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up-tempo classical music
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[Lipsyte] I met Dick Gregory
for the first time
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00:00:31,740 --> 00:00:36,119
on the evening
of September 16, 1963.
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At the time,
Greg was the hottest comedian
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in the country,
and he had signed
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the typical publishing contract
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for one of those humorous
rags-to-riches autobiography.
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00:00:47,964 --> 00:00:52,927
And the problem
was that Greg had rejected
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every writer maybe in America,
and finally the publisher
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00:00:57,390 --> 00:01:00,101
scraped the bottom of the barrel
with me.
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00:01:00,143 --> 00:01:04,439
I was a 25-year-old sportswriter
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00:01:04,481 --> 00:01:06,775
at The New York Times,
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00:01:06,816 --> 00:01:09,110
and I went up to his hotel room.
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00:01:09,152 --> 00:01:13,698
He was on his bed. He was
curled up in a fetal position.
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He was wearing only underwear,
and he was crying.
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I sat down in a chair
next to the bed,
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and I asked why he was crying,
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and he said, "Didn't you read
about the four little girls
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who were murdered yesterday
in a Birmingham church?"
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And he just kind of rolled over
on his back,
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and for the next hour,
he just talked to the ceiling.
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Mostly I just listened.
I was fascinated.
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00:01:41,184 --> 00:01:44,145
This man was angry.
He was passionate.
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00:01:44,187 --> 00:01:47,941
He was not
the cool, slangy hipster
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00:01:47,982 --> 00:01:49,984
who was on the nightclub stages,
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00:01:50,026 --> 00:01:54,781
and I really do believe that
he had missions to accomplish,
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00:01:54,823 --> 00:01:57,909
and it wasn't just making jokes.
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00:01:57,951 --> 00:02:02,956
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00:02:02,997 --> 00:02:04,916
When they say this show
features living color,
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00:02:04,958 --> 00:02:07,168
you better believe it.
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00:02:07,210 --> 00:02:09,045
[laughter]
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00:02:09,087 --> 00:02:10,588
Of course, back in my hometown,
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00:02:10,630 --> 00:02:13,508
we had what you call
the friendly Ku Klux Klan.
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00:02:13,550 --> 00:02:14,676
Oh, yeah, they'll come
to your house to burn a cross.
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If they didn't have no matches,
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00:02:16,719 --> 00:02:18,638
they'd knock on your door
and ask you for a pack.
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00:02:21,558 --> 00:02:24,269
Dick was the first one
that stepped in that I knew of
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00:02:24,310 --> 00:02:27,438
that made
political and social issues
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00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:28,690
the subject of his humor.
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Found out that cold weather
makes it very nice
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00:02:30,733 --> 00:02:32,527
for race relations.
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00:02:32,569 --> 00:02:35,822
But last month when it was
15 below zero in Chicago,
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I walked out of a nightclub.
A drunk walked up to me,
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said, "Why don't you get back
to Africa where you belong
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and take me with you?"
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00:02:42,412 --> 00:02:44,455
[audience laughter]
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00:02:47,417 --> 00:02:52,714
Dick Gregory was one of
the greatest political comedians
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to ever live.
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There are a lot of comedians
in the history of comedy,
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who are "political comedians,"
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00:02:57,135 --> 00:02:58,970
but they're not actually
taking a side.
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Dick Gregory was always
taking a side
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00:03:00,722 --> 00:03:03,892
and then suffering the
consequence of taking that side.
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00:03:03,933 --> 00:03:05,768
I chose to be an agitator.
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Next time you put
your underwear
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00:03:07,937 --> 00:03:09,856
in the washing machine,
take the agitator out,
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00:03:09,898 --> 00:03:12,650
and all you gon' end up with
is some dirty, wet drawers.
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00:03:12,692 --> 00:03:16,112
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Are you out to give people
a good laugh?
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Are you out to make
a very definite
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and a very pungent point,
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or is it a combination
of the two?
