0 %

KOLUMN Magazine

Diversity Equity & Inclusion, DEI, Critical Race Theory, CRT, African American News, Black News, Urban News, African American Newspaper, Black Newspaper, African American Magazine, Black Magazine, African American History, Black History, African American Wealth, Black Wealth, African American Health, Black Health, African American Economics, Black Economics, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN Books, KINDR'D Magazine, Black Lives, Black Lives Matter, African American Art, Black Art, African American Politics, Black Politics, African American City, Black City, African American People, Black People, Allegory, Segregation, Racism, Reparations, 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
Diversity Equity & Inclusion, DEI, Critical Race Theory, CRT, African American News, Black News, Urban News, African American Newspaper, Black Newspaper, African American Magazine, Black Magazine, African American History, Black History, African American Wealth, Black Wealth, African American Health, Black Health, African American Economics, Black Economics, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN Books, KINDR'D Magazine, Black Lives, Black Lives Matter, African American Art, Black Art, African American Politics, Black Politics, African American City, Black City, African American People, Black People, Allegory, Segregation, Racism, Reparations, 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Barry Michael Cooper, who wrote the screenplay for “New Jack City” (1991), which presaged a wave of films from Black directors and screenwriters that touched on 1990s gang life.

BARRY MICHAEL COOPER, ‘NEW JACK CITY’ SCREENWRITER, DIES AT 66

After chronicling the crack boom of the 1980s as an investigative reporter, he had a high-profile but brief second career in Hollywood.
Barry Michael Cooper, who was one of the first journalists to explore the crack epidemic of the 1980s before turning to Hollywood, where he made his mark with screenplays for gritty films like “New Jack City,” died on Jan. 21 in Baltimore. He was 66.
His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by his son, Matthew Cooper, who did not cite a cause.
As a screenwriter, Mr. Cooper, who was raised in Harlem, was perhaps best known for the three films often called his Harlem Trilogy. The first, “New Jack City” (1991), about a ruthless uptown drug lord (Wesley Snipes), presaged a wave of films from Black directors and screenwriters that touched on gang life in the 1990s.
The trilogy included two films from 1994: “Sugar Hill,” another drug-hustling drama starring Mr. Snipes, and “Above the Rim,” a basketball drama starring Tupac Shakur as a dealer; Mr. Cooper wrote it with Benny Medina and the film’s director, Jeff Pollack.

Celebrating Our Lives