All language subtitles for Episode_4_en

Last on Roots:

Would you like to take
me to the church picnic?

Why....
Why, yes, Miss Palmer.

l'd be-- l'd be right proud
to escort you to the picnic.

l is a dirt farmer,
and that's what your brothers be.

That's what schooling teach you?
To be high and prideful?

-Think you better?
-That isn't the point--

l tell you the point! Ain't no money
to waste on a grown man going schooling.

-l could warm up some milk for the lady.
-Well, that's very kind of you.

Thank you very much.
What's your name?

George. Just call me George.
George will do fine.

No, l mean your own name.

Simon.

My name is Simon Haley.

The letter registering Simon Haley
for a full year...

...with tuition paid for in advance
by certified check.

Simon Alexander Haley, l am furious
at you. You hear me? l am just furious.

-Honey--
-Running off to enlist without a single word!

We came all the way from Henning.
We planned a surprise for you.

-You had to spoil it!
-l'm sorry.

-Let's get these damn coons on the train.
-Yes, sir.

Bye!

l love you!

l love you, Simon.

The earth is the Lord
and the fullness thereof.

He leads me forth beside the water.

A world, and they that dwell therein.

For he hath founded it
upon the seashore.

Free your soul
from the ties of righteousness.

And establish it upon the floods.

Who shall ascend the hill
of the Lord?

l will fear no evil, for thou art with me.

Thy rod and thy staff comfort me.

Thou shalt prepare a table before me
in the presence of them that trouble me.

Who hath not lifted up his soul
unto vanity.

He shall receive the blessing
of the Lord.

Surely thy loving kindness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life.

This is the generation of them
that seek him.

The Lord is my shepherd....

He that hath clean hands.

Lead me beside the waters....

Who hath not lifted up his soul
unto vanity....

He shall convert my soul.

Yea, though l walk through
the valley of the shadow of death...

...l will fear no evil,
for thou art with me.

This is the generation of them
that seek him.

Thy rod and thy staff comfort me.

Thou shalt prepare a table before me
in the presence of them that trouble me.

Thou hast anointed my head with oil...

...and my cup shall be full.

Who is this king of glory?

The Lord of hosts.
He is the king of glory.

Attention!

lf ye but believe in me,
ye shall never die.

Sweet Jesus!

Have mercy on the souls
of those poor boys that were hanged.

Receive them in thy bosom
and comfort their loved ones.

Dear brothers and sisters,
the Army called it "mutiny" and "murder."

But those boys of the 24th lnfantry...

...had no chance to testify
to the provocation...

...the indignation and the humiliation...

...they suffered at the hands
of the police of Houston, Texas.

Where was the Army...

...when the police took a colored MP
and beat him and threw him in jail?

-Amen!
-Have mercy.

Then when those colored boys
themselves...

...marched into town
to protect their brother...

...there was shooting, and there were
20 men dead, black and white.

Yes, there was.

But the Army only blamed the colored.

They put most 1 50 men on trial,
but was it done by the law?

Oh, no. No.

The Army took those colored boys
in secret...

...without the review
of the War Department and the president...

...like the law sayeth.

-Yes, they did.
-Have mercy!

Took them in secret to Salado Creek
and hung them.

Hung them dead!

-Hear, now.
-And they call that military justice.

Brothers and sisters, l say unto you...

...that was a lynching!

-lt was! lt was!
-A lynching!

-Yes, indeed!
-lt was.

Miss lda Barnett
from the NAACP in Chicago...

...sent down a petition
to President Wilson...

...for mercy for the men of the 24th
lnfantry, whom they still fixing to hang.

So whilst we pray, l want every one of you
to fix your names to it.

Mama, what's gonna happen to Simon?

We gonna pray that he gonna be all right.

They're gonna do something to him
in that Army.

l won't ever see him again.

Dear Lord,
who mark the fall of the sparrow...

...mark our boys from Henning...

...who've been called to the United States
Army to fight for their country.

Yes, Lord.

We appreciate anything you do for them
in the way of protection over there.

Dear Lord, sweet Jesus...

...put forth your hand
and protect our boys over here...

-...where they needs it bad!
-Oh, yes!

Lord!

Haley!

Button that button!

Ten-hut! Left face!

Morning.

l want to welcome you new men
to the division.

l am 2nd Lt. Ten Eyck.

You men are now soldiers
in the United States Army...

...and l want you always
to be proud of that.

l know that you are going
to perform your duties diligently.

Now, l am required to read
to all new recruits a directive...

...from Maj. Gen. Charles C. Ballou,
commanding the 92nd Division.

"Directive 35.

Pursuant to a recent incident
in Manhattan, Kansas...

...a noncommissioned officer
of the 92nd Colored...

...was refused entry to a local theater
by the manager.

lt has been determined that, although
the civilian was in violation of state law...

...the sergeant in question
was guilty of a greater wrong...

...in doing anything,
no matter how legally correct...

...that will provoke racial animosity.

Enlisted men of the 92nd lnfantry Colored...

...are ordered to refrain from going
where they are not wanted...

...and are instructed to take warning.

White men made the division,
and they can break it just as easily...

...if it becomes a troublemaker."

-Sergeant, dismiss the platoon.
-Yes, sir.

That's funny.
l mean...

...this is a whole division of colored troops,
and l haven't seen one colored officer.

You ain't likely to, either.

When this war bust out,
there was three colored officers...

...in the whole United States Army.

There. Now, that's just by the book.

Can't be no wrapping too tight,
or your feet swell up, fall off.

-You're regular Army, aren't you, Haywood?
-l got in the Army when l was 1 6 years old.

Soldiering's the only thing
l know how to do.

Besides, ain't no other reason
for a black man to be in this Army.

l volunteered.

You shut on up.
We know why you here.

Judge done told you one year in jail
or join the Army.

Yeah, and l ain't sure
l done made the right choice.

Haley, you're a college man and all that.

What the hell you volunteer for?

President Wilson said it:

"The world must be made safe
for democracy."

That's all right for them white boys,
but what's in it for us?

Dr. Du Bois said blacks...

...must overlook their special grievances
for the duration of the war...

...that winning takes precedence
over the fight for rights.

We make no ordinary sacrifice, but we make
it gladly and willingly with our eyes lifted...

-...to the hills.
-Amen!

Praise the Lord! Amen!

l'll make a deal with you.
You and Dr. Du Bois...

