Erik the Great

Wash Post Style stylin' with my longtime friend, Erik Todd Dellums, after he found himself on the media radar for harping on Obama and those who blindly support him.  Erik's blistering criticism of Obama's "paternalistic" September "Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complainin', stop grumblin', stop cryin' speech to the annual Congressional Black Caucus dinner catapulted him to cable TV talking head fame on Fox News -- which riled some.

Obama's CBC speech riled others in the audience. Rep. Maxine Waters for one, complaining Obama has not used that language, say, before a Jewish audience.

Erik in October:  "While I am humbled and grateful for the wealth of support I have received for opening my mouth to speak, I continue to be baffled by the need of some to compare my constructive criticism of our President — a man I support and will cast a ballot for — to Judas with his lips puckered ready for a smooch.  This kind of misguided allusion is as shameful as comparing Obama to Jesus Christ.  The brother is many things to me, but he is not my Lord and Savior."

Erik, an actor (he played drug kingpin Luther Mahoney on Homicide:  Life on the Streets (1993-1999 created by Wash Post ex-movie critic turned successful screenwriter Paul Attanasio), is the son of my friend, Roscoe Dellums (we took our Thelma & Louise act to TV talk shows in the mid-1980s), and former California Congressman Ron Dellums. In the mid-1990s Erik agreed to play movie critic and more in a radio talk show plot (Radio Marty) that piqued the interest of only one station PD (KFI Los Angeles).  Back then talk radio was dominated by men who (a) couldn't fathom an audience for a ballsy broad coloring outside the lines of accepted female talk radio roles, and (b) thought only men listened to talk radio. I envisioned myself Howard Stern Lite targeting a female audience.

I'm grateful to witness Erik carving out a new role for himself.  Check out Erik's ballsy baritone as he performs as announcer at Sunday's MLK Jr. memorial dedication on Washington's National Mall. Watch it here.