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CECIL: The only thing I ever knew was cotton.
It was hard work.
EARL :...and you know the cotton is ready when the bulb splits,
and the bulb is star shaped, like a big old star in the sky.
Like your big ol’ head. Hold on, is that some cotton?
But I didn’t mind because I got to spend all day working with my daddy.
Why don’t everybody smile?
Hattie, come on. I need your help in the shed.
Come on!
Pa, where is he taking ma? - Get back to work!
Cecil, come back to work.
Mamma!
Look at me boy.
Don’t lose your temper with that man. This is his world. We just be living in it.
You hear me?
Now get on back to work!
Pa...What you goin’ do?
Hey!
Dad!
What are you looking at?! Huh?
Who wants to go next? You get back to work!
Hey you! Men! Get some of the hands to help dig a hole for his pa.
Hurry up!
Stop crying.
I’ma have you in the house now.
I’m gonna teach you how to be a house nigger.
Quiet when you’re serving.
I don’t even want to hear you breathe.
Yes, M'am.
It was much nicer working in the house than in the field.
Crazy nigger. From the left.
Give me more.
When I got older, I knew I had to go before he killed me too.
Part of me was scared to leave,
it was the only world I ever knew.
Ma, I took pa’s watch.
Ma? Ma, I’m leavin’.
My ma never spoke much after that.
I knew she’d miss me.
But I also knew she wanted me to leave that place.
And even though Miss Annabeth never said it,
I knew she’d miss me too.
I don’t think God meant for people to not have a family.
Outside the cotton fields was even worse than I thought it’d be.
No one would give me a job, or food, or a place to sleep.
Any white man could kill any of us at any time;
and not be punished for it.
The law wasn’t on our side.
The law was against us.
I was hungry all the time.
You know what could happen to you son?
Get up.
I said get up.
I’m going to have to lie to the boss man about that window.
Good lord says you aint supposed to lie.
- Sorry sir.
Where’s your ma and your pa?
My Ma crazy in the head and my Pa got killed.
I’ma make you some ham sandwiches and send you on your way.
The boss will be here any minute.
Sunday’s our busiest morning.
You looking for some help? I know how to serve.
You done broke our window.
You done stole our food. And now you asking for a job?
Back in Macon, I’ma house nigger. A good one.
Don’t ever use that word son. That’s the white man’s word.
It's filled with hate.
Didn’t your father teach you any better?
Slow Down!
You gotta look ‘em in their eyes. See what it is they want.
See what it is they need...
Right this way.
Anticipate.
I’m - I’m sorry ma’am.
And Smile.. with your eyes.
Perfect..Perfect.
Don’t forget to save me chitlins.
Why do you like chitlins so much? - Cos..It’s good eating.
The manager of the Excelsior in DC, he came by yesterday.
He offered me a job as a butler.
They must be paying you top dollar, huh boss?
Yeah...
I was thinking about taking it... But I dunno,
I’m too old to be leaving North Carolina.
I’m just fine right here.
I told them to hire you.
I’m just now finding my way ‘round this hotel.
I’m not ready for those high falootin’ white people with all their fancy words.
Cecil, we got two faces.
Ours, and the one we got to show the white folks.
Now to get up in the world, we have to make them feel non-threatened.
Use all them fancy words that I taught you.
White folks up north they like some uppity coloreds.
When I took that job up in Washington, DC;
it was the most beautiful hotel I had ever seen.
I hope I wasn’t too presumptuous of me to have prepared;
a few spirits after your long journey in from Buffalo.
Best decision that court ever made was to slow this whole mess down.
Nigger boys in school with white girls?! Who ever heard of such a thing?
Next thing you know they’d be fornicatin’.
Gentlemen, if this was different, we could start another Civil War.
Cecil,
what do you think about niggers going to school with white children?
To be honest with you, Mr. Jenkins,
I tend to not to be too concerned with American or European politics.
Nor should you, Cecil,
they’re all criminals. Earl Warren should be shot and hanged.
That dumb son-of-bitch is trying to integrate our schools.
I think Judge Warren is going to find that quite a challenge.
Damn right, Cecil! Damn right.
Never in my life did I dream that I would work in a place as fancy as this.
I never dreamed my life could be so good.
Gloria and I met working at the Excelsior.
She was a maid at the hotel.
But now her only job was raising our two boys.
I made sure that they never laid eyes on a cotton field.
I gotta pee.
Not today. Don’t try that. Finish that homework.
Where’s Louis at? - He’s taking the trash out.
Working late again, huh? How was your shift?
Beats working for a livin’.
I miss you at night, honey.
Didn’t you say you gotta pee? Go ahead then.
And wash your hands when you come out of that bathroom boy.
Good morning!
Hey dad. - Hey Louis.
You alright? - Yeah I’m fine.
That woman whose son got killed,
she’s around doing speeches now.
What’s her name, honey? - Mamie Till.
- Mamie Till...
I remember that story just like it was yesterday even though it was two years ago.
It was dis-damn-graceful what they did to that boy
just for looking at a white woman...
Beat him up, threw his body in the river...
killed him. He wasn't older than Louis..14 at the time.
Crazy white folks down south.
At least we have it a little better here in DC, huh?
Still treating us bad too.
Get on down here Charlie! Wash your hand.
Louis said we should stop taking the white man’s shit.
Hey, Watch your mouth.
Hello, Gaines’ residence.
Uh, yeah... Hold on Mr. Kidgan.
It’s the boss man dad.
What’s he calling for?
When the white man called, I always assumed the worst.
Yes sir?
I would have put money on it that I was getting laid off or something that day.
Would you follow me, please?
Yes sir.
I’m Cecil Gaines.
It’s a pleasure to meet you.
You as well. Have a seat.
Are you political, Mr. Gaines? - No, sir.
Good, we have no tolerance for politics at the White House.
How did you find me? - I didn’t.
You served RD Warner at the Excelsior Hotel.
He oversees operations for the entire White House.
You made quite an impression.
I don’t recall.
Mr. Warner and myself make note of potential staff around town.
Butler positions rarely open as most stay on for 30 years or more.
I know I was quite surprised when I got the call.
It was a surprise for me as well.
As the White House Maitre D’, I normally hire the butlers.
Forgive me for saying this, Mr. Fallows,
I certainly wouldn’t want to be hired under circumstances that would make you feel uncomfortable.
