In the name ofAllah, the merciful.
All praises due to Allah, Lord of all worlds.
The one God to whom praise is due forever.
The one who came to us in the person of Fard Muhammad...
...and raised up the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Amen.
How do you feel?
-Who do we want to hear? -Malcolm X!
Are we gonna bring him on?
Yes, we gonna bring him on.
Let us hear from our minister, Mr. Malcolm X!
Let us bring him on with a round of applause.
I'm here to tell you that I charge the white man.
I charge the white man with being the greatest murderer on earth.
I charge the white man with being the greatest kidnapper on earth.
There's no place in this world that that man can go...
...and say he created peace and harmony. Everywhere he's gone...
...he's created havoc.
Everywhere he's gone, he's created destruction.
So I charge him with being the greatest kidnapper on this earth!
I charge him with being the greatest murderer on this earth!
I charge him with being the greatest robber and enslaver on this earth!
I charge the white man...
...with being the greatest swine-eater and drunkard on this earth!
He can't deny the charges.
You can't deny the charges! We're the living proof of those charges!
You and I are the proof.
You're not an American. You are the victim ofAmerica!
You didn't have a choice coming here. He didn't say:
"Black man, black woman, come over and help me build America. "
He said, "Nigger, get in the boat.
I'm taking you over there to help me build America. "
Being born here does not make you an American.
You and I are not American. You're one of the 22 million black people...
...who are victims ofAmerica. You and I, we've never seen democracy.
There's no democracy in the fields of Georgia. No democracy down there.
We didn't see any democracy in Harlem, Brooklyn, Detroit, Chicago.
Ain't no democracy there. We've never seen democracy.
All we've seen is hypocrisy.
We don't see any American dream.
We've experienced only the American nightmare.
See that spot? Get it. The spot!
All right, that's it.
Hey, Cholly!
Where'd you get that number you hit on? Was it your girl's address?
No, my grandma gave me that number in my dreams. Straight!
3-8-4.
You said Sassy Frassy gave you--
That woman quit me.
After l hit the number, that woman was no good to me at all.
She said l was cheap because l wouldn't cop her a diamond ring.
And on top of that, had the indignation...
...to call me, of all people, Good-time Cholly...
...a cheap, black son of a bitch.
Where's homeboy?
Hey, Little.
Your man out here waiting on you.
There he is.
Fixing to get that first conk laid on?
Be hot like hell.
Don't be scared, son.
You ain't got nothing to worry about.
You in the hands of an expert.
My hair was just like yours. Look what he did for me.
Heckle and Jeckle...
...don't scare the man no more than he's scared already.
-Get his forehead and eyebrows. -Who's doing this?
You all heard that!
Pull my coat if it stings. This shit can burn a hole through cement.
Hold tight.
l thought you said this would sting, Shorty.
This ain't nothing.
-Feel good, don't it? -Real good?
Yeah, it's all right.
You'll feel better.
lt is heating up a bit.
lt's starting to heat up.
lt's okay.
Feeling better, ain't it?
-Just hold on. -l'm holding, but it's heating.
Gotta make it straight.
That's what he told me too.
l gotta get this out now. lt's starting--
-Hold on. -l'm holding, l'm holding.
Give me a hand!
Help me out! Hold him!
We're going to the sink!
l got to get up! l got to get up!
-Cool it! -Put water on it!
More water!
You're getting it in my eye!
-How's it feel? -Like there's no skin on my head!
lf you can talk, it's out.
-How does it look? -Can't tell yet.
ls it straight? l'm not doing it again.
Let me dry it.
l can tell it's laying down.
Don't take it off yet.
Looks white, don't it?
All right!
Well, all root!
All reet!
Hit the brim with the left.
When my mother was pregnant with me...
...a party of Klansmen surrounded our house in Omaha, Nebraska.
They brandished guns and shouted for my father to come out.
My pregnant mother went to the door...
...and said that my father was in Milwaukee, preaching.
They said that good white Christians...
...would not stand for his troublemaking and to get out of town.
They broke every window with their rifles before riding away.
They rode off into the moonlight as suddenly as they had come.
My father was not a frightened Negro, as most were and many still are today.
He was 6 feet 4 and very strong.
He believed, as did Marcus Garvey...
...that freedom, independence and self-respect...
...wouldn't be achieved by Negroes in America.
