What made Muhammad Ali so cool is the fact that he talked the talk and walked the walk, where his profession was concerned.

Ivan Dixon was the epitamy of the coolest, the strongest, black brother. The mustache was his signature. He would not allow Hollywood to take away his manhood and de-masculate him.
You never heard anything negative concerning his life. Life does not begin and end on the stage. It's who you are shy the bright lights and the camera's that make you who you are.

I think that Melvin Van Peebles wins by a landslide. His son Mario is also just as fine.

Malconm was intelligent and that is a very cool quality.

It was a hard choice. If you notice the list for the 1960's is the longest. A lot of powerful brothers arose to the occassion. But Muhammad Ali sacreficed the most for his beliefs. He is the "Greatest"!

Malconm respected, loved, and made a black woman his wife.

Ali sacreficed the most for his beliefs? Malcolm sacreficed his life for his beliefs. Malcolm was intelligent and with all that was going around, appeared to be cool and laid back.

Bless you Malcolm X

How do you have a list of the "25 Coolest brotha's Ever" and not have Martin Luther King Jr. on that list? Cool is when, even after your death,you're still paving the way for other brotha's to do some amazin' things- like, ah, oh I don't know, run for President of the United States maybe?(ask Barak Obama who should of made this list).

How do you have a list of the "25 Coolest brotha's Ever" and not have Martin Luther King Jr. on that list? Cool is when, even after your death,you're still paving the way for other brotha's to do some amazin' things- like, ah, oh I don't know, run for President of the United States maybe?(ask Barak Obama who should of made this list).

Cool is when despite a debilitatating reality you still "Have a Dream".Cool is when you have the courage to march amongst evil men willing to kill you as opposed to making the sttement "By Any Means Neccessary" at a distance(listen, no dis to Malcolm X, but let's face it Malcolm X selden if ever stepped foot in the South)Cool is when you can look death in the eye and proclaim 'Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory"

Cool is when you win a Nobel Peace Prize because you have the courage and the intestinal fortitude to stand for what you believed in "That all men are "REALLY" - created equal, when others wilted.Cool is when despite of the evil,ugly and treacherous institution called racism you alter a nation's way of thinking through intelligent and practical methods.

I can't seem to find John Coltrane in the list. Is there something wrong?

Malcom was a white hating muslumextremist. You know, the kind that nowadays likes to blow up skyscrapers, planes and discotheques.

Jimi Hedrix. Can't you write properly, overthere in the US?
it's Jimi (James Marshall) Hendrix. HeNdrix, not hedrix.

!@#$%^&*(())_)*&*^%&

I think Carlton banks should be on the list, the only black guy that loves barry manilow's music, that takes courage. A lot of courage people.

Listen to Tja.

Where's MLK, the man who preached that non-violence is real courage?

Muhammad Ali stood for something and that was needed in the 60's for our people...He also didn't depend on drugs and alcohol to make him
become the world greatest boxer of all times..

I have to agree with the comments above: Where the hell is Dr. King!!??

Many of you are slipping on Sammy. He is an Icon. He had swagger when black folks were not allowed toi in public. He was in Vegas before any of "us" could even think about going to Vegas. He is the reason why Black People can gamble in a Casino. SDJ refused to perform if his people could not gamble in the Casino or walk in through the front. When he died Vegas shut all the lights off on the Sunset Strip for 10 minutes...Never been done for another black male in history. Thats cool.

Why on earth isn't James Brown on the list?

Mr. T. ( B.A. Baracus ) is the coolest Negro ever !

Miles Davis Is by far the coolest of all here. His music defined cool, if everyone on this list had a theme song, it would be a song by Miles Davis.

I agree---where's MLK? He's my 1st choice.

Can't say it enough. Sidney Poitier is the coolest man of the millennium.

Where is James Brown?

It's ashame we don't understand the difference between self-defense and out right violence. We must read more, if you read you will find that Malcom and King became very good friends. Read their auto-bio.

Adam Clayton Powell was making real change in Congress while Malcolm and Martin were out in the streets. Powell also developed the tactics which M&M used, like the 5th Avenue Bus Boycott which MLK reprised in Montgomery.

And talk about cool!

It's a shame that we've let others write him out of our history, as this poll shamefully demonstrates.

Two Words: Julian Bond

The guy should be on anyone's short list for the coolest brothers of the last 40 years, and one of the few legitimate, engaged role models. He is worth four Obamas.

