Filmmaker Antonio Tarrell, a Bruce, Miss., native, will screen and discuss his film, “(I’m Not) Your Negroni,” at the Powerhouse tonight at 8.pm. Admission to the screening is free, but $10 donations are suggested.
The award-winning 2024 film focuses on the story of Joseph “Joe” Stinchcomb and the issues that arose when he was a bartender at Saint Leo’s on the Square. In 2018, Stinchcomb created a drink menu dedicated to Black History Month that stirred up controversy in Oxford.
“I wanted people of color to feel as though they could come into a historically Black space and see someone who looks like them and feel as though they belong there. That was one reason behind it, and I wanted to share Black history with everyone,” Stinchcomb said.
This menu featured drinks such as Blood on the Leaves and I’m Not Your Negroni. Stinchcomb wanted to start a conversation in a town where, just a few years before, former University of Mississippi students pleaded guilty to hanging a noose around the campus statue of James Meredith, the first Black student to attend the university.
“White folks didn’t want their past sins thrown in their face, and Black folks didn’t want old scars opened up talking about racism in our community,” Stinchcomb said. “Black folks have been talking about this for years. We just need white folks to start listening.”
“(I’m Not) Your Negroni” is a portmanteau based on the classic cocktail called the negroni and the 2016 documentary “I am Not Your Negro,” which is based on the notes of author James Baldwin on race in America and his relationships with various prominent civil rights workers.
Stinchcomb and Tarrell hope this documentary inspires Oxford to reflect.
“While the film highlights the town’s beauty, it does not shy away from confronting its complex history and ongoing challenges,” Tarrell said.
While the drink menu was taken down, as announced in a Feb. 11, 2018, apology Facebook post from Saint Leo’s restaurant, Stinchcomb’s story appeared in several news stories.
“After reading some articles about it, I’m very inclined to view the film. I find it interesting that Snitchcomb is using a bar menu as the framing device for race relations,” Caleb Jeans, a sophomore political science major from Olive Branch, Miss., said.
Junior accounting major Taylor Owens, from Olive Branch, mirrored Jeans’ intrigue.
“I would definitely be interested in seeing the film and better understanding the thought process behind the menu Joe crafted and also to see how it affected people in real time, knowing the history Oxford has,” Owens said.
The film has been gaining traction across the country in the short time that it has been out.
“Over the past year, we’ve gained a lot of momentum, screening from L.A. to D.C. and earning several awards in the short documentary category,” Tarrell said. ”… we plan to release the film on our social platforms by March.”
After the documentary was made, Stinchcomb shifted from the role of bartender to entrepreneur. He owns Bar Muse, an intimate cocktail bar nestled inside the Lyric.
“Being a Black business owner has been amazing. It feels great being able to say you own a small business in Oxford, Miss. Some of the experiences have shaped the way I see the world and the way I bartend, most definitely,” Stinchcomb said.
With this screening, Tarrell hopes that the story takes a foothold in Oxford and encourages widespread movement towards progress.
“At its core, I hope this film ignites difficult yet necessary conversations — not just in Oxford, but far beyond,” Tarrell said. “Oxford is a remarkable community with the capacity for meaningful growth, but true progress requires an honest reckoning with its past. Only by acknowledging and confronting its history can the town and the people within it move toward lasting change.”