--the object of building up for themselves a great nation in Africa.
Therefore...
...black men should leave America and return to their land of origin.
My father dedicated his life to his beliefs...
...because four of his six brothers died violently.
Three killed by white men, and one lynched.
There were nine children in our family.
My mother was a proud woman, an educated woman, a strong woman.
She was fair-skinned because her mother was raped by a white man.
One reason she married my father was because he was so black.
She hated her complexion and wanted her children to have some color.
I think this had a profound effect on me then and on most Negroes today.
Because so many of our sisters have been raped or violated by the white man...
...black men can't wait to get their hands on the white man's prize:
A white woman.
Africa for the Africans!
Say "Roseland."
Showtime!
Hi, Shorty!
You're too big!
l'm gonna come get you.
Come on, Shorty, l've gotta dance!
You in charge, boy!
You like what you see, baby?
Get back here!
Go ahead, boy!
Red, save me! Save me!
Gotcha!
Come on, Shorty. l wanna dance again!
Laura sure can go, can't she?
-l gotta go freshen up. -All right.
-You come on back now. -All right, Malcolm.
That chick is fine as May wine.
Except she lives up on a hill and got a grandmother too.
She a church girl. l don't know what l'm gonna do.
Wanna dance?
So what do they call you?
Red.
l'm Sophia.
How you doing?
Very well, thank you.
l have an idea, Red.
Why don't you take that little girl home and come on back?
Just walk, baby, don't run.
lt'll be here when you get back.
Well, l better not come in.
l'm not stupid.
lt's late, baby.
l know where you're going. l am not a total square.
-l know what's happening-- -l gotta go home. lt's late.
l gotta get up early in the morning. l gotta work tomorrow.
l'll call you tomorrow?
What for?
l'm not white and l don't put out, so why would you want to call me?
Good night, Mrs. Johnson. l'll call you tomorrow.
Am l the first white woman you've been with?
No, you ain't.
Shit, l done had plenty.
That isn't a whore?
Take your time.
Sophia's not going anywhere.
l told you to walk...
...don't run.
l don't like women that talk too much.
Who wants to talk?
You missed me.
Try this on for size.
-l ducked. -You ducked?
You didn't! l got you right between the toes!
l'm tired of playing the cops. l wanna be Bogart.
Shorty, you're too small to be Bogart.
l'm not too short to be Cagney.
One more!
You dirty, rotten, stinking copper!
You used to be a big shot.
There is just nothing l can do.
-What do you mean, took his own life? -You heard the verdict.
Verdict? A man takes a hammer and bashes in the back of his own head?
Then he lays on the tracks and kills himself?
We only act on the verdicts, we don't make them.
Do you pay or don't you?
Read the policy, ma'am.
lt clearly states....
Come here, Sophia.
You're the man.
Sit down.
What's your story?
You one of them white chicks can't get enough colored studs?
lKiss my foot.
Go ahead, kiss it.
Now feed me.
That's your story, girl.
So when you gonna holler rape?
Me?
Yes, you. You would, if the time came.
Sure you would.
Malcolm, let me feed you.
Come on.
While they're hot.
l wish your mother and father could see you now.
And that ofay you're gonna marry.
l sure wish Laura could see us.
Please, Malcolm.
There's nobody around.
No, this ain't right.
-Why? -Because you--
No, it's because of the white girl, isn't it?
-lt's not because of that. -Folks say you run around with her.
Save it for Mr. Right. Your grandmother's smarter than you think.
l'm sorry she raised me that way.
ls your mother alive?
Yes, she's alive.
When l was a kid, l was so poor l thought "not for sale" ...
...was a brand name.
l did knock.
Did you hear me say, "Come in"?
There's no point in fighting about it. l'm sorry.
-May l sit down? -You're nice enough to ask.
lt's the same questions, Mrs. Little.
-Since your husband's death... -Murder. Murder.
...there's a question as to whether you can raise these children alone.
These are my children.
They're mine.
And they ain't no question.
Sometimes, Mrs. Little, candor is the only kindness.
All your children are delinquent...
...and one at least, Malcolm, is a thief.
Get out!
Your control over your children is nonexistent.
Did you hear me?
You will regret this.
lf you don't move through that door, you'll be past regretting!
We were parceled out, all of us.
I truly believe that if ever a state agency destroyed a family...
...it destroyed ours.
