In the name of Allah the beneficent, the merciful...
...all praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the Worlds...
...to the one God to whom praise is due forever...
...to the one who came to us in the person of Master Fard Muhammad...
...and raised up The Honourable Elijah Muhammad.
- Aameen. - (congregation) Aameen.
- As salaam alaikum! - Wa-alaikum salaam!
- How do you feel? - Fine, sir!
- Who do we want to hear? - Malcolm X!
- Are we gonna bring him on? - Yes, sir! Yes, we gonna bring him on!
Well, let us hear from our minister, Mr Malcolm X!
Let us bring him on with a round of applause! (applause and cheering)
Brothers and sisters, I'm here to tell you that I charge the white man.
I charge the white man with being the greatest murderer on earth.
- (congregation shouts) - I charge the white man...
...with being the greatest kidnapper on earth!
There is no place in this world that that man can go...
...and say he createdpeace and harmony. Everywhere he's gone, he's created havoc.
Everywhere he's gone, he's created destruction.
So I charge him. 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 on this earth!
The greatest drunkard on this earth! He can't deny the charges.
You can't deny the charges! We're the living proof of those charges!
- (cheering and applause) - You and I are the proof!
You're not an American, you are the victim of America!
You didn 't have a choice coming over here.
He didn 't say "Black man, black woman...
...come on over and help me build America."
He said "Nigger, get down in the bottom of that boat...
...and I'm taking you over there to help me build America." (applause and cheering)
Being born here does not make you an American.
I'm not an American. You're not an American.
You are one of the 22 million black people... ...who are the victims of America.
You and I, we've neverseen any democracy.
We ain 't seen no democracy in the... the cotton fields of Georgia.
Wasn't no democracy down there. We didn 't see any democracy on the streets of Harlem...
...in the streets of Brooklyn, of Detroit, and Chicago.
Ain 't no democracy down there. No, 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. (wild cheering and applause)
(congregation) We love Malcolm! We love Malcolm! We love Malcolm!
We love Malcolm! We love Malcolm! We love Malcolm!
(fades) We love Malcolm! We love Malcolm!
* Joe Turner: "Roll 'Em Pete"
* Well, I got a gal She lives up on the hill
* Well, this woman's tryin' to quit me... See that spot! Get it. The spot!
All right, Speedy, that's it. * They shine like Klondike gold...
C'mon, Pee Wee.
* Every time she loves me, she sends my mellow soul
* Well, you're so beautiful But you've got to die someday
* All I want's a little lovin ' Just before you pass away
* Yeah!
* (piano scats)
Hey, Cholly! Where'd you get that number you hit on? Was that your girlfriend's address?
No, my grandma gave me that number in my dreams, straight!
- Three, eight, four. - You told me Sassy Frassy gave you... Nah, that woman quit me.
After I hit the number... ...that woman was no good to me at all. - No? What happened?
She said I was cheap cos I wouldn't cop her a diamond ring.
- And on top of that, had the indignation... - Whoo!
...to call me, of all people, Good Time Cholly...
...a cheap black son of a bitch!
- Sassy Frassy? - Cholly, where's homeboy?
- Hey, Little! - Yeah?
Your man out here waitin' on you!
There he is!
Hey! Fixin' to get that first conk laid on, eh, homeboy? Be hot like hell!
Don't be a-scared, son, you ain't got nothin' to worry about.
You in the hands of an expert!
My hair was just like yours. Look what he did for me!
- (laughter) - Heckle and Jeckle!
Don't scare the man no more than he's scared already!
- Get his forehead and eyebrows, Shorty. - Who's doing this?
- Y'all heard that. - Y'all heard that.
Pull my coat-tail if it stings, this shit could burn a hole through cement.
Hold tight, baby, and keep your eyes shut.
I thought you said this was gonna sting. (chuckles) This ain't nothin'.
- Feel good, don't it? - Yeah, real good, don't it?
- Yeah, it's all right. - Gonna feel better than that in a minute.
It is heatin' up a little bit there, Shorty. Shorty, it's startin' to heat up there.
- It's all right. - Feelin' better and better, ain't it?
- Just hold on! - All right, I'm holdin', but it's heatin'!
- We gotta make it straight. - Well, all right.
- That's what he told me, too! - (laughter)
- I gotta get this out now, it's startin' to... - Uh-oh! Uh-oh!
- Hold on. - I'm holdin', I'm holdin'! I'm holdin'!
- Well, hold on! - I'm holdin'on!
- Cholly, gimme a hand! Help me out! - Go on! Hold him! Hold him!
- Hold him! - Shorty!
- C'mon, we're goin' to the sink! - I got to get up! I got to get up!
- Cool it, baby! Cool it! - Put some water on him! More water!
Hold on! Wait, wait, you're getting it in my eye now! How's it feel?
- Feel like I ain't got no skin on my head! - If you can talk, it's out!
- How's it look? - I can't tell yet.
It's straight, though, right? I ain't doin' this again! Yeah. Lemme dry it. Lemme dry it.
(chuckles) I can tell, it's layin' down.
(radio) Gets on down the line, does it up so mighty, mighty fine.
- Don't take it off yet. - All right.
That's the thing to do! Come on in here and get through!
A moneymaker and a heartbreaker, every step of the way.
You gonna flip! That's right, watch your lip, dear... Oooooo-ooh!
- (laughs) - All right! Go, Joe! He's the man!
- Looks white, don't it? - Well, all right!
- Yes! - Well, all root!
- Ow! - Well, all reet! * Yes, yes
Swing it!
- * Yes, yes - Yeah, right now.
* Yes, yes
* Yeah, you know
* Well, all right, then
* Well, all reet, then - Hit the brim with your left. - * Well, all root, then
* Well, all rote, then - Hey, girl! - * Well, all right, then
Sweet thing!
* Well, all reet, then
* Bye, baby, bye
* Bye, baby, bye... *
When my mother was pregnant with me...
...Klansmen on horseback surrounded our house in Omaha, Nebraska.
They brandished guns and shouted for my father to come out.
- Earl Little! - We know you're in there! Come on out!
My mother went to the door, where they could see herpregnant condition...
...and told them my father was in Milwaukee, preaching.
Now, these hooded Klansmen said the good white Christians...
...would not stand for his troublemaking, and to get out of town.
- C'mon! - Bring him out!
- (screaming) - Come on!
- It's all right! - (children shriek)
- You and your family, Earl! - We got no place for y'all here! (shouting and screaming)
Mommy!
They broke every window before riding off into the night.
They rode off into the moonlight as suddenly as they had come.
You see, my father was not a frightened Negro...
...as most were then, and as many still are today.
He was six feet four, a very strong man, and believed, as did Marcus Garvey...
...that freedom, independence and self-respect...
...could neverbe achieved by the Negro in America.
...on the object of building up for themselves a great nation in Africa.
Therefore, black men should leave America... ...and return to the land of their origins.
...to his original home, Africa! My father dedicated his life to his beliefs...
...because he had seen four of his six brothers die 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, and a strong woman.
She was very fair-skinned because her mother was raped by a white man.
One of the reasons she married my father was because he was so black.
She hated the white blood in herbody and wanted her children to have colour.
In fact, I think this had a profound effect on me back then...
...and on most Negroes today.
So many of our sisters have been raped or violated by the white man...
...that the black men can't wait to get their hands on the white man's prize:
...the white woman.
Africa for the Africans!
(applause and shouts)
Say "Roseland"!
(both) Roseland! Showtime!
- Showtime! - All right!
* Lionel Hampton: "Flying Home"
Whoo!
Yeah! (laughs and whoops)
Whoooo-hooo!
- Yeah! C'mon, baby! C'mon! - (gasps)
(laughs)
Hi, Shorty!
You're too big!
- I'm gonna come get you. - Oh, no!
Whoo! C'mon, Shorty, I'm gonna dance!
- Red, hold this! - Shorty, go get her, baby! I got your hat! Yeah!
Hey!
- Hey! (laughs) - Ah! Ah! Ah!
You in charge, boy!
Yeah! Whoo!
You like what you see, baby?
No! Shorty, get back here!
Go ahead, boy! - Red, save me! Save me! - Come back here! Gotcha!
Whoo! Yeah!
- Feels good! - C'mon, Shorty, I wanna dance again!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Hey! Hey!
- Ho! Ho! Go on! - Shorty, Shorty! Shorty!
Hey! Hey, hey!
Aow!
- Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! - Whee!
- Whoo! - Whoa! (laughs)
Whoo... hoo!
- (laughs) - Whoo!
Yeah!
- All right, then! - Shorty! Shorty!
Whoo!
(laughs) Whoo!
Whoo!
- * (xylophone plays) - (crowd responds) Whoo!
- * (xylophone) - (crowd) Whoo!
- * (brass) - (crowd) Hey!
Flyin' home!
Whoo!
- Whoa! - Flyin' home!
- Yeah! - Come on, Shorty! Come here, baby!
(music stops, crowd cheers)
You OK, baby?