...keep your eyes lifted to the hills,
and l'll keep you out of trouble...

...down here in the mud
where we gonna be.

Socialists! Damn socialists, that's what!

Will Palmer, what are you doing?

Cousin Georgia come
all the way from Kansas City...

...and you reading The Chicago Defender
right in her face.

l says, tell the truth and shame the devil.
They socialists.

-Who is, Cousin Will?
-This here Chancellor Owens...

-...and A. Phillip Randolph.
-l don't understand, Cousin Will.

-What they do?
-They been agitating against the war.

You just listen to this here:

"Negro leaders can volunteer
to go to France...

...if they are so eager to fight
to make the world safe for democracy.

We would rather make Georgia safe
for the Negro."

My husband, Mr. Anderson, say...

...that being against the war
is being pro-German.

And he's right.
First thing you know...

...the white folks gonna say
the colored ain't patriotic...

-...that they afraid to fight for their country.
-How they say that...

...when Grandpa Chicken George fought
in the Union Army...

...right nearby at Fort Pillow?

Cousin Georgia,
ain't nobody remembers that no more.

l do. l remember all the old stories
better than anybody.

About Grandpa and his mama, Kizzy...

...and the old African and all that truck.

-Mr. Palmer?
-Yes.

-Could l speak with you, Mr. Palmer, sir?
-Sure. Come on in.

No. l just leave not.

l done rode 1 0 miles to get here,
and l smells of mule sweat.

-Same to you, l'd rather talk on the porch.
-Okay, Luke.

l didn't know who to ask for help.

Well, my Fanny, she say,
"Go see Mr. Palmer."

See, now, l done told them l can't go...

-...because l got the farm and the children--
-Now, wait a minute.

You couldn't go?
You talking about the draft board?

They say l gotta go three weeks
from Saturday, and l can't.

l got 50 acres in cotton to chop.

Now, l done explained to them l got a wife
and three kids and one coming.

You is exempt for dependents.

All you has to do is appeal
the classification--

Mr. Palmer...

...they is all white men on that board.

Think they'll listen to a nigger dirt farmer?

Now, you look here, Luke.
That don't make no never mind.

They has to go by the rules.

Well, now, there is young Mr. Calloway,
and they knows you.

You can talk to them.

There is nobody else
to speak up for me, sir.

Well...

...l guess l'll go down to that draft board
with you on their next meeting.

Thank you, sir.

Recover!

High port! Whirl!

High port!

Whirl!

Recover!

High port!

-Well, how they shaping up, lieutenant?
-Not bad, sir.

l've been looking over some records.

There are even a few college men
among them.

Hope you stay around longer
than the last two lieutenants we had.

But, then, l guess you've got
your request in for a transfer already, eh?

-No, sir.
-No?

Well, takes all kinds.

Suppose it don't matter to you war's over.
You just go on back to your fancy college.

Let me tell you, you're in the regular Army,
it rubs off on you.

Headquarters says, "Capt. Bowker?
Ain't he the one with that coon regiment?"

There goes your chance for promotion.

Captain, don't you think that if these men
are treated fairly and patiently...

...that they'll do as well as any other?

Oh, my. Ten Eyck, where you from?

-Fishkill, New York, sir.
-Well...

...let me tell you, the Army has had
a lot of experience handling nigger troops.

Haley! Who told you
you can open your canteen?

-He's sick.
-All right, Haley!

You spill that water on the ground.

You heard me! Spill it on the ground!

And that's the way it's gonna be.

-Sergeant? Trouble?
-No, sir! A man done passed out. That's all.

-Get him out of the sun.
-Haley, Haywood, move him out!

Soldier!

Yes, sir?

You're Haywood.
l read your record.

You were busted from sergeant,
you did three months.

Yes, sir.

There's not gonna be any trouble like that
in my company, do you understand?

Yes, sir.

See what l mean?

lt's the only way to handle them.
Come down hard from the word "go."

Now, Will, the Selective Service Act
is very complicated.

l sat on the committee that drafted it...

...and l'm blamed if l can understand
all that lawyer talk and the small print.

Yes, sir, but Luke here
ought to be classified 4A:

"Man whose wife and children are mainly
dependent on his labor for support."

Or 4C: "Necessary sole-managing head
of necessary agriculture enterprise."

Now, Will. l assure you every case
is considered on its own merits.

-Yes, sir. l'm sure that--
-They deferred George McKay.

And he's a colored farmer, same as me,
and he ain't married yet.

We had an affidavit from Mr. Bordegray,
who owns McKay's farm...

...that there would be a large financial loss
if he was not deferred.

Now, Will, we just don't have
that kind of affidavit for Luke.

That's because Luke here
owns his own place.

Mr. Calloway, l've done business
with your father...

...at the bank for 20 years
before he passed away.

Now, l done come to know your family
as fair-minded Christian gentlemen.

-Well, thank you, Will, but the point is--
-Hear me all the way, sir!

Are you really gonna draft this man...

...who is a farmer with a wife
and three children...

...and one on the way?

-There are rules and laws!
-Will, l never thought l'd hear you...

...stand up for a slacker.

Father said you were the one colored man
that could be trusted.

-But maybe he was wrong.
-All l is saying is, fair is fair!

You are impugning the impartiality
of this board.

-There will come a day l'll remember that.
-Now, you listen here--

Gentlemen, gentlemen.

Now, Will, there are appeal procedures...

...but the review board is likely
to be reluctant to challenge the wisdom...

...of a democratically chosen local board.

And, as an old friend, l'm telling you,
it ain't gonna do any good anyway.

The Army ain't gonna hurt
a good Henning colored boy.

lt's an honor to serve your country.

White and black, fighting for democracy...

...side by side.

Say, Haley, where did you go on your pass?

To the social at the Methodist church.

Professor, now,
you just don't know where to look!

Now, l found me a big woman.

Now, l done had some big women,
but this woman was big.

And she had this big old brass bed,
and there was room enough--

There was room enough for--

Haywood.

Come on. Here.

-Get some water.
-No, no. Whiskey.

-Dushay, bring my canteen!
-Take it easy.

-What happened?
-Damn town cops.

They had a fellow from D Company
between them.

They was busting his head with sticks.

Lousy bulls!

Now, l asked them real nice,
l said, "ls he under arrest?"

You can't mess with no
small-town lllinois police!

lt's not worth it, man!