Oh, really.
You need butlers that you’ve hand picked,
men to your liking that will fulfill your vision of a proper White House staff.
Is that... Louis Trace?
These decanters are replicas of metal flasks that were found on the battlefield in Jarnac.
Correct?
The Italians, they know their wine, and the Irish certainly know how to make a great whiskey,
but I believe the French have a distinct advantage when it comes to cognac.
Is that real?
Oh yeah, you’ll make a good house nigga.
Would you care for a demitasse?
Sometimes it be just me and Faye up in here.
Me, Faye, and a little scotch.
What did you do to this potato salad?
I’ll tell you what I did. I put some dill in it because I read in Women’s Day,
where pickles drown out the flavor and dill bring up the flavor. That’s what you tasting right there.
Oh okay... yeah... I like it.
It makes a difference, don't they? - Really does.
You must be so proud of Cecil.
You know he got that job by himself.
The White House called him, he didn’t call the White House.
He’s a good man. You got a good man.
Not like this one right here. Little sourpuss still mad at me.
I got reason.
No, you don't. I told you I done went down to the number spot.
Played me some numbers. Got me some barbecue
and then went down... I didn’t even get nothing to drink!
I’m so sick of these number spot stories Howard.
How you expect me to believe you was down at the number spot...
Come on y’all, come on, come on. Stop this mess.
Stop this mess in this house right now.
We are here to celebrate so y’all could be nice just one time.
Y’all need to get a room!
Ain’t that the truth! Or something...
He just drive me crazy! He just... Ugh!
You, uh... you wanna come to the room with us?
No.
Hey where are the boys at? - They upstairs playing.
Boys! Get down here! I need to see your face now!
What y’all doing up there?
Honey when you gonna take me to the White House?
You wanna go to the White House, baby?
You know I wanna go to the White House.
When you want to go?
Don’t play with me now you know I want to go.
The White House, that’s a big step up.
Yeah. It is exciting.
Girl, you are up in that house now. I want to hear ALL of the stories.
I don’t know how many stories you gonna hear ‘cus
they done swore him to some kind of secret code and he can’t tell me nothin’.
Girl, you give it to him right.
He’ll tell you everything. - That’s the key right there!
You listening?
Boys stop running through this house, you know better than that.
Elroy! Get over here!
Come here.
Give me some money.
Nah... Tell them... Tell them what you gonna be when you grow up.
I wanna work at the White House just like Mr. Gaines.
That’s my boy.
Louis! What you gonna be when you grow up?
You gonna work at a White House just like your daddy?
I don’t know.
I'll tell you one thing, I knew exactly what i wanted to be when i was 13.
- Yeah, a number runner.
I’m Cecil Gaines. I’m the new butler.
There are 16 full time maid,
We have 6 butlers, 4 carpenters, 2 painters, 7 electricians, 3 dishwashers, 3 doorman,
a full kitchen staff including pastry chef and 3 full time calligraphers.
2 painters, 7 electricians and 9 engineers. Here comes Warner.
Mr. Warner, I wanted to thank you for this opportunity to work in the White Hou--
Come on. Here we go.
Ma’am, I’m Cecil Gaines, I’ll be working with you here.
Mr. Gaines, please don’t do that. Come on. - Yes, Sir.
When lifting a plate, never scrape the bottom.
You must never listen or react to a conversation.
The room should feel-- -- empty when I’m in it.
CARTER: Then she says, “Stick two fingers in!”. “Okay!”
Then she starts moanin’ and screamin’ and yells, “Stick your whole hand in!”
So I put my whole hand in.
Then she yells out, “Put both hands in!”.
“Okay!”
Then she screams, “Now clap!”
I say, “I can’t.”
She looks up, smiles and says,
“See I told you my stuff was tight.”
Hey! There he is! I heard you were coming.
What’s your name brother? - Cecil. Cecil Gaines.
Cecil Gaines. I’m Carter Wilson, head butler.
Don’t worry about Big Mo behind you. That brother will steal your wallet before you even knew it.
This brother in the mirror over here, his name’s James Holloway, he’s my second in command.
Hey James. - Jackie Robinson or Willie Mays?
Why don’t you shake the man’s hand first ‘fore you start asking difficult questions like that?
I just want to know where the man’s coming from.
Look like the jury is still out on that one, right?
Welcome. Fancy Freddie give you the tour yet?
He did. Are the Dodgers still losing?
I might be able to answer that question if Carter over here stop running his nasty mouth?
Cut the shit. Let's get to work.
Lord, help us.
Don’t be nervous man, just go on and get to it.
You hear nothing, you see nothing,
you only serve.
Send federal troops to Little Rock?
- If it comes to it, yes.
I can’t see any situation where I’d send federal troops to the South.
Ever.
It could cause another Civil War.
Sir, if the Federal government doesn’t enforce Brown, then who will?
The South must comply with the law.
It’s just going to take some time to adjust, that’s all.
I understand, Mr. President,
but if Faubus continues to block the negro children then what do we do?
We must enforce the Constitution.
Give Faubus more time.
With a little persuading, he’ll back down. We just want to move slowly.
How’d it go?
I almost shit myself.
I dated a girl once. Every time I hit it, she shit herself.
I put a towel down.
Hey dad. - Hey.
Hi, Mr. Gaines.
Hey Elroy.
Louis, I told you about letting the kids watch that show.
It’s too scary. They’re too young for it.
Turn it off.
Where’s your mamma at?
Miss Gloria tried staying up but she went to sleep.
Elroy nobody asked you nothin’.
Take your butt home before your mamma come in here and whoop the both of us.
Come on dad. - Go on.
Bye. - Turn it off.
Don’t go stomping up the stairs and wake your mom up.
What is that?
Is that that Mamie Till stuff?
- I want to go to this.
Absolutely not.
- How come?
Ain’t no good gonna come of that.
Dad, you hear what mom said?
That mess right there happen down south. - This could have been me.
It happened down south.
I got out of there so we could have us a better life.
Right now I’m working for the white man, make things better for us.
And not just any White man, either.
Put the lights off. Go to bed.
I have your chicken soup, Mr. President.
Just set it on the table, Cecil. - Yes, Sir.
Did you ever completed school, Cecil?
I didn’t go to school, Mr. President, I grew up on a cotton farm.