(chuckles)
- Laura sure can go, can't she? - Uh-huh.
- I gotta go freshen up. - All right, baby.
- You come on back, now. - All right, Malcolm.
Mmh-mmh-mmh! That chick is fine as May wine.
Except she live up on the Hill and got a grandmother, too.
Yeah, she a church girl, so I don't know what I'm gonna do.
* Hoagy Carmichael: "Stardust"
Wanna dance?
Yeah.
So what do they call you?
- Uh, Red. - Red?
I'm Sophia.
- How you doin', Sophia? - Very well, thank you. I have an idea, Red.
Why don't you take that little girl home and come on back?
What?
Just walk, baby, don't run.
It'll be here when you get back.
Well, I better not come in.
- I'm not stupid. - What? I mean, it's late, baby.
No, I know where you're going, Malcolm. I am not a total square...
- I know exactly what is happening... - I'm not going anywhere! I gotta go home.
It's late, I gotta get up...
...(fakes yawn) early in the morning. You know I gotta work tomorrow.
So I call you tomorrow?
What for? I'm not white and I don't put out...
...so why would you want to call me, Malcolm?
Good night, Mrs Johnson. (lower) I'll call you tomorrow. * The Ink Spots: "My Prayer"
* Ooh
* My prayer
* Is to linger with you
* At the end of the day
* In a dream that's divine
* Ooh
* My prayer
* Is a rapture in blue
* With a world far away
* And your lips close to mine...
* "My Prayer" plays on carradio
(playfully) Aww! Hey.
Am I the first white woman you've been with?
- Huh? - Hm?
No, you ain't! Shit, I done had plenty.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
That isn't a whore?
Hm?
(chuckles) You...
Mm... Mmm.
Take your time. Sophia's not going anywhere.
Remember, I told you to walk...
...don't run.
Shh!
I don't like women that talk too much. OK?
OK.
Who wants to talk?
* At the end of each day
* In a dream that's divine
* Ooh, ooh, ooh
- * Ooh - * My prayer
* Is a rapture in blue... *
- Yeah, Red! Bang! - Naw, you missed me, flatfoot!
Here, try this one for size! (mimics machine-gun fire)
- I ducked! - You ducked?
- I ducked! - I got you right between the toes!
Man, I'm tired of playing the cops all the time. I wanna be Bogart!
(as Bogart) Well, Shorty, you're too small to be Bogart.
- I'm not too short to be Cagney. Boom! - Aaaah! Why, you!
- Oh! Aaaagh! - Boom!
- You dirty, stinkin'... - One more! One more! Boom!
- Aw, Jesus! - (laughs and groans)
- (gunshot) - Filthy, rotten, stinkin' copper! Aah...
He used to be a big shot.
(screams)
There is just nothing I can do.
- What do you mean, took his own life? - I'm sorry, ma'am. You heard the verdict.
Verdict? A man takes a hammer and bashes in the back of his own head...
...then he lays down on the tracks and kills himself(?)
We merely act on the verdicts, we don't make them. Well, do you pay or don't you?
Read the policy, ma'am.
It clearly states...
C'mere, Sophia.
(radio) * Ella Fitzgerald: "Stairway to the Stars"
- * Let's build a stairway to the stars - You're the man.
- * And climb that stairway to the stars - Sit down.
* With love beside us
- * To fill the night with a song... - What's your story?
You one of them white chicks can't get enough coloured stud?
* We'll hear the sound of violins
* Out yonder where the blue begins...
Kiss my foot.
Go ahead. Kiss it.
* Can't we sail away On a lazy daisy petal
Now feed me.
* Can't we sail away On the little dreams
* And settle high on the crest of a thrill?
Yeah.
(snorts) That's your story, girl. So, when you gonna holler rape, sister?
Me?
Yes, you. You would if the time came. Sure you would.
Malcolm, let me feed you.
C'mon.
While they're hot.
I sure wish your mother and father could see you now. And that ofay you gonna marry.
I sure wish Laura could see us.
* Let's build a stairway to the stars... *
Please, Malcolm.
There's nobody around.
Nah, this ain't right.
- Why? - Because you...
No, it's...
- It's because of the white girl, isn't it? - No, it's not because of that.
- Folks say you two are running around. - It's not because of that.
Save it, all right, Laura? Save it for Mr Right...
...because your grandmother's smarter than you think.
I'm sorry she raised me that way.
Is your mother alive?
Yeah, she's alive.
When I was a kid, I was so poor I used to think "Not For Sale" was a brand name.
- I did knock. - Did you hear me say come in?
There's no point in fighting about it. I'm sorry.
- May I sit down? - As you nice enough to ask(!)
It's the same questions, Mrs Little. Since the death of your husband...
- Murder. Murder. - There is serious question...
...as to whether or not you are capable of raising these children on your own. Oh, well...
These are my children.
They're mine.
And there ain't no question. Sometimes, I think, Mrs Little, candour is the only kindness.
All of your children are delinquent... ...and one, at least - Malcolm - is a thief.
Get outta here!
Your control over your children is therefore nonexistent... Did you hear me?
You will regret this.
If you don't move out through that door, you're gonna be past regretting!
We were parcelled out, all of us.
I believe that ifever a state agency destroyed a family, it destroyed ours.
I was sent to a detention home, and lived at this woman's house.
This is your room, Malcolm, I know you'll keep it clean. Mrs Swerlin.
Boys, this is Malcolm, our new guest. We'll treat him like a brother.
I was special. The only coloured kid in the class.
I became sort of a mascot, like a... like a pink poodle.
In fact, I got called a niggerso much...
...I didn 't think there was anything wrong with it. I thought it was my name.
(Mrs Swerlin) He's a fine athlete... They talked about me like I wasn't there...
...like I was a pedigree dog or a horse. ...president of his class. - Like I was invisible.
Now, 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?
I gets the best grades in class.
I got voted class president. I wanna be a lawyer.
No. I want you to think about something that you can be.
You're good with your hands. Making things.
People would give you work. I would.
Why don't you become a carpenter?
That's a good profession for a coloured.
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." Let me hear it.
- Nothing succeeds like success. - Right. As long as you're realistic.
It's not the end of the world, Malcolm.
I said "Don't...
...let 'em give that boy no pig."
It wasn't the end for me, but it was the beginning of the end for my mother.
(train whistle)
- (radio) A right cross to the jaw by Louis! - (all cheer) Conn is covering up now!
Louis takes Conn's head back with a right uppercut!
He's reeling around the ring! Louis hits a left and a right to the jaw! And Conn is down...
- (all roar) ...with a right cross to the jaw!
- And he's taking the count! Four! Five! - Wait!
- Six! - Six!
- Seven! He's on his back! Eight! - Seven! Eight!
- Nine! He's getting up at the count... - Nine!
- No, the referee says it's all over! - (all cheer)
- The referee says it's all over! - I knew he was gonna get it!
- What in hell is going on? - Uh, nothing, Mr Cooper.
We got a lot of hungry customers! - Uh, yes, sir! - Soup done finished, Mr Cooper!
- That's right, Mr Charlie! - The name is Mr Cooper.
And don't you forget it! Mr Cooper.
Boy, what in the hell is the matter with you? You want me to get fired?
- I got a wife and six kids! - Mr Cooper is good white folk, boy! You is a young fool!
Damn!
...not himself! There'll neverbe another one like that...
Oh, yeah! He's got him! He's done it! He's done it!! By a knockout...
...and still the world's heavyweight champion!
- Joe Louis! - Joe Louis!
Ham and cheese! Excuse me, sir. Ham and cheese here!
I got coffee, lemon meringue pie!
Hey, boy! Gimme one of them ham and cheese. Yes, sir, best in the house, sir!
- Mighty pleased with yourself, ain't you? - I aims to please, sir, I'm pleased to aim.
- I like you, boy. - Thank you, sir.
- Keep the change. - Right, sir! Ham and cheese!
- * Ella Fitzgerald: Drop me off in Harlem - (hollers)
- * Any place in Harlem - * Ho-oh! (laughs) Harlem!
* There's someone waiting there Who makes it seem like heaven
- * Up in Harlem - (car horn)
* I don't want your Dixie
* You can keep your Dixie
* There's no-one down in Dixie
* Who can take me 'way from my hot Harlem... *
(announcer) Joe Louis is back in Harlem! They're celebrating! They're going crazy!
They're dancing and cheering, they're hanging from the street signs!
Everybody's out! Everybody's having a great time!
- Listen to them roar! - (shouting)
- Joe! Joe! Joe! - * If Harlem moved to China
* I know of nothing finer
* Than to stow away on a plane someday
* And have them drop me off in Harlem *
(whistling and cheering)
(announcer) 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! - Huh?
- Slow down, daddy. What's your hurry? - Ain't no hurry.
- Lemme show you somethin' brand-new. - Nah.
Look here, champ, I got gold watches, diamond rings.
Any one of these. Whatever you want. Whatever you need.
