The following is an excerpt form a much longer interview with director Spike Lee.. Its food for thought…
http://www.nymag.com/movies/profiles/19144/index.html
original article-August 20, 2006
Spike Lee says the following:
‘What was discouraging to me was, some people it was like a revelation: I never knew we had poor people in this country, before Katrina. I think the United States government has done a very good job of covering up the poor so unless you really, really You might see a homeless person, you know, on the street, but you can avoid it. You can bypass a lot of stuff, says Lee, twisting the diamond stud in his ear. He speaks slowly, deliberately, like a professor or a certain kind of pot smoker. Its a dispensation, not a discussion; he does not look you in the eye.
Katrina pulled that away, all that cover, left it bare like a raw, exposed nerve, he says, and starts to pick up a little steam. And I dont think we should try to slide it under the rug and act like it doesnt exist. And I dont think were ever going to get to the place where this country can I dont think well ever achieve our true greatness.
He is silent for a second and stares into space and then…
‘We’ve still not dealt with slavery!’ His words come in a rush.
‘Black, African-American, and white Americans, we still have not dealt with slavery! When kids are in school and theyre learning about motherfucking George Washington, say the motherfucker owned slaves!’
He is still sitting but bouncing, vibrating on the balls of his bright- yellow, brand-new Nikes.
‘Say what Christopher Columbus did! Kids are still learning in-1492-he-sailed-the-ocean-blue bullshit. George Washington could never tell the truth; he did chop down that motherfucking cherry tree. All right. Get rid of that shit and say he owned slaves. Say the first president of the United States owned slaves! Lets stop with the lies. Lets talk about the genocide of the Native Americans! All right, if you dont want to talk about black and white, all right, lets leave that aside. Lets talk about the blankets with smallpox that were given to Native Americans. Lets talk about the landgrab. I want to make a movie about Custer. I want to show Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull kicking ass!’