BOYCOTT THIS MOVIE!!! EMAIL THIS TO YOUR ENTIRE LIST:
It’s so natural for hollywood to assume that every Hero is a White man.
by DJ Paradise Gray
original movie-August 16 2006
Hollywood has always changed facts and edited history. From Charlton Heston
as Moses and Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. They are only continuing their
tradition of White-washing our history. If they were able to portray Imhotep
(The Mummy and The Mummy Returns who was one of the greatest black Heroes of
all times and Jesus Christ as white without a single peep from our
community, why should this even matter to them in the least?
Situations like this will continue and we as Black people (or whatever you
want to consider yourself) will deserve what we get, unless we are willing
to stand up against tyranny and white supremacy.
Demand that this movie be taken out of theatures. Boycott this movie like
they attempted to boycott “Barbershop” show some community outrage like they
did for the poster of 50’s Get Rich Or Die trying. Cause the national media
to pick up this story.
Do something for a change. (Yes I’m talking to you!).
Paradise Gray
http://www.myspace.com/paradisegray
(Please forward to everyone on your email list, as the national press has
not or will not pick up this story)
Full story in The New Pittsburgh Courier
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/articles/35730/1/World-Trade-Center-omits-Black-soldier/WTC-movies-unsung-hero.html
‘World Trade Center’ omits Black Soldier
Following disasters of historically epic proportions like the attack on the
World Trade Center, there are bound to be countless tales of self-sacrifice,
heroism and triumph. Some stories, like those told in the movies Flight 93
and Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, premiering Aug. 9, are made into
blockbusters for the world to see. Others are either whispered quietly among
family and friends or confined to the memories and souls of those who refuse
to speak of them.
Such is the tale of United States Marine Corps Sgt. Jason L. Thomas–in
spite of the fact that his story and the one told in World Trade Center are
one in the same.
THE STORY
The morning of Sept. 11, 2001 began like any other for Jason L. Thomas. A
student at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of City University of
New York, he heard about the attack after taking his daughter to his
mother’s house in Queens so he could attend classes.
At the time I was saying to myself, That’s an attack. My mother looked at it
as if it was an accident, but one of the first things that came to my mind
was, They got us, he said.
Immediately after that, I just got in high gear. I had my uniform in my car,
my C-Bag. We just moved into a house, so I had a lot of my personal
equipment in my vehicle. I ran out to my car, got my uniform, got dressed
and shot to the city.
After a delay in Queens, which Thomas credits for keeping him away from the
collapse of the South Tower, he attached himself to a police convoy and made
it to the site within moments of the fall of the North Tower.
Approaching one of the towers, all I see is one at the time, I see the
building come crashing down. It just comes straight down. I park my vehicle
and I remember this cloud of smoke and ash just enveloped where I was. I
stuck my head down in my shirt and scooted behind my car and got on my
knees, but it engulfed the area. So I got up and I just ran in the direction
towards Ground Zero.
At Ground Zero, Thomas immediately began to help by fighting fires,
establishing triage sites to help the injured and assisting with the overall
evacuation. While his primary focus was devoted to the emergency, he
couldn’t help being affected by what had become of his city.
I know this beautiful city, and now here it is, it’s just rubble, he said.
There are fire engines on fire, and you don’t see that everyday–you don’t
see cars and ambulances on fire. I was just trying to take it in.
After hours of firefighting, assisting survivors and in some cases, praying
over the dead, Thomas ran into another marine, Staff Sgt. Dave Karnes.
Thomas presented a plan for a search and rescue mission of the area and he
and Karnes tried to enlist other soldiers on site to help. When they were
told the mission was too dangerous, they decided to go by themselves.
I found a couple guys, but it wasn’t enough, to them, to start a search and
rescue, he said. I remember myself and staff Sgt. Karnes saying, We’re going
to start the search and rescue with or without you, because someone needs
us.
THE MOVIE
The World Trade Center movie tells the story of the rescues of New York Port
Authority police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno from Ground Zero,
as well as that of the men who rescued them. In real life, the officers were
rescued by sergeants Karnes and Thomas. In the film, however, they were
rescued by Karnes and PFC Dave Thomas; a composite character, played by
William Mapother, a white actor, who is meant to represent Thomas.
World Trade Center producer Michael Shamberg said that they knew about Sgt.
Thomas’s role in the rescue, but were unable to find him when creating the
film. He said producers didn’t discover Thomas was a Black man until after
they had started the movie. He also said that in spite of the fact that the
film was co-written by McLoughlin and Jimeno was consulted for authenticity,
no one ever asked them for a physical description of the man who helped save
their lives.
Frankly, we goofed–we learned when we were filming that he was an
African-American, said Shamberg. We would change it if we could. I actually
called him and apologized, and he said he didn’t mind. He was very gracious
about it.
Shamberg also apologized for another African-American officer, Bruce
Reynolds, who was also portrayed as white in the movie.
Thomas, meanwhile, didn’t learn the film was about his story until he saw
the unmistakable image of two marines peering into a whole at Ground Zero
during a commercial for the movie. He said that while he wasn’t angry about
how the film turned out, he does wish it could have been more realistic.
Full story in The New Pittsburgh Courier
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/articles/35730/1/World-Trade-Center-omits-Black-soldier/WTC-movies-unsung-hero.html
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Paradise Gray
Honorary Chairman, Pittsburgh LOC
National Political Hip-hop Convention
Grand Arkitech Of The BlackWatch Movement
Minister Of Arts And Sciences Millions More Movement
Director Of Almost Home Youth Ministries
One Hood
Http://www.myspace.com/paradisegray
I feel what Paradise is saying, and it pisses me off to no end. At the same time, I see the solution as this: until we: a)stop giving racist whitewashing massa media our money, and more importantly —>b)Create OUR OWN media that counteracts all the b.s. that hollyWEIRD dishes out, this will continue to happen.
Then again, mainstream media will continue whitewashing history and information, but we don’t have to continue sitting by and not countering it. Let’s create OUR OWN ACCOUNT. Let’s stop letting McDonalds on “black” talk radio tell us our history, and let’s support Brothas and Sistas like Ashra & Merira Kwesi, the late Dr. John Henrick Clarke, Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannon, Chiekh Anta Diop, Marimba Ani, Queen Afua, Francis Cress-Wellsing and several other of our own historians and media makers who aren’t subject to funding from Mickey D’s or some other white-owned, white-run KKKorporation. HollyWEIRD is going to do what it’s going to do and it really doesn’t give a damn about us, so it is imperative for us to do for us.