I was sent to a detention home and lived at this woman's house.
Mrs. Swerlin.
Boys, this is Malcolm, our new guest.
We'll treat him like a brother.
I was special. The only colored kid in the class.
I became sort of a mascot, like a pink poodle.
I got called a nigger so much, I didn't think it was wrong.
I thought it was my name.
They talked about me like I wasn't there. Like a pedigreed dog...
...or a horse.
Like I was invisible.
The important thing is to be realistic.
We all like you here, you know that.
But you're a nigger...
...and a lawyer is no realistic goal for a nigger.
But why, Mr. Ostrowski?
l gets the best grades in class.
l got voted class president. l want to be a lawyer.
l want you to think about something that you can be.
You're good with your hands, making things.
People would give you work. l would.
Why not become a carpenter?
That's a good profession for a colored.
Wasn't your pa a carpenter?
Jesus was a carpenter.
People like you as a person. You're doing real well.
Remember what we said.
"Nothing succeeds like success." Say it.
Nothing succeeds like success.
As long as you're realistic.
lt's not the end of the world.
l said, "Don't...
...let them give that boy no pig."
It wasn't the end of the world for me.
But it was the beginning of the end for my mother.
A right cross to thejaw by Louis.
Louis takes Conn's head back with a right uppercut.
Louis hits left and right.
And Conn is down with a right cross to thejaw!
He's taking the count.
Four, five, six...
...seven. He's on his back. Eight. Nine.
He's getting up! The referee says it's all over!
What in hell is going on?
Nothing, Mr. Cooper.
The customer's are hungry.
Soup done finished, Mr. Cooper.
Right, Mr. Charlie.
The name is Mr. Cooper.
Don't you forget it.
Mr. Cooper.
What's the matter with you? You want me to get fired!
l got a wife and six kids!
Mr. Cooper is good white folk!
You is a young fool!
There'll never be another one like that!
He's done it!
And by a knockout...
...and still the world's heavyweight champion:
Joe Louis!
Ham and cheese! Excuse me, sir.
Ham and cheese here! l got coffee.
-Lemon meringue pie. -Hey, boy!
-Ham and cheese. -Yes, sir. Best in the house.
-You're pleased with yourself. -l aims to please, sir.
l'm pleased to aim.
-l like you, boy. -Thank you.
lKeep the change.
Right, sir! Ham and cheese!
Harlem!
And here's Joe Lewis, back in Harlem.
They're celebrating! They're going crazy!
They're dancing! They're hanging from street signs!
Everybody's out!
Everyone's having a great time! Listen to them roar!
Joe's a credit to his race. What a fine gentleman!
But he's also a fine American.
The Brown Bomber, Joe Louis!
Hey, sugar.
-Slow down. What's your hurry? -No hurry.
Let me show you something new.
l got gold watches, diamond rings.
Any one of these. Whatever you need.
l don't need that.
You need something, baby. Whatever you need!
A couple of these make a player look good.
My man!
-The word is "excuse me," boy. -"Excuse me" don't shine my shoes.
Then stay out of my way.
Old country nigger.
What you gonna do?
Go home to your mama?
Nigger, don't you ever in your life say anything against my mother!
Give me a whiskey.
l ordered a single, Jack.
The double's on that gentleman, "Jack."
Who is that?
That's West lndian Archie.
What's his angle?
Some of this, some of that.
Nothing's gonna bite you.
You look like you're new in town.
From what l can see, you're pretty handy with a bottle.
He had it coming.
Pull up a chair.
What do they call you?
Red.
And l ain't no punk.
You better not be.
Any cat toe you down here, you stand up or make tracks.
Man live by his rep.
Better believe it.
So what do you do?
Working on the train.
Like that job?
-lKeeps me out of the Army. -They want you, nothing'll keep you out.
Not this boy.
So l hear tell you're a good man to know.
-Where you hear that? -Boston, where l'm from.
lKiss my neck.
l've never been in Beantown.
Like the man said, a man's rep travels.
How about that!
You bullshitting me?
My father told me never bullshit a West lndian.
Your daddy's West lndian?
My mama.
She's from Grenada.
Grenada.
l like this guy.
l like your country.
Grenada.
Where'd you get them goddamn vines you got on?
And them shoes?
Oh, my.
We can do something about that.
But he's putting a hurting on my vision, man!
Relax.
How do l find you?
