Success of 'Posse' altered blacks' views of Westerns - movie

Jet, July 19, 1993

The success of Posse means that Blacks will never see westerns the same way again, according to Sy Richardson, the actor/writer on whose story the hit film was based.

Richardson wrote the script for the film, along with Dario Scardapane, based on the exploits of his (Richardson's) grandfather, Rev. King David Lee, who founded Black townships like the one in Posse.

Mario Van Peebles directed and starred in the film that details some of the contributions Black cowboys made to the history of the American west.

Richardson said he believes and hopes that the publicity that has been generated by the movie will mean that Black men and women will have a more accurate picture of the American west instead of the one presented by Hollywood for more than five decades. He is also hopeful that more westerns about Black cowboys will be made.

The movie was the subject of a JET cover story (May 31). "I used to deliver JET," he recalled. You couldn't be somebody unless you were in JET and I always wanted to be featured in it."

Richardson, who played the role of Sheppard in Posse, also has performed in such films as Repo Man, To Sleep With Anger, Colors, Three Fugitives and Men at Work.