Mississippi

'Sinners' Puts 'Truth on Screen' For The Mississippi Choctaws

Published

6 months ago

June 6, 2025

'Sinners' Puts 'Truth on Screen' For The Mississippi Choctaws

CHOCTAW, Miss. (AP) — It’s a small part in a big movie, but for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, their scene in “Sinners” is a huge deal.

The horror movie blockbuster, starring Michael B. Jordan as a gangster turned vampire slayer, paints a brief but impactful portrait of the tribe using Choctaw actors and cultural experts. For some, it’s the first time they’ve seen the Choctaw way of life accurately portrayed on the big screen.

In the scene, a posse of Choctaw, riding on horseback and in an old truck, arrives at a small farmhouse to warn the couple that lives there of coming danger. When the couple refuses their help, a Choctaw man wishes them luck in his native language before riding off.

“I’ve not seen another movie that has our language spoken correctly,” said Cynthia Massey, a cultural consultant for “Sinners.”

Massey runs the tribe’s Chahta Immi Cultural Center alongside Sherrill Nickey and department director Jay Wesley. All three were hired as cultural consultants to ensure a genuine depiction of the tribe in the film. Together, they sifted through archives, researching how their ancestors would have dressed, spoken and acted in the 1930s, when “Sinners” takes place.

“I was honored and humbled by the fact that they wanted a true representation,” said Wesley, who also acted in the movie.

Wesley connected the filmmakers to Choctaw actors and artifacts like the beaded sashes the Choctaw characters wear in the movie. Those sashes are now part of a “Sinners” display at the cultural center.

The movie’s introduction also features a short snippet of a Choctaw war chant, performed by Wesley’s daughter, Jaeden Wesley, who is a student at the University of California, Los Angeles. While recording, Jaeden Wesley said the filmmakers told her they wanted the Choctaw people to hear their music in the movie.

“We were catering to our own people, even in that short little second,” Jaeden Wesley said.

Shining a spotlight on often overlooked cultures and topics, like the Choctaw people, is part of the mission at Proximity Media, which produced “Sinners.” The company was founded by “Sinners” director Ryan Coogler, his wife and film producer, Zinzi Coogler, and producer Sev Ohanian.

“It was never a question for us that if we were going to portray the Mississippi Choctaw, we got to have the right people who can tell us, who can tell Ryan, what we’re not knowing, what we’re not thinking,” Ohanian said. “It was all because we’re trying to serve Ryan’s story of like putting truth on screen.”

Ohanian and his co-founders didn’t stop with Choctaw consultants; they enlisted a small army of experts who advised on the confluence of cultures mingling in the Mississippi Delta, where the film is set. The resulting cinematic world was so well received, community organizers penned an open letter, inviting Coogler and his fellow filmmakers to visit the Delta. Last week, the Cooglers, Ohanian and others took up the offer, attending a “Sinners” screening in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Clarksdale is where the film’s events unfold.

“I hope this encourages other filmmakers to find opportunities to be authentic in their storytelling and to look at this rich tapestry of culture that’s right here in America,” Ohanian said, noting the film industry has historically misrepresented nonwhite groups.

Wesley and his fellow consultants hope the film will cultivate curiosity in audiences, encourage them to learn more about Choctaw culture and visit the Chahta Immi Cultural Center.

“It’s important to be connected to this culture because this was here before the public was here,” Massey said. “Probably three-quarters of Mississippi was Choctaw land, and now we only have 350,000 acres.”

They say Choctaw participation in the film has cultivated a sense of pride among tribe members. Nickey hopes it will encourage a sort of cultural renaissance at a time when she says fewer and fewer Choctaw speak their native language.

“I know for a fact that there are a lot of kids out there that don’t even know how to speak our language. They only speak English,” Nickey said. “I hope they know it’s okay to speak our language.”