- No, I don't need nothin', daddy-o. - You need somethin', baby.
- Well... - Coupla these, then a player look good. You know that. What you want, champ?
* Lionel Hampton: "Hamp's Boogie-Woogie"
- Boy, you gotta see this. - Yeah?
- My man! - The word is "Excuse me", boy!
- "Excuse me" don't shine my shoes. - Then you shoulda stayed out my way.
Old country nigger.
(laughs) What you gonna do?
Go home to your mama(?)
Nigger, don't you ever, in your life, say anything against my mother!
- Let's get out. - Man! What'd he do to my face?
Hurry up. Let's move it.
Give me a whisky.
(mouths)
I ordered a single, Jack.
The double's on that gentleman... Jack.
Who is that?
That's West Indian Archie.
Yeah? What's his angle?
Some of this, some of that.
Come closer. I'm not fixin' to bite you. You look like you're new in town.
From what I can see, you're... you're pretty handy with a bottle.
- He had it comin'. - Pull up a chair.
So what they call you?
Red.
Red, and I ain't no punk.
You better not be. Any cat toe you down in this town, you stand up or make tracks.
- Man live by his rep. - You better believe it.
- So what do you do for yourself, Red? - Working on the trains, sellin'.
- Like that job? - Keep me out the army.
When they're ready for your black ass, nothing can't keep you out of the army.
Not this boy!
So, I hear tell you're a... you're a good man to know.
- Where you hear that? - Boston, where I'm from.
Kiss my neck! I ain't never been in Beantown.
Well, like the man said, a man's rep travels.
How 'bout that?
You bullshittin' me or what?
First thing my father taught me was you never bullshit a West Indian bullshit artist.
- Your daddy is West Indian? - My mama.
(lilting) She from Grenada, y'know. Grenada. (laughs heartily)
(laughs) I like this guy.
I like you, country. (laughs) Grenada!
Yeah, but man, where did you get them goddamn vines you got on? And them shoes? Oh, my.
Maybe we can do something about that.
Yeah, but he's puttin' a hurtin' on my vision, man! Damn!
- All right, relax. Relax, nah. - So how can I get ahold of you?
You can't. I get ahold of you.
- All right. All right, I'll write it down. - Mm-mm.
You don't ever write anything down. You file it, up here. Like I do.
Cos if the man don't have any paper, he will never have any proof.
- Dig? - Yeah. Yeah, I dig.
Right.
(chuckles)
(glasses clink)
Hey, boy, look me in the face. Did you just now con me?
Yes, sir.
- Why? - Because I want in.
And it don't take a lot to know that you already there, daddy-o. At least he ain't lyin'.
- I have a likkle run I have to make. - Let me make the run with you, Mr Archie. Mm-mm.
* Early one Monday morning
* Between nine and ten...
I like your heart.
And I like your style.
You might just do, Mr Red.
Unless, of course, you have to get back to your train job.
I done already told that man what he can do with that train.
- When? - Just now.
- (both laugh) - All right.
Come with me. I'm taking you shoppin'.
Cadillac's the name.
Sammy, man.
- You ready? - Good.
* Erskine Hawkins: "Don't Cry, Baby"
Button more buttons on the jacket.
You look good.
- Yes, man! - But you're missin' something.
- Frisk me. - What? Go ahead. Frisk me.
Nothing, right?
I'm still carrying.
This was my first gun.
Now it's yours.
* Dry your eyes
* And let's be sweethearts again...
- Thank you. - You wear it, wear it so.
Right.
Small of the back.
Now you're outfitted.
You ready to tackle the streets?
Yeah, I'm ready. Let 'em come.
Let us now turn to the Gospel...
...according to St John.
- (blast of jazz) - Chapter 3, verse 23.
And John also was baptising at Aenon, near Salim...
- (congregation) Amen. Amen. ...because there was much water...
- Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. ...and they came and were baptised.
Yes!
Three, one, three.
- Two, fifty-five! - Got to be two, five, one.
Four, o, three! I saw it in my dream.
Five, five, five.
- What you know, daddy-o? - I feel straight!
- Mm! Your lucky day. - Let it roll for me, man.
I told you, no paper, no trouble.
I'm workin' on it.
I keep all my numbers in my head, y'know. I have never written a number down yet.
Remember dat.
- (radio) * Billie Holiday: "Big Stuff' - (sniffs)
- * So you cry "What's it about, baby?" - Your turn.
* You ask why...
Easy.
- (snorts and chokes) - Easy!
- You there? - If I ain't, I'm right next door.
Nothin' in this world can give you that real deep cool.
Right, girl?
* Don't you know there's honey
* In store for you
(both laugh)
* Big stuff
* Let's take a ride
- Phew! Oh. - * On my gravy train
'Bout as mellow as I can be!
- * Come in from out of the rain - Whew!
- Cool enough to kill. - Yeah, I realise that.
- Ah, easy, easy, easy, easy. - Stick 'em up.
- Boom! - (mimics gunshot) Hey, Archie. Pow!
- (mimics gunshot) - Oh!
Baby.
- Boom! - (squeals) Oh!
Malcolm, you're so funny!
Gimme some money, baby.
(clears throat) OK.
Come on, baby!
Bitch move too slow! Ain't that right? (men laugh)
Sometimes this guy has a big, ugly mouth.
What time is it, baby?
- 8.21. - 8.21.
I like that. Combinate me.
- Eight, twenty-one. One, twenty-eight. - Careful, Red.
Two, eighteen!
- I'm taking the bet, y'know. - (laughs) Bet!
- (Archie laughs) - Gonna have to reload.
- * I'm on the square about you
* Let's have a try
- * It may be that I'm the guy... * - Yes, sir. (sniffs)
(gunshot)
* (soulful jazz sax)
- Say, Red! - Hey, Red!
- (woman) Sweet Red. - Have a drink, man. (chatter)
* Count Basie: "The Jitters"
(giggling)
I thought you said we was goin' to the movies last night.
- I said that? - You said that, Red.
All right, baby, I'm sorry. You know I say a lot of things. I believed you, Red.
All right. Go on, do your job now. Get me a pack of Lucky Strikes and a cognac.
- Girl, you a mess! - I'm a mess?
- Daniel come in yet, Honey? - Ain't that him now?
Hey, gorgeous! How you been doin'? You been waiting long?
Lemme look at you! Wow!
- I've been missin' you today, Laura. - How are you doing, baby?
(shakily) I'm all right. Copacetic, great. Did you work today?
Baby, you know what time we wound up last night. I didn't go to work.
- I... I need a five-spot. - I just gave you ten this morning.
- Laura, gimme the goddamn five dollars! - Look, it ain't the money, Daniel.
- I just wanna make sure you're OK. - Gimme the scratch. I... I...
I gotta pay back this guy. I'll be right back.
- Like last time(?) - I swear I'll be right back.
Laura, I love you!
You know that chick?
What are you, a private detective now or somethin'? I just asked a question!
Well, you don't be askin' me no goddamn questions.
- I ask you the questions. Understand? - Mm-hm.
- She come in here a lot? - Just about every other night.
- With him? - Mm-hm.
- She know he's strung out? - If she got eyes, she do.
She ain't hookin', is she?
Not yet, Red, but the way things are goin'...
...he gonna turn her out any day now.
You stuck on her, huh?
Y'see, that's your problem, girl...
...you need to mind your own goddamn business, or I'm gonna... Don't do that!
I wanna talk to you, all right? - Have a seat, all right? - All right.
C'mere.
- You don't pay him any mind, you hear? - All right.
- You all right? - I'm all right.
Why don't you buy yourself something nice?
(Sophia) Hey, baby.
Gimme a light.
You know, you're lookin' real uptight these days. What is the problem?
- No problem. - You sure?
Nothing. Everything's all right. I'm not worried about it. All right.
Shit, I'm thinking about my money. Six big ones you owe me, Archie.
- What? - Eight, two, one. It hit, didn't it? You didn't have eight, two, one!
Were you high, old man? I threw the slats at you and told you to combinate me.
- Red, I'm tellin' you, you never had it. - I'm tellin' you I did. Sophia was there.
- Archie, you remember, don't you? - So, wait. What d'you expect her to say?
- (scoffs) Oh. - Don't do this.
- All right? - All right, Archie.
All right, skip it. Skip it. But you're slippin', Archie.
You done slipped.
Archie, wait. Wait.
Come on, Archie, there. Look, it's...
Come on, what you want? You want a drink? What you tastin'? I'm buyin'.
- I ain't drinkin' hot piss with you. - Oh, Archie. All right?
Come, Sam.
I'll be right there, man.
- I never knowed him to for get a number. - First time for everything, Sammy.
What are you talkin' about, Red?
The first thing he's gonna do is check for an oversight on his ribbon.
His rep is on the line. So is yours.
And Red, if you're lyin', you're a dead man.
Dead, dead...
...dead. - (blows smoke)
You go run tell him that.
My man Red! Night to you.
I don't understand Archie. You had the number.