I grew up on a farm...
Do you have any children?
Yes. I have two sons.
Do they go to an all colored school?
Yes, sir. They do.
What is it?
- The State Guard just blocked all the colored kids again.
Faubus promised me the guards would escort the kids in.
The Governor of Arkansas lied, Mr. President.
What is wrong with him?! Why is he forcing me to do this?
Our next move needs to be bold and swift.
IKE (FROM THE TV) “I have today issued an Executive Order
directing the use of troops under Federal authority
to aid in the execution of Federal law at Little Rock, Arkansas.
When the President sent those troops down to Little Rock,
it was the first time I’d ever seen a White man stick his neck out for us.
I told Louis that the President was going to make things better for us.
Now he could see I knew what I was talking about.
That was wonderful. I’m so proud of you.
Thanks mama.
That hat looks stupid.
- Your face looks stupid.
I’m proud of you too.
Dad, did you see one white kid in my school?
Why couldn’t Louis see that the President made things better for us?
Boy, I told you don’t be late! You can’t miss this bus!
Wait wait wait! We gotta say goodbye.
This can wait!
Tennessee is a long ways away Pops.
Fisk is a really good school, dad.
You can change your mind and go to Howard.
I cannot believe you are still talking about Howard University.
He’s going to Fisk.
I know. I know,
it’s just so far away. That’s all.
- That’s the point.
What’s the point?
Gimme a cigarette. And don’t tell me you don’t smoke.
I don’t have one.
Come here. You know you wanna cry punk.
Not for you.
Look under your mattress. I left something.
I can’t protect him in the south. - The south has changed Cecil.
The south ain’t what it was when you was there.
Mom, Louis is leaving me his filthy magazines.
I love you momma.
I love you, son. I love you Louis.
I made you a ham sandwich.
Come on, dad.
You’re the first.
I know.
I’m really proud of you.
I gotta go dad.
I gotta go.
If you need anything, you call me. Alright?
Alright.
Bye mamma.
Bye Louis.
Remind me again why we’re doing this please... somebody?
Tell me? That look like a mugging to me, this that what that look like.
- This is the art of french baking.
Nigga please. French baking.
You want me to play with it? I’ll play with it.
Play with it like this. It’d be good if it had a little...
little nipple on it.
C'mon man.
Good evening, Mr. Vice President.
That looks like a tasty treat.
Yes, sir.
I brought you all something.
Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
Now I don’t want to say anything negative about that Kennedy boy.
I’m sure he’s a fine fellow, but do you really want that spoiled rich son
of a bitch fuck to be your next president!?
Think about it.
We’re cheering for you, Mr. Vice-President.
Thank you, Cecil.
Let me ask you something, in all candor,
as members of the Negro community, what are your biggest concerns?
Now come on now boys. Don’t be shy.
Holloway, come on.
Well, since you asked sir... - I did.
...the colored help gets paid almost 40% less than the white help.
- Is that right?
Yes, sir,
and it’s very difficult for the colored staff to be promoted.
I’ll tell ya what,
when I’m President I’m gonna look into getting you boys the raises and promotions you deserve.
That would be swell, sir.
You got my word on that.
Thank you, sir.
You tell your people to vote for me and that’s exactly what’s gonna happen.
Give these to somebody.
You lookin’ for love boy?
That’s what we call the Lawson workshop, the love school.
Is that what you’re lookin’ for?
- That’s why I came to Fisk.
Me too!
I’m Carol Hammie.
- Louis Gaines.
Come on. Follow me.
You a country boy ain’t you?
He's a doctor.
What does your Daddy do?
- He is in politics.
...You can’t sustain a movement like this in one week. Nor could you sustain it in over a month.
This requires time, commitment, dedication, and discipline and focus.
And we are measuring our accomplishments in waves.
Right? This is not a fly-by-night affair, this doesn’t happen over a week,
this requires a fierce discipline, which is what we’ve been discussing.
How do we measure these things?
We go back and look at someone like Gandhi.
Together we are going to study and examine Ghandi’s techniques.
What has been so effective in South Africa, so effective in India,
for his own people and others,
and we’re gonna employ it right here, in Nashville.
So we’re gonna form an army, you and I.
This army has one weapon, and this weapon is love.
Now I am of the-- yes?
If our only weapon is love and their weapons are... weapons, isn’t that dangerous?
You can be killed.
If anyone is uncomfortable with that, you know where the door is.
I understand that sounds provocative, but it’s true.
Alright kids.
It’s show time.
WAITRESS:You know y’all can’t sit here.
We would like to be served, please.
This is unprecedented what we’re talking about.
But it needs a patience that none of us have ever seen.
You can order food in the colored section, but I’m not going to be serving you here.
We are organized.
We have a leader with every group.
We have lookouts, with pocket change, and the local phone numbers for ambulances ready.
And when one wave comes off that lunch counter, what follows?
A whole ‘nother wave of negro students sitting right there at that lunch counter blowing their minds.
We would like to be served, please.
Now who wants to role play?
Jim, I need your help over here.
Now, you all know you're not suppose to sit there.
Attack them. This is an experiment.
So you need to do whatever it takes to break their spirit.
I need to hear nigger coming out of your mouth. I need to hear coon.
- I don’t feel comfortable saying that. - You came here to get yourself prepared
and get her prepared. So let me hear it, now!
Nigger.
Louder!
Say the words like you mean it! - Nigger!
Louder!
You are a nigger!
You need to be sitting in the colored seating!
This is not for you! You cannot be served here!
You need to do as you're told. And sit in your place.
You are a nigger!
Make her believe it!
You see these people over here.
They are in their section over here.
If you want us to shop in this establishment, make them go!
Come on, Robert. Let’s go.
Get up monkey! Get up!
To serving our country. - To serving our country.
You are all sentenced to 30 days in the county jail.
- What? - Bailiff, get these niggers outta here.
Something special’s going on down here dad.
What’s so special about another colored man in jail?
What are you doing with my hard earned money Pops?
Are you even in school? - I’m trying to change the way negroes are perceived--
You’re breaking the law.
That judge just sentenced you to 30 days in the County Work House.
You’re fixin’ to get killed.
If I can’t sit at any lunch counter I want then I might as well be dead.
We’re fighting for our rights. - Rights!
