Ronald Ray Strickland

As a child of Jamaican & Barbadian parents, the role models we had were primarily in our home, family, history, & culture. It wasn’t often we could look at media & see a portrayal that was as full and also not stereotypical. Especially a Jamaican figure. Delroy Lindo’s care and intentionality for the character is felt to this day as West Indian Archie is still his most memorable role. I’ll never forget West Indian Archie taking Malcolm to get his first double breasted suit, making sure it sat well on his body, my parents did the same because our presentation is so important to heritage. Or Archie teaching Malcolm how to carry his gun in that same suit and to not write anything down, to use his memory. West Indian Archie was already a legend in Malcolm’s eyes based off of his autobiography but Delroy brought him to life. As a West Indian cinephile, I thank him dearly for it.

As we discuss Delroy Lindo’s masterful performance in #Sinners, I can’t help but think about when I was introduced to Jamaica’s finest as West Indian Archie in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X. Delroy portrayed his debonair character with a sense a realism many Caribbeans can relate to. Witty, charming, & achievers. Many of the geniuses & pillars of our communities, striving and hustling as best as we can, often still suffocated by oppression and the systems at be.