With his directorial debut Get Out and its record-breaking successor Us, Jordan Peele has reinvigorated a horror genre that was short on ingenuity and diverse representation. But on the south side of Milwaukee, another low-budget debut threatens to dethrone the Academy-Award winning filmmaker.
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โWhat theโ?โ an unnamed onlooker mutters in disbelief. โWhy?โ
WISN 12 reports that a digital billboard of former Sheriff David Clarkeโone of the last living black people to have never seen The Jacksons: An American Dreamโhas made its auspicious debut in his old stomping grounds of Milwaukee.
And as you can expect, the communityโwhich is still reeling from his scandal-ridden reignโwants no parts of continuing to be haunted by The Ghost of Sheriff Past.
โI donโt know why they would put that there.โ one unnamed onlooker told WISN 12 reporter Kent Wainscott.
โIt seems like an odd thing to do considering heโs not the sheriff around here anymore.โ another added.
But as the age-old adage โAll skinfolk ainโt kinfolkโ serves to remind us, it would appear that the culprit behind the billboard is actually one of our own. Or rather, one of his own.
โBAMPAC Action Fund has supported Sheriff Clarke in previous elections and is appreciative of his political career,โ Alvin Williams, CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based conservative organization Black Americaโs Political Action Committee, said. โWe are not aware of any public office he is currently seeking. The billboard display is a tribute to his contributions to public service.โ
Which begs the question: Which contributions to public service are they paying tribute to exactly? The pregnant woman who was mistreated and abused in his jail and subsequently lost her baby? The inmate who was repeatedly raped and awarded $6.7 million in a lawsuit? His trite, anti-Black Lives Matter routines (a movement he once called โpurveyors of a hateful, violent ideologyโ) on the same network that eventually banned his ass?
Or maybe itโs for all the deaths in his jails. Or that whole โabuse of authorityโ thing he got hammered for by the FBI.
โI think the message is that they used to like him,โ an unnamed man told WISN 12. โAnd theyโre just supporting him on further movement through his political career.โ
And while Clarke attempts to build momentum doing exactly that, heโs made sure to set aside time in his busy schedule to eat this shit up.
โHonored,โ he tweeted on Monday. โThank you Black America PAC BAMPAC. Only libs are surprised. #MAGA2020"
But while Jordan Peeleโs imaginative forays are rooted in fantasy, Clarkeโs evil intentions manifest into real-life consequences for marginalized communities.
And that sure as hell is nothing to pay tribute to.
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