Ryan Coogler is no slouch when ensuring that Black culture is represented in his films. "Sinners" is just the most recent example. He drops nods to all things Black, even when we may not realize it.
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, the film shows a vintage recreation of a 1915 touring car. What's so special about that?
Born into slavery, which he later escaped, Charles Richard Patterson founded the C.R. Patterson & Son Company in the late 1800s in Greenfield, Ohio. He was respected for his attention to detail and high-quality production. His rides were so superior and in demand that the company began batch production to meet the high demand for the nation's only Black-owned carriage company.
C.R. Patterson & Sons continued even after his passing in 1910. Seeing the demand for automation, his sons began the transition to automobiles. The Patterson-Greenfield was born in the fall of 1915 and sold like crazy through 1918. The company then made the pivot to larger-scale vehicles like buses. By 1939, a victim of the Great Depression, the company closed its doors.
Paying homage to Patterson's work, even briefly, clarified the whitewashed narrative and highlighted Black ingenuity. At a time when Black innovation was routinely erased, Patterson built a business grounded in autonomy, excellence, and resilience. Reclaiming that brilliance widens the road forward for the Black imagination to drive into a limitless future.