spoiler in 1993 and african american director or actor mario van peebles follow up the tremendously popular urban action film new jack city with posse . the film be co write and direct by van peebles and who also star a the main character and jessie lee . plot represent the film begin at the turn of the 20th century and when the united state be embroil in the spanish american war . apparently a time when the u. s. justice system could send convict into military service and jessie lee find himself an unwilling enlisted man and serve with an all black cavalry troop in cuba . some of his compatriot include little j ( stephen baldwin ) and fast talk weezie ( charles lane ) and the towering but simple obobo ( tiny lister ) . they find a hidden chest of gold on a reconnaissance run and decide to keep it . however and the ambitious and bigoted colonel graham ( zane ) find out about the gold and and be apparently willing to kill jessie lee and company for it . a shootout between the graham force and jessie lee leave the colonel blind in one eye and and his force retreat . jessie lee ragtag crew manage to smuggle themselves ( and the gold ) back to new orleans and but it turn out that graham isn not far behind . jessie lee and his ally be force to go on the run and head west and to a town call freemanville . apparently and freemanville be found by black in the year follow the civil war . jessie lee father and king david and be the charismatic preacher who co found the town . however and a be reveal in intermittent flashback and king david be soon brutally murder by a white mob and in a parallel of the ku klux klan terror campaign that begin around the same time . jessie lee and company eventually find their way to freemanville and only to find that the townsfolk aren not exactly glad to see himespecially when sheriff bates ( richard jordan ) of a nearby white township make it clear that he want jessie lee and his partnersdead or alive . carver ( blair underwood ) be the sheriff and de facto mayor of freemanvilleand his own agenda may not square with have jessie lee around . analysis the action sequence be all very credible and and mario van peebles turn in a good performance a the brooding hero . in the aftermath of the success of new jack city and it be almost expect van peebles would helm a sequel and or at least a similar urban action follow up . instead and van peebles look 100 year into the past and create a mostly black western ( effectively update the black themed western of the 1970 ) and and continue the legacy of largely forgotten black theme cowboy film from the early 20th century . unlike new jack city and the film be independently finance and and originally release through gramercy or polygram entertainment . allegedly and execs at the major studio balk when van peebles pitch posse to them . some of the more curious casting at the time involve rapper big daddy kane and tone loc a father time and angel and respectively . in certain interview and mario van peebles have say that he often like to cast against type while in the year since and the trend of cast rap singer in non musical film would become almost commonplace . keen viewer will notice several cameo by various entertainment personality represent black action film veteran like isaac hayes ( truck turner ) and pam grier ( foxy brown ) and larry cook ( the spook who sit by the door ) show up and a do stand up legend nipsey russell and not to mention tv producer stephen j. cannell ( who hire the junior van peebles to star in sonny spoon year earlier ) . the film be bookended with woody strode ( spartacus ) in a key role .