beyond distant horizons. I wasn’t surprised to hear of
and November. Although it’s clear Mr. Gibson has
Mr. Gibson's adventures in Europe and his work with
unequivocally claimed his territory as a thespian, as a
legendary theatre auteur Peter Brook, who helped
dramatist there is much more territory to be explored...
Mr. Gibson unleash untapped potential through
Nicodemus Kansas, in particular.
fresh characters with multiple dimensions. Naturally this path likely led Mr. Gibson to take writing more
As the first post civil war black town in the west,
seriously. In 2016 he received a Masters Degree in
Nicodemus is the subject of Mr. Gibson’s first television
Screenwriting. “I succumbed to it”, he says. “Stories
series he wrote and remains committed to polishing. “
were flowing out of me”, probably like the poetry I
I take issue with history in some respects”, Mr. Gibson
experienced when I first saw him perform.
says. Beneath this lies a fascination with the beauty of ownership and new territory- a ‘homestead’, if you
In the words of western author Gary Benson:
will- a promised land for African Americans. Indeed,
“Cowboys are not the simple folks they project and
Mr. Gibson will have rich and timely material to work
deep thinking often takes place behind the unblinking
with, as Vice President Pence may have ties to Daniel
eyes”. Mr. Gibson has much to say behind unblinking
Pence, Nicodemus descendant and husband of 9th
eyes, particularly about his own history as a Black man
US Vice President Richard M. Johnson’s daughter,
in America.
Imogene Malivna Johnson (Pence) who’s mother was Julia Chin, Mr. Johnson’s common law ‘negro’ wife, as
His unique perspective fills the blank space between
she was ⅛ African American.
the Lone Ranger I had grown up with on t.v. and and the Black cowboy who once gave elementary school
As a bonafide Black Western,
presentations in the inner city of Denver Colorado.
currently in the pipeline for a greenlight from a top
“Nicodemus” is
tier television showrunner. As Nicodemus descendant Throughout the cowboy’s adventure, just as the actor’s
Norma Switzer explains: “Northwest Kansas as an
journey, sometimes out of nowhere a man can strike
all Black town was not taught in schools”. The Black
gold. Soon after arriving in Los Angeles to pound the
cowboy who visited my elementary school may have
pavement for pilot season,
been from Nicodemus, I’ll never know...but moving
Mr. Gibson received a call from his agent about a role in
forward , it looks like thanks to Mr. Gibson, the legacy
the upcoming season of renowned Hulu series Fargo.
of Nicodemus may indeed reach its rightful place on
His character’s name? “Happy”...the story is set in the
the map.
50’s among gangster life in Kansas City, and features Chris Rock. Joey Lorraine is a New York City based content creator His character comes to Happy for undercover help,
and dance artist.
and let’s just say from there, things get interesting. Mr.
www.joeylorraine.com
Gibson’s featured episodes will likely run in October 7