2008.07.27
Pining for a classic 'cool'
I was at the bank Monday talking to Gwen Mitchell when she stopped in midconversation.
"Girrrrrrl," she asked, "did you see the new Ebony with Barack Obama on the cover?"
Tuesday I was out on an interview when my new buddy Hazel Williams brought it up again. She made a break for her copy but stopped when she realized she had taken it home.
Unprompted conversations like these define community "buzz" at any given place and time. The women were referring to the magazine's August edition which pays homage to the 25 coolest black men of all time.
"Black cool" -- the French might call it je ne sais quoi -- is this month's cover story. As the magazine suggests, it's a feature elusive to most people.
"Cool is an innate quality, not an acquired behavior," wrote Johnson Publishing Chief Executive and President Linda Johnson Rice in an essay introducing the issue.
"You can't learn it. You can't buy it. You can't fake it. Either you have it or you don't."
"Black men set the tone when it comes to cool," she added.
The gallery of 25 men reflect individualism, not today's much-mimicked "cool pose" culture. Thanks, Ebony, for debunking the fallacy of what passes for black cool these days.
Cool comes in many forms, which may explain why Ebony created eight separate covers this month. The collector's set features covers of Muhammad Ali, Marvin Gaye, Samuel L. Jackson, Jay-Z, Barack Obama, Prince, Denzel Washington and Billy Dee Williams.
Cool is hard to define, but those who embody it exude effortless poise and self-assurance.
Even Ebony editors admitted they had a hard time defining cool. Is it a look? A walk? A confidence? A quiet elegance?
You can't quite put your finger on cool, but you know what it isn't.
It isn't standing around with your pants hanging off your butt, showing your boxers for all the world to see.
It isn't wasting God-given abilities on enterprises that could land you behind bars.
Cool isn't a 17-year-old stuck in the eighth grade and reading at a third-grade level, as I saw on a national news report the other night.
The Ebony piece makes a much-needed statement by celebrating black men. As I noted a few weeks ago, most black men aren't menaces to society.
And while they don't hold the celebrity status as those feted by Ebony, most black men are handling their business.
"Good husband, good father, good son. I don't know if these things are cool or not," the magazine quotes Jackson, a Morehouse College graduate who starred in movies such as Pulp Fiction, the Star Wars prequels and Jackie Brown.
"I believe in education. Got one. Graduated. Is that cool? I hope so. That's just who I am."
Yeah, Sammy, that's cool.
Ebony's 25 coolest
Barack Obama (ability to think on his feet and offer unmanufactured ideas to the public)
Don Cheadle (his smoothness, whether he's onscreen or on Capitol Hill)
Billy Dee Williams (good looks and natural poise)
Sidney Poitier (sleek self-assured elegance)
Quincy Jones (effortless style in changing with the musical times)
Lenny Kravitz (cutting edge in music and fashion)
Jimi Hendrix (unapologietic with his musical genius)
Richard Roundtree (radiated confidence--both onscreen and in life)
Denzel Washington (the walk)
Sammy Davis Jr.(his refusal to be mediocre)
Bob Marley (unleashed reggae on the world; his dreadlocks)
Ed Bradley (unflappable in all instances; wore an earring on a national news show)
Tupac Shakur (rap lyrics that were endearing of black women)
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (power)
Gordon Parks (true Renaissance man)
Muhammad Ali (conviction)
Miles Davis (his music, mind and stage presence)
Walt Frazier (unflappable on the court; a fashion trendsetter off)
Jay-Z (business saavy)
Samuel L. Jackson (unpretentioius)
Malcolm X (a firebrand soul that said what he meant)
Snoop Dogg (the voice)
Prince (the stage presence, the musical genius, has no need to follow)
Michael Jordan (an uncanny to produce--in a game, as a pitchman; also made it cool 2 b bald)
Marvin Gaye (his music moved its listeners)
Shanna. Thanks for the interesting column today.I have always thought that Prince is THE coolest.Regarding Prince and Obama being on the "25 coolest black men" list raises a question that has long puzzled me. Why is it that a person who is half black and half white is referred to as "black"? Is that unique to our American culture or would people worldwide refer to them as "black"? Please do not take this as a negative racist question. To me it is merely a question of the origin of this particular racial label.Thanks.
The "one-drop" notion is a carryover from slavery. The thinking was, if a person had "one drop" of black blood (how to measure it!?), they were considered black. Now biracial people select their self-identity, and it is not foisted on them. As an aside, never been a Prince fan but respect his musical genius.--s
Comment by Dick Howard — July 27, 2008 @ 3:03 pm
Hey Shanna,
What IF, the coolest thing about Obama, was his White Mom, whom he never talks about?
I think the "Coolest" thing is not to discuss, color, but to just BE. The constant chatter of race only serves to DIVIDE,when anyone whose paying attention, KNOWS that BONDING is what is required at this juncture.
The more this comes up the more distasteful it is. Having been the tall white girl who was hit on by black boys in the 8th grade, when intergration started, I did not partake, it just wasnt "cool" for me, I hung in with my galpals who did, and wonder why we just can't come together. Has Obama stired this fire or is it the press, who fans the flames.
Would another race riot cure this? No..
"I think sometimes that had I known she would not survive her illness, I might have written a different book--less a meditation on the absent parent, more a celebration of the one who was the single constant in my life. In my daughters I see her every day, her joy, her capacity for wonder. I won't try to describe how deeply I mourn her passing still. I know that she was the kindest, most generous spirit I have ever known, and that what is best in me I owe to her."---Barack Obama, writing of his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, in the preface of his book, "Dreams from My Father." Dunham died in 1995 of ovarian cancer.