We’re going to change the nation’s consciousness toward the American negro.
Who do you think you’re talking to?
I brought you into this world and I’ll take you out of it.
Y’all been able to talk to him?
Talk to who?
Louis.
Yeah, we talk to him.
He said he joined something called the “Freedom Riders”,
whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean.
You gonna see him?
I’ve been fixing to trying to see him in jail.
Every time I do, Cecil get all riled up so I don’t know when that’s gonna happen.
Fixing to trying... see that’s the problem.
You gotta stop trying and you just got to do it.
He take you to the White House yet?
No. Cecil say we goin’ soon.
Cecil say, Cecil say...
four years...That’s what makes you a little bit gullible darling.
You know I don’t understand,I don’t understand why he can’t get the President to do something.
Come on Gina. That’s your problem. You just say stupid stuff.
The President’s got more to do than be thinking about Louis’ foolishness.
You know, why don’t you just shut up?
It’s just a mess!
Be nice! - Who told you you could tell me to shut up?
Go get me a drink. I want some scotch.
Well I personally think Louis gonna get every one of us killed.
They comin’ to get us, they comin’ to get us...
He crazy like his mamma.
I meant that in a good way.
I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
Get back over here.
The President lives at the White House until the moment the next one is sworn in.
So the staff has exactly two hours during the inauguration ceremony
to move the old President out and move the new one in.
They say this new white boy is smooth.
I just need to get my butt home to Gloria.
These hours are killing us.
How’s your boy doing, Cecil?
Gentlemen, the president's arrived.
Where should we start?
I’m not sure. This end? Maybe over here? Thank you.
Right this way Mr. President.
Hello everyone.
Hello Mr. President.
I’m thrilled to be working with all of you over the next four years.
Eight years, Jack.
Well, you see who wears the pants around here.
I'm not gonna remember any of your names, but i'm gonna try.
Jesse. - Jesse.
It's a good thing you're here. 'Cos i'm gonna forget.
She’s all right.
Pleasure to meet you Miss Caroline.
What’s that on your breath Gloria?
Stop, okay? Stop!
What’s that?
Baby, that’s gin on your breath. I can smell it from here.
That says Addison’s Disease.
Stop. Will you stop.
Did you take Charlie to the dentist today?
Does someone at the White House got Addison’s disease?
No, I did not take Charlie to the dentist today. And what you asking me about it for? You never home.
Now, you gonna act like you gonna take Charlie to the dentist?
You ain’t never here, I don’t know how you gonna take him.His teeth fall out
waiting on you to take him.
Just go to bed Gloria. I’ll take him tomorrow.
Hoe many pairs of shoes does she have?
I said how many pairs of shoes does Miss Jackie Kennedy have?
How the hell do I know?!
You in that White House all day and night... I thought you knew everything.
Coming in and telling me what to do... worry about me drinking.
You ought to be worried about your house! Our boy’s in jail Cecil!
Our boy’s in jail, and you can’t come home!
You don’t see I’m here trying to talk to you?!
I bet you wish I spoke French just like Jackie?...
Jackie Kennedy...
Que sera, sera...
You like that?
You like the way she talk?
Cecil! You hear me talking to you?
You ain’t sleeping.
HOLLOWAY:Bobby told the President that they shouldn’t be worried about the Negro sit-ins.
Polls showed the US does not support civil rights.
Told you that white boy was smooth...
a little too smooth for my money.
Cecil, how’s your boy doing? - Out of jail.
He says he’s back in school. But I think he’s doing that freedom riding thing.
How’s Gloria doing with that drinking?
She’s hangin’.
They say that cat that’s playing? He’s a big deal.
Pablo Casals. World famous.
Course he’s world famous!
You think Ms. Kennedy’s gonna have some back woods country fiddle band playing out there for her?
Why don’t you start a band. Maybe you could go out there too?
You know, in fact, let’s all start a band!
I’ll play the bongos... what about you?
I’ll play a mean skin flute.
Casals is a righteous soul.
He refuses to play in any country that recognizes Franco’s regime.
Who’s Franco?
Forget it, man.
Huh? - Forget it.
You’re ignorant.
Carol, you tired?
You just want me to put my head on your shoulder?
What’s wrong with that?
I’m not putting my head on your shoulder... - You can.
You ever been on a Freedom Bus before? - No, it’s my first time.
No? How’s your boyfriend feel about that?
My boyfriend?! - Yeah...
He must be upset at you, you being on this bus? Down here.
I don’t have a boyfriend. - You don’t have a boyfriend?
How do you not have a boyfriend?
Louis, what is that?
It's a cross. It's a cross! - Driver turn!
Turn the bus!!
EVERYBODY OUT!
‘In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines,
lived 12 little girls in two straight lines.
The smallest one..
was Madeline.’ - Like Caroline.
“She was not afraid of mice.”
Why do people ride in the freedom bus?
Uncle Bobby told my daddy that the Freedom Bus exploded. Today.
I didn’t know if my boy was dead or alive...
Hello?
Hi, dad. I’m in Mississippi.
I thought you was in Alabama?
We spent two weeks in jail there, now we’re in Mississippi.
Now I want you to listen to me, Louis.
I want you to come home.
I know we ain’t seen eye to eye,
but your mamma, she wants you home.
They keeping me.
How long? - Where is he?
I don’t know. They said 3 months.
When I get out, I’m gonna take another ride.
What are you talking about?! - What is he saying?
Let me talk to him. Give me that phone.
It is my right to ride that bus. It is my legal right
and I will exercise my rights as an American citizen!
American citizen?
What you talking about?
You know what they gonna do to you?
They gonna lynch ya. Then they gonna throw your little ass in the river.
They gon’ kill you.
Ma, then they just gonna have to kill me.
I don’t know what country I’m looking at.
Louis man... that little nigga might be on to something.
Stop calling him a nigga cause he ain’t no nigga.
What’s wrong, baby?
What’s wrong with me is... this.
What are you talking about? - This is what’s wrong with me.
You know what? This is wrong. This is wrong.
We aint been wrong yet.
I can’t do this to Cecil.
We aint doing this to Cecil. I’m doing it to you.
I want you out of my house.
Why do you think God brought us next to each other each day?
God aint got nothing to do with this. - He put you right next door to me.