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Related Topics:ap Clarksdale Culture Featured film Indigenous Mississippi Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Sinners wire

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Mississippi

Why Jeff Lebby said Kamario Taylor is focus of Mississippi State 2026 roster rebuild

Published

16 hours ago

November 30, 2025

Press Room

Why Jeff Lebby said Kamario Taylor is focus of Mississippi State 2026 roster rebuild

STARKVILLE — Kamario Taylor stepped to his left in the pocket, then the Mississippi State football quarterback side-stepped to his right to make three Ole Miss defenders whiff on a sack.

He dashed up field with just one more defender to beat. Taylor juked him, scoring a 35-yard rushing touchdown.

That’s the player MSU coach Jeff Lebby said is the center of the 2026 roster rebuild on Nov. 28.

It was after Taylor made his first career start in the Egg Bowl. Although it didn’t lead to a win, the 38-19 loss for the Bulldogs (5-7, 1-7 SEC) to No. 6 Ole Miss (11-1, 10-1) showed a potential future star for MSU at quarterback.

“As we continue to build it the right way and build these pieces of the roster around (Taylor) that’s going to be really important,” Lebby said. “I think we got somebody that’s going to catch a snap every single down and is going to be an elite player in this conference and in America.

“So building it the right way around him, creating stability for him will be huge. We’ve got to go get the pieces up front, offensively, and that will be a huge point of emphasis as we ready for the portal piece of it.”

Evaluating Kamario Taylor’s first Mississippi State start

The Egg Bowl wasn’t the first extended playing time this season for Taylor, a four-star freshman from Noxubee County.

He replaced starter Blake Shapen twice in the final month of the season because of injuries. Taylor played in all but two games, mainly for his running ability.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Taylor led MSU to a 97-yard opening drive touchdown against Ole Miss. He scored on a 22-yard rushing touchdown. The offense struggled after that though, scoring six points until Taylor’s 35-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“I feel like I could’ve executed a lot better,” Taylor said. “We left some stuff on the field. I wish I could get some plays back. Going into this, Coach Lebby made sure I was confident and Blake was very supportive of me, helping me learn like where they are going and what they’re trying to do to try to mess with me. He was very supportive, so I went into the game very confident.”

Taylor completed 15 of 31 passes for 178 yards and one interception on a pass that was tipped twice, one play after Taylor ran for a 39-yard gain. He rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns, the first MSU quarterback since Garrett Schrader in 2019 to have over 100 rushing yards in a game.

It wasn’t perfect, as demonstrated by his completion percentage below 50%. Taylor will have to keep improving his accuracy. But the play-making ability was evident as he eluded tackles. The debut start was enough to give hope for Mississippi State in 2026.

“Moving forward, we are going to do some special things at Davis Wade,” Taylor said. “We trust Coach Lebby 100%. We know he’s going to put us in the right positions, so we just got to execute.”

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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Mississippi

The good, bad and ugly of Mississippi State football’s 2025 season

Published

1 day ago

November 29, 2025

Press Room

The good, bad and ugly of Mississippi State football’s 2025 season

Mississippi State’s 38-19 loss to No. 7 Ole Miss in Friday’s Egg Bowl didn’t completely end its season.

At 5-7, if there aren’t enough six-win teams to fill out the schedule of bowl games, the Bulldogs could be invited to a bowl game.

However, it’s not very likely to happen and Friday is most likely the end of Mississippi State’s 2025 season.

It was a disappointing season, but there were some good things that should give the Bulldogs, and their fans hope for an even better 2026 season.

Before we get too far into offseason storylines, let’s take a look back at the season and identify the good, bad and ugly things from Mississippi State’s season.

Big Passing Plays

Brenen Thompson and Anthony Evans III were two of the best transfer portal additions the Bulldogs made last offseason. A highlight reel play was always a possibility whenever they touched the ball.

Thompson was especially great. He had a team-high six touchdown receptions and 948 receiving yards. Most of this touchdown catches came on gains of at least 20 yards.

The explosive passing game was fun to see when it was working and showed some potential for what a Jeff Lebby offense can look like in Starkville.

Kamario Taylor

The true freshman quarterback is going to be main source of hope for Mississippi State fans. He was used sparingly until the Egg Bowl when he made his first start.

