The Blue Collar Working Class Man… Played by Byron Jacqel
This character is a simple fellow who is kind and supportive when employed, but angry, abusive and often drunk when unemployed. His is a familiar face in the black community. But through his hard times he has learned to love his woman. It is unfortunate that she must often feel the sting of his hatred or the projected feelings of his frustration that accompany “cash-tration” (feelings of impotence resulting from a lack of cash flow).
The Black Muslim… Played by Alex Morris
He is a character in suit and bowtie that you might see on 125th Street one afternoon selling his paper and advocating Islam as the way of life for the Nubian (black man) in this western waste land. It is his view that the westernized Nubian cannot respect and therefore demand respect from his woman because he was taught by Europeans who grant all African peoples the lowest position in the evolutionary scale, and thereby has instilled in him a strong dose of self-hatred
The Player… Played by Lee Stansberry
The bedazzling and very macho character of the Player reminds us of one of those by-gone days when leather jump-suit wearing cool cats in their big hats paraded women in discos and bars till dawn’s early light, then drove them home in big fine cars, with a diamond in the back and a sun roof to share in some private delight. Mortgages, church attendance, the children’s needs and medical expenses: These are the concern of some unlucky husband or boyfriend; The Player only dances and romances women.
The Militant… Played by Clarence Whitmore
The Black Revolutionary: Now there’s a blast from the past. This role shows how a Stokely Carmicheal or Huey P. Newton might be rejected by certain females after the euphoria over social change has died down. Although he means well, he
would have a difficult time convincing the women of today that having children to supply a revolutionary movement, children who will be hunted by the FBI and probably killed by a racist before the age of 25, is a progressive move. Still his character is strong and creates nostalgia for the days of active armed resistance to oppression in this racially and politically divided land.
The Urban Professional and Intellectual… Played by Russell Andrews
Enter the intellectual, suave and overly confident Professional. His motto goes something like; “Intelligence, a solid career and a large bank account amount to the ideal black man.” This character has a dynamism that brings the personage to life. The Professional is one of those uppity Negroes from an Ivy League University who has had to forget where he came from so often that he rarely knows where he is going. His attempts to rap to a black woman are a cross between Mr. Rogers as a contestant on the Dating Game and a constipated Clark Kent; totally strained. This adds to the play’s Iron humor.
Slick - The Cool Dude… Played by Milton Guy Martin
The down home character of Slick, the only one that seems to have a name in the play, is an ugly reality which exists on our streets today. What’s truly sad about his character is that he seems to be the only one amongst the black men who actually knows what a black woman wants. According to Slick, a black woman, like all other women, wants to be loved physically and mentally; wants to be worshiped by the man she loves as a Goddess of the Nile. I suppose, so that she can return that love, making their lives together more beautiful, whether this is accomplished through career success or the birth of healthy children. But Slick is cunning and zeal. He would steal the virtue of a beautiful body and mind from a black woman and prostitute them for lesser goals of wealth, vainglory, and licentiousness.