You always talk about how lonely you are with Cecil being at the White House,
so you need a man who can appreciate the love and the woman you are like I do.
I want your number running ass up out of my house, off my sofa right now.
I’m through! I told you!
Let me make a demonstration for you.
Don't cut with me with your bullshit crazy talk.
This is you, and this is me. And we seem like I don’t fit at all.
We just crash into each other. But when you align things properly,
like God putting you next door to me,
everything kinda works out.
And even if you slow down, I got you.
You need to get your little ass up out of my house.
We need each other.
What I need is my husband.
And not to be laying up here in the gutter with you.
On an average, how many pills do you think I take a day, Cecil?
About... 103, sir.
Help me up.
I know your son is a Freedom Rider.
He’s in prison right now in Birmingham with Martin Luther King.
Do you know how he is, sir?
I’m guessing he’s beat up,
but based on his record he must be used to it.
Cecil, he’s been arrested 16 times over the past two years.
Yes, sir.
Will that be all, Sir.
Yeah, that's it.
You know, I never understood
what you all really went through until I saw that...
My brother says these kids have..
changed his heart...
they’ve changed mine too.
The fires of discord are burning in every city north and south,
where legal remedies are not at hand.
Regress is sought in the streets, with demonstrations, parades, and protests.
I am therefor asking the Congress to enact legislation;
giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public.
Hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores and similar establishments.
This seems to me to be an elementary right.
This denial is an arbitrary indignity that no American in 1963 should have to endure,
but many do. A great change is at hand.
And our task, our obligation,
is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and unobstructed for all.
Hey... Hey Cecil. Cecil, what’s wrong?
Cecil. Cecil?
They blew his head off.
Who are you talking about?
Kennedy.
Mrs. Kennedy refused to change her clothes so that everyone could see what they did to her husband.
The last time I saw that much blood was the day my daddy was killed.
Please tell me how I could help you.
Mom? What you doing?
Here. I want you to take this box and put it down in the basement.
Make sure you label it “trophies”.
This is Louis’ stuff mom. You know he’s gonna be pissed.
I aint caring about Louis being pissed. I’m the one who’s pissed.
He aint been here in three years.
Why you pissed mom? - And don’t put that next to my jarred okra either.
Aint no body trying to smell that stankin’ okra! -And when you come back,
I want you to get me some fish food.
Look what the President-- Mrs. Kennedy gave me.
It belonged to the President.
Gloria, the President was killed.
I’m really sorry about the President.
I really am.
But you and that White House can kiss my ass.
I don't care what goes on in that house. I care what goes on in this house.
I knew that Gloria had been unhappy for some time now.
I knew that’s probably why she drank.
She wanted me to get along better with Louis.
I didn’t know how.
But I could cut back them long hours at the white house.
And I did just that.
How many pairs of shoes does she got...
She got about... 125.
125 pairs of shoes...
And I’ll tell you what.
The next time there is a light on in an empty room, I will fire every sorry son of a bitch in this house.
I mean it, Cecil,
I’ll go back to Texas and run the country from a dirt shack if I have to!
Is that what you want?!
Who do you think pays the God-damned bills around here. I don’t, but you know what I mean.
- Yes, sir.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot.
Ladybird and I want you to have this.
It matches your eyes.
Thank you, sir.
I see you baby! You know how daddy likes it!
Negro! Get out here!
Back there stinkin up my bathroom!
Oh Lord, what you doing?
Give me my wig! What’s wrong with you?!
This my good wig!
James said Dr. King told the President that we would be going to the streets down south
for our right to vote. Didn’t you baby?
What? - Didn’t you tell me that Dr. King told the President,
that we was going down south for our right to vote?
I ain’t make that up.
Is that what you heard? - That Dr. King ain’t no joke;
with his little militant ass.
Who she talking to? - Well it look like someone is talking...
Leave my bird alone.
You know three kids got killed down there.
Trying to get colored folks registered to vote.
That’s why I didn’t want Louis to go down there. That’s what I was trying to tell you.
Well you shouldn’t have sent him down there. - I know.
Well he is down there now,
and there ain’t nothing we can do about it.
The only reason why the President sent the FBI is cause two of them were white.
Now how do you know that? - Who told her that?
Where did you hear that? I didn’t tell you that!
It was in one of them colored newspapers from Baltimore.
That alright with you?
See she getting smart now. Damn.
Honey, you think the President ought to do something about the--
voting rights bill?
President Johnson just passed the greatest piece of civil rights legislation since Lincoln freed the slaves,
it’s going to be very difficult to pass another bill anytime soon.
That’s it. - You see how my wife quizzes me?!
I get it every day.
Only you gotta know how much to say, and when you cross the line.
You deal with your woman, I’ll deal with mine.
At least you tell your wife what’s going on over there.
Aces! - Damn!
Hey, uh, Glo. Did you all hear about your neighbor Howard?
Guy down on 8th street caught him in bed with his wife.
Shot him dead. Shot him in the back.
That's it. That's all of it.
I don’t know. Maybe.. Maybe he got what he deserved.
You sorry sap ass mother fuckers gotta realize that the nigger ain’t gonna take it no more!
This entire country is a tinderbox,
a goddamn tinderbox of nigger rage just waitin’ to explode!
I want all of you to get on the phone, call the NAACP, Core,
and who ever else will listen to your sorry asses
and help me keep them niggers off the street.
Buck I smell your ass from here! What the hell are you waiting for?!
Jesus Christ.
Cecil, get me some of that God-damned prune juice.
I’m not sure what to make of Malcolm X.
I know what to make of him. He’s got a better plan in place than Dr. King.
If someone puts their hands on you, put them in the cemetery.
That’s a better plan?
I mean...
You just mad because he talking about your daddy.
What?
He was saying all that stuff about house negroes. I saw you get mad.
My dad is not a house negro.
He’s a butler, aint he?
Don’t talk about my dad. I don’t talk about your dad. Alright?
That’s because my daddy’s proud of what I’m doin’.
You alright?
Everybody went to church to raise money for the kids down in Selma.
But I didn’t go.
I wasn’t going to give money to pay for my son to be killed.
Once again, them kids got beat.
This one was so bad that the press called it “Bloody Sunday”.
How are your boys, Cecil?
I don’t know how my oldest is Mr. President,
I believe he might be in selma.
And you know, sometimes..
