Sinners, Community & Our Mission at The Gathering Spot

A lot of ink has rightfully already been spilled about Sinners, so I was hesitant to add to the discourse. I’ll be brief.

Watching Sinners captured and reaffirmed my belief in our mission at The Gathering Spot in a way I don’t think I’ve ever seen represented in film. If you know us, you know TGS has always been more than a space. It’s our juke joint—a place where we can work, learn, grow, and connect. It comes with all the challenges of the world outside, but it’s ours. And that sense of ownership—of community—is exactly what Sinners puts into sharp focus.

Like many of you, I thought the movie was phenomenal. Ryan Coogler continues to cement his place as part of the modern vanguard. There are layers to this film that will inspire entire college courses. But the one thread I want to pull is what Sinners teaches us about community.

Sinners shows us that community isn’t just a bonus—it’s essential for survival. In a world full of life’s vampires—real and metaphorical—we need each other. Not in some abstract, theoretical way. We need to be in intentional relationship. Our ancestors knew that survival meant moving as a unit. Being in community was a matter of life and death.

That lesson hasn’t changed.

Lately, I’ve seen some leaders drift from this sacred responsibility. There’s a lot of language out there suggesting we can go it alone. That we don’t owe anything to one another. But we do. We owe each other everything. That’s the heart of any real progress.

And there are a lot of vampires on the prowl right now. An anti-DEI movement that increasingly feels like a thinly veiled attempt to erase cultural celebration and progress of any kind. A tough job market. Rising prices. Widespread uncertainty. If you think this is the moment to go it solo, you’re mistaken.

I’ve also seen something else that concerns me—attacks dressed up as accountability. Let’s be clear: accountability and community are not mutually exclusive. Real accountability is rooted in care, trust, and proximity. When critique is weaponized without context or compassion, it’s not accountability—it’s ego. And that only drives us further apart.

This is exactly why The Gathering Spot exists. We didn’t build it to be exclusive for the sake of it. We built it to be a place where we could come together with purpose. Moments like these are when we live out the mission in real time. This is a community where we don’t just network—we nurture. Where culture isn’t something we consume, it’s something we contribute to and build together.

I’m not writing this as a sales pitch. But if this resonates with you—if you believe in community the way we do—I welcome you to join this effort. We need your perspective, whether you’re just getting started or carrying stories the rest of us can learn from.

Sinners reminded me—in a new way—what’s at stake. Community is sacred, and now more than ever, we have to be intentional about choosing to be with one another.