'Sinners' ode to Chinese Americans' unheralded role in the deep South

Li Jun Li as Grace Cho had a pivotal role in 'Sinners.'

When we talk about American history, we usually get it in black and white ... well, mostly white. But Ryan Coogler’s motion picture Sinners is opening a conversation about the "cracks" in that history — specifically the Mississippi Delta Chinese, a community that lived in a tense, racial "in-between" for over a century.

As we head into the 2026 awards season, Sinners isn't just a win for representation; it’s a history-maker. The film has emerged as a major Oscar frontrunner following its record-breaking 16 Academy Award nominations and significant wins at key precursor ceremonies.

The film recently dominated the 2026 Actor Awards (formerly the SAG Awards) and the NAACP Image Awards, significantly shifting the momentum in its favor.

The film has shattered the all-time record for the most Oscar nominations for a single film with 16 nods, surpassing classics like Titanic and La La Land. For a "Black" movie — directed by a Black filmmaker with a predominantly Black cast with key roles by Asian Americans — to dominate the Academy in this way is a sea change for the industry.

History they didn't teach you: The "Middle Men"

The story of Grace and Bo Chow in Sinners is pulled from a rarely-discussed chapter of the post-Civil War South. After Reconstruction, Southern planters recruited Chinese laborers as a potential replacement for freed Black workers on cotton plantations.

When plantation life proved exploitative, these immigrants found a unique economic niche: grocery stores. Chinese grocers often lived in Black neighborhoods and served Black residents whom white merchants refused to serve.

WARNER BROTHERS

Hailee Steinfeld, who is part Filipino/Black costars in 'Sinners.'

In the film, the Chows operate two stores across from each other—one for Black patrons and one for white. This reflects the real-world segregation where Chinese families were "neither white enough to belong nor Black enough to be fully excluded".

FYI: The 98th Academy Awards will air live on ABC and stream on Hulu on Sunday, March 15 at 7 p.m. EDT (4 p.m. PDT).

Systemic Limbo: While they were often "middlemen" in trade, they faced their own fierce discrimination. They were excluded from white social organizations and even forced to attend separate schools or Black schools after the 1927 Supreme Court case Gong Lum v. Rice ruled that excluding Chinese children from white spaces was legal.

By including the Chows, Coogler didn't just add "diversity"; he showed the historical bonds between marginalized groups. In the film, Grace and the Moore family are described as "family, basically," illustrating the multiracial community building that happened in the heart of Jim Crow.

View from the edge: Breaking barriers 

The significance of Sinners earning 16 nominations cannot be overstated. It is the most-nominated film ever by a Black director and the first to sweep 14 wins at the Black Reel Awards.

Ryan Coogler achieved a rare "trifecta," earning personal nominations for Best Picture (as producer), Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.

It remains to be seen if the record-breaking haul signals more than just a trend that Hollywood is finally making room for Black-led films that are culturally specific and formally ambitious, rather than just focusing on "suffering." 

By including the Chow family, Coogler didn't just add "diversity;" he showed the historical bonds between marginalized groups. In the film, Grace and the Moore family are described as "family, basically," illustrating the multiracial community building that happened in the heart of Jim Crow.

With no AAPI-centric or themed film among the Oscar nominees, we’re rooting for Sinners not just because it’s a powerhouse film, but because it finally centers the complex, layered history of everyone who lived through — and resisted — the American racial hierarchy.

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