Sometimes I feel like we’re living in two different worlds.
I just want to keep them safe.
LBJ:Every American citizen--
must have an equal right to vote.
Yet the harsh fact is that in many places in this country;
men and women are kept from voting simply because they are Negroes.
Negroes?
Since when did he start calling us negroes?
That nigger uses the word nigger more than I use it.
But really it’s all of us..
that must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.
And we shall overcome.
I wish they’d shut up.
Dr.King you might wanna lie down with that...
President Johnson is making a tragic error in Vietnam.
Move over Big Yellows.
Why shouldn’t we fight in Vietnam?
The Vietcong don’t call us niggers, for one.
Seriously, how many of your parents support this war?
Well my Lord...
Why do your parents support it?
We haven’t spoken about it specifically, I just know they do.
What do your daddy do?
He’s a butler.
The black domestic plays an important role in our history.
I didn’t tell you that to make fun of me.
Young brother, the black domestic defies racial stereotypes by being hardworking and trustworthy.
He slowly breaks down racial hatred with his...
example of his strong work ethic and dignified character.
Now while we perceive the butler or the maid as being subservient,
in many ways they are subversive without even knowing it.
Come in, Cecil.
Good afternoon, Mr. Warner.
Thank you for seeing me.
Since the colored... the black staff...
does just as much work as the white staff,
I believe that our salaries should reflect our service, sir.
‘Black’ staff?
I also feel that we should have opportunities of advancement.
No black houseman..
have ever been promoted to the engineer’s office.
You’re very well liked here, Cecil,
but if you’re unhappy with your salary or position, than I suggest you seek employment elsewhere.
- With all due respect sir... - Don’t let that Martin Luther King shit fill your britches out.
Just remember where I found you.
Yes sir.
Excuse me.
TV NEWSCAST:Dr. Martin Luther King the apostle of non-violence..
and the civil rights movement has been shot to dead at Memphis, Tennessee.
Police have issued an all points bulletin
of a well dressed white man running from the scene.
I didn’t know if I was gonna get home alive.
It was the first time that I felt like I didn’t belong in my own neighborhood.
The whole world was changing and I didn’t know where I fit in.
Ma? My room’s pink.
Make sure you get some of my sweet potatoes, Carol.
I use orange juice when I make ‘em. That what make ‘em so tart.
How long ya’all been dating?
- We’re just friends. - 5 Years.
Is, uh, all the rest of the kids getting involved in politics too?
There’s been a division, kind of a split Ma.
A few of them like John Lewis are--
Oh, i love John Lewis.
How do you know who John Lewis is?
Because I read JET Magazine.
I’m not just sitting up there sewing for you all day.
I’m getting sick and tired of gettin’ thrown in jail.
Yeah? Well that makes two of us, don’t it?
Dr. King’s philosophy ultimately got him murdered.
It worked when we started, but..
now it’s time to take the next step, which is politics.
What, so y’all going to the White House now?
Dad, Louis going to the White House.
You know they ain’t gonna let you in with them nipples out.
Maybe one, but not both of them out.
Shut up.
Nah, we’re more grass roots,
one on one with the community.
Although, we have started our own political party.
What’s your party?
You like to party?
I like to party.
What’s your party called?
The Black Panther Party.
What kind of name is that?
What that stand for?
We provide free breakfast for children,
free medical clinics, free clothing and self defense classes.
And why y’all need self defense?
We ain’t gettin’ beat no more.
Me and your daddy saw a wonderful movie the other night, reminded me so much of you.
Oh yeah?
What was the name of that movie honey?
‘In the Heat of the Night’.
‘In the Heat of the Night’
with Sidney Poitier.
Lord, Sydney Poitier. I love Sydney Poitier. Sy--
Sidney Poitier is the white man’s fantasy of what he wants us to be.
But his movies have him fighting for equal rights.
Only in a way that is acceptable to the white status quo.
And the brother can’t act.
What are you talking about?
He just won the Academy Award...
he’s breaking down barriers for all of us.
By being white, by acting white.
Sidney Poitier is nothing but a rich Uncle Tom.
Look at you.
You all puffed up.
You got your hat on your head.
Coming in here. Saying whatever you want.
Your girlfriend is belching at the table.
You don’t even think you need to go to school even though I gave you the money.
You need to go.
Yeah, Louis, I need you to get out of my house.
What?
GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!
Cecil! Cecil no! No no no!
We ain’t seen this boy! We ain’t seen this boy in years!
Now everybody just sit down!
I’M SORRY, MISTER BUTLER! I DIDN’T MEAN TO MAKE FUN OF YOUR HERO!
Everything you are, and everything you have,
is because of that butler.
Now you take that triflin’, low class bitch
and get out of this house.
I like Sydney Poitier, daddy.
The police took Louis the next day.
Y’all gonna make me late for work.
Uncle Carter, I’m sorry. Who else am I gonna call to bail him out?
What they got him in for this time? Sit up!
He said the cop stopped him “just because”.
Just because?
He said he wasn’t gonna get beat no more, so... he got out the car and hit him back.
What about that little gal of his?
They put her in the hospital.
In the hospital? Charlie...
this shit’s gotta stop, man.
I’m late for work.
You tell Louis I’m not his momma.
I want my money back.
You alright?
Yeah. I’m alright.
Thanks Uncle Carter.
You can take all this Black Panther shit somewhere else.
I’m not them, I want my money back. Hear me?
Yes, sir.
Every dime.
Yes, sir.
Hey Uncle Carter, don’t tell Daddy?
How you avoid anal sex in prison?
Do they teach you that at The Panthers?
They teach you how to sit?
She been drinking again?
No. She sober.
She ain’t doing nothing but sewing and feeding them damn fishes...
feed them more than she feed me.
You excited about going back to Howard?
I’m excited about not going back.
What?
Yeah. I’m going to Vietnam.
Charlie, don’t do this. DON’T DO THIS.
This country treats us like dogs!
Do what?! Don’t do this?
You fight your country,
I wanna fight for my country.
I won’t go to your funeral.
Good,
because I don’t want you there with all of that;
... black... leather... latex...
shining and taking all of the attention off MY pretty face in my casket...
What they call you now? Lou-eez?
Shut up.
Lou-eez Gaines...
I want to know every God damned domestic policy decision right now
and I want it on the table right now.
