Bad Rap For A Gangster?

Well that was interesting. And scarey. And confusing. How can any of us, in good conscience, "celebrate" Frank Lucas, Book signing at Hue-man Bookstoreor give any attention to a man known to be one of the most notorious drug lords in New York City history? This man, the Original Gangster (the title of his book), Frank Lucas was responsible for the death and destruction of thousands of black families and individuals, particularly in Harlem during the 1960s and early 70s. And yet, New York Magazine found it appropriate to dedicate a thirteen page article on this man (Marc Jacobson, 2004) and Universal Pictures makes a major motion picture, American Gangster (2007) with the potential for a sequel.

Seeing Lucas in person, hearing him speak ernestly about his remorse in having smuggled tons of heroine into the Harlem community, murdering people, and chasing the almighty dollar and pretty women, created a smorgasbord of emotion in me. Part of the time I was perturbed and disappointed at the notion of this man's impact on history, but my more surface emotions were empathy and admiration as I saw firsthand his decrepit, wheelchair bound body, learned of his Frank Lucas Foundation and laughed out loud at his comical quips and interactions with those who asked questions. If he didn't know what a particular term meant (i.e. gentrification, urban policy), he said so. If he didn't have an answer, he said that straight up. If an attractive woman walked into the room, he was sure to make mention of that too! He was quite entertaining.

The funniest moments were the "you had to be there" moments such as when he apparently became hungry in the middle of the Q & A so he leaned over to his publicist and in a loud whisper asked her to go see what kind of sandwiches were at the bookstore cafe, or when he talked about his new clothing line, and turned to his publicist again because he couldn't remember the "name of the brother" they had a meeting with [Russell Simmons], or when "hustle mode" truly kicked in and he announced "I got ringtones... yall go get my ringtones!" This was some comical stuff to watch coming from an "OG."

All in all it was a very frank discussion. As he said "Ask me anything... You can criticize me..." etc. "I'm a grown man, I can take it." And that, he did. He offered honest answers, no excuses, much regret. Some attendees came for no other reason than to express their disdain for Frank Lucas, others came to fact check against the movie American Gangster (starring Denzel Washington), some came for clarification on his relationships (i.e. with Bumpy Johnson) and some, simply to hear what he had to say and perhaps reconcile emotions and personal impressions about this oft purported brilliant business man. Much of his accounts are contested, disputed, refuted by those who knew him, did business with him or were related to someone associated with him. I'm not making any judgement on what's true and what isn't nor am I interested in sorting it all out!

Lucas is old- about to become an Octogenarian. He's seemingly sickly. He's confined to a wheelchair. He still has his mental faculties and wit (enough to jeer the Godfather book and movies). My hope is that he has been and still has time to continue influencing young people in a positive way, as is the mission of the Frank Lucas Foundation (www.franklucas.us).

When asked what words does he believe God will have for him when his "time has come," he responded with (paraphrasing) "I think they'll be good... I pray everyday... I've asked for forgiveness... "

Whew, God bless him.