TO THE EDITOR:
This is a response to last week’s Quick Hits that criticized the trailer from Spike Lee’s upcoming movie, “Chi-Raq,” for “victim-blaming.” The trailer clearly states that, if empowered and organized, black women can realize their power and change their environment.
Black women are not the problem but the solution in this movie. To assign blame on black women from this would be to assign blame for polio on Jonas Salk, the scientist who developed the first successful vaccine for the disease.
We should also recall the scenes of a black woman tearing down a Confederate flag, and the protest in front of police. This seems to point the finger at someone else. “Chi-Raq” really could be insightful, or it may be, as The Daily Tar Heel put it, “ill-conceived.” However, we should give Spike a little credit, he certainly has earned it, and wait for the feature to come out before drawing such damning conclusions.
Ryan Simmons
Class of ’15
