While Kendrick Lamar’s hit songs “Not Like Us” and “luther” may be climbing the charts following his epic 2025 Super Bowl halftime show performance, there’s one bar that many are still puzzled by. Thankfully we—and Spike Lee—have an answer for you.
As you may very well remember, when Lamar was drumming up to finally perform “NLU,” he uttered the phrase: “it’s a cultural divide, I’ma get it on the floor. 40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music. They tried to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence.”
While many took the last part to be a shot towards Drake, others were confused by the mention of 40 acres and mule. But as mostly all Black people already know, the phrase of “40 acres and a mule” comes from the Special Field Orders given by Union General William T. Sherman during the Civil War. The order would have alotted for 400,000 acres of Confederate land to be broken up to give formerly enslaved freed Black families 40 acres a piece so that they could farm and build a livelihood of their own.
Contrary to popular belief, no mules were promised in the original order, though some families were given mules from the army—but not all of them according to History.com. Hence the moniker “40 acres and a mule.” The land that would have been divided up would have been “a strip of coastline stretching from Charleston, South Carolina to the St. John’s River in Florida, including Georgia’s Sea Islands and the mainland 30 miles in from the coast.”
However, after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, the incoming president—namely, Andrew Jackson—rescinded the order and gave the Confederate back the land. That broken promise the government made served as yet another way to further disenfranchise Black folks and hinder their desire for upward mobility, economic stability and true autonomy.
Fast forward some hundreds of years, when director Spike Lee decided to create his ow production company in 1979, he opted for naming it 40 Acres And A Mule to pay homage to the complicated history. Along the way and as his filmography grew, actor Samuel L. Jackson—who also appeared alongside Lamar during his Super Bowl performance—was one of Lee’s frequent collaborators and had roles in several of his films like “Jungle Fever,” “Do the Right Thing” and “Chi-raq.” At the big game on Sunday, Jackson’s role as the performance narrator was similar to the ones he played in Lee’s films, specifically “DTRT” and “Chi-raq.”
Subsequently, after seeing Jackson and hearing Lamar shoutout “40 Acres,” Lee took to Instagram to thank both of the gentlemen and drop a little knowledge for his fans and followers.
“I Want To Thank My Brother Kendrick For The 40 Acres And A Mule Shoutout Which Has Been The Name Of My Production Company Since NYU Grad Film School,” he began. “And I Want To Send A Special Shoutout To My Morehouse Brother Samuel Jackson Who Started This Super Bowl Halftime Extravaganza As Uncle Sam And You Might’ve Seen Him As Dolmedes In CHI-RAQ.”
He contined:
“The Term 40 Acres And A Mule Was A Proposal For Reparations To Former Enslaved African-Americans In The Aftermath Of The Civil War. The Proposal Was Intended To Provide Land And Resources To Provide Land And Resources To Help Free People Achieve Economic Independence. This Promise Was Ultimately Broken. HAPPY BLACK HIS-HERSTORY”
Jackson also took to social media to express his gratitude, writing in a comment: “I was Honored to be asked by Kendrick & his team to participate in! It filled me up when I watched rehearsal & realized I was about to be in yet another historic game changing moment!! My cup overflows with the opportunities God has presented to for me to be up close & personally touch & use my voice & presence as an agent of change! It’s an honor & obligation I embrace fully. Nothing is better than repping us as the beacon of truth!!”