You can't.
l get ahold of you.
All right, l'll write it down.
Don't ever write anything down.
File it up here.
Like l do.
lf the man don't have any paper, he will never have any proof.
Dig?
Yeah, l dig. Right.
Look me in the face.
Did you just con me?
Yes, sir.
Why?
Because l want in.
lt don't take a lot to know you're already there.
At least he ain't lying.
l have a run to make.
Let me make that run with you, Mr. Archie.
l like your heart.
l like your style.
You might just do, Mr. Red.
Unless you have to get back to your train job.
l've told him what to do with that train.
-When? -Just now.
All right.
Come with me.
l'm taking you shopping.
Cadillac's the name.
Sammy, man.
-You ready? -Good.
Button more buttons on the jacket.
You look good.
But you're missing something.
Frisk me.
Go ahead, frisk me.
Nothing, right?
l'm still carrying.
This was my first gun.
Now it's yours.
Thank you.
You wear it...
...wear it so.
Small of the back.
Now you're outfitted.
Ready for the streets?
l'm ready.
Let them come.
Let us now turn to the Gospel According to St. John.
Chapter 3...
...verse 23.
323.
"And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim...
...because there was much water.
And they came...
...and were baptized."
313.
255.
lt got to be 25 1.
403.
l saw it in my dream.
555.
-What do you know? -l feel straight.
Your lucky day.
Roll it for me.
l told you, no paper, no trouble.
l'm working on it.
l keep my numbers in my head.
l've never written a number down yet. Remember that.
Your turn.
Easy.
You there?
lf l ain't, l'm next door.
Nothing in this world can give you that real deep cool.
The girl.
About as mellow as l can be.
Cool enough to kill.
l realize that.
-Easy, easy, easy, easy. -Stick them up.
Archie!
Baby?
Malcolm, you're so funny.
Give me some money, baby.
Come on, baby.
The bitch move too slow.
Sometimes this guy has a big ugly mouth.
What time is it, baby?
8:21.
l like that. Combinate me.
821.
128.
218.
l'm taking the bet.
Time to reload.
l thought you said we was going to the movies last night.
You said that.
l'm sorry. l say a lot of things.
l believed you.
Do your job now. Get me a pack of Lucky Strikes and a cognac.
Daniel come in yet?
Ain't that him?
Gorgeous!
How you been today? You been waiting long?
Let me look at you.
-l've been missing you today, Laura. -How you doing, baby?
l'm all right. Copacetic. Great. Did you work today?
No, baby, l didn't go to work.
-l need a five-spot. -l gave you 10 this morning.
Give me the goddamn $5!
lt ain't the money. l wanna...
...make sure you're okay.
l gotta pay back this guy.
l'll be right back.
Like last time?
l swear, l'll be right back.
Laura, l love you.
You know that chick?
You a private detective now?
Just asking.
Don't ask me no goddamn questions.
l ask you the questions. You understand?
-She come in here a lot? -Almost every night.
With him?
-She know he's high? -lf she got eyes, she do.
She ain't hooking?
Not yet, Red.
But the way things are, he'll turn her out any day now.
You stuck on her?
That's your problem. You need to mind your own business.
Don't do that!
l wanna talk to you, all right? Have a seat.
-Don't pay him any mind, hear? -All right.
-All right? -l'm all right.
Buy yourself something nice.
Hey, baby.
Give me a light.
You look uptight. What's the problem?
-No problem. -Sure?
Everything's all right. l'm not worrying about it.
l'm thinking about my money.
Six big ones you owe me, right?
What?
821. lt hit, didn't it?
You didn't have 821.
Were you high? l threw the slats at you, told you to combinate me.
You never had it.
l tell you l did. Sophia was there.
You remember, don't you?
What would she say?
Don't do this.
All right?
All right.
All right, skip it.
But you're slipping, aren't you?
You done slipped.
Archie, wait.
Come on, Archie. Look....
Come on. You want a drink or something? l'm buying.
l ain't drinking with you.
All right?
Come, Sam.
l'll be right there, man.
Twenty-two years.
Twenty-two years, l never knowed him to forget a number.
First time for everything.
What are you talking about?
The first thing he'll do is check with the collector for an oversight.
His rep is on the line. So is yours.
And, Red, if you're lying, you're a dead man.
Dead, dead, dead.
You go and tell him that.
My man, Red.
