America’s Love for Mediocre White Men and Hate for Black Bodies
‘Lovecraft Country’ reminded me just how much basic White men ascend off the backs of Blacks
Last Sunday, I watched the bittersweet finale of HBO’s spectacular series Lovecraft Country. What does anyone with a fine palette for television do after the richest African-American-rooted show to ever grace television concludes? Obviously, circle back to episode one and rewatch the entire season. What I love most about Lovecraft (aside from the villain in every episode being White supremacy) was how the writers wove African-American nonfiction into each plot. From the vile reaction to Black residents in Chicago’s Cicero suburb (1951) to the stench of Emmett Till’s funeral to the pillaging of Tulsa in 1921, we were constantly reminded and informed of the Black experience’s beautiful, bad, and ugly. It was during a third watch of episode 3 (“Holy Ghost”) when I slid down a particularly dark and gruesome rabbit hole. (For those tardy to Lovecraft’s greatness, I promise not to spoil)
As ep 3’s title suggests, its plot focuses on souls from the past. In the scene that sent me spiraling, Leti (played to perfection by Jurnee Smollett-Bell) informs Atticus (played by the new Mahershala, Jonathan Majors) that certain Black women went missing in Chicago and may or may…