* Away from the city
* That hurts and mocks
* I'm standin' alone
* By the desolate docks
* In the still
* And the chill
* Of the night
* I see the horizon
* The great unknown...
Didn't I tell you "Never sit with your back to no door"?
Y'know what?
You're a damn liar. And so is she.
So you figure to take me, you bastard?
Well, I'm taking you.
- So it's you and me, huh, Pops? - That's right, my friend. I'll give you back the 600.
- I don't want your money. - You know I'm wearing, Archie.
There's three guns on you, so you take your chances, my friend. * Will the one I love
* Be comin' back
* To me?
Let's walk.
(chuckles)
So this is how I'm goin' out, huh, Archie?
- In a toe-down? - Toe-down, yes.
- Let's go. - Why don't we let Billie finish first?
No.
- Red. - * For the one I love
* Must soon come back
* To me...
You can't get away from me, Red! - C'mere, man! C'mere! - Get him!
* For the one I love
Red!
You better run! You oughta run fast hard!
* To me *
(pants)
(applause, whistling)
Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.
(crickets chirp)
(whispers) Wake up. Wake up!
- (grunts) - There's somebody out there.
Wake the kids.
- (glass shatters, children scream) - Careful! Careful! Children!
- (screaming) - Malcolm!
- Everybody out! - Follow me! Follow me! Wait, wait!
Go! Go on! Go! Go!
Go! Go! Go! Get out!
Get 'em out! Careful!
C'mere! C'mere! C'mon!
Boy, good thing we're good Christians! Maybe it's time you left this town!
I thought this was a free country!
We warned you about all that garbage preachin', stirrin' up the good nigras!
- I ain't a boy, I'm a man! - Next time you a dead nigger!
A real man don't hide behind no bedsheets!
You take these here bullets for them sheets! (gunshots, shouting)
- I know you're a better shot than that. - (children whimper)
You should've killed 'em. You should've shot all them crackers dead.
I just wanted to scare 'em. They won't be around here botherin' us no more.
They won't be here no time soon.
I'm a man!
(rumbling)
That'll teach you, nigger!
(cries out)
- (shrieks) Oh, God! - Get a doctor!
He doesn't need a doctor, he needs a preacher.
Red, I'm glad we got you outta there.
With West Indian Archie on your ass, your name on the wire...
...Boston's the best place for you. Yeah. Well, we'll take it easy, huh, baby?
Shorty, I got a place fixed up for us on Harvard Square. How's that sound?
- Sounds good. We'll lay low for a while. - Yeah.
Don't you worry about a thing. I'll stake you, baby.
I got my band, I'm blowin' great sax.
Hell, Red, you ain't even heard us play yet! Like every hustler, I was trapped.
Cats that hung together to find a little security, find an answer, found nothing.
Cats that might have probed space, or cured cancer...
I mean, West Indian Archie might have been a mathematical genius.
We were all victims of the American social order.
Until that time, there were three things that I was always afraid of:
...ajob, a bust, andjail.
But I realised then that I wasn't afraid of anything. I was an animal.
He don't look too good.
All right, we gonna rob this town blind. Anybody want out, say so now.
Good. Good. OK, I set up a stake and I got somebody to move the goods for us.
All we need now is a driver. Any suggestions?
- How 'bout Rudy? - Yeah, Rudy. Who's Rudy?
I'm half-wop, I'm half-nigger, I'm not afraid of nobody.
- That right? So what do you do? - Name it, fella, I claim it.
Rudy does catering. Rich joints on Beacon Hill.
- Is that right? - Tell him about Baldy.
- Baldy? (laughs) - Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, he's this old rich ofay motherfucker. I give him a bath every Friday night.
Towel him off, talcum powder on him, put him to bed.
- (laughter) - Just like a baby. He gets his jollies off. Yeah? And? So, what about him?
Guy's got jewellery, he's got a coin collection, he's got china...
...he's got rugs... - Ah. That might be all right.
Shit, I know this town, man. I got my own fences!
(chuckles) Who is this guy? Huh? Who put you in charge?
- You wanna be in charge, Rudy? - I am in charge!
- You the head nigger in charge, huh? - Yeah! I'm the head nigger in charge.
- Big-head nigger, that's what you are. - (snorts)
I tell you what we do, Rudy. Cos I'm a fair man.
And I like big-head niggers like you.
We'll flip for it.
We'll flip this.
(bullets clatter on table)
C'mon, Red...
She loves me.
She loves me not.
She loves me.
She loves me not.
She loves me.
I'll flip first, Rudy.
- Red, cool it. Come on, baby. - Head man in charge, right? Put the gun down.
- (click) - All right, we believe you. We believe you.
Red, stop clowning around, all right? For Chrissakes!
- It's your turn, Rudy. - Quit fooling around. Come on, guys.
You don't wanna flip? Let me show you how. I'll do it again.
- Christ, Red, don't! - He doesn't know how. Gotta do it again.
- Red... - Red, stop it!
Maybe you miss somethin'? You got your eyes open? Look at me, Rudy.
- You don't have to do this, Red. - Red!
- (click, Sophia gasps) - (Shorty) That was really dumb.
- Your flip, baby. You wanna do it? - That is so dumb, Red.
Nah, you don't, do you? I'll help you. - Here. - Red, don't!
Maybe we shoot that little wop nose of yours off.
Or is that the nigger side? Is that the wop side or the nigger side? Is that wop or nigger?
- Ah, I guess that's the wop side. - (Shorty) I'm not goin' to jail!
- How you doin', Rudy? One... - Put the gun away! C'mon, this is enough.
- Two... Say goodbye, Rudy. - (grunts)
- Huh? - (choked sob)
(whispers) I think I heard Rudy say something. What'd you say, Rudy?
Speak up. That way it's true.
- (click, woman yelps) - Jesus Christ! When are you gonna stop?
- I did two so I owe you two, right? - (quietly) You got it.
- I got it? What'd you say? - (very quietly) You got it. (whispers) Rudy says I got it.
Rudy, don't you ever...
...try and cross someone who ain't afraid to die. You hear me?
Now, all right. Now this what we gonna do.
We gonna hit ol' Talcum Powder tonight.
My friend Rudy here's gonna draw up the plans... ...everything that's in the house, right?
Peg, Sophia, you go out and get those tools like I asked you.
We gonna hit tonight on account of some of us...
...havin' high visibility during the daytime. - (Sophia laughs)
It's OK with you, right, Rudy?
Merry Christmas, Rudy.
One big, happy family.
(whispers) I love you.
Psst! Red!
What happened to the bullet? Did you palm that bullet?
What bullet?
The bullet!
- (chuckles) - You're crazy.
(whispers) Shorty!
- (clattering) - Shh!
(whispers) Easy, Shorty. Easy.
- (thump) - (whispers) Shorty!
- (rattling) - Shh...
(snoring)
- My man, Red. - Hm?
- My man. - Huh.
Hey, when's Rudy due back?
* Louis Jordan: Beans and Cornbread had a fight Yeah, almost finished.
* Cornbread said "Now, that's all right Meet me on the corner tomorrow night"
* I'll be ready...
Shit, them girls oughta be gettin' back from casin' that rug joint. They should be.
(laughs) Doin' a good job with you, man.
- Yeah. We killin' them, baby. - We're killin' them.
- They don't know what's hittin' them. - (chuckles) Yeah.
Lemme get... Little work back in this kitchen.
- You gettin' the kitchen, huh? - Yeah, that's where the naps are.
Yeah, well, if you can't take the heat, get on out the kitchen.
- Let me get these naps. - (grunts)
- All right, let's go to the sink. - Good. * That's what Beans told Cornbread
Come on, Shorty, man, it's startin' to heat up a little bit.
- It's burnin'? - Yeah. It's all right. All right.
Put your head down.
- * Beans and Cornbread had a fight - C'mon, man.
- * Beans grabbed Cornbread by the toe - Huh? * Beans said "Cornbread, let me go"
* Cornbread said "I'll lay you low I'm gonna fight you, you so-and-so"
- * Meet me on the corner - Shit is startin' to sting! Get out the way.
*... on the corner tomorrow night! That's what Beans said to Cornbread!
- Burnin'? - Hell, yeah, it's burnin'!
* I'm gonna beat the devil outta you! Whoo-oo, oo-oo-oo-oo! Goddamn it!
(moans) Oh! Oh! Ah! Ah!
Oh!
Hey, nigger! Take your head outta the shit bowl! That's it! Get up slowly!
Hey! 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, so that's what Sophia and Peg drew.
Two years in the women's reformatory at Framingham. But our crime wasn't burglary.
It was sleeping with white girls. They threw the book at us.
Burglary, count one: Eight to ten years.
Count two: Eight to ten years.
- Count three: Eight to ten years. - (laughs)
- Count four: Eight to ten years. - (chuckles) Count five: Eight to ten years.
Count six: Eight to ten years. Count seven: Eight to ten years.
