In Sinners, Black Love Isn’t Just Romance—It’s Resistance
Picture this – vampires, the Mississippi Delta during the 30s, segregation, music and Black Love. In 2 hours and 17 minutes, Sinners, released April 17, 2025, starring Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, takes audiences through a tale of struggle, resistance, love and triumph.
Admittedly, when I saw the movie Easter weekend, I expected to see horror and drama. I was pleasantly surprised to see the nuanced depictions of love, community, and resilience. The themes of Black Love in Sinners feel urgent and resonant. Not only are these relationships reflective of the unconditional love that has been the foundation of Black relationships since our arrival here, but they also offer a glimpse into how Black romantic love was almost essential in survival during the Jim Crow era.
Smoke and Stack return to the childhood home of Clarksdale, Mississippi, from Chicago, with a trunk full of liquor and plans to build a legendary juke joint, an escape from the day-to-day hustle of sharecropping and caring for whites. As they prepare for opening night, Smoke makes a visit to Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) who we later learned he fathered a child, who died in infancy. Smoke and Annie’s interaction feels effortless. Almost like no time had passed in the years that he’d been up north. Smoke returned to Mississippi carrying the weight of all he had endured, yet he arrived safely—perhaps protected in part by his bond with Annie, a Hoodoo priestess, and the mojo bag he wore close to his chest. Her love, her wisdom, her “magic” was his protection. Rooted in African spiritualism, Annie’s love was protection, a source of strength and a guiding light that ensured Stack returned home. Black Love is protection. Ultimately, a defense against racism, discrimination and oppression.
We also see Stack’s chance run-in with past love interest, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld). A woman whose mother cared for the twins as children. Now, some may not consider a relationship with a white-presenting woman, Black Love. But, I would argue that Stack’s connection with Mary is a walking embodiment of Black Love endurance and longevity through time. Their relationship provides a differing view of love. While Smoke and Mary’s relationship seemed to be bonded through their overcoming loss and grief, Stack and Mary felt fierier and more passionate. A forbidden love fueled by the desire to be together, yet rooted in the quiet truth that it was doomed from the start. Initially, Stack seemed like a playboy who manipulated Mary to get what he wanted. As their relationship evolves throughout the film, we see his avoidance as simply his way of shielding her from a life of judgment and struggle. Once again, Black Love is protection.
Scholar and author bell hooks defines Black Love as a “political act of self-determination and resistance against systemic oppression.” In previous writing, I described Black Love as often rooted in trauma and oppression that feeds a desire to overcome collectively. Wherever you fall on your definition, it’s clear that Sinners defies traditional stereotypes often associated with Black relationships on screen and reveals the emotional texture of characters’ love. Although their origins and outcomes differ, Smoke and Stack’s romantic relationship illustrates Black Love as an emotional and spiritual sanctuary. A safe haven in a world designed to make Black feel inferior. Despite the character’s struggle with past trauma, racism and societal judgement, it is the elements of Black love that help them overcome. This film contributes to a larger cultural conversation about Black love. It’s healing, redemptive, complicated, yet tender.
Black Love is essential in protecting Blackness in a time when systems are systematically attempting to dismantle our existence. The beauty and complexity of the Black Love depictions in Sinners are resistance in its truest form—resistance against vampires attempting to build a new family, or political systems trying to rewrite the nation’s racist history. Whatever the motivation, Black Love must continue to be unwavering for the sake of our own protection.
Dr. Brandale is a researcher, professor and advocate for the culture.