Did you get the memos we sent last week?
John and I strongly agree that the time calls for a period of--
There’s a God damned fly. A God damned fly in here.
Jesus Christ.
John and I strongly agree that the time calls for a period of benign neglect.
Benign neglect? - Yes.
I like that. I like that.
The pigs in the media describe us as terrorists.
A terrorist is one who terrorizes and frightens others.
We’re the ones getting terrorized!
How can we exist in peace when we scared to walk down the street to the store?!
Now there’s this whole black power movement going on, right?
What if Nixon promotes black power to mean black businesses, and we find ways to support black entrepreneurs.
We pass the buck on desegregation to the courts,
but push black enterprise to get the 20% that could vote our way...
Excellent, sir.
You don’t know if your ceiling gon’ cave in
because your slumlord too busy running around collecting rent checks,
but he won’t fix your roof.
It’s time that we take a stand against these injustices that plagued our community!
They take one of ours?
We takin two of theirs! - That's right.
We just need to make sure that ‘Nixon’s black power’
doesn’t equate Nixon with the Black Panthers.
Have you lost your mind!? Did you read Hoover’s last memo on that?!
That’s my point. - It’s God damned terrifying.
No no no... I gave him the green light to gut those sons of bitches...
- Absolutely.
Round them all up and throw them down a fuckin’ elevator shaft.
I don’t proclaim to know everything.
But I promise you,
they’ll always beware of the nigger with a gun.
Will there be anything else, Mr. President?
How many kids do we have coming to the breakfast tomorrow morning?
We got about 25 to 30 kids.
What are we doing here?
I thought this was gonna be our community service?
This is community service.
Someone kills one of us, we kill two of theirs? - Community protection.
Are you willing to kill somebody, Carol?
Because I aint.
I am.
Did you ever love me baby?
Hi baby! - Hi.
Happy birthday to me, huh? - Happy birthday to you!
Well this is the present I want, right here.
Well, you want it right here?
Alright! Kids up? Kids down?
Ain’t no kids in the house no more!
Hey, I made you a birthday cake.
I got all the cake I want right here. - No... you crazy...
Hey I got some champagne, cooling in the ice box.
And some ice cream too! Get some ice cream!
You gonna be drinking with me?
You know I don’t drink.
I don’t drink.
I was just playing with you.
I was just seeing if it worked. Go ahead.
Oh my God!
We get any mail from Charlie today?
No.
I haven’t heard from Charlie.
I know I got an idea.
I think we should go to Shantay’s tonight.
Ohhhhh no... No. I’m too old for disco.
We not old! Come on!
Our boys are gone! Just you and me!
You and me! We are free- oh!
I forgot this. I forgot this.
Now look at us.
A little happy birthday present.
I want you to go put it on, upstairs.
Put it on?! - Put it on,
make it snappy! Bring down my sewing kit
because I need to do some alterations.
Make it snappy!
Hello.
Hi. Where are you?
Where?!
You should call me back because this is not a good time. He’s here...
They fit!
We gonna be going out tonight! - He’s home and...
Who that?
Call me back...
Oh it’s Louis. He’s asking for some money?
Hey Louis.
I wasn’t expecting to hear from you on my birthday.
You should feel ashamed of yourself.
You’re a grown ass man and your calling your mamma asking for money.
Well guess what it’s the butler’s money.
It’s Uncle Tom’s money. And he ain’t giving none out today.
Bye.
You got the wrong house...
It’s the wrong man's house.
Vietnam took my boy.
And I didn’t understand why we were there in the first place.
Your father still alive, Cecil?
No, sir.
My father died when I was a child.
Is there anything else that you would like, Mr. President?
Come sit. Sit down.
There’s been a lot of talk of me resigning,
things of that nature, but I just want you to know that it’s never gonna happen.
I’m gonna come out of this thing stronger than ever.
Is there anything else that you would like, Mr. President?
Louis is here looking for you.
I finished school. I got my masters in political science.
Hey! That’s what I’m talking about.
Get that education.
There he is!
Hey, well I’ma let you all to it...
Ain’t no need for that, Carter.
Hey Dad.
Get out of here Louis.
Dad?
I said leave.
Keep doing what you doing.
Thank you. Uncle Carter.
Why you do that? Huh?
That was wrong. The boy’s hurtin’ too.
You know he’s just trying to get his act.. - He should be hurting Carter.
Boy didn’t even go to his own brother’s funeral.
He’s full of shit is what he is.
He aint doing nothing right.
He just got his masters! What more you want him to do?!
Every grey hair I have is because of that boy.
The years started to drift by,
but the pain in my heart never went away.
Through it all,
Louis and I never spoke.
In our district alone, we have 9% unemployment. The country at large,
14%, are living below the poverty line.
60% of those are Black or Hispanic. By the time I’m voted into Congress,
the decrease in those numbers is gonna be one of my primary objectives...
Yeah.
Oh, hey.
Thanks for getting back to me.
How much did he lose by?
Really?
Alright then. I appreciate it.
Nah, he didn’t win.
I think you should call him.
Right after Charlie passed,
Louis came over and paid me a visit.
He found me on the kitchen floor.
I had passed out. Drunk.
I’d gone to the bathroom all over myself.
He was the one who cleaned me up.
And then he told me that I was the best mother...
anybody could ever want.
I think about now..
he’d want to hear from his daddy.
I think you ought to call him.
Cecil!
Yes sir, Mr. President.
You stay there, I’m coming to you.
I have a secret mission for you.
Yes, sir?
I like to send people money when they write me
about their financial problems, but my staff has been trying to get me to stop.
You think you could help me keep this going?
Absolutely, Mr. President.
I appreciate your help with this.
And please don’t tell Nancy. - Of course not, sir.
Morning, Cecil.
Morning, Mr. Warner.
May I sit down.
I’ve been here for almost thirty years now,
and for all that time,
the black help has been paid a smaller salary than the white help.
And I just don’t think it’s right, Mr. Warner.
There are black housemen who should be engineers by now,
they should’ve been promoted years ago.
You think so?
I’m gonna have to be paid the same as the white help...
or I’ma have to move on.
I guess you’ll be moving on then.
I told the President that you’d say that.
He told me to tell you to take this up with him personally.
Excuse me.