Count eight: Eight to ten years. Count nine: Eight to ten years.
Count ten: Eight to ten years.
Count eleven: Eight to ten years. Count twelve: Eight to ten years.
Count thirteen: Eight to ten years, and count fourteen...
- Fourteen counts of eight to ten years. - All the sentences to run concurrently.
(chuckles) Shorty thought he had hit us with over 100 years...
...until I explained what "concurrently" meant.
It meant a minimum sentence often years'hard labour... ...at the Charlestown State Prison.
- The date was February 1946. - (mouths)
- (metal door slams) - Gaines!
- J638-248! - Cell block A secure!
- Who are you? - A295-983!
- Lock one! - Comin' down!
One secure!
- Persky! - A297-945!
- Lock two! - Comin' down!
Two secure!
- Burnam! - A751-613!
(guards joke)
- Lock three! - Comin' down!
- Yo, Jackson! - A231-549!
- Yeah, close four! - Comin' down! Four secure!
- Crichlow! - A599-1301!
- Close five! - Comin' down!
- Look at Satan. - I see him.
He 'bout to bust.
He not gonna bust. He wouldn't give 'em the pleasure.
- (door slams) - Little!
- State your number. - Little!
- What? - Give him a break, Barnes!
- He's a new fish. - OK, I'll give him a break.
- Now state your number, Little. - I forgot it.
- State it. - I forgot it!
Can't you read it right there, boy? There! Can't you read, boy? Fuck you!
- I'll teach you a lesson, goddammit! - How you gonna get away from this?
Move it up! Move it up! I forgot it! I forgot it!
- I forgot it! (howls) - Get him in here and shut it!
(whispers) They ain't gonna break me down.
Well, that's just the kind of nigger I am. They' ain't gonna break me down.
Now I'm situatin'... I'm in this situation and I'm gettin' out.
(laughs) Anything come round, well, I'm strong.
- I'm strong... - Time's up, Little!
Now state your number!
(water drips) Suit yourself. Ten more days.
(footsteps)
Water!
(clatter)
(footsteps, knock at door)
You want a smoke?
You know what a friend you have in Jesus, son. (laughs) A friend?
(voice cracks) Uh?
He's a friend, huh, Chappy? Well, if he's such a friend, where is he, huh?
What he done for me? A friend we have in Je...
Yeah, I tell you what you do, Chap. You tell him to call me!
Call me and tell me what kind of friend he is, huh? Solitary Two, 2607!
(roars) What he done for me, Chappy, huh?
Where is he every time I need him, huh? You tell me that!
Where is this Jesus? I'll tell you where he is!
He's out with the police, Chaplain! Yeah, I'll straighten him out!
What has he done for me? He ain't done nothin' for me!
Ain't done nothin' for me. (exhales)
(mutters) "What a friend we have in Jesus(!)" Jesus can kiss my ass!
Tell Jesus to kiss my ass! How 'bout that? Tell him that!
(hoarse sob)
(cries softly)
(sobs)
(growls)
(whimpers and growls)
(hoarse) Haah! Haaah! Aaah!
Aaaaah!
Aaaaaaah!
(howls)
Little!
State your number, Little!
C'mon, state it!
- (whispers) A22... - What? A228.
Come on! (grunts)
(door slams)
I know how you feel. Like you wanna lay down and die.
I brought you something.
(hoarse) Yeah, well, I don't need any more favours from you.
It's nutmeg. Put it in the water.
You need something to get the monkey off your back.
It's not cocaine, but it'll help some.
Drink it slow. This stuff is strong.
(coughs)
(coughs) So what's your hype, huh?
I can show you how to get out of prison. And it's no hype.
Yeah, well, talk, daddy-o. I'm listenin'.
- Hey, this ain't bad. You got some more? - That's the last fix I'm givin' you.
- So what you give it to me for, then, huh? - Because you needed it.
Because you couldn't hear me without it.
(snorts) Nigger, get on outta my face.
I think you got more sense than any cat in this prison.
But 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. - Well, you ain't lyin' there.
You go bustin' your fist against a stone wall, you're not usin' your brain!
That's what the white man wants you to do!
Look at you! Puttin' all that poison in your hair.
I think you've been in prison too long, my man...
...because everybody on the outside conks.
Why? Why does everybody on the outside conk?
Cos they don't want a nappy head, like... Like what? Like me? Like a nigger?
Why don't you wanna look like what you are?
What makes you ashamed of bein' black?
Lemme tell you somethin', I'm not ashamed of bein' anything.
You better get your hands off me. I got to wash this out.
- Let it burn! - Nigger, get your hands off of me!
Go on. Burn yourself. Pain yourself!
Puttin' that poison in your hair, in your body, tryin' to be white!
(laughs) I don't wanna hear all this shit.
I thought you was smart.
But you just another of those cats struttin' down the avenue in your clown suit...
...with all that mess on you, lookin' like a monkey!
The white man sees you and laughs, because he knows you ain't white!
- Man, who are you? - No. The question is, who are you?
Well, I'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.
(prisoners talk quietly)
And then you get used to this life, and it puts you to sleep.
- That's right. - You stop thinking, acting for yourself.
You couldn't scrounge three squares a day on the outside.
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!
- Sing out your number, loud as you can! - I told you to knock it off, Baines.
Now, are you gonna take yard?
I'm stayin'.
Uh, yeah, me, too.
What're you sniffin' around for? I told you I gave you your last fix.
What's your angle, nigger? Hm?
Nigger? Who's wearing the conk(?)
You the only cat in this prison I done seen that act the way you do.
You ain't even afraid of talking like that in front of them guards or nothin'.
- What more can he do to me? - Hm.
I mean, you don't cuss none. You don't talk that "Whatcha know, daddy" jive.
A man curses because he doesn't have the words to say what's on his mind.
(chuckles)
Yeah.
Yeah, I know you got an angle, some kinda way. Don't con me.
Don't con me, and don't try.
Hey.
Just offerin' you a cigarette, my man. Ain't no big deal.
I read, study.
The first thing a black man must have is respect for himself.
Respect his body and his mind. Quit takin' the white man's poisons into his body.
His cigarettes, his dope, his liquor. His white woman. His pork.
Pork?
Hm.
Yeah, my mama used to say that, "Don't eat no pork."
Well, your mama was right. Cos that 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?
I mean, the pork and... You get sick and then you get a medical or somethin'?
Like when I was on the outside, I ran this hustle.
- I tried to act like... - I'm tellin' you God's words, not no hustle.
And I'm gonna tell you, God is black.
God is black? Everybody knows God is white.
Everything the white man taught you, you accepted.
He taught you you were a black heathen, you believed him.
He taught you to worship a blond, blue-eyed Jesus with white skin...
...and you believed him.
He taught you that black was a curse, and you believe that.
- Did you look up "black" in a dictionary? - For what?
Did you ever study anything that wasn't part of some con? What the hell for, man?
(sighs) Come with me.
"Black."
"Destitute of light. Devoid of colour."
"Enveloped in darkness; hence, utterly dismal or gloomy;...
...as, the future looked black." Pretty good with them words, ain't you?
"Soiled with dirt, foul."
"Sullen, hostile."
"Forbidding; as, a black day."
"Foully or outrageously wicked;...
...as, black cruelty." "Indicating disgrace, dishonour, or culpability."
And there's others.
Blackmail, blackball, blackguard.
- Hmm, well, that's somethin', all right. - Let's look up "white".
Here.
Read.
"White: Of the colour of pure snow;...
...reflecting all the rays of the spectrum."
"The opposite of black."
Um..."Free from spot or blemish."
"Innocent. Pure."
Huh!
Isn't this somethin'? "Without evil intent." "Harmless. Honest."
"Square-dealing and honourable." Wait a minute. But this...
This was written by white folks, though, right? This is a white folks' book.
- This sure ain't no black man's book. - So what we readin' this one for?
Because the truth is lying there if you read behind the words.
You got to take everything the white man says and use it against him.
Yeah?
All right, but I mean, there's a whole lotta words in here.
- I mean... - Here. We'll start at the beginning.
We'll look 'em up, write 'em down and find out what they mean.
Here. Page one. The first word: Aardvark.
"Aardvark: Earth pig."
"African ant-eating mammal."
"Abacus: A Chinese...
...calculating instrument."
"Abaddon: The place of the lost in... Sh... eol...
...the bottomless pit."
If you take one step toward Allah, He will take two steps toward you.
(footsteps, coughing)
- Lights out! - (bell rings)
Why you readin' them books? You gonna be here longer than me. Lights out!
(prisoner) Might as well put the book down, seein' the light's out. He gonna go blind.
(shouting)
(shouting, applause)
- (team) Oh, yeah! - C'mon, Pete!
(chuckles) Boy'll wear out a baseball, won't he?
- Hey, Chuck! What's the score, my man? - Ten to one! We're murderin' them!
Didn't you hear? No, what happened?
The Brooklyn Dodgers brought up Jackie Robinson.
