“It’s been a long
A long time coming
But I know a change gonna come”
I spent most pre-covid Friday afternoons in the theater watching movies. Ostensibly, I went to give Wendy time to get things done without me being under foot. The reality is that I love movies and miss going every week. Yes, there have been some good movies released on streaming services, like The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Nomadland, but most didn’t gin up much excitement.
One Night in Miami… was one of my favorite movies of the past year. It’s based on a 2013 play written by Kemp Powers and tells of a meeting between Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X, boxer Cassius Clay, NFL star Jim Brown and singer Sam Cooke on February 25, 1964. Earlier that night, Clay – soon to become Muhammad Ali – surprised Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion. The four men were actual friends and did meet that night at the Hampton House in Miami, but the movie is a fictionalized account of their discussion. None of the men ever spoke of it publicly. Brown, the last one still living, only said they talked about their roles in advancing civil rights. “We got together because we knew together, we could be a force.”
In the movie, X urges Cooke to use his talent to speak out for racial justice, even throwing Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” up as a contrast to Cooke’s “You Send Me.” The movie ends with Cooke, played by Leslie Odom Jr., on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson singing “A Change Gonna Come,” implying he wrote the song after being shamed. In reality, the Tonight Show appearance took place two-and-a-half weeks before the meeting in Miami. “Change” was eventually released as a single in December 1964, two weeks after Cooke’s death. It wasn’t his most popular song, but it certainly became is most meaningful.
“Then I go to my brother
And I say, brother, help me please
But he winds up knockin’ me
Back down to my knees”
Things have changed since that night in Miami 57 years ago. Yet we have so, so far to go. Galatians 3:28 tells us “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Christians are a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. We can’t share God’s love silently or bring hope to a world that doesn’t know we are here. Music alone can’t change the world. We have to stand up ourselves and say, “A Change Gonna Come.”
– Chris Lambert, Director of Meals on Wheels Oklahoma City
