Did Forest Whitaker Just Rally for ‘Recompense’ for Racial Healing In America?

The path to racial healing begins with acceptance of one’s mistakes and recompense, according to Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker.

Whitaker sat down to discuss his latest film “Burden,” a 90’s-set drama about a Klansman seeking redemption for his racist ways. The movie, a contender at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, has Whitaker playing a preacher who takes interest in reforming a Ku Klux Klan disciple named Mike Burden.

“The first thing that has to happen is an acknowledgment of what’s going on and what’s happening,” he told The Wrap. “And I think this film is making that acknowledgement… and then you can move into some form of recompense. Then you hopefully move into some form of healing that requires some acceptance. And then you have to move and continue to find some form of love.”

“There needs to be some sort of repentance from that, whether a person can be paid back for the problems that they’ve created, in a way,” he added.

Watch the rest of his commentary above.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top