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I happen to be
a very firm believer--
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believe that you can't laugh
social problems
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out of existence,
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and the day we find
a cure for cancer,
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it won't be through jokes.
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It'll be
through hard, sincere work.
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For him, making people laugh
wasn't enough.
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To be out there
on the front lines
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of the civil rights movement,
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he made a huge sacrifice.
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We've seen plenty
of entertainers march
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and march repeatedly
and always, always go back
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to the big money
of show business.
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But we do have this one example
of this one person
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who went all the way with it.
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[Dick] Thank this movement--
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I'm not talking about the ones
we know about.
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Talking about the ones
we don't know about.
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Facts are, there is a God
that know all of the names,
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and because of this movement,
it gave me a turtle philosophy.
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Hard on the outside,
soft on the inside,
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and willing to stick
your neck out.
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That's what it's about.
Huh? That's what it's about.
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[man] Ah! Ladies and gentlemen,
Dick Gregory!
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[cheers and applause]
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Dick Gregory!
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Dick Gregory!
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[cheers and applause
subside]
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[click]
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This is Bob Lipsyte,
room 1705,
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the Hotel Beverly
in New York City, 1963.
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When you first tried
to get a job
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00:05:03,136 --> 00:05:04,262
with the kind of jokes
that you do,
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00:05:04,304 --> 00:05:06,764
I imagine it was
kind of tough.
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00:05:06,806 --> 00:05:09,225
So how did you break through
to the big white clubs?
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[Dick] Biggest break I had
was I opened up
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at the Playboy Club
for one night
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to fill in for a comic
in Chicago,
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and everyone who had heard
my act told me, "Don't go on,
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"because we have
a Southern convention in town,
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and the room is filled
with Southerners."
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[Lipsyte] A room full
of Southerners?
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00:05:22,322 --> 00:05:23,990
[Dick] A room full
of Southerners.
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[Lipsyte] So what happened?
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upbeat jazz music
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[Dick] So the Playboy Club,
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it was...it was the only one
in the country,
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and it was just getting started,
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and it was, like,
the talk of America.
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And they said they'd pay me $50,
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00:05:45,762 --> 00:05:48,556
and I couldn't believe it was
that much money in the world.
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00:05:48,598 --> 00:05:51,059
He was invited to do
the Playboy Club.
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00:05:51,100 --> 00:05:53,811
Mr. Hefner gave my father
the opportunity
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to come and do flat-foot,
stare-you-in-the-eye comedy.
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00:05:58,900 --> 00:06:01,319
He jumps onto the stage
on a night
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00:06:01,361 --> 00:06:03,071
that they'd rather he hadn't.
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00:06:05,782 --> 00:06:09,035
[Dick] The room that I was
working had been rented out
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00:06:09,077 --> 00:06:12,121
to a frozen food convention.
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00:06:12,163 --> 00:06:14,791
It was a delegation
from the South.
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ominous music
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Victor Lownes said to me,
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"Hefner told me to tell you, you
don't have to go on tonight."
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00:06:22,590 --> 00:06:24,217
And he said, "We're sorry,
but we rented the room out
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00:06:24,258 --> 00:06:27,970
to a Southern delegation."
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And I just pushed him
out the way
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00:06:32,016 --> 00:06:34,560
and said, "You don't know what
I went through to get here."
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00:06:34,602 --> 00:06:37,855
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00:06:37,897 --> 00:06:42,026
And, uh, got up on the stage
and started talking.
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Got a little snow down
in Georgia
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00:06:43,319 --> 00:06:44,612
for the first time
in a hundred years.
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00:06:44,654 --> 00:06:46,239
[man in audience
shouts indistinctly]
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[Dick] Oh, it's not funny.
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00:06:48,324 --> 00:06:49,534
Can you imagine what it feels
like being my color
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00:06:49,575 --> 00:06:51,244
in an all-white Georgia?
