrongs be redressed, and right rule the earth.”
The new member David Duke was initiating was Ron Stallworth, a black police detective who managed to infiltrate the KKK. For the initiation, Ron Stallworth has his coworker, Phillip Zimmerman (played by Adam Driver), go undercover pretending to be Stallworth.
Until the end of the film, Ron Stallworth is stuck in between polar opposite communities; part of his time is spent infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan, and part of his time is spent participating in the Black Panther movement.
After Duke holds the initiation, friends, and family of Klan members come to greet the members and watch Birth of a Nation (1915), a movie known for bringing back the KKK due to its massive popularity and romanticization of the Ku Klux Klan.
Spike Lee also incorporates Christianity and worship in BlacKkKlansman with the Colorado College Black Student Union (BSU). This group is responsible for black empowerment in the city that the film takes place. Throughout the movie, the BSU holds gatherings for black people and invites prominent black power figures to speak at them.
One such speaker is Jerome Turner (played by Harry Belafonte). Jerome Turner speaks about his experience witnessing a lynching when he was a child. He describes how he watched a mentally disabled black man being beaten and tortured before being hanged, surrounded by a mob of white men, women, and children. While Jerome Turner speaks at the BSU meeting, the KKK holds an initiation for its new members.
The film crosscuts between the two scenes, the camera set at a low level so that the audience can feel as if they are participating in both scenes. When the KKK is praying, the Black Student Union is praying. As the KKK eats popcorn and watches Birth of a Nation, Jerome Turner talks about how that movie resurrected the Ku Klux Klan. When the Klan is yelling “white power,” the Black Student Union is yelling “black power.” The contrasts between these two scenes perfectly demonstrate the disparity in how both groups use religion.
This scene shows how the KKK uses religion to spread hatred around their community and the country. The Ku Klux Klan uses God as a weapon to bring others down.
At the student union gatherings, people pray to God to help empower them and free them from oppression. In this sense, God is used as a tool to help themselves, instead of a weapon to hurt others.
In the Old Testament, Moses' story tells a tale of how a prophet, chosen by God, frees his people from slavery and oppression. The Bible, specifically the Old Testament, is full of stories that promote enfranchisement and equality for all people. When slaves in the south got access to the bible, it inspired and put hope in people. African Americans read the stories about God setting people free, and they believed that if they remained faithful, God would set them free. Freedom is a central theme in all religions containing the belief that there is one divine being, whether God, Yahweh, Shiva, or Allah. People have always followed their god to pursue freedom.
Ever since slaves in the South started reading the bible, the Christian God has been a manifestation of hope and confidence for African Americans and their ancestors.
For an MLK day film fest at Christ School, we were given a collection of 16 movies to choose from, each one having a theme that connected with Dr. King's message in some fashion. I chose BlacKkKlansman because its plot looked appealing and thought-provoking. After watching the movie, I found myself thinking a lot about the story and how different messages from the film related to each other. As a Catholic who grew up with the church, many of the scenes that included religion made me think about how differently people can interpret the Gospel.
In Latin, “religion” means to bring people together: to “retie.” Dr. Martin Luther King perfectly exemplifies the hope and courage that religion brings to many people. Dr. King stood for what he believed in without hurting or causing harm to anyone. Even when people were threatening to kill him, he stood his ground and would not back down. Dr. Martin Luther King is the antithesis of David Duke. Dr. King stands for hope whilst Duke stands for hate. The courage and faith that Dr. King exhibited show how religion can be used to raise the people around you. Everyone has the choice to use their beliefs as a way to hate or help others. Dr. King showed the world how no matter our circumstances, we have the power to use our beliefs to help others.
At the end of the film, when Ron Stallworth successfully infiltrates the KKK in his city, Stallworth is able to find a balance between being part of the police department and the Black Student Union. He proves that through persistence, seemingly opposite communities can come together. Historically, the police and the black power movement have been adversaries. With his work as a police officer dismantling the local KKK, he showed the BSU that being a police officer did not mean he was against the black power movement. At the same time, he showed the Colorado Springs Police Department that he could do his job with integrity while being part of the black power movement. Stallworth transcended the belief that your skin color determined your ability to do what's right.
