20 Years Later, 'Do the Right Thing' Still 'Happens'

CLEVELAND - It was 20 years ago today that filmmaker Spike Lee released his seminal film, Do the Right Thing. Both controversial and highly acclaimed, the flick turned out to be a classic.

Maybe not in the traditional sense.

Do the Right Thing never got the credit it truly deserved. For one, Lee was establishing himself as a militant and controversial director. At age 32, he was releasing his third straight envelope-pushing film which was an ingenious piece of work due to its unflinching look into the world of racism. Indeed, the chasm between Black and White cultures and beliefs and how racial tension is almost always bubbling beneath the surface were on full display.

There was the Italian-Americans proudly extolling the greatness of Frank Sinatra and Sylvester Stallone while the African-Americans touted Michael Jackson and Sammie Davis, Jr as their heroes. The confrontation between the Black kid in the Michael Jordan sneakers and the White kid in the Larry Bird jersey. And of course, the tragically violent, yet stunningly realistic climax and ensuing interracial riot in the streets of Brooklyn, New York.

Blacks and Whites often behave the same way in real life against each other and it's the reason that we'll never make real progress; we continue to segregate ourselves from other races and act as if we're not all the same in the end. Violence is never a good solution, especially when it's racially motivated. Even the election of Barack Obama doesn't show TRUE progress because he's still so unaccepted by many people solely because of the "black" half of his ethnicity.

Lee was a genius with this film. The story continues to play out.