- [audience chuckles]
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00:06:51,285 --> 00:06:52,787
Hell, I had a cousin
damn near got killed
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after that first snow.
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00:06:54,455 --> 00:06:57,166
He thought he was leaning
up against a snowbank,
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00:06:57,208 --> 00:06:59,544
and it turned out to be
a Ku Klux Klan rally.
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[laughter]
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00:07:01,254 --> 00:07:03,506
Well, I remember when I was
a kid back home.
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00:07:03,548 --> 00:07:05,425
It got so cold one night,
the Ku Klux Klan
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00:07:05,466 --> 00:07:07,301
tried to burn a cross
on our front porch,
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00:07:07,343 --> 00:07:09,762
and we opened the door and told
'em, "Bring it inside."
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[laughter]
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00:07:13,015 --> 00:07:15,393
I go on at eight o'clock.
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At ten o'clock that night,
I'm still on.
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They are just going off.
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At eleven o'clock that night,
they called Hefner.
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They said,
"You better get over here.
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Something's happening."
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00:07:26,195 --> 00:07:29,574
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00:07:29,615 --> 00:07:32,827
And nobody can believe
that this Black comic
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00:07:32,869 --> 00:07:36,539
can take this room
of Southern white men.
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[Christian] The door was open.
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Dick Gregory
walked off that stage
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and never looked back the same.
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[Dick]
The press just went insane.
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00:07:48,301 --> 00:07:51,345
Time Magazine wrote
about my act,
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00:07:51,387 --> 00:07:53,014
and then Jack Paar picked it up,
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which was probably the most
powerful personality on TV.
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00:07:58,102 --> 00:08:01,022
[Christian]
My father loved Jack Paar.
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00:08:01,063 --> 00:08:05,651
He loved Mr. Paar's smoothness,
his delivery, his timing.
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00:08:05,693 --> 00:08:06,903
[telephone rings]
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00:08:06,944 --> 00:08:10,072
[Dick] I got a call
from the Jack Paar show.
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00:08:10,114 --> 00:08:11,949
"Dick, he wants you
on the show."
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00:08:11,991 --> 00:08:13,951
I said, "Well, tell him
I don't wanna be on the show."
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00:08:13,993 --> 00:08:17,580
Because a negro had never
sit down on the couch
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00:08:17,622 --> 00:08:19,582
on that show.
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So I hung up.
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00:08:21,459 --> 00:08:25,129
And I'm crying now,
'cause I mean, I knew
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00:08:25,171 --> 00:08:28,299
what it would be to my career
not to go on that show.
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00:08:28,341 --> 00:08:30,510
Then the phone rings back,
and it's Jack Paar.
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00:08:30,551 --> 00:08:33,221
"What do you mean,
you don't wanna go on the show?"
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00:08:33,262 --> 00:08:35,556
"Negroes never sit down."
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00:08:35,598 --> 00:08:38,851
He said, "Come on in.
You can sit down with me."
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00:08:38,893 --> 00:08:41,812
theme music plays
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00:08:41,854 --> 00:08:46,859
[applause]
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00:08:46,901 --> 00:08:47,902
[applause subsides]
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It was, like, so wild.
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00:08:49,362 --> 00:08:51,197
I just finished doing
the one-nighters
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00:08:51,239 --> 00:08:53,241
at the colleges
all across the country,
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00:08:53,282 --> 00:08:56,077
and last week,
I worked Brown University.
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00:08:56,118 --> 00:08:57,828
But the way I got this booking,
they called my office.
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00:08:57,870 --> 00:09:00,289
It just so happened, I happened
to have been in the office.
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00:09:00,331 --> 00:09:02,083
And I picked up the phone,
and the guy said,
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00:09:02,124 --> 00:09:03,292
"I wonder if we can get
197
00:09:03,334 --> 00:09:05,127
Dick Gregory to do a concert
in Brown."