Then one of them lays his pistol
up alongside my head.

Well, they works me over pretty good.

And then tells me that l'm under arrest
and try to take me down to the station.

Well, l kicks one of them real hard
and busted loose.

l come back to camp
and a court-martial is ready.

That's an affront to the United States Army.
You were obeying orders.

-They can't do that!
-Where's their respect for this uniform?

-Right!
-There's got to be some action taken.

Now you talking, college boy.

Hand me my gun! l'm serious!

Come on, professor.
What you got in your blood?

Grab your piece and join the party.

We going back and make that damn town
safe for democracy.

-You've gotta report this to the authorities.
-Done that.

Captain asked me why l'm inciting
racial violence.

Ain't you heard enough yet, Haley?
You gonna back up your buddy?

-You a soldier, or you a yellow dog?
-Right! Let's go!

-l'll go.
-All right! Come on!

All right, hold it!

Now, anybody that leave here tonight
gonna go over my dead body.

What you talking?
They done laid your head open!

They insulted the whole damn
United States Army.

We have a right to defend ourselves.

We gonna make white police
pay for your blood.

-That right?
-That's right!

Tell you what. The same thing happened
to the 24th lnfantry in Houston, Texas.

The Army brass disarmed
the whole damn battalion...

...1 1 0 colored soldiers
in the stockades for murder.

Then hung 1 3 of them
and gonna hang more!

They got 41 doing life in Leavenworth,
so put your weapon down, soldier.

Put your weapon down, all of you!

You're on my squad.
l ain't gonna let not one of you...

...hang from the end of a rope.

You want to shoot somebody?

Wait till France.
You can shoot some Germans.

What l got against them Germans?

lt seem to me we fighting
the wrong white men.

l know, Mr. Calloway, but Luke's
appealing the draft-board rule...

...to the state review in Memphis.

No, sir, l ain't instigating nothing.
That's Luke's right by law.

Well, l's sorry you feel that way, sir, but--

Well, goodbye to you, sir.

Mr. Calloway don't take too kindly
to no appeal to the state review.

He ain't gonna do nothing to you, Will.

His father set you up in this
lumber business in the first place.

Oh, yeah, but then, "There come a pharaoh
who knew not Joseph."

Daddy, you didn't give me an answer
about--

A young lady do not pick up and go
all the way to Chicago unchaperoned...

-...to be with a man.
-Simon's in the Army, Papa. That's--

l ain't gonna argue with you, girl.

You said we can get married
after his graduation.

-We're practically married.
-"Practically" ain't the same thing!

Have him come here
with your family around.

His division is going overseas.

All he can get is a one-day pass
to Chicago.

l don't want to lose him.

The child telephoned Miss lda Wells Barnett
in Chicago.

-She can stay with her.
-You known Miss Barnett for a long time.

-She head of that NAACP and everything.
-All right. Miss Barnett. Fine.

But you don't throw two young people
together with all that foolishness...

...about going overseas and last chance.
You just asking for trouble!

Will Palmer,
have l ever mixed in your family?

No, Lizzie, you ain't never mixed
in my family.

Well, let me tell you something, Will Palmer.

A father got to love his daughter...

...and she got to mind what he say
up to a point.

There comes a time when a papa
got no more notion...

...of what's going on in his child's heart
than he got the other side of the moon.

My papa, Tom, made that kind of mistake.

So, Will, you want to keep
the love of the child?

You want to keep her respect
for your word?

Then you got to bend.
You gotta let go.

l'm talking about what's proper and decent.

Will, these children are in love,
and that boy's going off to war!

Now, old folks say,
"Don't make no never mind.

He come back by and by."
Well, that ain't true.

They don't always come back.

And there are times all a woman got
to remember the rest of her life...

...is the soft, sad word
of her love saying goodbye.

l know.

l still hear John Dolan.
Now, God forbid, Simon don't come back.

Now, you let them cling to each other
and say goodbye!

Tell me everything's gonna work out.

Tell me l won't lose Simon.

You won't lose Simon, baby.

Tomorrow morning,
we'll go down to the train station...

...and get your ticket.

Wire Miss Barnett
that you're coming to Chicago.

Thank you, Daddy.

Hey, Dox! By the time you finish going
through them frog gals, man...

...there ain't gonna be enough left
for a dose of Epsom salt!

You ain't got to mind
them old frog girls, now.

There ain't no loving
like good old down-home Chicago loving.

When Frances gets finished
saying goodbye to you...

...you ain't gonna be able to say hello
to nobody.

l thought l heard somebody knocking
out there.

ls this where Doxey Walker live?

-They said third floor, rear.
-That's right.

Hey, Doxey! Friends of yours?

Come on in.

Simon?

The professor!
l didn't think you was gonna be here!

We got lost on the trolley.

Well, well, well, lookie here.

Miss Palmer, l'd like you to meet
Doxey Walker.

So you're Bertha!
Well, that's all he talk about in camp.

"Bertha, Bertha, Bertha."

-And you much prettier than he say.
-How do you do, Mr. Walker?

Mr. Walker?

That's my daddy's name,
and he been gone since the day l was born.

Doxey, that's me. Doxey.
This here is Big Slew.

-How you doing?
-Pleasure.

-How are you, ma'am?
-He work in the stockyards.

He don't even need
no sledge to poleax them steers...

...because he bust them twist-eyes
with his fist!

-You ain't nothing but a big--
-Shut your mouth, fool.

Can't you see there's a lady present?
Y'all come on in.

Get yourself a drink,
a mess of ribs or something...

...because everybody here is friends.

Hey, hey, hey, Francey.

This here is my buddy from the Army.
Simon, the professor.

-This his girl, Bertha.
-Well, hello. How you doing?

Y'all just make yourself at home.

You know, if you got to go,
it's out back in the yard.

Here, have a drink.

Hey, Doxey.
Come and play something for us.

Look here. Y'all just relax.
Have yourself a good time, you hear?

Hey, here you are, sweetie.

Have one of these here pig ears here.

Get back! Hey, look.
You don't want one?

Look, they my bestest thing.

-l get them by the buckets at the stockyard.
-No, thank you.

-Maybe later.
-All right.

Simon, l think it's whiskey.

No, honey, that's gin.
lt puts hair on your chest.

What do l do?

You all right, honey?

l just feel--

-l'm all right, l just need some air.
-l know it.

lt was quite hot.

Stuffy, that's all it was.

