On the relationship between Hollywood and Blacks in the '70s:
Nonexistent. It was a vacuum. It was close to a medieval guild system. When I first started, the job they finally agreed to give me was as an elevator operator. They tried to convince me that I didn't have the creative skill, or the aptitude, required to be a director. Jump cut: 10 years later. I come back with a prize-winning feature film. And at that they can't say nothing. Just like they can't say black quarterbacks aren't smart enough to run a team or a black manager can't handle a baseball team.

Continue reading this story in the July/August 2006 issue of KING (#32).

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