For many people living in the US, the Fourth of July is a day when it is traditional to barbecue and celebrate with friends and family. Today marks the signing of the document that laid the foundation of the very principles our great nation has governed by for 249 years, the Declaration of Independence. This document promised liberty and the pursuit of happiness as an inalienable right for all of those living within its domain. However, throughout history, these promises for Black Americans have been an uphill battle. For many in the Black American community, this holiday is complex, yet we celebrate with the same national pride as any American would. It brings a difficult question: What happens when a constitutional promise is an asset for some and a compounding debt for others?
Filmmaker Osatos Dixon's new documentary Wait Until Tomorrow, which premiered at the 2025 American Black Film Festival, has proven to be more than just a story. But a forensic audit of the debt owed to the Black community. Dixon, a former creative executive at McKinsey & Company, is uniquely suited to explore this concept. With his camera, he is symbolically acting as an analyst, calculating the generational cost of economic inequality in our country. A country that has always dangled the promise of equality and mobility to Black Americans, just "not right now."
The principal, as it relates to debt, is the initial amount of money or asset lent before any interest; it is the core amount needing to be repaid. The Principle owed to Black Americans was established when the Declaration of Independence was signed. The moment the ink dried on those signatures the contract of liberty for some and bondage for others was put into motion. Wait Until Tomorrow directly taps into the frustration of Black Americans looking for upward mobility in a nation fundamentally designed to keep them bandaged. The name of the title itself is a modern nod to Dr.Martin Luther King Jr's Letter From Birmingham Jail. The title also draws a parallel to the impatience Fredrick Douglass felt in 1852 when he gave his powerful speech " What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"
For Osato, the inspiration for the film was also from a place of visual intrigue. "I was definitely inspired by the Black and white photos of the Civil Rights movement like Dr. King sitting in his jail cell and renowned photographer Eli Reed." Said Dixon. The striking Black and white imagery coupled with the intimate setting inside people's homes was intentional and gave audiences access to stories that are deeply personal yet very much American. Historical impatience of the Black American community is the driving force behind the film. This impatience signifies that the waiting for economic equality for Black Americans doesn't stop the interest; it inflates the total amount due to the community as a whole. For Dixon, the film aims to tell "hard truths and long histories, and the necessary work ahead."
Dixon's film travels from cities like Atlanta to Detroit, Houston, and D.C. to document the cost of America's broken promises. Throughout the filming process his own definition of the word "opportunity" has shifted. "Opportunity...is a living word," Dixon explains. "It's a bridge to something better either in the immediate or long term." "This film documents the stability of the bridge for different Black Americans."
The Black American experience is diverse as it is complex, Wait Until Tomorrow artistically highlights this while pushing back on any monolithic views of the Black community. For instance, the film highlights Antonio in Detroit who is a fifth-generation Black business owner whose great-great-great-grandfather escaped slavery to start the business Antonio still runs today. Then there is Armand, a lawyer who was once on food stamps while in grad school after finding out he and his wife were expecting a child. Lastly, Pauline, detailed how reflecting on her mother and grandmother picking cotton drove her to create better opportunities for her sons.
Each one of these stores is entered into the metaphorical ledger as itemized debt. Dixon gracefully captures the dignity of his subjects while bringing forth the uncomfortable truth of the forfeiture of generational wealth and systematic penalties on housing and education. "I felt a responsibility to contribute to the conversation of photographing Black America in this way" he notes.
Wait Until Tomorrow is so effective due to Dixon's methodology and intentional research. A major contribution to the film was a McKinsey report on the economic state of Black America, but he insists it is not a data-driven film. ""The data I helped me sharpen the story, but the soul of the film has always been human." The experiences documented in the film only reinforce the polarizing data represented in the report.
As a Fulbright Fellow in Zimbabwe, Dixon served as the cinematographer on the Academy Award-winning documentary Music by Prudence, directed by Roger Ross Williams. Through that experience a key lesson was taught "Be unafraid and indefatigable...in your determination to capture moments." The Filmmaker learned the willingness to listen with intent to understand the nuances of the stories being told. All of those lessons were brought to the ethos of this film, which took Dixon and his team three years to complete.
Osato's decision to film in black-and-white was a strategic one made to focus the viewers' minds on the story and not solely on the visuals, focus the viewers' mind on the story and not solely on the visual. "Contrast is a big thing within black and white photography," Dixon says. "You don't get much more of a contrast than that. And so your eyes start to see the contrast as you're hearing about the contrast of experiences in America."
After any audit action is suggested and should be taken. When asked what question he wants audiences to leave with after seeing the film Osato replied "I wouldn't say that there's a single question, but there are questions," he clarifies. "There will be different questions for different people." Although his answer may not be clear on the surface his actions give the true answer. His goal is to force people to do what he has done for three years: listen.
An expert Dixon brought into the film, Shelley Stewart of McKinsey, suggests that the racial gaps in mobility, education, and wealth that people choose to believe our clothes are in fact still wide open. "My hope is that the film was able to provide an experience for the audience members to listen and understand," Dixon says.
As we celebrate this Fourth of July, Dixon's film Wait Until Tomorrow demands that we audit our own ledger and focus on our debts. True patriotism is not defined by flag, colors or fireworks but in the work that is necessary to settle an account that is in default. This film argues that the cost of waiting for equity in this country for black Americans has compounded for far too long and it's time for America to pay her debts. This is not about whether America can afford to do so but whether we can afford not to.