Apparently, Cool C was given a stay of execution in February until some post-conviction litigation is resolved. This means that there’s still time to fight his execution!!!!!!!!!!!!

As many of you know, Philadelphia rapper Cool C is set to be executed today for the murder of police officer Lauretha Vaird. The rapper, known for the hit “Glamorous Life,” was designated as the shooter (his partner in crime and rhyme, Steady B, was given a life sentence for being an accomplice) in a botched January 1996 bank robbery and sentenced to die in October 1996.
This marks a very sad day for the hip-hop community, as Cool C will be the first rapper to fall victim to the death penalty. Like many poor Black stars who make it “big” but accumulate more fame than fortune, Cool C struggled to sustain his fast lifestyle after music opportunities faded away. Given his lack of education, the absence of mentoring, as well as his terrible recording contract, Cool C ended up back on the streets with limited options. This isn’t to justify his choices –clearly bank robbery and murder aren’t morally sound or pragmatically wise decisions– but to help explain why so many of us end up down this path. John Forte (former Refugee Camp Allstar given 14 years for 15 pounds of liquid cocaine. I just received a letter from him two days ago and he maintains his innocence and is in great spirits.), Maurice Claurett (star Ohio State tailback turned failed NFL prospect recently charged with robbery), and Shyheim the Rugged Child (Wu-Tang protege who recently came home from an armed robbery bid) are just a few of countless young, Black, and gifted men who get seduced by stardom but ultimately find it illusive.

This is also a sad day for the larger American society, as another human life is being lost due to the barbaric death penalty. I know that it’s difficult to muster the same type of indignation for Cool C (who is admittedly and undoubtedly guilty) that we did for Tookie Williams (RIP), but we must look beyond individual guilt or innocence. The fact is, countless human lives (mostly black and latino) are being lost due to a death penalty that doesn’t reduce or deter crime and, most imporant, is applied despite the abusrdly high margin of error.

I am truly sad for the family of Officer Vaird (RIP). But I am equally sad for the life that we are about to lose due to blood lust and reactionary politics.

So tonight is the night that the FX network unveils its much-hyped television show about a Black and White family that swap identities. I don’t have much to say about the show until I see it (expect a weekly response to the show starting tomorrow) but I do expect it to be much more interesting than its critics suggest. I am, however, skeptical of how a Black family can “become White.” In addition to ignoring the complexity of racial identity and performance, I just can’t imagine, on an aesthetic level, how anyone will buy that these Black people are actually white. Maybe the commercial doesn’t do it justice but the White family seems a lot more believable than the Black one. More importantly, I’m worried about how the producers and narrators (if there are any) will make use of the show’s fecund moments in order to challenge particular assumptions and beliefs about the racial world… Predictions?

Unfortunately, this has been a rough few weeks for Black geniuses, as yet another one of our great ones has joined the ancestors.  Gordon Parks, photographer, director, and writer died yesterday. Unfortunately, not enough people know and appreciate his amazing contributions to African Americans and American public life more broadly. In addition to directing “The Learning Tree” (the first major studio film directed by a Black person) and “Shaft,” (the classic blaxploitation film that marked a watershed moment in black cinema), Parks was a photographer for Life magazine from 1948 to 1968. During this time, Parks captured various aspects of Black life with a level of dignity and beauty that was previously unseen in mainstream circles. I was glad to see his work referenced in “Love Jones” and hope that more people begin to give him the respect and reverence that he deserves.

On Saturday, my brother, mother, and I went to see Madea’s Family Reunion, Tyler Perry’s latest film. I’ll do my best not to ruin the movie for those who haven’t seen it.

For those who aren’t familiar with Perry, he is the modern king of the “chitlin’ circuit” gospel plays that tour the country (You remember the “Mama, Somebody Done Stole My Cornbread”-type plays that would bring church buses from all over the country). Each of his Perry’s features Madea, the sage/mammy/comedian/streetfighter played by Tyler himself. Madea’s Family Reunion, an adaptation of his stage play by the same name, is the follow-up to Perry’s highly successful big screen debut, Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

In many ways, this film could have been called “Diary of a Mad Black Woman: The Remix.” The film shared many of the same features as the first: desperately helpless women who needed to be saved from their evil rich husbands, the juxtaposition of the evil guy to the “good” working class man (this time around, one sister had the rich bastard and the other had the working class savior), not-so-subtle “message” moments (think “Don’t Be a Menace to South Central…?), strikingly uncomplex characters (good people were so good that I nearly wanted to gag and the bad guys were like Ike Turner on steroids), and a questionable stance on violence (Madea whoops adults’ and kids’ asses first and rarely asks questions later).

(Tangent: What the HELL was Henry Simmons doing in the film? I understand that Perry wanted eye candy for his female (and male) audience and I’m not mad at him since men have been doing it forever. But damn, could they have at least pretended to give him a real character instead of having him flex his muscles while fixing the lawn mower?.)

Although my friend swears it’s a coincidence, I found it striking that the two films’ evil husbands (Steve Harris and Blair Underwood) were dark-skinned and the
good guys (Shamar Moore and Boris Kudjoe) were light-skinned. My recollection is that the stage plays aren’t any different. I’ll have to double check before I issue my final verdict on that.

That said, I found the movie to be entertaining and inspiring in many ways. Like a good sermon, Family Reunion took me on an emotional ride that forced me to reflect and imagine myself and the world differently and better. Even the sometimes-transparent plot and questionable gender politics forced me to reconsider who I wanted to be in ways that I normally don’t while in the movie theater.

While it’s likely that this movie won’t be tangled in next year’s Oscar controversy, Perry has managed to target an audience otherwise ignored by Hollywood. It warmed my heart to see a room full of church-going Black women (especially my momma) smiling, laughing, and cosigning with Madea’s pearls of wisdom (I think the biggest “MMMHMM”s and “That’s Right”s came during the ‘Al Green’ scene), and Perry’s cinematic promises that our wounds can heal and our lives and relationships can be more fulfilling than we ever imagined.