“I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” — James Baldwin

When I learned what happened to George Floyd on Memorial Day, I remembered more profoundly what “white privilege” means. Years ago, when I worked managing the building where I also lived in Alphabet City in New York, I collected a brown bag of rent money from the commercial tenant on the ground floor. She ran a store that beyond the week-old beef patties she touted didn’t seem to be all legit. But she was a fellow woman, doing her best to keep her family afloat and I could deal with that.

Among her rent money was a hundred dollar bill that was a little too green and the paper a little too thick. I didn’t know what to do, and didn’t want to accuse her of passing fake money, so I went to the bank. Yup. The bank with an alleged fake $100 bill. Not a twenty, a hundred. Things could have turned ugly but I didn’t realize it. I was “walking while white” — and you don’t examine possible mistakes in this condition. While you may question walking through a dark park at night, you never think twice about being the victim of police brutality.

At the bank, I went to see the woman who managed the business accounts since I’d dealt with her before. She took a quick look at my fake bill, put her palm on it to cover it completely and said “take it back right now” in a quiet voice. I swiftly put it back in my pocket. “Give it back to whoever gave it to you, or I’ll have to seize it and call the police.” Off I went and in I walked into the storefront on Avenue B. The owner of the store immediately took it back, and gave me a real one in return, no questions asked.

I have often joked about that time I went to the bank with a fake $100 bill, with friends and family. But that’s it.

On May 25th, George Floyd allegedly held a fake $20 bill. He might have come in contact with someone who passed it off as real, as I did. He may have received it just as I did and doubtful of its authenticity, he tried to spend it. But the clerk inside Cup Foods, that now infamous store in Minneapolis, didn’t behave like the woman at the bank. And the officers called had long lost any semblance of humanity. So while I enjoyed my white privileges and am here to tell my story, George Floyd, an African American family man was murdered, at the hands of the perfect storm of one ignorant, undertrained teenage store clerk, a store owner missing on Memorial Day (the drunkest day of the year) one lunatic killer posing as a police officer and three other members of the police force with not a pair of b**** among them. Don’t even get me started on the Asian American officer now…

Any one of those variables could have been different and Floyd would still be alive today.

So, while you turn your social media black in moral support of #BlackLivesMatter, and retweet activists and politicians, just as I’ve been doing, I’m asking you to do one more thing. Watch. These. Films. People are asking their BIPOC friends for answers, but instead of consuming their energy, and wasting their valuable time, please find your solution within these masterpieces.

Because ultimately, this is history that is repeating too often and taking away the lives of too many of our Black brothers and sisters. Beyond the mad dash to appear supportive of the protests, none of us are really learning a deep, important, long-lasting and life-changing lesson.

Cinema will always dig deep in our heart to burrow its revolutionary ideas into our psyche — so that by knowing better, we can do better. And be better.

Five titles for now. Feel free to write in with more suggestions.

Spike Lee’s ‘Malcolm X’

One of the reasons I yearned going to the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah was to watch Spike Lee’s masterpiece once again on the big screen and newly restored. Then Coronavirus hit and we were all hid away while the event was cancelled. But if there is ever a crucial time to watch Spike Lee’s work it’s now. He’s phenomenal even when you don’t like him, or agree with his choices. I learned a lot from him and his film and credit him with helping me to questions my own concept of racism. Actually, while you’re at it, watch anything Spike Lee you can get your hands on!

You can watch ‘Malcolm X’ on Amazon Prime.

Raoul Peck’s ‘I Am Not Your Negro’

If ever there was an author who is as actual today as when he was alive, it’s James Baldwin. If everyone in government and all our current leaders learned just some of his writing by heart, they would know what needs to be done to appease the situation and fix the problem. ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ is a testament to Baldwin’s greatness and wonderful insight when it comes to race relations in America. And the narration by Samuel L. Jackson makes it seem as thought Baldwin is speaking to us directly.

Watch ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ on Amazon Prime.

Göran Hugo Olsson’s ‘The Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975’

One of the best documentaries on the Black Power Movement actually comes from Swedish TV’s archival footage, put together by documentarian Göran Hugo Olsson. It is honest and fair and doesn’t allow the media’s perspective to get in the way of the story — as it so often does today. Blending period interviews with Stokely Carmichael and Angela Davis along with voiceovers by contemporary icons like Erykah Badu, Olsson perfectly shows us where we, white Americans, have gone wrong and how we could fix it — if only we looked deep inside our consciousness. And our hearts.

Watch it through IFC Films on Amazon Prime.

Nadia Hallgren’s ‘Becoming’

Not all educational films have to show us characters that have struggled. Within the thriving, successful figure of Michelle Obama, lies the answer for our future as Americans. I can see her as Madame President, can’t you? Michelle Obama has made a career and carved a life out of being sure of herself, despite her unprivileged upbringing. She is a force to be reckoned with and as much to credit with Obama’s presidency as Barack should be. The documentary ‘Becoming’ streaming on Netflix is a must-watch!

Watch ‘Becoming’ on Netflix.

Ava DuVernay’s ‘When They See Us’

I get shivers thinking how clear and perfect Ava DuVernay’s vision is, particularly with her Netflix limited series ‘When They See Us’. The true story of the Central Park Five, acted perfectly and written/directed even more magnificently, takes us back to a time we hoped we’d forgotten in American history. When in 1989 a woman was attacked in NYC’s Central Park while jogging, five teens of color were charged with the crime, without any concrete, real proof. And while for white Americans the old court rule “innocent until proven guilty” may stand, the Central Park Five were condemned before any evidence against them could be found. In fact, the real assailant confessed in 2002 and his DNA matched the one found at the scene of the crime.

And while the five did manage a settlement with the City for their wrongful incarceration, the damage done to their lives can never be repaid. As I said with Lee’s work, anything Ava DuVernay is worth a watch, like ‘Selma’ and ‘13th’ too.

Watch ‘When They See Us’ on Netflix.