The #SinnersMovieSyllabus Teach-In
Discover the real history behind the Sinners movie in this free live Zoom teach-in
With so much misinformation out there, we need to amplify the truth. That’s why I create opportunities like the one below. If you’d like to turn up the volume on truth-telling, become a paid subscriber today.
In the movie, Sinners, one seemingly minor narrative detail carries volumes of meaning: plantation money—often called scrip.
This recurring theme in the film is based on a real historical fact.
Issued by white landowners in the Jim Crow South, this currency could only be used at plantation-run stores. That meant Black sharecroppers worked for paper they couldn’t spend anywhere else.
No wages. No wealth. Just a closed-loop system of economic control.
This kind of detail is what sets Sinners apart. It’s not just a film—it’s a gateway to the buried truths of American history.
That’s why I co-created the #SinnersMovieSyllabus—an educational resource to help viewers go deeper into the historical world director Ryan Coogler re-constructed.
Now I’m hosting a free, live teach-in to walk you through it.
You’re invited to the #SinnersMovieSyllabus Teach-In!
Thursday (5/8) at 8 pm ET via Zoom.
The #SinnersMovieSyllabus offers educational resources—books, music, websites, and more— for understanding the many historical elements of the film, and to help viewers appreciate how the setting itself is a character in the movie.
Now I’m guiding you through this syllabus in an online lesson.
What You’ll Learn About
Clarksdale, Mississippi – The crossroads of blues, Black faith, and spiritual resistance
Plantation economics – From slavery to sharecropping to scrip
Rural Black Christianity – A theology shaped by terror and resistance
Convict leasing – How prisons replaced plantations
Racial terrorism – The fear that kept “freedom” in check
Mississippi Delta Chinese immigrants – A surprising layer of Southern racial history
How to use the #SinnersMovieSyllabus – In classrooms, small groups, or your own personal study
I spent over a decade living and working in the Mississippi Delta—just 30 minutes from Clarksdale.
I’ve walked its streets, prayed in its churches, and studied its layered, haunted past. Now I’m bringing that lived experience combined with my academic historical training to this one-of-a-kind event.
If you’ve seen Sinners and thought, “There’s more to this,” you’re right.
Let’s uncover it—together.
It’s free. All you have to do is register.
A recording will be available afterward, but only for paid subscribers.
Come learn with us!
Thursday (5/8) at 8 pm via Zoom
The scene where the ancestors and descendants come in through the music and dancing is so powerful
Anyone else pick up on a Jonestown connection?