Any and all praise for Moonlight and Barry Jenkins is a slap in the face to any and all artwork made by Spike Lee. Now that that's out the way...

Whyte males are the only species who have never been systematically "oppressed". Period. Unless you are a whyte supremacist who believes all other colors of the rainbow are too bright.

I'm confused. And I am probably wrong about this, but couldn't you acquire most, if not all, the info about rights holders (i.e. who owns the master) via the U.S.Copyright Office? Further, wouldn't the permission (and negotiated terms) with the rights holder suffice? Why on earth would you need permission from the artist (unless s/he is the rights holder)?