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Alone Alone

One Cannot Produce History

Sinners: Cultural Vampires and White Allies

In our last newsletter, I declared the film “Sinners” to be the ‘best film of the decade’ and begged all of you to go see it. Now that the film is out of theaters and on streaming services, I think it’s time to discuss some elements of the film that I believe tie into many of the themes and subjects I cover in my work.

On the surface level, “Sinners” is a horror film taking place over the span of a single night in which an ancient vampire attacks a Depression era Juke joint in the Mississippi Delta. But who is this monster, and why is he targeting these people in particular? As more and more patrons of the Juke joint are turned, we get to understand the main antagonist of the film (The Irish vampire ‘Remmick’ played by Jack O’Connell) and his motivations. Unlike other traditional vampires that are simply a representation of “evil” or “Satan”, Remmick believes he is doing his victims a service by ‘gifting’ them eternal life in his new ‘clan’ of love. This takes on many new implications as a result of the film’s superb world-building in its first act, which sets the framework of the white supremacist structure that existed in the Jim Crow South.

The Juke joint is built in an afternoon as a haven for the marginalized citizens of Clarksdale, MS, to freely express themselves away from the threat of White Supremacy. Before the action, we see—in what has become the most iconic scene of this film— the Black and Chinese patrons of the Juke joint engage with the spiritual power of music, which is shown to transcend time as apparitions from the past and future appear alongside them. The “Barn Burning” scene showcases the mystical expressions of oppressed cultures in their most liberated form. It is no accident that as the patrons dance, sing, and perform alongside their spiritual ancestors and descendants, Remmick enters the main stage.

Remmick’s introduction to the joint, even before it is revealed to our characters that he is a centuries-old vampire, is looked upon as suspicious, even dangerous, because as a white man, he could leave and return with a lynch mob and harm the patrons at any point, for any reason. When he begins his supernatural killing spree, he declares that it is to manifest a “fellowship of love,” which he claims to be above racism. Despite this, he’s still imposing on his Black and Chinese victims an identical fate to that which a mortal lynch mob would inflict. 

Would you prefer your killer to be racist or not? Or would you prefer not to be killed at all?

Would you want your one cultural safe haven to be destroyed and stolen by a racist mob or to be destroyed and stolen by someone who claims to be “blind to color”? Or would you rather they not steal your culture from you at all?

Director Ryan Coogler uses the mythology of the vampire as an allegory for what to be wary of in the white progressive space. Appreciation of marginalized and oppressed cultures is one thing, but far too often, we have seen white progressives who claim to be fighting for nothing but “love”, still take what they want from these cultures and give nothing back, often saying similar words to that of Remmick towards the end of the film. “I want your music, I want your stories”. He’ll kill all of these black people for their music and stories (but he’s not racist, so it’s cool). 

So, how can we take this film set in the 30’s and apply its lessons to today as Ryan Coogler is intending? Simple. Don’t be a Colonizer, Don’t be a Gentrifier, Don’t be a Thief, Don’t be a Vampire.

I made a video exploring one example of a white vampire who you may have heard of…Pete Seeger. I highly suggest you check the video out here.

Book of the Month…in my opinion.

“The Nasty Affair at Pines Bridge” by Allison Albee

Search your local library’s catalog for this book.

As far as I know, there is no ISBN.

I’m sorry I keep doing this!

If I asked you to envision the first integrated unit in American military history, what would come to mind? Army units in the Korean War after President Truman’s Executive Order 9981? The legendary 54th Massachusetts, which—while segregated between a black enlisted class and a white officer class—both fought and died together in the infamous Second Battle at Fort Wagner? Well, what if I told you that an integrated unit existed in our very first war, and that they were massacred in our backyard?

The First Rhode Island Regiment was formed—technically reformed, but let’s not get into that right now—in 1778 after the state of Rhode Island found white recruits hard to come by. In one of his first acts as General, George Washington had forbidden Black recruitment in the Continental Army in 1775. However, after many disastrous battles, being ravaged by disease for several years, and finding recruitment quotas hard to come by, Washington seemed to have gravitated to a more indifferent stance to the idea of Black Continental soldiers. Thus, the First Rhode Island Regiment was formed to include "every able-bodied negro, mulatto, or Indian". Slaves in particular were promised to be “absolutely free” upon enlisting. That being said, the First Rhode Island’s story is not as picturesque in its progressivism as we may wish. While several other integrated units were also created around this time, the First Rhode Island was the only one to have segregated companies. In addition, while the regiment began accepting non-white soldiers in February of 1778, the controversy over this decision led to the denial of any more non-white recruits by June of that same year. Despite this, they served with distinction during the Battle of Rhode Island under the command of a white colonel, Christopher Greene, in which General Marquis de La Fayette declared the battle to be “the best fought action of the war”. After this, they were reassigned to guard the Continental line in Northern Westchester County, NY. It was here, at a small crossing over the Croton River named “Pine’s Bridge”, that many of these soldiers would meet a horrific fate.

Westchester County was at that time a “no man’s land,” frequently pillaged by Loyalist gangs. The leader of one of these Loyalist units was James DeLancey—nicknamed the “Outlaw of the Bronx”. He and his fellow officers were, like many people of this time, racist, and when they discovered that a Black regiment was guarding Pine’s Bridge, they made it a personal mission to slaughter these men. On May 14th, 1781, DeLancey’s Brigade took the 1st Rhode Island Regiment by surprise at Pine’s Bridge. 10 soldiers, including the regiment’s leader, Colonel Christopher Greene, were killed. Greene’s body was severely mutilated by DeLancey’s soldiers as punishment for leading a unit of non white soldiers. Eyewitness accounts of the battle from the American side are scarce, as those who weren’t killed were subsequently sold into slavery by DeLancey; their whereabouts after this have been lost to history. For many years, this story lingered only in faded memories, followed by scattered primary sources. That was until Allison Albee published his research (titled “The Defenses at Pine’s Bridge) in the Westchester Historian back in the late 50s. This was then republished along with a new introduction by Lincoln Diamant as this book “The Nasty Affair at Pines Bridge”.

The Battle of Pines Bridge and the story of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment have thankfully received more attention in recent years, even receiving a monument in Yorktown, NY, not too long ago. However, Rev 250 (the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution) is upon us, and with it a new conflict emerges: A conflict over the founding conflict of our country. Let me not mince words, the right-wing is using this anniversary as a dog whistle to bring about a second “revolution” to flush out so-called “unamericans”, while simultaneously targeting libraries, museums, archives, and other institutions that do not align with their propagandized version of American history. We can not stand idly by while history is erased and censored. The progress that has been made in sharing the Pines Bridge and Rhode Island regiment story is amazing, but understand that this progress can be undone. Now is not the time to rest on our laurels. We must not only hold our ground, but also continue to keep the memory of these brave soldiers alive. These men of different ages, cultures, religions, and heritages died side by side for a better world. It is only proper that we honor them not just by recognizing their sacrifices, but by continuing that fight today.

Humbled and honored to be able to do what I do…all thanks to you.

-Jon Scott Bennett