Night to you.
l don't understand Archie. You had the number.
Didn't l tell you never sit with your back to no door?
You know what?
You're a damn liar.
And so is she.
So you figure to take me...
...you bastard?
l'm taking you.
-So it's you and me? -That's right.
l'll give you the $600.
-l don't want it. -l'm wearing.
There's three guns on you, so you take your chances.
Let's walk.
So this is how l'm going out?
-ln a toe-down? -Toe-down, yes.
-Let's go. -We'll let Billie finish.
Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Wake up.
Wake up!
There's somebody out there.
Wake the kids.
Follow me! Wait! Wait!
Go! Go!
Careful!
-Good thing we're all good Christians. -lt's time for you to leave this town.
lt's a free country.
We warned you about Garvey preaching! Stirring up the good niggras!
l ain't a boy!
-l'm a man! -You're a dead nigger.
And a real man don't hide behind sheets!
You take these bullets for them sheets!
l know you're a better shot than that.
You should've killed them.
You should've shot them all dead.
l just wanted to scare them.
They won't be around here bothering us no more.
They won't be here no time soon.
l'm a man!
That'll teach you.
Get a doctor!
He doesn't need a doctor, he needs a preacher.
l'm glad we got you out of there.
With Archie on your ass, your name on the wire...
...Boston's the best goddamn place for you.
We'll take it easy, huh, baby?
l got a place fixed up for us on Harvard Square. How's that sound?
Sounds good. We'll lay low for a while.
Don't you worry about a thing. l'll stake you.
l got my band. l'm blowing great sax.
You ain't even heard us play!
Like every hustler, I was trapped.
Cats that hung together to find security...
...to find an answer, found nothing.
Cats that might've cured cancer....
West Indian Archie might've been a mathematical genius.
We were all victims of the American social order.
Until that time, there were three things I was always afraid of:
a job, a bust andjail.
But I realized then that I wasn't afraid of anything. I was an animal.
He don't look too good.
We're gonna rob this town blind.
Anybody want out, say so now.
l set up a stake, and l got somebody to move the goods.
We need a driver. Any suggestions?
How about Rudy?
Who's Rudy?
l'm half-wop, half-nigger. l'm not afraid of nobody.
What do you do?
Name it, l claim it.
Rudy does catering. Rich joints.
All right.
Tell him about Baldy.
He's this old, rich ofay motherfucker.
l give him a bath every Friday night.
Towel him off, talcum powder on him, put him to bed.
Just like a baby. He gets his jollies off.
What about him?
Guy's got jewelry. He's got a coin collection. He's got china.
-He's got rugs. -That might be all right.
Shit, l know this town. l got my own fences.
Who is this guy?
Who put you in charge?
You wanna be in charge?
l am in charge.
-You head nigger in charge. -l'm the head nigger in charge.
Big-head nigger.
l'll tell you what.
Because l'm a fair man...
...and l like big-head niggers like you.
We'll flip for it.
We'll flip this.
She loves me.
She loves me not.
She loves me.
She loves me not.
She loves me.
l'll flip first.
Red, cool it. Come on.
Head man in charge, right?
Put the gun down.
We believe you.
Red, stop clowning around, all right? For chrissakes!
Your turn, Rudy.
Quit fooling around. Come on, guys.
You don't wanna flip?
-Let me show you how. -Red, don't!
He doesn't know how. l have to show him.
Did you miss something?
You got your eyes open? Look at me.
You don't have to do this, Red.
That was really dumb.
Your flip. You wanna do it? No, you don't, do you?
l'll help you.
-Here. -Red, don't.
Should we shoot that wop nose of yours off?
Or is that the nigger side? ls that the wop side or the nigger side?
ls that wop or nigger? l guess that's the wop side.
l'm not going to jail.
Put the gun away. Come on, this is enough.
Say goodbye, Rudy.
Rudy said something.
What'd you say?
Speak up.
Jesus Christ! When are you gonna stop?
l did two, so l owe you two.
You got it.
-l got it. What did you say? -You got it.
Rudy says l got it.
Rudy, don't you ever...
...try and cross someone who ain't afraid to die, you hear me?
All right.
This is what we'll do.
We'll hit old Talcum Powder tonight.
My friend Rudy's gonna draw up the plans.
Everything that's in the house, right?
Peg, Sophia, you get those tools like l asked you.
