I knew that Hollywood could produce a black movie about criminals that was not stereotypical, insulting and made you shudder at the 21st century minstrel show images on the screen.
Next Day Air is funny, smart, and not one second of its frame is insulting, even though the main characters rob drug dealers for a living. They actually steal from their cousin. Yet, these are not one dimensional jigaboos, but multi-faceted human beings. One of the most hilarious moments in the movie is when one of the characters sits on a commode, prasing God for an unexpected delivery of 10 kilos of cocaine.
Now that Hollywood has shown it can handle the drug culture, how about it take a shot at a romantic comedy or a serious drama, with substantive themes. And the movie cannot have one preacher, pimp, barber shot chatter or feature Tyler Perry in a starring role. Just some beautiful brown people portraying love and pain in-the-black.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
An American Hero
"The Master of Life has appointed this place for us
to light our fires, and here we shall remain"
-Tecumseh (Shawnee)
PBS has been airing over the last several weeks on American Experience an extraordinary story of Native Americans systematic decimation by European migration into the heartland of North America. Rather than being a depressing story of the total destruction of a people and its culture, it is just the opposite. The defining moment of our humanity is how we respond to the overwhelming threat to our existence, even when fate has cast an end to that very existence.
The story of Tecumseh and his creation of a Pan-Native American Movement to stem European aggression is one of the most heroic and moving stories in American history. I urge you to watch the entire series at PBS.Org, however, the story of Tecumseh is required television at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/the_films/episode_2_trailer
to light our fires, and here we shall remain"
-Tecumseh (Shawnee)
PBS has been airing over the last several weeks on American Experience an extraordinary story of Native Americans systematic decimation by European migration into the heartland of North America. Rather than being a depressing story of the total destruction of a people and its culture, it is just the opposite. The defining moment of our humanity is how we respond to the overwhelming threat to our existence, even when fate has cast an end to that very existence.
The story of Tecumseh and his creation of a Pan-Native American Movement to stem European aggression is one of the most heroic and moving stories in American history. I urge you to watch the entire series at PBS.Org, however, the story of Tecumseh is required television at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/the_films/episode_2_trailer
Monday, April 27, 2009
What Of The Other Pandemic?
While we fear a pandemic of a deadly virus coming out of Mexico. There is a pandemic within our nation that continues to take the lives of young African-American men. A pandemic of violence. I sat with two young men today, both accused of killing another black man.
One is a sixteen year-old –who is in the 6th grade- and accused of killing a 15 year-old neighbor. Police allege that he stood in a breezeway along with his cousin and gunned down the young man to settle a beef. Police further allege that the young man’s cousin was shooting a “chopper” or AK-47. My client is accused of shooting an automatic weapon. Bullets struck the victim in the buttocks and hand. He died on the scene.
The other young man shot two teenagers wearing ski masks, who had come to his front door to kill him. Again over some beef. One of the victims was seriously wounded and is not expected to live.
I feel numb. "Makes you wanna holler and throw up both your hands. This ain’t living, nah, this ain’t living."
One is a sixteen year-old –who is in the 6th grade- and accused of killing a 15 year-old neighbor. Police allege that he stood in a breezeway along with his cousin and gunned down the young man to settle a beef. Police further allege that the young man’s cousin was shooting a “chopper” or AK-47. My client is accused of shooting an automatic weapon. Bullets struck the victim in the buttocks and hand. He died on the scene.
The other young man shot two teenagers wearing ski masks, who had come to his front door to kill him. Again over some beef. One of the victims was seriously wounded and is not expected to live.
I feel numb. "Makes you wanna holler and throw up both your hands. This ain’t living, nah, this ain’t living."
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