We're poundin' the hell out of 'em, celebratin'! Yeah, that's all right!
Sure. White man throw us a bone...
...and we are supposed to forget
Yeah, but a nigger... a Negro playin' in the big leagues, that's somethin', ain't it?
I 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 the greatest crime in history.
When that crafty blue-eyed devil locked us in chains, 100 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 lived in caves and swung from trees.
That's a lie. Black men never did that. We were a race of kings...
...when the white man crawled around on all fours over the hills of Europe.
Do they know who they are?
Do you know where you came from? What's your name?
Malcolm Little. No. That's the name of the slave masters who owned your family.
You don't even know who you are. You're nothing. Less than nothing.
Who are you?
Look, I ain't... Shit.
All right, I ain't Malcolm Little, I ain't Red...
...I damn sure ain't Satan. - That's right. So who are you?
- I don't know. - We are a nation.
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 us that the true nature of the original man, the black man...
...is righteousness.
So if the nature of the black man is righteousness, Malcolm...
Then the true nature of the white man is wickedness. I knew you'd get it.
The Honourable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that the white man is a devil.
Hm. I sure met some in my life.
No. Elijah Muhammad does not say that some white men are devils.
He teaches us that allwhite men are devils.
Look, have you ever known a good white man? I mean, think back in all your life.
Have you ever met one who wasn't evil?
(Baines) The body is a sacred temple. It must be purified.
I 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.
I will not commit adultery or fornication.
I will not lie, cheat or steal.
But the key to Islam is submission.
That is why, five times daily, we turn to Mecca to pray...
...to bend our knees in submission.
I can't do that, Brother Baines.
For lost-founds to bend their knees, to admit their guilt...
...to implore Allah's forgiveness...
...is the hardest thing on earth.
The hardest, and the greatest.
I don't know what I would say to Allah.
Have you ever bent your knees, Malcolm?
Yes, when I was, uh...
...when I 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, Malcolm. Pick it.
Brother, I want to.
God knows, I want to.
I received a letter that day from The Honourable Elijah Muhammad.
The dear Holy Apostle wrote to me, a nobody, ajunkie, a pimp and a convict.
(Elijah Muhammad) I have come to give you...
...something which can neverbe taken away from you.
I bring to you a sense of your own worth.
The word of one human being.
The knowledge of self.
It was like a blinding light, and I became aware that he was in the room with me.
He wore a dark suit, and on his face...
...I saw a wisdom andpain so old and deep that I could scarcely look at him.
But I knew I wasn't dreaming. He was right 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 ten 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 are 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. - Aameen.
(Baines) 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 Lorraine and my son Sidney join me in saying that when you come out...
...which will not be too long, come straight to us. Next!
What'll it be, Little?
Take it all off.
- Oh, gettin' rid of that conk, huh? - Yes, sir.
You write thanking me. (chuckles) Don't thank me.
Thank Allah. He did it all.
(Malcolm) Dear Brother Baines...
...please thank The Honourable Elijah Muhammad for the money...
...and tell him I have not written him because I have not yet proven myself.
- What is this? - But I have shared his teachings...
...with some of my old running buddies back in Harlem...
...and with my main man Shorty, who was transferred upstate. He's gone nuts.
"Dear brothers, I thank you for your endeared time and concern."
"All praise is due to Allah for The Honourable Elijah Muhammad."
"I wrote the Mayor, the Governor and the President...
...but for some reason, I haven't heard from them." Hm.
(Malcolm) Please tell The Honourable Elijah Muhammad...
...that I have dedicated my life to telling the white devil the truth to his face.
I greet you with the ancient words of peace: As salaam alaikum. Wa-alaikum salaam.
Oh. PS: I've finally copied out the entire dictionary.
I think the brother is coming along.
(metal door slams) "And the thief cometh not but for to steal...
...and to kill...
...and to destroy."
"But I am come, that they might have life...
...and that they might have it more abundantly."
St John 10. Verse 10.
Are there any questions?
Hey, watch it, baby. This cat is heavy on religion.
I can see this has become a struggle between good and evil. Satan has a question.
(laughs) Yes, sir, Chaplain Gill. But since neither one of us are God...
...neither one of us is in any position to say who's good and who's evil.
Just ask your question. We were discussing the disciples. What colour were they?
Well, I don't think...
...we know that for certain. - But they were Hebrews. - That's right.
As was Jesus. Jesus was also a Hebrew.
- Just ask your question. - What colour were the original Hebrews?
I have told you that we don't know that for certain.
Then you can't believe for certain that Jesus was white.
Just, er, just a moment. Just a moment.
God is white. Isn't it obvious?
That is obvious, but it's not obvious that God is white.
The Honourable Elijah Muhammad teaches us...
...that Jesus did not have blond hair and blue eyes.
The Honourable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that the images of Jesus...
...that are on prison walls and churches throughout the world...
...are not historically correct, because history teaches us...
...that Jesus was born in a region where the people had colour.
There is proof in the very Bible that you ask us to read...
...in Revelations, first chapter, verse 14 and 15...
...that Jesus had hair like wool and feet the colour of brass.
- Now, just... just what are you saying? - I'm not saying anything.
I'm proving to you that Jesus was not...
...and I might quote one of our Indian brothers, he was not a paleface.
(prisoners whisper and chuckle) - A-ha. - Amen.
(Chaplain) Isn't that interesting? (bell rings)
Brother Malcolm! Brother Malcolm!
He's waiting for you.
My son.
You have been a thief...
...a drug dealer, and a... and a hustler...
...and the world is still full of temptation.
When God spoke to the devil about how faithful Job was...
...the devil argued that it was only God's protective hedge around him...
...that kept him pure.
Fact about it, the devil said "Remove that hedge...
...and he will curse his Maker."
Well, Malcolm...
...your hedge has been removed.
...and I believe...
...you will remain faithful.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, sister. Brother Sidney, now how many of these should we turn out?
- 500. - Make it 1,000. Yes, sir.
Brother Malcolm, this is Brother Earl. He just accepted the teachings.
- As salaam alaikum, brother. - Wa-alaikum salaam.
Brother Earl is dedicated. We need good men like him.
I'm a willing servant for The Honourable Elijah Muhammad. OK, brothers, let's keep it busy.
Take a real good look at where you live! Not just where you live...
...but take a good look at where everybody you know lives!
Cos I don't want you to think you just a bad luck accident!
Then I want you go downtown, over to Central Park West...
...and take a good look at how he lives! (fades off) Look at how you live and how he lives!
You've never seen a Booker T Washington linguini store!
You never went to a Jewish community... ...and seen no Frederick Douglass delicatessen!
Why is everybody making money but us?
(other speaker) Dick, Jane and Spot(!)
The only thing that's black in the book is the spot on the back of the dog's back!
It's time for us to use our dollars...
We can do what everyone else can do!
If we become producers, and if we become the masters of our own destiny...
...we can have wool from sheep just like anyone else! But where are our clothing stores?
We can get milk from cows like anyone else! But where are our grocery stores?
We need to control our dollars! We need to control our destiny!
The only thing they respect is our dollars!
The only thing they respect is the wealth that we give them!
Where's that freedom that you and I are supposed to have?
The Statue of Liberty's standin' like this...
...and for you and I, it might as well be sayin' "Stop! Don't come no further!"
This is what it be sayin'! "Don't come no further!" That's right!
So what I want you to do, brothers and sisters, is come on down to the temple.
Oh! I'm so surprised! I'm so surprised!
Y'all been in church two hours and you're expectin' to see heaven out here...
...and there ain't no heaven! You're still right here on earth!
Sister, why don't you come on down to the temple at two o'clock?
Hear the truth! Hear the black man's truth!
No, you can't deny it! You've been on your knees the last two hours, haven't you...
...beggin' some God to help you in the hereafter.
But the hereafter's right now, brother! The hereafter is here and now!
Let me... Let me talk to you for one second, brother. Now, listen to me.
Now, I know you a smart man. I can tell. You're a wise man. You look good.
Now, you're in here in this church every day, prayin' to this God.
I'm tellin' you, these so-called white Christians...
...they're hangin' our black Christians from trees, brother!
The man hates you! He says he loves you, but he doesn't do anything for you!
He tells you to foam at the mouth...
...to faint and sing and shout, and hope for something in the hereafter.
We can have it right now, brother. We can have it right now.
- Come on down. As salaam alaikum. - Yeah. I'll see you later.
Do you know what that means, brother? "Peace be unto you."
My beautiful black sisters, can I have a moment of your time?
Don't be ashamed when I call you black.
Cos you're beautiful. Black is beautiful.
You don't have to come here every day beggin' these folks for a job!
Why, you can wash their clothes for 'em, scrub their floors...
...rock their little brats to sleep for the rest of your life!
You'll still end up poor and without anything. And yet you're here on the auction block!
They're examining you like a chicken, or a horse, or a slave!
You see this here? This is who you are. Beautiful. Your beautiful black selves.
With pride, and dignity. In fact...