What's that?

l think that's the stockyards.

-You wanna go back inside?
-Simon, what we gonna do?

-Ain't no place to go.
-l know, honey.

We don't know anyone else in Chicago.
We can't go back to Miss Barnett's.

She won't let me receive
a gentleman caller there.

Simon, it's our last night.

Hey! Hey, professor! What you doing
out here? Come on in, join the party.

-Doxey, you some kind of idiot?
-Hey, buddy, look.

This our last night
before we headed over there.

You better load up on some home cooking
and some home loving!

Thanks. We'll be in soon.

Can't you see
this little lady is shivering?

Everybody know the night air
from the stockyards bring on the ague.

-Come on in here.
-l'll be all right, really.

Doxey, you ain't got the brains of a
jumping flea. Can't you see they's in love?

They don't want to spend their time
with a bunch of gin-swigging strangers.

Y'all can have the loan of my room, on the
second floor in front. Nobody bother you.

And l got a big, fine brass bed
with a real sateen coverlet--

Thank you. But...

...we can't stay too long.
We'll be all right here.

Francey, come on. There's plenty of liquor
in here ain't been drunk yet.

Well, ain't been for the lack of trying.

Now, honey,
l know they're wild and all, but....

Maybe that's because they're city folk,
and we've never met anybody like that.

l wish you could stay with me now.
Come home to Henning.

-We could get married in an old church.
-We will, honey. We will.

Simon, why you have to go?

lt's--

Well, it's just my patriotic duty.

Well, that's what Dr. Du Bois
wrote in The Crisis:

"We of the colored race have no
ordinary interest in the outcome.

German power spells death
to the aspirations of Negroes...

...for equality, freedom and democracy.
Let us close our--"

l don't want to hear Dr. Du Bois.

l don't want to hear about patriotism
or politics or anything.

l just want to hear you say you love me
and you're gonna be coming back all right.

Honey, please.

Well, l just don't know.

-l mean, about being all right.
-Then lie to me.

-Tell me lies, Simon, please!
-Bertha....

Bertha, l love you.

l'm gonna come back to you.
That's all that matters.

Oh, Simon, l love you.

Then nothing else matters.

Nothing.

We love each other.

Remember that.

Let's move out! Let's move out!

All right. The two machine-gun
positions are here...

...and here.

Now, my orders from Capt. Bowker
are to get to the guns and destroy them.

Battalion wants them wiped out
before the push.

Yes, sir.

-Sergeant, you'll check the men.
-All right, sir.

Lieutenant...

...them krauts got that whole field
of fire measured and zeroed in.

They could shoot the toenails
off a fly in the dark.

Don't worry about it, corporal.

Headquarters is calling in
a creeping barrage.

That'll keep their heads down.
We'll be very well-covered.

Lieutenant...

...listen.

Notice anything?

There ain't nothing to listen to.

Lord almighty!

They were supposed to be here
five minutes ago.

-Where the hell is Artillery?
-They're probably in the sack.

They sure as hell ain't
shooting off no 75s.

Capt. Bowker made it absolutely clear
we have to destroy those machine guns.

-What do you think, Haywood?
-Lieutenant, l ain't paid to think.

All right.

We are gonna wait exactly five minutes
for covering artillery.

And then what?

Then we are going to follow
the captain's orders.

Nothing from Artillery.

A long, loud nothing.

All right.

Let's go.

Move out!

That's wire! Get down!

Wire! Down!

On your backs!

Go under it! Move it, down there!
Move it!

Johnson! Johnson!

l'm caught in the wire!

Doxey, you all right?

Come on, you recruits! Move in!

We're taking too much fire, lieutenant.
We got to go back.

Men, go back! Men!

Stay down!

Sergeant, Washington out there dead.

And Johnson.

Dushay hit in the leg...

...but he be all right.

Cut up by the wire some, though.

Why the hell isn't Artillery coming?

That's what l wanna know.
Hell, that fool white man...

...probably didn't call no Artillery liaison.

Why bother?

Nothing out there
but a bunch of niggers.

-That cracker.
-l can't let you talk like that.

-Capt. Bowker's your superior officer.
-Oh, that what he is?

Yes, sir.

That's all we need
in this hole in the ground...

...is a bunch of military courtesy.

Yes, sir.

Haywood, what are we going to do?

-You the officer.
-Yes, but you're an experienced soldier.

Do you think we can
get through that barbed wire?

Oh, hell.

With no artillery cover?

We ain't got no wire cutters.

And them Heinie machine guns
with a known-range field of fire...

...it take a frontal assault
at full-battalion strength, sir.

Yes. l agree with you.

I sent you out
to carry out my orders...

...and you just plain failed.

-Captain, lf l had tried--
-Stand at attention, Ten Eyck!

What am l gonna tell Battalion?

Patrol of dumb darkies
just sat in some damn shell hole...

-...rolling their big bug eyes?
-Sir, my men did their duty.

Two of them are dead,
and one is wounded.

The patrol was undermanned, sir.
There was no wire shown on my map.

-We didn't have wire cutters.
-l don't want excuses.

And there was supposed to be
an artillery barrage.

They cancel it? Or just
forget to call Division Artillery?

How do l know what went on?
Something always goes wrong!

Are you going to find out, sir?

Will you protest that
you almost lost an entire troop?

Just exactly how far
do you think l would get with that?

Somebody up there
is awful busy covering up his rear.

l'm gonna cover up mine.

No patrol in the world
could have gotten through--

Up in Battalion,
they expect these troops to fail.

They know what we're up against.
They don't wanna hear anything else.

-They did not fail!
-And nobody gets a promotion...

...by telling higher command
what they don't want to hear.

Captain, l cannot let my men
be held responsible for something--

You stick your thumb in your mouth
and you listen to me!

They put me in this manure pile.

l'm gonna get out with my record clean!
Dismissed!

-Sir, l cannot let--
-Dismissed!

Where have you been?
You're half an hour late.

Sorry, Haley.

Oh, l'm sorry, sir.
l thought it was Walker.

Anything going on?

No, sir.

All quiet.

There was an observation
two-seater about a half-hour ago...

-...crossing this sector left to right.
-Yes, we saw that.

And there was a barn swallow.

You mean a bird?

Yes, sir.

Or some kind of swift.

lt's nesting in that dead tree
about 1 00 yards out.

A bird's nest in this circle of hell.

