Sly Stone - The Myth of Staggerlee (Comprising sections Introduction through Riot) Summary and Analysis

Marcus begins this section of the book with a quote by prisoner Bobby Seale explaining why he has named his child after the legendary Staggerlee. The prisoner seems to think the man and the legend represent the reality of black culture. Marcus then goes on to briefly sum up the legend of Staggerlee. Basically Staggerlee shot a man named Billy just to watch him die. Different versions of the story give the characters slightly different names, or they happen in different places, but the main idea of the story is the same. Staggerlee gets away with his violence because of who he is. The white sheriffs are afraid to arrest him, so he always goes free. In versions where...