We're gonna hit tonight because some of us have high visibility during the day.
lt's okay with you, right?
Merry Christmas, Rudy.
One big happy family.
l love you.
What happened to the bullet? Did you palm that bullet?
What bullet?
The bullet.
You're crazy.
Shorty!
Easy, Shorty, easy.
My man, Red.
My man!
When's Rudy due back?
Thirty minutes.
l'm almost finished.
Girls ought to be getting back from casing that rug joint.
They should be.
We've done a good job.
We're killing them, ain't we?
They don't know what's hitting them.
-Let me work back in this kitchen. -You getting the kitchen?
Putting naps on in the kitchen.
lf you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
All right, let's go to the sink.
Come on, it's starting to heat up.
-lt's burning? -lt's all right.
Put your head down.
-Come on, man. -l turned it.
lt's started to sting. Get out of the way!
lt's burning?
Hell, yeah, it's burning!
Goddamn it!
Nigger, take your head out of the shit bowl!
That's it. Get up slowly.
Watch it! No funny business now.
Red, the jig is up.
The average first offender gets two years for burglary.
We were all first offenders. That's what the girls drew.
Two years in the women's reformatory.
Our crime wasn't burglary.
It was sleeping with white girls. They threw the book at us.
Burglary, count one, 8 to 10 years.
Count two, 8 to 10 years.
Count three, 8 to 10 years.
Count four, 8 to 10 years.
Count five, 8 to 10 years.
Count six, 8 to 10 years. Count seven, 8 to 10 years.
Count eight, 8 to 10 years.
Count nine, 8 to 10 years. Count ten, 8 to 10 years.
Count eleven, 8 to 10 years. Count twelve, 8 to 10 years.
Count thirteen, 8 to 10 years, and count fourteen--
Fourteen counts of 8 to 10 years.
Sentences to run concurrently.
Shorty thought he'd given us 100 years, until I explained "concurrently. "
It meant a minimum of 10 years hard labor...
...at the Charlestown State Prison.
The date was February 1946.
Fuck you.
Cellblock A, secure.
Look at him.
l see him.
He about to bust?
He not gonna bust. He wouldn't give them the pleasure.
Little!
Your number.
Little!
What?
Give him a break.
-He's a new fish. -l'll give him a break.
Now state your number, Little.
l forgot it.
State it.
l forgot it.
You can read it!
-Can't you read, boy? -Fuck you!
l'll teach you a lesson.
l forgot it!
They ain't gonna break me down.
l'm in this situation, and l'm getting out.
Anything go wrong, l'm strong.
Time's up, Little.
Now state your number.
Suit yourself. Ten more days.
Water!
You want a smoke?
You know what a friend you have in Jesus, son?
A friend?
He's a friend? lf he's such a friend, where is he?
What's he done for me?
A friend!
Tell you what you do, you tell him to call me.
Call me and tell me what kind of friend he is.
Solitary 2-2607.
What he done for me, chappy?
Where is he when l need him?
You tell me that! Where is this Jesus? l'll tell you where.
He's out with the police captain! l'll straighten him out!
What's he done for me? He ain't done nothing for me!
"What a friend we have in Jesus." Jesus can kiss my ass!
Tell Jesus to kiss my ass. How about that? Tell him that.
Little!
State your number.
Come on, state it!
A-22....
What?
A-228....
Come on.
l know how you feel.
Like you want to lay down and die.
l brought you something.
l don't need no more favors from you.
lt's nutmeg.
Put it in the water. You need something to get the monkey off your back.
lt's not cocaine, but it'll help some.
Drink it slow. The stuff is strong.
So what's your hype?
l can show you how to get out of prison. And it's no hype.
Talk, daddy-o. l'm listening.
-This ain't bad. You got some more? -That's the last fix l'm giving you.
So why'd you give it to me?
Because you needed it. Because you couldn't hear me without it.
Nigger, get on out of my face.
l think you got more sense than any cat in this prison.
Why the hell don't you use it?
You can't bust out of here like they do in the movies.
Even if you get out, you're still in prison.
You ain't lying.
You'll bang against a stone wall. You're not using your brain!
That's what the white man wants.
Look at you, putting all that poison in your hair.
l think you been in prison too long. Everybody on the outside conks.
Why does everybody on the outside conk?
They don't want to walk around with a nappy head, looking like--
Looking like me?
