Sam Greenlee wrote and produced the film, The Spook Who Sat By The Door, based on his book of the same name, which was based on his years as one of the few African Americans in the Foreign Service in the ’50s and ’60s. After getting a job as a spy for Uncle Sam, he headed off to such far-flung spots on the globe as Iraq and Indonesia. His novel and the subsequent film were controversial for their themes of Black Nationalism and armed resistance to “the man”. Greenlee taught at Columbia College, wrote poetry, screenplays, and according to recent reports, had just finished an autobiography. Sam Greenlee passed away on Monday at the age of 83. We hear a scene from his famous film. (Public Domain)