Comment by Dona Wheeler — July 27, 2008 @ 4:36 pm
Dick, Shanna,
I have worked several years with a friend who's family is from Venezuela (he was born here, lived there for a while, holds dual citizenship). I fully agree with him that most of the questionnaires that ask you to "select a race" is bunk.
He recalls a hilarious episode as he was filling out his paperwork for MPD (he was a DC police officer for a few years). He checked several race boxes, which threw the admins in a tizzy.
He's not afraid to call BS when he sees it, and many times he is right. Though the admins said he "had to choose one race", they had no answer when he pulled proof that he could select "white", "black", "hispanic", and "native american", as they were all in his blood.
I do enjoy some of Prince's music, and just knowing Billy Dee Williams from his Star Wars fame I can definitely see where he warrants "cool".
Comment by Ed S. — July 27, 2008 @ 6:59 pm
I can understand why 23 of the 25 names on the "cool" list made it, but......I fail to see how Snoop Dog or Malcolm X did or do anything at all to further any African-American ideals. Malcolm X was a drug user, dealer, and pimp. And, Shanna, have you listened to the lyrics in Snoop's records? The most virulent white racist would have a hard time coming up with more damning phrases and lyrics against the black race than this so-called "entertainer" uses. I just don't think these two should be glorified in any way, much less called "cool".
I would urge you to keep studying Malcolm X. If you're using your own moral compass (which from my reading can be off-kilter) to cast judgment on Snoop as less than a bastion of virtue, you probably don't know some of these other guys either in life or on screen as well as you think you do.--s
Comment by Percy Kution — July 27, 2008 @ 7:46 pm
Dona:
Your comment reminds me of an old saying that goes something like this ... Sometimes it's better to remain quiet and appear foolish than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Comment by Mike — July 28, 2008 @ 12:03 am
Mike,
Thank you for the complement, and please note that Mr Obama, for the record has picked Warrent Buffett to help him with his economic policy, and being that Buffett, Ted Turner and Bill Gates, have donated $BILLION,to eliminate enough of the human race reducing carbon footprints, well, what does NWO say to you?
I just get tired of the gibberish that is written when the most important issues are swept under the rug.
Pink, purple, white,black, man woman and child everybody has issues. Great thing about kids, they don't see color,or age, they only know love, nd how they are treated, good or bad, that's their judgement. And if it's bad, not horrific, they forgive. Adults forget, "be ye as a little child".
Comment by Dona Wheeler — July 28, 2008 @ 4:30 am
Shanna,
You observe life carefully and critically and head straight to the heart of the matter. Good column and good responses to the comments.
You have made me wonder -- just what is the secret ingredient that creates "cool?" We certainly know it when we see it.
Regarding Barack Obama, what baffles me is that the "je ne sais quoi" phenomenon causes some to grab for the cool label while others reach for elitist. I believe it is the same ingredient seen through different eyes, depending on point of view.
Perhaps the word that describes "it" best is leadership.
Comment by Goldenwillow — July 28, 2008 @ 8:48 am
S, how about Jackie Robinson??
Wasn't on the list. Jordan was the only athlete. Hmmm....
Comment by Randy — July 28, 2008 @ 11:07 am
Under Randys' post, you noted that Michael Jordan was the only athlete. Perhaps you should examine the list a little more. Muhammad Ali was an athlete, and a very good boxer at that. Maybe only the youngsters know Walt Fraizier from the gray hair commercials, but, I remember him and Earl (The Pearl)Monroe, the starting backcourt from the championship NY Knick teams from the late 60's and early 70's and basketball players are definitely athletes
Mea culpa, Shaun. I know those guys are athletes, but as I explained to Randy in an e-mail, I was in the throes of deadline for Tuesday's column. My mind was light years away from the cool list -- and who's on it. In my defense, there are no NFL players on the list, and isn't that REALLY America's sport!? It's certainly my favorite.--s
Comment by Shaun — July 28, 2008 @ 4:11 pm
Black cool in the hood...is wearing your ole mans prison number...That speaks volumes of the condition of the negro race in this country..
Comment by Steve — July 29, 2008 @ 2:20 pm
Steve:
Maybe it's just me, but is there some reason why your post makes absolutely no sense, and would you care to elaborate on it for us "slower" learners out here?
Comment by Mike — July 30, 2008 @ 5:06 am
A U.S. Senator, who schedules a visit to a military hospital then cancels the visit when he is told he cannot use the visit to help his presidential campaign, is not cool to me. A man who has served in the U.S. Senate for only 143 days, yet goes to the Middle East and Europe arrogantly acting like he’s the leader of the free world is not cool to me. And a presidential candidate who has multiple positions on a number of important issues is not cool to me. Recent polls suggest I am not the only American who is reacting this way.
Comment by LRS — July 30, 2008 @ 9:27 am
LRS:
You've made a convincing case that not everyone has the same definition of "cool". I happen to think Obama is cool, but that doesn't mean that his views are such that I would consider voting for him, and I won't be. Nevertheless, his ascent from near anonymity to becoming the first presidential candidate of black heritage is pretty cool in my book. I simply would have liked to see that person be Condi Rice. But I respect your definition of "cool" and agree that there are many others who share your opinion.
Comment by Mike — July 30, 2008 @ 11:07 pm
It just hit me last night watching the tonight show that Ebony omitted Bill Cosby from the list. That seems to have been an oversight.
Comment by Mike — August 2, 2008 @ 8:56 pm