Like a nigger?
Why not look like what you are?
What makes you ashamed of being black?
Let me tell you something. l'm not ashamed of being anything.
You better let go. l gotta wash this out.
-Let it burn! -Nigger, get your hands off of me!
Go on. Burn yourself. Pain yourself.
Put all that poison in your hair, in your body, trying to be white!
-l don't want to hear this. -l thought you were smart.
But you just another cat strutting down the avenue...
...in your clown suit with all that mess on you!
Looking like a monkey!
The white man sees you and laughs because he knows you ain't white.
Who are you?
The question is, who are you?
l'll tell you.
You are lost in the darkness.
But Elijah Muhammad has come to bring you into the light.
Who?
Elijah Muhammad...
...can get you out of prison.
Out of the prison of your mind.
But maybe all you want is another fix.
--you get used to this life, and it puts you to sleep.
You stop thinking and acting for yourself.
lf you had to scrounge 3 squares a day, you'd cut your throats.
So you let them feed you, give you dominoes to play with.
-Let you shoot marbles, play baseball. -Let's go. Cut the sermon.
He blows his whistle and you sit, you stand, you grab, gobble...
...file out...
...sleep, and sing out your number.
l told you to knock it off.
Now...
...are you gonna take yard?
l'm staying.
Me too.
What are you sniffing around for?
l told you, l gave you your last fix.
What's your angle, nigger?
"Nigger"? Who's wearing the conk?
You the only cat in this prison l done seen act like you do.
You ain't even afraid of the guards.
What's he gonna do to me he hasn't done already?
l mean, you don't cuss none. You don't talk that "What-ya-know-daddy" jive.
A man curses because he doesn't have the words to say what's on his mind.
l know you got a angle some kind of way.
Don't con me.
Don't con me and don't try.
Hey, just offering you a cigarette, my man. Ain't no big deal.
l read, study.
The first thing a black man must have is self-respect.
Respect his body and his mind.
Quit taking the white man's poisons into his body.
His cigarettes, his dope, his liquor, his white women, his pork.
Pork?
My mama used to say don't eat no pork.
Your mama was right. A pig is a filthy beast.
Part rat, part cat and the rest is dog.
All right, pull my coat on this now.
What happen if you give all that up?
l mean, the pork. You get sick and you get a medical or something?
Like when l was on the outside, l ran this hustle. l tried--
l'm telling you God's words, not no hustle.
And l'm gonna tell you...
...God is black.
God is black? Everybody knows God is white.
You accepted everything the white man taught. He said you were a heathen...
...and you believed him. He said Jesus was blond and blue-eyed...
...with white skin...
...and you believed him.
He said that black was a curse and you believed that.
-Ever look up the word "black"? -For what?
Did you ever study anything that wasn't a con?
What the hell for, man?
Come with me.
"Black: Destitute of light...
...devoid of color.
Enveloped in darkness...
...hence utterly dismal or gloomy...
...as, 'The future looked black.' "
Pretty good with them words.
"Soiled with dirt...
...foul.
Sullen...
...hostile...
...forbidding, as, 'a black day.'
Foully or outrageously wicked...
...as, 'black cruelty.'
lndicating disgrace, dishonor or culpability."
And there's others. "Blackmail. Blackball. Blackguard."
That's something, all right.
Let's look up "white."
Here.
Read.
"White:
The color of pure snow.
Reflecting all the rays of the spectrum.
The opposite of black.
Free from spot or blemish.
lnnocent. Pure."
Ain't this something? "Without evil intent.
Harmless.
Honest, square-dealing...
...and honorable." Wait a minute.
This was written by white folks, though.
-Sure ain't no black man's book. -So why read it?
So you can read the truth behind the words.
You got to take everything the white man says and use it against him.
There's a whole lot of words in here.
Here. Let's start at the beginning.
We'll look them up, write them down and find out what they mean.
Page one. The first word: "Aardvark."
"Aardvark.
Earth pig. African, ant-eating mammal.
Abacus:
Chinese calculating instrument.
Abaddon:
The place of the lost in Sheol.
The bottomless pit."
lf you take one step toward Allah...
...he'll take two steps toward you.
Lights out!
Boy'll wear out a baseball.
-What's the score, my man? -10 to 1.
We're murdering them! Didn't you hear?
No. What happened?
The Dodgers brought up Jackie Robinson! We're pouding them, celebrating!
