BLACK MEN need to use our VOICES. A Quick One Night in Miami review. 📺

We’re snowed in and finally have time to get off a few recent movie reviews! So first things first - Regina King REALLY hits the ground running in her directorial debut with One Night in Miami. The story, originally a screen play by Kemp Powers, recants a legendary evening spent between four of the most influential African Americans of the time, if not all time. We promised to keep this one short because (no surprise here) we loved this film and encourage you to watch it yourself - but Regina definitely makes this look easy.

Given how important these men are for Black culture, it just feels GOOD to be able to watch this film and not see them die. We are tired of seeing our hero’s die, especially after a year like 2020, so even though the film is politically driven, we get to see these legends just be guys hanging out and that means something. The actors were all incredible, the sets were on point, wardrobe was perfect, the writing got a little cliche at times (for instance, we cant imagine a 22 year old Cassius Clay using the word “Unapologetic” to describe himself, or any of the other men in that room on that night, if theres footage please share) but we understand WHY those cliche lines are in this story, its because this movie actually has something to say.

Here we have a GIANT of a historical figure, Malcolm X trying to convince Jim Brown, Sam Cooke, and the newly crowned world heavy weight champ, then Cassius Clay that they need to be doing MORE to help the Black struggle. Even though these men have all done something to give back to their people, X argues throughout the night that it is not enough, and just because these men have found fortune and fame doesn’t mean they get to turn their back on their people. Its important to understand that prior to this time, no one in America cared about what a Black man had to say - unless you were maybe Frederick Douglass. Malcolm urges that they take this new found Black social power and turn it into economic and political power by using their platforms to echo the voice of the struggle.

This is something we want to encourage all of our young brothers to start doing NOW because there is still injustice that the Black community faces daily. You can have all the followers in the world, but if you don’t stand up for YOUR PEOPLE you are weak and misguided. SPEAK OUT against racism, inequality, homophobia, and sexism when you see it. Because until every one is free, no one is. If these men had to learn that back then, do them a service and practice it today. THAT is the message we got from One Night in Miami. Stream it on Amazon Prime now.