Spike Lee pulled no punches in his latest film, BlacKkKlansman. I have been a fan of Lee’s since Do the Right Thing in 1989. Lee’s films are usually as provocative as they are entertaining and BlacKkKlansman is no exception. The film is based on a true story about the first Black police detective in Colorado Springs who infiltrates the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. If you had any doubt on where Lee stands on the current political environment, he makes no effort to be subtle. Former KKK Grand Wizard, David Duke, features prominently throughout the film constantly chanting his “America First” philosophy and speaking about the need to make America great again. There is even a conversation where a member of the KKK talks hopefully about someday electing a president who shares their racist ideology. The movie is generally predictable and sometimes feels forced, but it was entertaining and definitely makes you think. Because I run a large Hispanic business organization, some people expect me to be an expert on racism, but I’m not. I am actually a pretty positive guy, and I don’t like thinking about things that bring me down and the thought that racism still exists is depressing. That said, I also don’t want to be Pollyannish and it’s important to have a sense of history. The movie reminded me that racism is no joke and that we haven’t made as much progress as perhaps we once thought. I watched the film in La Jolla with a packed audience that was 100% White and who gave the film an ovation during the credits. On a side note, the Colorado College Black Student Union is featured several times in the film. Coincidently, I’ll be in Colorado Springs this week, helping my son move into Colorado College where he will begin his college career as a freshman.
“Boomerang” was a different kind of film. It was a movie about friendship, loyalty, and romance set in NYC at a medium-sized Black-led company that sold beauty products. Boomerang had an all-black cast and a plot that had nothing to do with being Black. While that was unheard of at the time, Murphy was such a big star that it didn’t seem like a big deal.
About a year ago, I was convinced by some of my closest friends that I should do a podcast. Today it seems like everyone has a podcast, and frankly, 99% of them aren’t very good. I wasn’t sure I could do much better, but I realized I do have some ideas that some people have found interesting in the past.
The decision to invite President Barack Obama to the NAHREP Policy Conference last Spring was a decision I made with the NAHREP National Board. Anytime we have a political figure of that stature at one of our events, we know it will stimulate a lot of buzz among our members and stakeholders.