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Street Fight: A Film by Marshall Curry

DVD Review by Dan Tres Omi

Although this movie is close to three years old, it is tremendously relevant to what is happening in '08. Even if nothing was going on today, it is still a great documentary to watch. The DVD centers around the 2002 Newark, NJ mayoral race between the new jack Corey Booker and 4 term incumbent Sharpe James. Marshall Curry chose the best title for this documentary since it literally turns into a street fight during a heated debate between Booker and James.

Sharpe James is the darling of the city. He was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey when the city still had large portions of farmland and some folks had outhouses in their back yard. He later joined the military and fought in WWII. He came back and worked in the Newark administration and eventually was elected to the NJ State Senate. In 1986, he was elected Mayor of Newark.

Corey Booker is pretty much another Barack Obama. As a matter of fact in the documentary, Cornel West tells him that he will be the first Black President of the United States. Corey Booker is the son of two Civil Rights activists. His family was the first to integrate a middle class white suburb in New Jersey and his parents were the first African American executives at IBM. He became a Rhodes scholar and studied at Oxford (yes, Oxford). Then he came back to the U.S.to study at Yale. While there he opened up a free law clinic for low income residents of New Haven. When he moved to Newark, he moved into a project and continued his grass roots organizing while he ran for city council. Pretty much, Booker is a modern day superhero who continues to pay dues.

When he goes up against James, Booker learns a valuable lesson in local politics. James runs Newark with an iron fist. When several businesses were seen with posters that supported Booker, James sends his co-horts in the Newark Police Department to force these businesses to support the incumbent or face being closed down. As Booker walked across Newark to talk to people, one could see the James campaign van using a megaphone to taunt Booker. James also allowed pamphlets to be passed that spread lies about Booker. Booker's team found several of their posters ripped down sometimes by the Newark Police Department. It seemed as if James campaign escalated smear tactics each day. Members of the Booker team were threatened through phone calls. Booker's team suggested starting their own smear campaign, but Booker refused.

What is most interesting about this campaign was how the mainstream media approached it. While the local media showed Booker no love, mainstream media outlets such as the New York Times, Time Magazine, and other notables seemed to quickly throw their weight behind Booker. I recall the spreads and stories written about Booker. He was portrayed as a candidate for the 21st century who approached politics from a different angle.

Another interesting point the movie made was how the campaign was split across generational lines. Younger black notables supported Booker while older ones place their vote with James. My younger brother Dolo explained how he went to watch Amiri Baraka perform (Baraka is my hero!), and listened as Baraka condemned Booker as a sellout. Soon several black notables came to Newark to stand behind the candidate of their choice. Although the director, who narrated the documentary, doesn't make this a point until the extra features this point is very clear. This conflict is being played out in Barack Obama's run for the Democratic nomination. Younger blacks are throwing their full support behind Obama where as the older generation refuse to acknowledge his ability or refuse to vote for him at all.

Labels: Civil Rights, Corey Booker, generation gap, Ivy League, Marshall Curry, Newark, politics, Sharpe James, Street Fight

posted by Brother OMi @ 10:39 AM