Against the Rebels, Taylor ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns, while also completing 15-of-31 passes for 178 yards and an interception (that wasn’t really his fault).

Taylor’s the highest-rated high school quarterback to ever sign with Mississippi State and he showed flashes of greatness.

Offensive line play

One of the biggest reasons the Bulldogs won only two games was the play of its offensive line. They had rushers averaging just 3.9 yards per carry and gave up 38 sacks.

Mississippi State’s 2025 offensive line gave up 40 sacks.

Injuries certainly played a role in the season. Blake Steen played just one game and Albert Reese IV missed multiple games.

But it’s concerning how the offensive line didn’t improve from last season despite bringing in a new offensive line coach.

It should’ve been a red flag when Mississippi State signed several offensive lineman after spring practices. Why wasn’t the need identified during the winter transfer portal window?

Run defense and pass rush

Opponents averaged nearly 190 rushing yards a game against Mississippi State’s defense. That’s a slight improvement on last season that had an average north of 200.

But anyone that saw the Bulldogs’ defense in the last few weeks saw teams run the ball at-will. Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy ran for 300 yards.

As for the pass rush, consider this: Will Whitson played a game and a half and finished second on the team in sacks, just a half sack behind the leader Nic Mitchell.

Mississippi State recorded 20 sacks this season, which doubled last season’s total.

But the improvements weren’t enough and serious, major changes need to be made on the defensive side.

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Mississippi

Why Jeff Lebby turned to Kamario Taylor, benched Blake Shapen for Egg Bowl

Published

2 days ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

Why Jeff Lebby turned to Kamario Taylor, benched Blake Shapen for Egg Bowl

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Jeff Lebby said he thought hard about the team’s quarterback situation the day after its 49-27 loss to Missouri on Nov. 15.

Then he made the decision that many fans had been wanting. He benched quarterback Blake Shapen for freshman Kamario Taylor.

The Bulldogs kept the decision under wraps until Taylor trotted onto the field as the starter in the 2025 Egg Bowl. It was his first career start as MSU (5-7, 1-7 SEC) lost 38-19 to No. 6 Ole Miss (11-1, 7-1) at Davis Wade Stadium on Nov. 28.

Shapen had been Mississippi State’s quarterback in all of the other games.

“Really, really hard decision for me,” Lebby said. “As we got back from Missouri, thought about it nonstop on Sunday. For me, as hard as it was to make, the results hadn’t been what we needed. For us, I felt like things had not been great for us up front. Who’s the guy that has the ability to make a couple of plays when things aren’t perfect?

“(Taylor) had done some good things, and I felt like it was the right time. For me, it was incredibly hard because of my love for Blake, his toughness and how he has led and continued to be exactly who he’s supposed to be. For me, really hard, but beginning of last week we made that decision.”

Taylor, a former four-star recruit from Noxubee County, led MSU on an opening-drive touchdown, but the offense was inconsistent for the rest of the game until a second touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Taylor completed 15 of 31 pass attempts for 178 yards and one interception that tipped off the hands of two players. Where he was most impactful though was as a runner with 173 yards and two touchdowns.

“I was kind of nervous when he announced it,” Taylor said. “He didn’t announce it to the whole team, but he just told me. He asked me if I was nervous, and I told him nah, I wasn’t. But like, I was nervous.

“I knew that God gave me this ability to go showcase the things he allows me to do. I was pretty confident, but I was nervous, especially playing in a big game like that.”

How Blake Shapen handled getting benched for Kamario Taylor

Shapen not playing in the Egg Bowl meant the graduate senior’s career ended with a benching.

He played four seasons at Baylor before transferring to MSU in 2024. Shapen was the starter last season too, until suffering a season-ending fractured shoulder blade in Week 4.

“I’m sure really hard,” Lebby said. “Incredibly hard. Blake’s poured a lot into this and he’s been an unbelievably consistent person inside our building for two years. And he’s been through a lot.

“For him not to have the ability to go do it today is hard for him. And it’s hard for me because of who he’s been, his toughness and how he has absolutely laid it on the line for me and this university. It’s really hard for him and hate that this was the end for him.”

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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