What a sight.

There's a female sitting on top.

"Hope is that thing with feathers
which nestles near the heart."

Emily Dickinson. You ever
read any of her poems at college?

-l took ag courses mostly, sir.
-Well, that's interesting, Haley.

-You wanna be a farmer?
-l want to teach agriculture...

-...at the college level.
-You have it all figured out.

-You know exactly what you're gonna do.
-l guess so. Yes, sir.

l wish to hell l did.

l went through three years
at Harvard with a gentleman's C...

...and all l know is the first
two lines of a handful of poems...

...and all the verses
of "Abdul Abulbul Amir."

Yes, sir.

You know what's
interesting, though, Haley?

l've never known a colored person
before, other than my uncle's butler.

There was that chap at Harvard...

...but none of us
ever seemed to speak to him.

Here we are living together...

...for all we know, dying together...

...and l still don't know
a damn thing about any of you.

Sir...

...l'm supposed to keep
the sector under constant observation.

What?

The binoculars, sir.

Oh, no, Haley.
Go on down to the rear dugout.

Sgt. Haywood brought up
the chow, and the mail is in.

You don't have to do that, sir.
Walker is supposed to be here.

lt's all right.
That's all right. Go ahead.

l'll take over for a while.

Thank you, sir.

She's back on the nest.

Hey, y'all, listen up here.

l got something to tell you.
Wake up here. Hey, wake up, Williams!

Hey, Haley! Hey!

They talking about a big push coming.

Now, the Heinies
may use gas in this sector.

l want all of y'all to have
your gas masks with you at all times.

lf you got tobacco and rations in
your mask, just get it the hell on out.

What you talking about, "a push"?
Ain't what them krauts say.

-What you talking about?
-That Heinie fly over yesterday...

...drop a mess of leaflets.

Come in real handy
because we clean out of paper.

What them Heinies say?

"Hello, brave black boys.

What are you doing
over there, fighting Germans?

Why? For democracy?

What is democracy?

Can you go to a restaurant
where white people dine?"

Don't wanna, because
white folks don't know good food.

Like this food we eating right here.

"Or can you ride in the South in the
same streetcar with white people?"

Hell, no!
Now, they saying gospel there.

"ls lynching a lawful process
in a democratic country?

There is nothing
in the game for you but death.

Throw your gun away
and come over to the German lines."

lt's a good thing
they wrote that on thin, smooth paper.

Then it do be good for something.

Simon.

Simon, what's the matter?

My father died.

Bertha heard from my mother.

l'm sorry.

He....

He died
on the operating table in that....

ln that....

That colored hospital in Memphis.

Hey, l'm real sorry, buddy.

That's all she says.

"Your father died
on the operating table."

That's yellow smoke in F Company.

Damn! That's gas!

Gas! Get your masks on!

Who's in forward post?

-The lieutenant.
-Haley, go and tell him about it.

He can't see it. lt's behind him.
lt's blowing this way! Hurry up!

Lieutenant. Lieutenant, gas!

Lieutenant!

How are you?

What outfit are you from?
You from the 92nd?

Listen.

Do you know anything
about Company C?

Did you hear anything
about Company C?

The 366th?

Do you know
if anybody else around here...

...is from the 366th?

My name is Simon Haley.

Simon Haley. What's yours?

What's the matter with you?
l'm talking to you.

What are you doing?
l told you to lie still, to rest.

-What--? What's--?
-Oh, l understand.

No, he is not American.
He is Senegalese.

A French soldier. An African.

-He's from Africa?
-Yes, yes. Africa.

He is no Yankee.

He doesn't speak French,
only his African language.

You're from Africa?

l'm sorry, buddy.

The folks didn't--

Folks didn't carry on the language.

l guess we could be related.

Some kind of kin.

And we can't say one word
to each other.

What are we doing in the middle
of France, fighting Germans?

No. No, thank you.

Thank you. As a matter of fact,
l'm temperance.

Why not?

Thanks, cousin.

To you.

To-- To Africa.

To the end of the war.

Hey, Haywood.
Hey, Simon.

Look, y'all. l want y'all
to meet a friend of mine.

She's a grande femme.

That's frog for a "big woman."

That's my friend Sgt. Haywood.

This is my buddy Simon Haley.

Simon. He just come back from
the hospital just in time to go home!

Hey, Haywood, look there.
The boy is blushing!

-Doxey, you're drunk.
-You're right.

And l'm gonna stay drunk
till l gets my papers...

...that gets me out of this man's Army.

-Then y'all know what l'm gonna do?
-Gonna get drunk again.

l'm gonna stay right here!

l'm going to Paris,
where's l can walk up...

...have me a drink
at any bar that l want.

Where l can ride a train. Where
l don't have to worry about no dirty...

...Jim Crow car, and where l can--
Where l can--

Where l can mess with a pretty woman.

Don't have to worry about some redneck
lynching me up to the nearest tree.

Hey, Haywood, how about you?

-Why ain't you turn frog with me?
-No, Doxey.

l'm too old for them kind of carryings on.

What will you do
now that the war's over?

Well, l guess l'll go on back home...

...take care of my sister and
her children in Knoxville and then....

l guess l'll just re-enlist
for another hitch.

You mean, you going back to that...

...miserable, low-down,
nigger-hating country?

That may be, Dox,
but it's my "miserable, low-down...

-...nigger-hating country."
-Well, that's all right.

"Everyone to his own taste,"
the man said as he kissed a pig.

How about you, Simon?
You college and all that truck.

Why ain't you
go get that pretty gal of yours...

...bring her over here
so you can live the life of Riley, huh?

l guess l just want to go home.

Anyway, it's gonna be
different about race.

Boy, you is whistling up a hollow tree.

Well, it's got to be.

There was our division and the 93rd
and all the other colored troops.

And we fought for our country.
They know that.

President Wilson has brought
Negroes into the government as advisers.

That means something.

-Everything's gonna be different.
-What you drinking?

-l wants me a shot of that!
-Attention!

Oh, l didn't--
Oh, my goodness!

That's all right. Gentlemen,
sit down, please. Please sit down.

Really, it's.... Sit.

-Haley, l wanted to see you before--
-Lieutenant!

-Sit down and have a drink with us.
-Shut up! You crazy?

No, no, no, sergeant.
That's all right.

l think that's a fine idea.

-Might l borrow this chair?
-Yes, sir.