Waar is EminEm, ik wil op hem stemmen, dat is pas een coole Negert! *******

http://www.geenstijl.nl/mt/archieven/2008/07/de_coolste_neger_aller_tijden.html

******** Hierbij het bindend stemadvies van de GeenStijl Bouncende Neger Commissie. 1960 - Jimmy Hedrix. 1970 -Richard Roundtree. 1980 - Samuel L Jackson. 1990 - Snoop Dogg. 2000 - Andre '3000' Benjamin

Waar is EminEm, ik wil op hem stemmen, dat is pas een coole Negert! *******

http://www.geenstijl.nl/mt/archieven/2008/07/de_coolste_neger_aller_tijden.html

******** Hierbij het bindend stemadvies van de GeenStijl Bouncende Neger Commissie. 1960 - Jimmy Hedrix. 1970 -Richard Roundtree. 1980 - Samuel L Jackson. 1990 - Snoop Dogg. 2000 - Andre '3000' Benjamin

I am at the link for the 1960's. I will agree with the names on the list and the coolest is the "Greatest of Them All".

Obama's persona is a media creation backed by high people in government and corporate america.Granted his election would change the perception of blacks,however I dont like him becoming the standarsd for what a good blackman can be.I guess Huey Newton ,Stokely Carmicheal, and Bobby Seale were too black for Ebomys corporate owners





















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Wow. Good of all of you to mention MLK, I guess you'd have to have some degree of "cool" to put yourself thru all he did for people, also good of someone to mention Ivan Dixon, a brilliant actor, producer and director that started out in this era.

This topic is going to stir up a lot of debate, for sure..

I THINK EBONYJET OVERLOOKED ONE OF THE COOLEST
OF ALL TIME, HE WAS A PIONEER--------
THE LATE GREAT "SAM COOKE".

How could you leave not have Harry Belafonte on this list?????

Miles, and Billy Eckstein, from the 40's on thru their demise.

Where is Edwin Hawkins at because he taught me how to wash night and day, washing my sins away in Nana's kitchen. God bless nana and them peach cobbler's on Sunday after church Before Frankie Crocker arrived on WBLS. Now that was cool!

Waar is EminEm, ik wil op hem stemmen, dat is pas een coole Negert! *******

http://www.geenstijl.nl/mt/archieven/2008/07/de_coolste_neger_aller_tijden.html

******** Hierbij het bindend stemadvies van de GeenStijl Bouncende Neger Commissie. 1960 - Jimmy Hedrix. 1970 -Richard Roundtree. 1980 - Samuel L Jackson. 1990 - Snoop Dogg. 2000 - Andre '3000' Benjamin

Add Martin Luther King, Jr. to the list. He taught us how cool faith can make you in the face of extreme adversity with the whole world watching.

Waar is EminEm, ik wil op hem stemmen, dat is pas een coole Negert! *******

http://www.geenstijl.nl/mt/archieven/2008/07/de_coolste_neger_aller_tijden.html

******** Hierbij het bindend stemadvies van de GeenStijl Bouncende Neger Commissie. 1960 - Jimmy Hedrix. 1970 -Richard Roundtree. 1980 - Samuel L Jackson. 1990 - Snoop Dogg. 2000 - Andre '3000' Benjamin

Waar is EminEm, ik wil op hem stemmen, dat is pas een coole Negert! *******

http://www.geenstijl.nl/mt/archieven/2008/07/de_coolste_neger_aller_tijden.html

******** Hierbij het bindend stemadvies van de GeenStijl Bouncende Neger Commissie. 1960 - Jimmy Hedrix. 1970 -Richard Roundtree. 1980 - Samuel L Jackson. 1990 - Snoop Dogg. 2000 - Andre '3000' Benjamin

How do you vote, just leave the name you vote for here?

I vote for 1960 - Jimmy Hendrix. (greatest guitarplayert)

I think the final list is wack. Thelonius Monk,Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway & Billy Ekstine should be 1234. Where is H Rap Brown or Stokely? James Brown? What about Sly Stone? Eric Dolphy? Lester Young? Dexter Gordon?
Dizzy Gillepsie? George Clinton? All five Temptations? Amiri Baraka? John Williams? Max Julian? Jim Brown? Maurice White? Fred The Hammer Williamson? Sonny Rollins!!!!!!!!

I would like to give a shout out to the palest of all negert black people: Peter Norman.

The third(second) guy on the podium of 1968.
If you put his actions in the context of time(1968), Background(white australia gouvernment), The Mexico Olympics and What became of him. Then this guy deserves a lot of Credit.

Also, props for Smith and Carlos

Adam Clayton Powell?

You call the Geenstijl-Crew Racist and you put this Homophobe in the list. odd...

Yes Sam Cooke was beyond cool and he definitely would be on my list

One name has not been mentioned...Jackie Robinson. Educated, talented, good-looking...COOL. Where is he on this list??????