I’m not comfortable with all the foreign policy hawks surrounding Ronnie,
we need more moderates on his staff.
And I want a summit with the Russians.
Ronnie needs to meet with them face to face if we really want to thaw this ice.
Cecil. - Yes, Mrs. Reagan?
Yes ma’am?
You’re very popular around here.
Everyone says you’re the man that got them raises and promotions.
I had no idea.
I wish I could take credit for that.
I’d like to invite you to the State Dinner next week.
But I’m going to be there, Mrs. Reagan. - No,
not as a butler, Cecil, I’m inviting you as a guest.
But...the President prefers for me to serve him personally.
Don’t you worry about, Ronnie. I’ll take care of that.
So we’ll see you next week? You and your wife.
My wife?
It’s... It’s Gloria, yes?
Yes. Ma'm.
This is the Entrance Hall.
Can I get you a glass of champagne, Mr. Gaines?
Shut up!
Hostess: Ladies and Gentleman,
the President and First Lady of the United States.
It was different sitting at the table instead of serving it.
Real different.
I could see the two faces the butlers wore to survive
and I knew I lived my life with those same two faces.
Gloria looked so happy, but I didn’t feel the same way.
I guess I wished we were there for real instead of show.
I think that’s Bon appetite everybody.
You a black motherfucker!
I want to make myself clear on this issue.
If Congress passes sanctions against South Africa,
I will be forced to veto those sanctions.
Well, Mr. President, we feel that would be a major mistake.
The brutal repression of South African black citizens make this no longer just a foreign policy issue,
but a United States racial issue.
We’re Senators from your own party.
That’s why we feel so comfortable in letting you know that South Africa is a human rights disaster.
Black people are being beaten, tortured, gunned down in the middle of the street.
Americans see this on TV, they’re horrified by Apartheid.
I’ve made my decision.
Mr. President, your reputation as a world leader is at stake.
The United States of America needs to be on the right side of history on the race issue.
I’ll say it again.
If Congress passes this bill,
I will veto it.
Period.
What? You reading now?
Get up and do the dishes ‘fore I shoot you in the head.
Nothing seemed right to me after that State Dinner.
I got all confused.
They started writing books
about everything Louis and his friends had done.
Louis was never a criminal,
he was a hero.
Fighting to save the soul of our country.
I had always loved serving.
But it just felt different now.
I didn’t know that an old man could feel so lost.
But that’s how I felt...
That’s how I felt.
Americans always turned a blind eye to what we had done to our own.
We look out to the world and judge.
We hear about the concentration camps,
but these camps went on for 200 years... right here, in America.
I buried my daddy right over there.
My mamma would have been right proud of me,
being with a man like yous.
Taking such good care of me all of these years.
I love you Cecil Gaines.
I love you more Gloria.
Are you sure about this?
Yes sir.
I just want to be the one who tell you first, that’s all.
You’re the best butler here.
You are like family, Cecil.
It’s been an honor serving you.
Not just for me, I’m sure I speak for all the Presidents
when I say that you’ve served your country well.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Cecil?
This whole civil rights issue...
I sometimes fear I’m on the wrong side of it...
that I’m just wrong.
Sometimes I think I’m just scared of what it really means.
But I’m trying to not be so scared anymore.
LOUIS Who do we want to free?
Mandela!
When do we want him free? - Now!
Twenty years ago we marched in this country for our rights,
today we march to free the people of South Africa.
Ronald Reagan has attacked or dismantled every civil rights program
that has ever been put in to place.
Aiding the oppression of black South Africans is absolutely consistent with his policies on race issues.
Am I right? Am I right?
Excuse me. Steven?
Where’s Steven. Free Mandela Y’all!
Hi, dad.
Hi, Louis.
What are you doing here?
I’m here to protest with you.
You’ll get arrested dad. You’ll lose your job.
I’ve lost you.
I’m sorry...
I’m sorry...son.
Don’t worry, dad, we’ll be out of here in a few hours.
Who said I was worried?
After going to jail, I thought I had seen it all.
But I’d never imagined I’d see
a black man be a real contender for the President of the United States.
Gloria and I would walk to our polling place every night to see
where we would be voting for Barack Obama.
We would just stare at it and smile.
You done?
Pretty much. - Good. It's time to go.
You done pretty good there. Thanks, honey.
How come Louis’ wife name that child Shaquanda?!
Now don’t start that again.
I aint starting it, I just don’t know what kind of name that is.
I mean, really, Shaquanda?!
I think she done that just to spite me.
Honey ain’t nobody done nothing to spite you.
Sure she did. She an ugly little thing too.
That little pug nose... I hope she grow out of it.
You need to stop that.
You know that aint right.
Don’t you think she look a little like Louis around the mouth?
I think she look just like you. - Like me?!
Yeah, so you need to stop talking about her!
Let me look at her again then real good...
She do look a little bit like me.
She a pretty little thang.
I guess i can't put up with the name Shaquanda.
I forgot where I put my Bible.
You know I need my Bible.
I think I left it in the bathroom.
Why is Louis late?
Boy gets elected into Congress
and he ain’t been on time getting us to church ever since.
I can’t believe you still--
He’s going to be late to his own funeral.
I can’t believe you still fussing about Louis--
He said he gonna be here for us!
Go ahead, call him.
I aint calling Louis.
I’m gonna get my purse and--
What did you say... Isiah...
I see you got that mark here...
Baby?
Honey?
You sleeping?
Baby? Are you alright?
Louis! Louis come on down! Come down!
BLITZ:“And CNN can now project that Barack Obama,
47 years old, will become the President-Elect of the United States.”
BARACK OBAMA “If there is anyone out there...
who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible;
who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time;
who still questions the power of our democracy,
tonight is your answer.”
Look them in the eye,
see what it is they want,
see what it is they need, anticipate,
bring a smile to the principal’s eyes...
Mr. Gaines, I’m Admiral Rochon the Chief Usher.
It’s nice to meet you, Admiral.
The pleasure’s all mine, Sir.
I just wanted to tell you what an honor it is to meet you, sir.
The honor is mine.
The President so excited to meet with you.
Well that’s just fine.
Let me show you the way.
- I know the way.
JFK The heart of the question is..
whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities.
LBJ It is the effort of American Negros
to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life.
BARACK OBAMA We will respond with that timeless creed
that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes we can!
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