Uh... I'd also expect you to work one Saturday every month...
...and occasionally into the evening. I hope my...
You see, these are the questions!
The questions you and I have to ask. How did we get this mind?
You're not an American. You're an African who happens to be an American.
You have to understand the difference.
We didn't come over on the Nina, the Pinta and the... and the Whatchamacallit!
We didn't land on Plymouth Rock! Plymouth Rock landed on us!
Landed right on top of us!
Shorty?
Is that you, brother?
Praise be to Allah. That's what I'm talking about, the slave mentality, the slave mind.
This brother and I, we had the slave mind.
We used to rob together, sleep with white women. We even went to prison together.
Now, don't be surprised when I say we went to prison...
...cos some of y'all still in prison. Prisons of your mind. Stand up, brother. C'mon.
(chuckles) The brother's a little shy. Come on, brother! Give me a hug.
Yeah!
That's all right, brother. That's all right.
He's still got his hair fried. That's all right, though.
- That's the slave mind. - (laughter)
I gotta hand it to you, Red, best preacher hype I ever did hear.
No hype, brother. It's the truth.
Why don't you come on back down to the temple and hear some more?
- Man, I can't pay that shit no mind. - Brother, you need to pay it all your mind.
- What mind you have left. - Take it easy, greasy. This is me. Shorty!
Let's go around the corner. (sniffs)
No, sir. Not any more. I've been clean for eight years, brother.
- Eight years? - Eight years. You are somethin', homey.
My trouble is I love pig's feet and white women too much.
- (laughs) - I damn sure can't be no Muslim!
That's cos you're lost, brother. That's cos you're lost.
But we can find you.
- So what d'you hear about the old gang? - Heard about Sammy?
Dead. Knocked overin a bed with a chick
Had 25 grand in his pocket also.
Guess it was his lucky number(!) What about, uh... What was that brother's name?
Cadillac? Gone, too?
Hooked on heroin. Been in and out of Lexington five orsix times.
- Sophia? - Still happily married to that rich ofay.
- She married him? - She married him.
- Went for the money. - The money. Thank you, honey.
I haven't seen West Indian Archie. Grapevine says he lives in the Bronx...
...if you want to call that livin '. - Shorty, it's been good seein'you. - Same here, Red.
- You in? - (slurs) Get the hell away from me.
Bitch!
- (knock at door) - I'll pay you tomorrow!
How you doing, Archie?
My man Red.
C'mere, man.
No, don't get up. It's all right.
(whispers) Yes.
Is...
...really you, Red?
Yes, it's me.
I came to, uh...
...just to thank you.
Thank you for saving my life.
When I think back to when we were on the streets of Harlem...
...tryin' to gun each other down... - I wasn't gonna shoot you, man.
It was...
...just my rep. Y'know?
All I had was my rep.
But now...
...you tell me this.
You didn't really have that number?
I don't know, Archie, I...
I really don't even remember. That's not even important.
The important thing now is to get you back on your feet.
Yeah. Y'know, I have some angles...
...ain't been figured yet.
(grunts)
Archie, here. Hang on.
- (grunts) - It's all right.
Help me with my arm. (exhales heavily)
- All right. - Have to exercise my arm.
Here?
Yeah.
- That's better? - Yeah. It feels good.
Good.
- Yes, right here! - Sweetness, I got somethin' for you, baby! What happened to our women?
They could have been doctors, or lawyers, or teachers, or mothers?
Who's going to raise our children? What happened to ourmen?
They could have been mathematicians, electricians orphysicians.
What happened to 'em? What's the little boy gonna do...
...when he's lookin' for his father and his father's downtown injail?
What's the little girl gonna do when she's lookin' for her mother...
...and she's selling herself on the street? - Laura! Laura, wait up for me!
No, I'm telling you that devil has made dead souls out of you and I!
- You're dead! You're dead spirits! - Take the money.
Put your money away.
You're dead to the knowledge of yourself!
You're dead to the knowledge of your people...
...and you're dead to the knowledge of your god!
My brothers and sisters, he should get down on his knees, and beg ourmercy!
Oh, my brothers and sisters...
...his kind has committed God's greatest crime against your and my kind...
...every day of his life! - (cheering)
He oughta get on his knees and say he's committed a crime!
But does he do that? Does he do that? No!
No, he scorns you. He splits your head with his night stick!
He busts you upside the head with that billy club! And he calls you a nigger!
I'm tellin' you, he calls you a coon! That's what he says to you! "Boy! Nigger!"
- 400 years is long enough. - (approving shouts)
You've been sittin' down and layin' down and bowin' down for 400 years.
I think it's time to stand up. I think it's time to stand up.
- We're with you, Brother Malcolm! - All right! Bless you.
- Bless you. - We're together.
- Praise him! Praise him! - Come on up.
- Glory, my Lord! Praise him! Praise him! - Yeah!
Praise him! - Praise him! - How you doin'?
Yeah. All right. Yes. Good to see you.
(excited chatter)
Yes, sir. Next Wednesday, eight o'clock. - I'll be there! - I'll see you there.
Brother Baines? Excuse me, sister. You think we can, uh, get a loudspeaker set up outside?
I'm sure we can. Brother Malcolm, this is Sister Betty.
She lectures our Muslim women on hygiene and diet.
She stresses care for the body and regular eating habits. Good. Good.
- As salaam alaikum. - Wa-alaikum salaam, sister.
Brother Minister, your sister wonders... ...if you know what Sister Harriet Tubman did...
...between taking souls to the Promised Land. Uh, I don't know. What's that, sister?
She ate.
Excuse me.
She's interesting.
So, Brother Minister, I was hoping that you would come and speak to my class.
Yes. Yes, I'll speak to your class.
- But I'm a hard man on the women. - Are you?
Yes, we have to be careful when it comes to women.
Because too many of our women, they have too much of the devil in 'em.
Bleachin' and dyein' and...
...ironin' their hair.
Runnin' around in the streets half-naked.
(snorts) Talkin' too much, listenin' to the wrong men.
Makin' em deceitful, untrustworthy, fresh...
And you men are to blame, too.
We don't protect, we don't value, we don't even support them.
See, the building of a new nation...
...begins with the woman.
Because the mother is the first teacher of the child.
The message she gives that child...
...the child gives to the world, so we have to be very careful.
When it comes to... to choosing a mate...
...Samson, the strongest man that ever lived...
...was destroyed by the woman that slept in his arms.
Should I tell my sisters, then, that... ...we don't believe in marriage?
No! (chuckles) We don't oppose marriage.
Cos we're not Catholic priests. We don't believe in celibacy, no.
Mr Muhammad teaches us that if a woman is, uh...
...the right height for a man, the right complexion...
If she's half the man's age, plus seven...
...and if she understands that man's essential nature is strong...
...and she's willin' to support that... ...and if she's, uh...
...if she can sew, and she can cook, and, um, loves children...
...and stays out of trouble... I think you've made your points, Brother Minister Malcolm.
- Good. - You haven't any time for marriage.
- No. - (both laugh)
So what I'll do is put the chapters down, I'll write them down for you.
All right. As well as the New Testament chapters of St Matthew.
- Brother Minister. - Yes?
I hope that doesn't mean you won't come and visit my class, though.
Oh, no! No. I'd love to come to your class. - (chuckles) - I love to teach. I love sharing.
You see, this is the wonderful thing about Mr Muhammad.
When he gives you this knowledge, when he shares this knowledge with you...
...you can't help but to run out and... - Excuse me, um, Brother Minister...
...would it be OK if we just sat down for a moment?
- It's a pretty big building, and, uh... - Oh, yes.
- (chuckles) - Yes, sister. I'm sorry.
- I've had you on your feet all day. - Oh, no. No, no.
- My mistake. - You've been on your feet for days.
And, uh... you didn't even finish your salad.
- So, let's talk about you for a change. - Mm.
- How tall are you? - Why do you ask?
- Idle question. - Oh.
Well, if it's just an idle question, I hope you won't force me to answer it.
(chuckles) No. I won't force you.
Well, Brother Baines says that I'm tall enough for a tall man.
He's briefed you also, then? (laughs) How old are you, sister?
You know, Brother Malcolm...
...there are a few things about women that you don't understand.
- Some of us, we're possessive, very vain. - Are you?
And persistent, when we've set our mind to something.
What have you set your mind to?
Being a good Muslim...
...a good nurse...
...and a good wife.
Brother Malcolm?
- Excuse me, Sister Betty. - Certainly.
Brother Malcolm, Brother Johnson was attacked by the police.
Excuse me, sister. - There was a scuffle! - The brother was just watchin'!
- The cop came along, he said "Move on!" - Didn't move quick enough for the ofay!
Crack! He was bleedin' like a stuck hog! So what you gonna do?
He'll rap a little. He's a Muslim.
But you ain't gonna do nothin' but make a speech.
Muslims talk a good game, but they never do nothin'.
Unless somebody bothers Muslims.