-Well, what are we drinking?
-Anything we can get.

Thank you.

To my platoon.

The best damn fighting men in the AEF.

Come on, honey. Let me show you
how they do the one-step...

...on the South Side of Chicago!

Y'all excuse me? Thanks.

l've been looking for you because...

...l haven't had
the chance to tell you...

...l'm grateful.

That's all right, sir.

-Aren't you drinking?
-No.

You know, Haley...

...l'm 22.

When l go home, there's every chance
that l won't ever do anything of any...

...consequence again in my whole life.

ln a way, l envy you.

You're going home to a challenge.

And you have a very clear idea
of what you're going to do.

l....

l will drink to your homecoming.

Thank you, sir.

Whereas l will probably
spend the next 50 years...

...going to dinner
in all the same isolated houses.

Tuxedo, Rhinebeck, Hyde Park.

But l will have met men...

...that none of them will ever know.

l hope l remember.

Thank you, Haley.

Lieutenant.

What are you doing here?

l am having a drink
with my victorious legions.

Will you join us?

You crazy? Drinking with enlisted men?
Niggers? You can't sit with them.

Why not? l almost died with them.

You're drunk.

At ease.

Don't want to get
in any trouble, now, son.

All hell is breaking loose right now.

Gen. Bullard up in 2nd Army...

...has just ordered all colored outfits
shipped home first.

Well, how thoughtful of the dear general.

The point is, he told Marshal Foch...

...the French don't know how
to keep the blacks in line.

Now, you listen up good.

-l'm ordering you to round up all your men.
-Captain.

l'm no longer under your command.

Here is my transfer order.

The Army has assigned me
to go to the Sorbonne...

...to study Rimbaud, Verlaine
and Balzac.

Lieutenant, l gave you an order!

Balzac.

-Sergeant!
-Sir!

l want every colored soldier
out of this town in five minutes!

All of you!
You are restricted to camp.

You will be shipped home first,
and you better start to remember...

...how to stay where you belong!

Move them out!

Time to go home.

lt is.

lt's Simon!

lt's Simon. l saw him.

Oh, child,
that's a whole regiment up there.

lt's like picking out one
black-eyed pea in a bushel.

l did see him.

Oh, look at that.

Old Blackjack Pershing himself.

Hey. Yeah. Hey, yeah, that's him.

That Henry Johnson, he whupped
a whole 20 Germans single-handedly.

This white minister from
First Congregational, Jackson, Mississippi...

...preached this sermon
on racial tolerance...

...and it made all the papers,
and he preached it right here in Tennessee.

Even the governor done issued out
a proclamation against lynching.

Baby, l tell you, your Simon coming home
to a new world.

Afternoon, Will.

Congressman.

lt's a great sight,
our boys marching home victorious.

Yes, sir.

Bertha, l expect your young fellow
be coming home soon, and then you can...

...settle down and raise yourself
a whole passel of fine little pickaninnies.

She's got a Kodak snapshot
of her soldier boy in France.

-Show it to him.
-Papa, l--

Bertha, l would admire to see it.

l have the greatest admiration
for our boys in their country's service.

That's Simon there on the right-hand side,
before he got wounded.

That's very interesting.

That's a fine-looking boy.

Well, it's about time we should be
moving along. lt's very nice talking to you.

Excuse us.

"Pickaninny."

Make your blood boil, black bucks standing
there with rifle guns and bayonets...

...the government give them.

We're in for interesting times
when the boys come home.

What are we all gonna do when them
nigger soldiers get home anyway?

How are we gonna keep them
down on the farm after they seen Paris?

lt isn't only the farm. We are gonna need
a large, cheap and manageable labor supply.

Colored boys coming home with wild ideas
about all kinds of things isn't gonna help.

The mistake, sir, was in taking
perfectly amiable Negroes...

...and putting them in the Army
in the first place.

l tell you, we have sown
dragon's teeth, sir. Dragon's teeth!

l told you them French would spoil
our niggers rotten.

Everything in the country's unsettled.

Where will it all end?

Well, gentlemen, l'm reminded
of my old father, Col. Warner.

Now, he deplored violence in any form,
but there would come a time...

...when he would say of some
particular obstreperous darky:

"lt's too bad, but l guess that fellow
deserves whatever happens to him."

Well, l do hope the Negroes
will be sensible and will settle down...

...without provoking any violence.

Afraid there's already been
violent outbursts of indignation...

...in Longview, Texas, and Elaine, Arkansas,
up north in Chicago...

...against Negro soldiers
coming home with dangerous ideas.

Sorry days for all.

Well, gentlemen, if l'm to become senator,
l have work to do, if you'll excuse me.

Certainly, Andy.

Andy, l'm going up to Knoxville
on Tuesday...

...to remind the blacks
they're coming back home.

Now, Earl...

...inside two years, l expect to be junior
senator from the state of Tennessee.

Now, a national figure and a power in the
Democratic Party cannot be mixed up...

...in unexpected, spontaneous outbursts
before they happen.

Shoot, Andy, l don't care if you're
running for dogcatcher or senator.

When push come to shove,
you're gonna holler "nigger" like always.

But with dignity, Earl.

Always with dignity.

O, kinsmen!
We must meet the common foe!

Though far outnumbered
Let us show us brave

And for their thousand blows
Deal one deathblow!

What though before us lies the open grave

Like men, we,ll face
The murderous, cowardly pack

Pressed to the wall, dying
But fighting back!

Where it come from?

lt's by Claude McKay in The Messenger.

Ain't that the truth?

l done heard of groups of white men
strolling through the streets...

...looking for a friendly lynching.

They round the corner, bam!
Black men fighting back.

Bubba, eat your vittles.

-Simon, you want potatoes?
-Thank you, ma'am. This is just fine.

l'm sorry l asked you to come
to Knoxville. l thought you was coming--

Now, it ain't your fault them rednecks
rampaging all over town.

lt's a good idea.

Chance to meet your sister...

...sort of be together for the last time.

Besides, my train connection is in Knoxville.
l would've been here anyway.

Well, you're all safer off the streets.

This ain't your regular lynchings with the
town folk looking for one particular nigger.

They got gangs streaming through
the colored part of town.

They don't care who they get,
long as they're black.

Yeah. Ain't nowhere safe,
even in Chicago.

Papers say 23 colored
was killed last month. Sixteen white.

