The date of Spike Lee's Dean's Tea appearance at Yale is important. Not only to remember his extensive body work, (He is still in his early fifties) but also in response to a question from the audience. As several questions began revolving around the conundrum of art-politics-race-prejudice, Shelton Jackson Lee remarked that in response to pressure and advice from those close to him, that because he was being portrayed as an Anti-Semite, due to the depiction of two characters in his film, "Mo Better Blues" he should consider writing an op ed in the NY Times. Actually Spike mentioned that it was presented to him as an economic forced choice, i.e if he did not write an op ed for publication in the NY Times stating that he was not an Anti-Semite then he would never work in Hollywood again! The link to his op ed is below, and as we remember that it is 2009, echoes, refrains, tics, scratches, bruises ,awakeningsand the Obama blues,continue to remind us that speaking truth to power and power to the people, while embedded in the living and breathing constitution requires daily resuscitation.
http://bit.ly/5j93R
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