- Charlie, wait up. - More troublemakers. Here they come.
(* radio plays Perry Como: "Round And Round")
We demand to see Brother Johnson.
Who the hell are you?
I'm the minister for Muslim Temple Number Seven.
- Never heard of you. - Where is he?
- Nobody here by that name. - Wait a second. What is your name, fella?
Don't worry about what my name is.
Two witnesses saw Brother Johnson brought in here, beat up.
- Nobody saw him brought out. - You didn't hear the sergeant?
- Outside. - I suggest you look outside that window.
* Cos you've found what you've been dreamin' of
* In the night, you see the oval moon
* Going round and round in tune
- Jimmy, c'mere a second. - Yes, we intend to see Brother Johnson.
- Who the hell are they supposed to be? - They're brothers of Brother Johnson.
Eddie, let me take a look at that blotter.
Uh...
Yeah. We got a Muslim. Relief musta put it down.
- Must have. - Yeah, but you can't see him.
- Because you ain't his lawyer. - No lawyer, no see.
Well, until I am satisfied Brother Johnson is receiving proper medical care...
...nobody will move.
* Then your love, you'll hold herround, round, round
* In your heart's a song with a brand-new...
Get an ambulance.
Now!
(siren wails)
All right, break it up! You got what you wanted. No. I'm not satisfied.
To the hospital.
(* military drumbeat)
(crowd murmurs)
- Walk on! - (shouts and conversation)
Sidney, come on!
(crowd shouts)
Keep fightin', son!
- (siren wails) - (shouting and chanting)
(crowd) We want justice! We want justice! We want justice!
All right, that's enough. I want these people moved outta here.
Fruit of Islam are disciplined men. They haven't broken any laws. Yet.
- What about them? - That's your headache, Captain.
- But if Brother Johnson dies, I pity you. - We want justice! Doctor?
He'll live. He's getting the best care we can give.
- Thank you, Doctor. - Certainly.
- We want justice! - All right. OK.
Now let's disperse this mob!
We want justice! We want justice!
We want justice!
(scattered shouts)
That's too much power for one man to have.
Brother Minister, I'm ready to take some heads.
We gotta do somethin' to put fear in those devils! Look, I'm ready to do something also.
Chicago said to be patient, that's what we're gonna do.
- I'm tired of being patient! - Well, then you get on the phone...
(lowers voice) You get on the phone and you call Chicago, let Mr Muhammad know.
(Elijah Muhammad) I am here to bring a solution to the problems of...
...(chuckles) the so-called Negro and his white slave master.
You are seeking something.
- Have a seat, son. - You are seeking... ...an answer to your 400 years of slavery.
Y'know, the only thing I like integrated...
...is my coffee.
- (laughs) - What can I do for you?
Well, Mr X, uh...
...my name is Benjamin. And I was out there tonight.
Take it easy, now.
And... and I saw what it is that you did.
I mean, the way you talked to them policemen and all.
Well, Mr X...
...I wanna be a Muslim.
I mean, I ain't never seen a nigger, uh, I mean, coloured person...
...Negro...
...talk to no police like that before. You want to be a Muslim, join the Nation of Islam.
- Yes, sir. - You know what it means to be a Muslim?
Do you?
Um... (clears throat) No, not exactly. But I wanna be one.
I mean, just like you.
You should never join any organisation unless you know exactly what it's about.
The Church has failed you!
Thank you, brother.
You shouldn't give up so easily, either.
We can use more young warriors like yourself.
Come on by the temple, next Wednesday, eight o'clock sharp.
Yes. Eight o'clock sharp.
Thank you, Mr X. And I won't make you out a liar, neither. No, I don't think you will.
All right!
(chuckles)
Tonight...
...I shall introduce you as my National Minister.
It will be a difficult task.
Your assignment...
...is to build temples all over this nation.
More work than you've ever done in your life.
- Yes, sir. - (chuckles)
You will be in the public eye. Beware of them cameras.
Oh, those cameras are...
...bad as any narcotic.
White devil be watchin' your every step. - Yes. - And your own brothers will be...
...jealous...
...hostile.
Go slowly.
Yes, sir.
Here is a glass.
Mm-hm.
Dirty. The water? Foul.
If you offer this to the people, they have no choice.
They'll drink from it, if they're thirsty.
- (chuckles) - But if you offer them...
...this glass...
...and let them make their own decision...
...they will choose the pure vessel.
Islam is the only religion...
...that addresses the needs and the problems...
...of the so-called Negro in America... ...especially in the slums... - Right.
...ghettos.
Islam is the only way out of drugs, and crime, and...
...unemployment, prostitution, alcohol...
...gambling and... adultery, fornication.
This sweet, gentle man at whose feet I kneeled...
...gave me the truth from his own mouth. Present them the pure vessel.
And I adored him in the sense of the Latin root of the word "adorare"...
...which means to worship and to fear. He was the first man I ever feared...
...and I don't mean fear such as one has of a gun...
...but the fear one has of the... of the power of the sun.
I pledged myself to him, even ifit cost me my life. (telephone rings)
Hello?
- Hello, Betty? - Yes? Yes, this is Malcolm.
- I know. - Right. I'm here in Detroit.
- Will you marry me? - Yes.
You heard what I said, right? - Did you hearmy answer? - Yes, I think so.
Brother Malcolm? - (laughs) - Are you eating?
- Yeah, I've been eating. Mm-hm. - (laughs) Good.
I love you, Betty.
I love you back.
(exhales)
* Ella Fitzgerald: "Azure"
- It's not gonna be easy. - No choice.
I'll be away a lot.
I know.
- In fact, I'm leaving in the morning. - Oh, hush now. Shh.
Pittsburgh, Philadelphia.
Trenton, Newark, up through Number Seven...
...on the way up to Boston... - Malcolm.
Shh.
You're with me...
...even when you're away.
* You're a blue illusion
* While I'm in this
- (chuckles) - * Azure interlude...
I've never told you this.
But the very first time I ever saw you...
...standing up on the podium...
...you were cleaning your glasses...
...and I felt so sorry for you.
- Sorry for me? - Mm-hm.
Why?
Because no-one as young as you should be so serious.
But I don't think that any more.
What do you think?
I want to have a lot of babies with you.
(softly) Dear heart.
- (knock at door) - I love you.
We're waitin' on you folks. You tryin' to starve us?
Brother Malcolm, Sister Betty...
...we pray that Allah blesses you with a happy and a fruitful marriage. (laughter)
That's right! Congratulations, Brother Minister!
- Congratulations! - You made the front page! Check it out! Front page!
(laughter and applause)
I must emphasise that The Honourable Elijah Muhammad is not a politician.
So I'm not here this afternoon as a Republican...
...nor as a Democrat. - Tell us, brother!
- Not as a Mason, nor as an Elk. - Tell us what you here for!
- Not as a Protestant, nor a Catholic. - That's right!
- Not as a Christian, nor a Jew. - C'mon, man! All right, now.
- Not as a Baptist nor a Methodist. In fact... - Come on, brother! Come on!
...not even as an American. - (approving shouts) Because if I was an American...
...the problem that confronts our people today wouldn't even exist!
- That's right! - So now we ain't Americans, huh?
So I have to stand here today as what I was when I was born.
- A black man. - (shouting and applause)
Before there was any such thing as a Republican or a Democrat...
...we were black. Before there was any such thing as a Mason or an Elk, we were black.
Before there was any such thing as a Jew or a Christian, we were black people.
In fact, before there was any such place as America, we were black.
And after America has long passed from the scene, there will still be black people.
(cheering)
I'm gonna tell it like it really is!
Every election year, these politicians are sent up here to pacify us!
They're sent here and set up here by the white man!
This is what they do! They send drugs into Harlem down here to pacify us!
They send alcohol down here to pacify us!
They send prostitution down here to pacify us!
You can't even get drugs in Harlem without the white man's permission!
You can't get prostitution in Harlem without the white man's permission!
You can't get gambling in Harlem without the white man's permission!
Every time you break the seal on that liquor bottle...
...that's a government seal you're breaking! No, I say and I say it again...
...you've been had! You've been took!
- Right on, brother! - You've been hoodwinked! Bamboozled!
Led astray! Run amok! This is what he does.
Y'know, some people call this hate teaching.
But this isn't hate teaching. - This is love teaching. - (approving shouts)
- I wouldn't tell you this if I didn't love you. - No, you wouldn't!
I wouldn't stick my neck out for you if I didn't love you.
I want you to understand one thing, everything that I teach you...
...everything that I've said to you...
...has been taught to me by this dear man, this divine man.
Yes, sir!
All praise is due to Allah for The Honourable Elijah Muhammad!
- (Malcolm X) Oh, yes! - (Betty) Attallah's fine... ...and misses you as much as I do.
But the news that you've dedicated fournew temples...
...is almost as good as having you with us.
- (Malcolm X) And the white people... - (Betty) Please take care of yourself.
...try to hide theirguilt by accusing The Honourable Elijah Muhammad...