-And 1 000 families was burned out.
-Always the colored too.

l seen this old white man driving areal,
gang of coloreds throw rocks...

...through his windshield
and drag him out.

That poor old man was all over, blood.

Well, it's the Red Summer. That's
what they calling it, the Red Summer.

Haywood, maybe we
ought have stayed in France.

Leastways there we had hand grenades.

l got myself a few souvenirs
around the house here.

Maybe you should've stayed
in France, Doxey.

Maybe we all should have.

Tell you the truth, buddy...

...sleeping in that old French barn
with all that cow manure piled up...

...l got homesick for that sweet smell of the
stockyards blowing across Division Street.

Miss Carson! Miss Carson!

-What is it, Tim?
-They up the street!

Mama told me to tell the folks. There's a
whole gang of white men. They going mad!

Okay, honey, be careful.

Rosie, you take the kids, hear?

Go on to Mr. Pinckney's place
past the square.

You done cooked for him a lot of years.
He'll hide you in his house.

-Go on.
-Children, come on.

l'm about to load this thing up.

-Don't let it jam up.
-Let me have one. l'll cover the back.

No, you take Rosie and the kids to safety.
We'll hold position in here, get you clear.

-Well, let me--
-l gave you an order!

Somebody has to take these kids to safety.
Go ahead. You can do it. Go on, boy.

Here you go, Dox.

-Burn them out!
-Cover him!

Doxey, start to retreat. l'll cover you.
Come on.

Go on, boy! Go ahead!

His clip's empty! He's fired his clip!

l got him, boys!

l got him.

l got him.

All right, boys.
Let's check these other houses.

Bertha!

Darling!

Darling, l missed you.

Oh, l missed you so much.

Oh, Simon, l'm so happy.

Will?

Will Palmer?

Luke Bettiger?

Yes, sir.

Look, Will, if there's anything l can do,
l mean, for the widow.

We're real proud here in Henning
of all our war heroes.

Luke Bettiger ain't no war hero.

He just a plain farmer
with four children...

...who got drafted and die
of Spanish influenza...

...Camp Alexander, Virginia.

Now, Will, don't use that tone with me.

-l'm offering a favor.
-Mr. Calloway...

...l'm gonna pay my notes
at the bank when they due.

l ain't never gonna ask you for no favor.

You all go ahead.
l'll meet you at the cemetery.

"For America and her highest ideals,
we fought in far-off hope.

For America, that represents
in gloats and lynching...

...disenfranchisement, caste, brutality
and devilish insult.

We were forced by a vindictive fate
to fight also.

We return, we return from fighting.
We return fighting."

Dr. Du Bois?

Simon, what is it?

l don't understand.

When l saw you at the station,
my heart just....

Well, l just couldn't stand it.

When l was running to you, l kept thinking,
"lt's over. Now we can begin.

lt's finally over."

Simon, it's over.

l went down home to Savannah.

My mama was...

...turned out of the ferry house
when Papa died.

She's working with a white family in town,
sleeping in.

She has a...

...a room over the stable...

...no bigger than an upper berth...

...and there isn't anything l can do
to help her. l have no money.

l tried to find a job, but...

...the only work was digging ditches.
There was 50 men in line ahead of me.

Why you want that kind of job anyway?
You're a college graduate.

l'll tell you what l am.
Same thing l was in the Army.

A nigger.

Simon Alexander Haley, l don't ever wanna
hear you say anything like that again.

You're a colored.
You're a Negro, and so am l.

Don't you ever use their words
to make yourself small.

But l've seen too much.

-l'm not a fool anymore.
-Yes, you are.

You're the worst kind of a fool.

Didn't you just read to me from Dr. Du Bois?
"We return fighting." You call this fighting?

What good is it? You only lose in the end.
Haywood is dead.

Well, that's one way of fighting.

Now, you were gonna get your
master's degree and teach agriculture.

Bertha, you don't understand.

Oh, yes, l do.

l used to make fun of Mama and Auntie Liz
when they told stories about the old days.

l never liked that old-time stuff,
but l listened.

l couldn't help it.

And now l see what they meant.

About the African? He kept trying
to be free until they cut off his foot.

And Grandpa Tom
fought off the Klan after the war.

And Papa, he's in trouble with the bank...

...because he fought the draft board
for being unfair.

You can't sit down and give up.

-They never did.
-Well, maybe that isn't my kind of family.

Well, it will be when you ask me
to marry you!

Honey.

All right. You win.

You are irresistible, and you're right.

l'm going to get my degree...

-...and then l'm gonna--
-That's for later.

Now, Papa's building a brand-new house,
and the first Sunday after it's finished...

...you gonna marry me, and we're gonna
have the reception on the front lawn.

"Best wishes and eternal gratitude...

...your military colleague...

...Hamilton Ten Eyck."

My land!

Well, l've never seen the like!

This silverware displayed
in a velvet-lined box...

...like it was a $500 funeral.

"To Mr. and Mrs. Simon Alexander Haley:

Warmest congratulations...

...Mr. and Mrs. RSM Boyce,
The Saturday Evening Post."

-Now, who they?
-l don't know.

But it came all the way
from the Tiffany store in New York City.

Will Palmer sure spread himself
on this here wedding.

Paid $1 00 to bring that college choir
down here from Jackson.

Ain't no card.

Now, who sends something like this
here to a wedding?

Do l gets to kiss the bride?

Why, of course you do.

You're a lucky man, buddy.

Too bad old Sgt. Haywood
ain't here with us.

Drink some cognac
to the bride and groom.

Well, l'm afraid this is very
Methodist, Doxey. No liquor.

Now, don't you worry,
because l done brought my own canteen.

Come on. Come on.

l certainly don't understand
you Southerners.

ln New York, we'd never go
to a Negro wedding.

lt's the custom, my dear.

See? Tom Calloway is here,
and Judge Quartermain.

That's why we get along so well
with our Negroes. We have mutual respect.

When l married you, Andy, l expected to
be in the middle of a Washington social life.

But l didn't count on starting
at the Darktown Strutters' Ball.

Mama, are you all right?

-Maybe you ought to get out of this sun.
-Child, l've been out in the sun...

...1 4 hours a day chopping cotton.

l'll stand the might of it
to see my boy's wedding party.

-So you having a good time, Mama?
-Well, yes and no.

To tell you the truth, l am plain scared.

l never seen such grand folks,
white and black.

They're no grander than you are, Mama.

