Namond Brice
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| Namond Brice | |
|---|---|
 |
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| First appearance | Boys of Summer (episode 4.01) |
| Statistics | |
| Aliases | "Nay" |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 14 |
| Occupation | Middle school student and drug dealer |
| Family | Father: Wee-Bey Brice; Mother: De'Londa Brice |
| Portrayed by | Julito McCullum |
| Created by | David Simon |
Namond Brice is a fictional character played by Julito McCullum on the television drama The Wire. Namond is a middle school pupil and the son of Wee-Bey Brice and De'Londa Brice.[1] He is friends with Michael Lee and Randy Wagstaff and often bullies Duquan "Dukie" Weems. Namond lives with his mother and the two are well looked after by money from the Barksdale drug dealing organization that his father was a part of. Wee-Bey is serving consecutive life sentences for multiple homicides committed on behalf of the Barksdales, having even confessed to crimes he did not commit. Grateful for shielding the rest of the organization by taking the prison sentence on himself, the Barksdales provide for Namond and De'Londa. Even after the organization is shattered by the arrest of Avon Barksdale his sister Brianna Barksdale continues to pay them. This steady income means that Namond is much better off than his peers.
[edit] Biography
Namond often accompanies Michael to a community gym run by Dennis "Cutty" Wise but does not usually box himself. Namond works for onetime Barksdale lieutenant Bodie Broadus as a drug runner. Bodie gave Namond the job out of respect for Wee-Bey who he worked with before his arrest. He is not interested in his work and often reads while working and is seen leaving early to catch pigeons with his friends. He becomes impatient with Randy while waiting to catch a potential homing pigeon but is quieted when Michael tells him his voice may be scaring away the bird. Namond is enraged when Dukie scares the birds away by smashing a bottle nearby. He taunts Dukie until he attacks him and Michael breaks up the fight.
When Dukie is beaten up by a rival gang Namond expresses a desire for revenge. He suggests using guns but Randy has the idea of an ambush using water balloons filled with urine. The plan backfires on Namond who bursts his balloon over himself. The terrace boys chase after Namond and his friends. While Michael is caught and receives a beating Namond hides nearby and watches. Namond later buys ice creams for all of his friends, even including Dukie at Michaels urging.
Namond and De'Londa visit Wee-Bey regularly at the prison. Wee-Bey relies on them to keep his beloved pet fish and Namond follows his fathers instructions. Wee-Bey is glad that Namond is working with Bodie and gives him advice on succeeding as a drug dealer including getting a less distinctive haircut. De'Londa is unimpressed with Namond's attitude towards his work and threatens to withhold money for new clothes until he applies himself. Namond swaps the job with Michael so that his friend can make money for a time. Despite her threats and Namond giving up his job De'Londa buys him new clothes for school.
When school begins Namond proves to be disruptive in class and to have a general disregard for school rules. He quickly runs afoul of Assistant Principal Marcia Donnelly for wearing non-uniform clothing. He is in Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski's math class along with Michael, Dukie and his friend Kareem Williams. Also in the class are Chiquan, Laetitia and Zenobia. Namond often disrupts the class and eventually gets suspended for three days because of his actions. He apologises to Prez of his own volition afterwards. Namond keeps a knife hidden in a bush at school, but this is confiscated by Donnelly on a random sweep.
De'Londa takes Namond to visit his father during his suspension. Wee-Bey continues to take more interest in the street than Namond's school.
Namond and De'Londa suffer a major change in circumstances when Brianna decides to cut them off. De'Londa is outraged but powerless to argue. Brianna tells Namond that she wanted them both to be there so that De’Londa could not lie to him about what happened.
De'Londa sets Namond up dealing narcotics to support them. She still refuses to let him drop out of school. She insists that she will convince Bodie to give him a package. Namond asks about what Brianna meant about them already having enough money and De'Londa tells him that Brianna was lying. She visits Bodie and convinces him to give Namond a package to work.
When Namond returns to school he is placed in a special class under Howard "Bunny" Colvin. He acts out to try to get out early to begin selling his package but learns that in his new class there will be no further suspensions. Namond recruits Donut, Little Kenard and Byron to help him move the package he has been given. Despite his best efforts he cannot convince Michael to get involved. Namond is driven away from his first choice of territory by a rival crew. Another young dealer called Sherrod attacks him as he leaves Cutty's gym to warn him off. Cutty breaks up the fight rescuing Namond from a beating. His young dealers are not impressed with his second choice of territory and their trade slows down,
Namond begins to enjoy the Special Class when the teacher gives him a chance to talk about his ambitions and his views on what makes a successful "corner boy." Namond believes that he will be dead in ten years time but still claims to have the ambition of becoming a kingpin in the drug trade. He also reveals something of a motive for his disruptive behaviour when he tells the class that he does not believe he should obey the rules when there are so many examples of others profiting from wrongdoing - he states steroids, liquor, cigarettes and Enron as examples.
Namond's shrewd descriptions of life on the corner in the classroom do not translate into success in his business. He fails to move the package as fast as his mother is expecting and upsets her by transferring the narcotics into vials in their home. She tells him to recruit a lieutenant to handle that aspect of the business and visits Bodie once more to demand better territory for Namond. Namond makes Kenard his lieutenant and entrusts him with the package. Namond seems to not have the stomach like his father had in the Drug Game. Namond also lies to his friends to act tough.
Later on Howard Colvin talks his father into letting him adopt Namond so he can have a better chance of life than out there on the streets. Namond's father agrees and tells his wife to give up the boy even though she still wants him to become a drug dealer, she soon gives in and agress. Namond ends up being adopted by Howard "Bunny" Colvin and his wife.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Back To School The Wire's Fourth Season Is For the Children. Baltimore City Paper (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-30.
- ^ Character profile - Namond Brice. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
