James went on to say that the persona was shaped by his early life. A Black lady called Laura worked as the cook at his family’s restaurant in Newburgh.
New York, where he grew up, and she eventually moved in with them for a few years. James claimed to have adored every second of the time he spent with her.
“I preferred spending time with her family than my own. They were intelligent, the food and music were excellent, and I enjoyed playing hoops.
After that, I would watch Hollywood, and there were a lot of films featuring Black people with boomboxes, along with Sidney Poitier, who is, alright, respectable. Really?