Well, that's as his will be.

l remember your daddy say,
"l ain't gonna waste no boy on schooling!"

This here's some waste.

You go and spot your friends.

How do you do?

Well, l am sorry that l missed the ceremony
at the church, Will...

...but l just drove back from Knoxville.

l had to identify a body.

Excuse me, please.

You know, l hear tell they
find Earl Crowther's body.

My God, it was awful.

He'd been under a porch for two weeks,
with his throat cut from ear to ear.

-lt's a terrible business.
-lt surely is.

l guess it's like the Good Book say:

"Thou shalt die by the sword."

Let me introduce you
to the groom's mother.

This here is Miss Queen Haley.

How do you do?

-Queen Haley?
-Yes, ma'am. My middle name Victoria.

Queen Victoria Haley.

How interesting.

This here is my son-in-law,
Simon Haley.

Congressman and Mrs. Warner.

Well, now, l hope you two newlyweds
are gonna settle down right here in Henning.

We could use fine young folks
of the right sort.

Well, actually, sir, l've just heard
from Cornell University in New York state.

l'll be going there to study
for my degree in agriculture.

Well, that is something for a boy
from Tennessee!

All the way to New York!

-Simon.
-Well, and here comes the beautiful bride.

Well, Bertha, l believe
l have known you long enough.

Since birth, and now
l'm gonna kiss the bride.

My dear, l'm sure there are a lot of people
just dying to make your acquaintance.

lt was very nice meeting you.
lf you'll excuse us.

Come, my dear.

Bertha.

Miss Carrie, Uncle Jim wants to show
you the library and music room.

That can wait, but if you don't cut the
cake soon, the icing will wilt in this heat.

You know, your Grandmother lrene
made my wedding cake.

And l made this the same way, smooth
in some places and rough in others...

...to show that life will be both.

You figures on taking
my little girl away from here?

Away from her family?

Her mama...

...and her daddy?

That what you plans to do?

Well, l....

-l wouldn't--
-Truth is, l'm getting old.

Oh, l puts up a good front, but...

...l just ain't what l was
when l was younger.

And l'd done got myself into
kind of a bind down at the bank.

l got these extra mortgage payments
l got to make.

l just ain't got the cash
to hire on extra help.

With this arthritis coming on and all....

But that ain't it, really.

She's my onliest child, Bertha George.

See, l gave her the name George
in case she was a boy.

But she was a girl...

...my little girl.

Just let her stay home
a little while longer.

-Well, l don't wanna seem--
-That's all l asking.

The summer.

One more summer with my little girl.

Well....

Ain't long. Another month.

Maybe a year or two.

Simon?

Simon, you go on out
and take care of your mama.

She among strangers here.

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

Will Palmer, you been crying your arthritis
to that boy, deviling him to stay here.

l been talking about families.

Colored families got to stick together.

That's the only way they gonna get the
strength to go forward in this here world.

That's all l been talking about.

Oh, is that all?

Well, let me tell you something,
W.E. Palmer.

All these years,
you been trying to bind Bertha to you...

...spoiled her until it's a wonder
she done growed up at all.

Well, praise the Lord, somehow she did...

...and she is not your little girl no more.

Then what's the use?

What's the use in working,
scraping so hard all these years...

...if l loses everything l worked for now?

Honey.

lt like....

lt like holding a butterfly in your hand.

lf you holds it too tight,
you gonna crush it.

You got to let it fly!

l know it.

l know.

l know.

We be all right.

Yeah.

All right, everybody!

Quiet down and gather round here.

Come on.

lt's been a happy day.

And l's real proud to announce that the
bride and groom gonna be leaving soon...

...for Cornell University,
lthaca, state of New York...

...where my son-in-law, Simon Haley...

...gonna be studying agriculture.

And he gonna get
his master of science degree.

You know what that is?
That master degree?

l reckon that's more education
than a body can stand.

All right, all right! All right!

Bye!

See you! Have a good trip!

Ready?

-Here we go!
-All right.

Get in there, Doxey!

Oh, it's your arthritis.

-l can get you a hot-water bottle.
-Woman, will you be still?

Can't you see l'm trying to sleep?

Standing barefoot
in the middle of the floor?

-Will, what you worrying on?
-Nothing.

-ls it about the bank?
-No!

No.

Anyway, that ain't it.

Well, then, what is?

How long it's been since that girl
write us a letter.

Well, l guess there just ain't much
to write about.

Now, l know.

l sent her $500 for Christmas...

...and l told her not to tell Simon
where she got it from.

That's it. Suppose he found out.

And suppose he's so stiff-necked
he get peeved.

Suppose he won't let our daughter
write home. Suppose--

Will, you supposing more
than the good Lord knows for sure.

l got half a notion to go
and give him a piece of my mind.

You can't do that.
You got to take care of the lumberyard.

Well, l'll tell you what.

lf we ain't heard by Saturday...

...l'll get the train up to
lthaca, New York, my own self.

Done! And, by G,
l don't care what it cost.

Yeah.

You suppose you can sleep before you meet
yourself getting up in the morning?

Will?

l hear something.

Oh, no, woman. Don't start that.
l just got my mind at peace.

Will, l hear somebody.
Somebody fussing with the front door.

There.

There's a knocking.

Who's there?

Simon! Will! Will, it's them!

They come home!

Why didn't you write you was coming?

Bertha, what you doing out there?

You come--

Oh, my.

My.

-Jesus.
-Surprise for you, Mama.

lt's a boy.

Oh, child, what got into your head?

We been up day and night...

...just waiting for your mama and papa.

Looks like my father, Tom,
about the eyes.

And my mama, lrene, about the mouth.

Hello, Papa.

l'm so glad to see you, Papa.

-One of his names is after you.
-Will?

He's Alexander Murray Palmer Haley.

You come with me, Alex Haley.

-Come over here.
-Alex.

Come on. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Come on.

Mama? Where's he going?

Oh, don't you worry, child.
lt's all right.

lt just something come down
in our family.

Your Grandpa Tom done
the same thing the night you was born.

Come.

My grandpa, Chicken George,
held me up to the night...

...and his mama, Kizzy, done it for him.

And the old African himself...

...showed his Kizzy to the moon.

And l expect, way back in Africa...

...his papa held up Kunta Kinte
the night he was born.

Moon...

...this here is the seventh generation
since then.

This here is Alex Haley.

You watch over him.