BlacKkKlansman, a film directed by Spike Lee, was released in 2018 following the white

supremist movements and marches seen in the United States in 2017. The storyline of the film follows

Officer Ron Swanson as he not only battles being a black man, but also being the only black officer on the

force. Swanson is assigned to an intelligence task of uncovering the illegal acts being committed by the

local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Swanson finds himself living a double life as he becomes a member of

the Klan to access the information that he needs to protect his people. This film highlights some of the

most dangerous aspects of racism as historically seen in the United States as well as some of the aspects

that can still be seen every day in this country. Although this film covers countless issues surrounding

racism, it can be seen to highlight the issues of both institutionalized racism and microaggressions.

One of the reasons for racism still being seen today is because the “historical patterns of racism

still adhere to (the) structures and behaviors” (Kailin, J.,1999) that can be seen in many major institutions

that run the United States. This is a term called “institutionalized racism” or sometimes “systemic

racism”. The basis of this is that the foundation of this country was built on sand when it comes to

equality among races. Many of these institutions were set in place during a time period when segregation

was normal and people of color were seen as a threat. Schools and our modern police force are some of

the best examples where this form of racism can be seen if one looks back to the history and the roots of

these two major institutions that have shaped and still shape and/or impact every individual in the United

States. Both of them were established for the advancement of the white population. Now, as the country

as a whole is working towards equality, these institutions claim steps for change are going in the right

direction. There are two issues here that are preventing equality from fully happening: first, the

foundation of these institutions are and always will be built on racism, and second, these institutions are

run “without making any individual power holder accountable for what is happening” (Basar, D.,2021)

when it comes to instances of racism. Aside from these institutions running on outdated ideals (whether or
not they will admit it), the people in them and who support them often refuse to see the problems that they

are causing because they believe they have already been solved. Once again, the issue is the foundation

and the history of the institutions. Julie Kailin says it best when she explains that “rarely are people

willing to face and counteract the contradictions between the so-called American creed of equality and the

American reality of inequality and relative White privilege and power.” (Kailin, J.,1999)

Although the film BlacKkKlansman is based on a true story that occurred in 1978, it is set in 1972

and follows the story of the systematic oppression of Black individuals in America. One of the many

forms of oppression that are shown is the oppression of Black individuals by the white police force. This

is an example of institutional racism given that the foundation of the United States police force includes

former slave catchers and groups set in place to protect the whites from the Blacks. Although these are no

longer what the force claims to be, these ideas can still be seen. “Since the time that Africans were

forcibly brought to America, they have been the victims of racist and discriminatory practices that have

been spurred and/or substantiated by those who create and enforce the law” (Chaney, C., & Robertson, R.

V., 2013). This film shows two aspects of this form of racism. First of all, the main officer, Ron Swanson,

is stated to be the first and only Black man on their police force. This shows how there was still

discrimination and inequality when it came to who was protecting and who was being protected. This

leads to the second aspect: because the institution was still only made up of whites, it further separated

them from the minority population and enforced the idea that the whites needed protection from the

Blacks. These aspects are specifically shown in two scenes. In one scene, Swanson is arrested because the

white officers don’t believe that this Black man could be an undercover officer. This shows how the

people in the institution were led to believe that it was to only be made up of white men. The second

aspect is shown in the scene where a car of Black individuals is pulled over for no specific reason and

then harassed by the officers. This shows how Blacks are being seen as a threat even when nothing they
are doing is actually illegal. These two scenes are perfect examples of systemic racism in institutions

following the roots of the institution itself.

Another major issue that this country faces is the never-ending bombardment of microaggressions

on people of color or those who are seen as “different”. Microaggressions are words, phrases, or gestures

directed toward a person of color that often go unnoticed by the perpetrator and “that whether intended or

not, convey racially charged meanings” (Skadegård, M. C., & Horst, C., 2021). Many of these comments

that are made are not meant to be harmful to the receiver but are built upon learned stereotypes that come

from racist backgrounds. These “microaggressions may be considered harmless by dominant individuals,

they are a form of everyday discrimination” (Williams, M. T., 2021). Because they are seen as harmless

by the people (often white individuals) that are voicing these comments, it is a growing issue.

Microaggressions toward people of color can be seen in many different contexts such as comments about

their intelligence, comments about their dress or hair, or comments about how they act. These comments

may seem innocent at first such as “I didn’t expect you to be so smart” or “I normally don’t see people

like you dress that way.” In reality, these kinds of comments are something they hear every day and are

comments that would not be made to them if they were not a person of color. These comments represent

the way that their people have been seen and treated throughout history and, intentional or not, reinforce

these stereotypes. Use of microaggressions belittles the victimized individual into a racial stereotype.

Through watching BlacKkKlansman, many microaggressions are committed not only by the

members of the Klan, but also by members of the police force. One of these microaggressions is key to

the plot of the film and is seen across several scenes. One of the main ways that Swanson finds his way

into the Klan is through taking phone calls with them. During these phone calls, he knows he must change

his voice to sound like a white man. Eventually, he ends up taking frequent calls with the “Grand Wizard'',

David Duke. On one of these calls, Swanson is told that David knows he is a white man because of how
he pronounces the word “are”. After David tells him this, he has a good laugh about how black people

pronounce it “incorrectly”. This is a form of microaggression because it is a comment that would not have

been made if race wasn’t involved. The viewer can see the hurt on Swanson’s face when this comment is

made. For people of color this is reality and not a joke to them. The way that they speak is most likely

something that has been commented on throughout their lives, and these comments add up. In this case,

unlike a classic microaggression, the dominant person, David Duke, most likely did say it to cause harm

which takes it to a whole different level.

Although the film BlacKkKlansman works to bring many historical issues of racism to light, it

also demonstrates to the viewer some of the forms of racism that can still be seen today. Two examples

that it shows are the concepts of institutional racism and microaggressions. Through this film, these

concepts can be better understood, and the pain that they cause can be seen.