Congressman Monroe James is a United States Congressman from California whose district includes black-majority neighborhoods of Los Angeles during the 1970s. He is part of a conspiracy orchestrated by U.S. President Richard Nixon to sabotage the black communities of America by selling heroin to them.
Appearance[]
Congressman James is a middle-aged black man with a clean-shaven face and short buzz cut. He's only seen wearing double-breasted suits and appearing at professional functions. When he gives speeches, he adopts an preacher-like cadence to win crowds over to his side.
History[]
This section relies on information from outside content, such as promotional material and deleted scenes.
As part of the Nixon administration's scheme to undermine the black community, Congressman James formed a business relationship with Don Vincent Rafelli and his heroin smuggling ring. James provided legal protection for Rafelli and funneled money to him through government contracts, and documented everything in a series of secret ledgers.
As part of his assignment to infiltrate the drug dealer rings, CIA agent Jimmy Dynamite came into Don Rafelli's employ, and was about to stumble upon the truth of Operation Code Kansas. Fearing what Jimmy might expose, O'Leary contacted Congressman James and ordered him to tell Rafelli that Jimmy was a government informant. This results in Jimmy's death at the hands of Rafelli's henchmen.
Events of the Film[]
Congressman James's first appearance is at a voter information session at a local community center hosted by Saheed's revolutionaries. Gloria Gray delivers a speech lambasting the Congressman for his corruption and refusal to provide services for the black community; James's rebuttal is largely full of platitudes and slogans that don't address her accusations, but nonetheless sways the crowd.
After the speech, the Congressman meets with Rafelli, who informs him that Gloria Gray is becoming a problem and he wants her eliminated. He also watches horrified as Rafelli kills his henchman Dino for failing to assassinate Black Dynamite. Later, James makes another call to Rafelli, lambasting him for his failure to deal with Black Dynamite or Gloria. Rafelli tries to threaten him, but James tells him about the existence of the ledgers.
After Black Dynamite and his crew kill Don Rafelli and destroy the heroin trade, they break into Congressman James' house and steal the ledgers from his safe. He's last seen calling an unknown person (possibly O'Leary) and letting him know about the break-in. Using the information gained from Congressman James's books, the crew eventually uncover a warehouse used in Operation Code Kansas.
Trivia[]
- His full name (only revealed in the credits and deleted scenes), Monroe James, is a reversal of James Monroe, America's fifth President.
- His character was inspired by George Daley, the corrupt mayor of Los Angeles in Dolemite.
- He's the only named antagonist character whose final fate not shown. His planned death was revealed in a deleted scene: after the fight at the dinner gala, he flees and is cornered outside the venue by Black Dynamite. James surrenders and offers to betray Don Rafelli in exchange for his life, but the Don overhears this and shoots him..
- Another deleted scene implies that James has a cross-dressing fetish, showing that he wears fishnet stockings and women's platform shoes when alone at night.
Quotes[]
- "Now young lady, these fine folks don't need to be misled. All they want is a little bit of bread! You can't just stick it to the Man, you also got to have yourself a plan! Now we've got to take this from the jukebox, to the ballot box! We've got to go from the poorhouse to the White House! Instead of maligning me, let's take this land from sea to shining sea! Keep the faith, brothers and sisters!"