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Black nerd culture has its day in 'Dope'

The world of the black nerd in contemporary Inglewood, as depicted by screenwriter and director Rick Famuyiwa in his new film "Dope," is one I instantly recognize.

Years ago, I was raised in a Harlem Crip neighborhood in Los Angeles' Jefferson Park. My pootbutt friends and I played chess, flew model rockets in science fairs, studied martial arts, read science fiction and serious literature by writers of various colors. We were straight and gay, we were virgins and we listened to "white music," as well as black.

Famuyiwa's "Dope" is pretty much how it was back in the day for me.