That's all right.
Sure.
White man throw us a bone and we're supposed to forget...
...400 years of oppression.
Yeah, but a nigger--
A Negro in the big leagues, that's something.
l told you to go behind the words and dig out the truth.
They let us sing and dance and smile...
...and then they let one so-called Negro into the majors.
That doesn't cancel out history's greatest crime.
When that grafted, blue-eyed devil locked us in chains...
...one hundred million of us, broke up our families...
...tortured us...
...cut us off from our language, our religion, our history....
Let me tell you about black history.
We are the original man.
The first men on earth were black. They ruled.
And there wasn't a white face anywhere.
But they teach us that we swung from trees.
That's a lie. Black men never did that.
We were a race of kings when the white man...
...crawled on all fours in Europe.
Do they know who they are?
Do you know where you came from? What's your name?
Malcolm Little.
That's the name of the slave masters that owned your family.
You don't even know who you are.
You're nothing. Less than nothing.
Who are you?
Look, l ain't-- Shit!
All right, l ain't Malcolm Little. Or Red. Or Satan.
That's right. So who are you?
-l don't know. -We are a nation...
...of the tribe of Shabazz...
...lost in this wilderness called North America.
Tribe of Shabazz.
The merciful Allah has sent us a messenger...
...a black man named Elijah Muhammad.
He reveals to us the true knowledge about ourselves.
He teaches that the true nature of the original man, the black man...
...is righteousness.
lf the black man's nature is righteousness....
Then the true nature of the white man is wickedness.
l knew you'd get it.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches that the white man is a devil.
l sure met some in my life.
Elijah Muhammad does not say that some white men are devils.
He teaches us that all white men are devils.
Have you ever known a good white man? Think back in all your life.
Have you ever met one who wasn't evil?
The body is a sacred temple...
...it must be purified.
l will not touch the white man's poison:
His drugs...
...his liquor...
...his swine...
...his women.
A Muslim must be strikingly upright...
...an outstanding example...
...so that those in the darkness can see the power of the light.
l will not commit adultery or fornication.
l will not lie...
...cheat or steal.
But the key to lslam is submission.
That is why five times daily, we turn to Mecca to pray...
...to bend our knees in submission.
l can't do that, Brother Baines.
The lost, found, must bend their knees...
...to admit their guilt.
To implore Allah's forgiveness is the hardest thing on earth.
The hardest and the greatest.
l don't know what l would say to Allah.
Have you ever bent your knees?
Yes, when l was...
...picking a lock to rob someone's house.
Tell Allah that.
You can grovel and crawl for sin but not to save your soul?
Pick the lock. Pick it.
l want to.
God knows l want to.
I received a letter that day from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
The dear Holy Apostle wrote to me...
...a nobody, a junkie, a pimp and a convict.
I have come to give you...
...something which can never be taken away from you.
I bring to you a sense of your own worth...
...the worth of one human being.
The knowledge of self.
It was like a blinding light. I was aware that he was in the room with me.
He wore a dark suit, and on his face I saw a wisdom...
...and pain so old and deep that I could scarcely look at him.
But I knew I wasn't dreaming. He was there with me.
I tell you...
...the most dangerous creation in the world...
...in any society...
...is the man with nothing to lose.
You do not need 10 such men to change the world.
One will do.
The earth belongs to us...
...the black man.
And whatever is around it...
...or on it, or in it...
...belongs to us.
And then as suddenly as he came...
...he was gone.
And then I could do it.
We're taught that Paul...
...on the road to Damascus, heard the voice of Christ.
He was so smitten by the truth that he fell from his horse.
Now, I don't liken myself to Paul...
...but I do understand.
You see, it happened to me.
Why me?
Dear Brother Malcolm: I am back in the bosom of Islam, praise Allah.
We don't have much, but what we have is yours.
My wife and my sonjoin me in saying that when you come out...
...which won't be long, come straight to us.
Next.
What'll it be?
Take it all off.
-Getting rid of that conk, huh? -Yes, sir.
You write, thanking me.
Don't thank me, thank Allah. He did it all.
Dear Brother Baines:
Please thank Elijah Muhammad for the money...
...and tell him I haven't written him...
...because I've not yet proven myself.
But I have shared his teachings with old running buddies in Harlem...
...and with my main man, Shorty, who was transferred upstate.