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Respectability Politics Can Get in the Way of a Good Story
The best black art shows our full humanity
I got a yarn for you.
For three decades, a particular crime family has controlled most of the organized crime on the East Coast of the US. While they have had some scrapes with the law, they are largely untouched. One day, an attempt is made on the life of the patriarch of the family, who just wishes to retire in peace. As he recovers, he leaves his crime empire to his sons, who swear revenge. They systematically wipe out all the other crime families.
Now. Imagine the family being African American.
If you were paying attention, you’ll realize I just described The Godfather, one of the greatest American movies of all time. But how would you feel if, instead of an Italian-American family in the early 20th century, the Corleones were an African American family, living in New Orleans or Atlanta, in 2018? Would you watch a family of crack dealers and street hustlers running the Southern ghetto? How about if they murder cops? Intimidate witnesses? Abuse women? Stab an elderly man in his wheelchair? All of those things happened in the Godfather series. Most of us will agree that the Godfather series is one hell of a story (at least the first two).