It is an outright shame and embarrasment not to have Dr. Martin Luther King among the list of coolest brothers. The coolest brother was the one who died for the freedom and equality of all men regardless of race. The coolest is the one who opened the door for these other cool brothers to live such successful lives. For those of you who do not agree, do you really know the history of our "cool" brothers? I have cancelled my subscription to Ebony magazine.

Cool Men- Langston Hughes,Lawrence Fishburne,Morgan Freeman coolest of men. I can not believe you left them out. Since all Black Men are cool I think you need at least a hundred picks.

Dear Ebony:
I really enjoyed your 25 Coolest review. But how could you forget the cool cat himself, Duke Ellington? He was cool when cool was just a breeze. (smile)

Though every selection on the list is a cool brother, my vote has to go to Ali. Call me biased, as a former boxer; but when you can talk trash and back it up with consistency, how cool is that? Also, how many me today, of any race for that matter; are willing to stand up for what they believe in and face losing everything for doing it? If there is anything that beats that for coolness, somebody is going to have to show it to me.

I'm not a brother but I think I can identify cool when I see it. And, Laurence Fishburne, Morgan Freeman and Jim Brown are definitely cool!

MLK, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Dante Smith, Charles Moose, Talib Kweli, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Dubois, Bobby Seale, Hewey Newton, Stokely Carmichael, Andrew Young, Theodore Berry, Donald Spencer, Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, Richard Wright, Jackie Robinson, Jacob Lawrence, Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, Wynton Marsalis, Art Tatum, Andre Benjamin, Antawn Panton, Erroll Garner, Benjamin Banneker, Colin Powell, Spike Lee

John Singleton, Tiger Woods, Michael Jackson, Roy Williams, Medgar Evers, Albert Collins, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Nelson Mandela, Bishop Tutu, Laurence Fishburne, Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy, Cab Calloway, Forest Whittaker, Jamie Foxx, Joe Frazier, Jim Brown, Joe Green, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Irving Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Doug Williams, Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, Walter Payton, Erick Dickerson, Marcus Allen, Jessie Owens

George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, James Brown, Paul Robeson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Amiri Baraka, Dr. Cornel West, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Dr. Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Maxwell, Smokey Robinson, Al Green, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Tony Dungy, Dr. Dre, Morgan Freeman, Johnny Cochran, Thurgood Marshall, David Marley, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Koffi Annan

This list should be revisited and expanded in future issues-even with a 100 coolest brothers of all time list, some cool brothers would be left out. We are a "cool" people. Celebrities, politicians, leaders, accomplished professionals, and members of the Black intelligentsia should be celebrated, but let us not forget the regular folks who collectively comprise most of the fabric of our community.

this whole list is a sham, sam cooke was hands down one of the coolest people ever to live (color aside).

In an interview with Aretha Franklin on cooke, she said that when sam cooke stopped using the process and let his natural hair grow.. "every brother in the country cut the process." if that ain't cool i don't know what is...

When it comes to the 60's, I do agree with people like Muhammad Ali and Malcolm definately being on the list. If I was to compose another list, it would include Eddie Kendricks, Kwame Ture(Stokely Carmichael), Sam Cooke, and Harry Belafonte.

The Coolest brother in the 1960's was clearly the late great Adam Clayton Powell, Jr! He was, as Miles Davis plays, "The Birth of Cool."

You can line of all of those on the list and ask them who is the coolest, most effective, influential, powerful, and all roads will then led you to 138 & Lennox at the Abysinnan Baptist Church where Adam Clayton Powell and his father, ACP, Sr, for 70 years in a combined effort had pastored.

A man who's simple stroll would send mighty winds to the south in the 50's and 60's that would destroy segregation in public schools; A man who's smile and intellect passed 60 pieces of bedrock legislation in the Congress marking him the most effective legislator in American History to this day;

A man who when faced with dispairity and confusion simply uttered his famous tagline, " Keep the Faith, Baby!" and continued to make history and paved the way for for a young black man from the South Side of Chicago (black bottom) to possibly the White House in our Nation's Capitol, Barack Obama. Ladies and gentlemen can I Re-introduce you to the King of the Cats, the late great Honorable Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

How come I don't see my man BLAIR UNDERWOOD, on this list.

Where is Sam Cooke on the list? How can you not list the man who influenced every singer that followed? Who was a friend to both Malcolm and Martin? A man who was attending to the business sides of things long before Gordy, Diddy, Simmons, Jay-Z, and others learned the business? A man who was probably murdered for being a little too "cool" for those in power?

SLY STONE!!!