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00:09:05,169 --> 00:09:07,755
[laughter]
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00:09:07,797 --> 00:09:08,965
And I said how else?
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00:09:09,006 --> 00:09:10,841
[laughter]
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00:09:10,883 --> 00:09:12,885
Dick Gregory changed
the entire landscape
202
00:09:12,927 --> 00:09:14,804
of standup comedy
by just walking through the door
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00:09:14,845 --> 00:09:18,182
and taking up so much space that
more people can come through.
204
00:09:18,224 --> 00:09:20,851
[Hart] When Dick Gregory
was doing comedy,
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00:09:20,893 --> 00:09:22,311
there was a lack of diversity.
206
00:09:22,353 --> 00:09:24,981
He was in the game at the time
207
00:09:25,022 --> 00:09:26,941
when there wasn't many of us
in it.
208
00:09:26,983 --> 00:09:29,110
It was because of the change
that he was a part of making
209
00:09:29,151 --> 00:09:31,612
that I'm able to do what I do.
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00:09:31,654 --> 00:09:33,948
Well, since we first met, things
have sure happened for you.
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00:09:33,990 --> 00:09:35,408
That's a nice apartment you got.
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00:09:35,449 --> 00:09:38,035
- Oh, thank you.
- What kind of car you got?
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00:09:38,077 --> 00:09:39,870
- A Lincoln, naturally.
- No, well, that's...
214
00:09:39,912 --> 00:09:41,414
[laughter]
215
00:09:41,455 --> 00:09:45,042
What's overlooked is
how unafraid he was
216
00:09:45,084 --> 00:09:48,462
to not only call
white people out,
217
00:09:48,504 --> 00:09:50,673
but he wasn't afraid
to call Black folks out.
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00:09:50,715 --> 00:09:51,757
Of course, if you get
some money, you get a Lincoln.
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00:09:51,799 --> 00:09:53,301
Oh, you're a good audience
tonight,
220
00:09:53,342 --> 00:09:54,719
and treat me nice,
221
00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:56,887
because with President Kennedy's
new housing bill,
222
00:09:56,929 --> 00:09:58,681
I might be your neighbor now.
223
00:09:58,723 --> 00:10:00,308
[laughter]
224
00:10:00,349 --> 00:10:02,310
You saw it here
for the first time
225
00:10:02,351 --> 00:10:04,395
from a Black person's mouth
226
00:10:04,437 --> 00:10:08,274
what life is like in America
from a humorous standpoint.
227
00:10:08,316 --> 00:10:13,654
NBC got so many calls,
their switchboard blew out.
228
00:10:13,696 --> 00:10:16,824
Now I did not know
if you sit on the couch,
229
00:10:16,866 --> 00:10:18,576
you become the family.
230
00:10:18,618 --> 00:10:20,161
And sitting on that couch,
231
00:10:20,202 --> 00:10:24,415
my salary jumped from
$250 a week to $5,000 a night.
232
00:10:24,457 --> 00:10:27,335
That's the power of that show.
233
00:10:27,376 --> 00:10:28,836
I couldn't believe it
slow funk music
234
00:10:28,878 --> 00:10:33,007
I don't know what went
through Paar's mind
235
00:10:33,049 --> 00:10:35,968
when he said,
"I want him on the show."
236
00:10:36,010 --> 00:10:36,844
Okay.
237
00:10:36,886 --> 00:10:41,390
238
00:10:41,432 --> 00:10:43,726
[jet roaring]
239
00:10:43,768 --> 00:10:47,521
Paar's show and a jet plane
in the same day.
240
00:10:47,563 --> 00:10:49,357
To get on a jet, see,
like, the height
241
00:10:49,398 --> 00:10:52,735
of a poor man's ambition
is to be on a jet,
242
00:10:52,777 --> 00:10:54,695
like standing outside
the world looking in.
243
00:10:54,737 --> 00:10:56,530
244
00:10:56,572 --> 00:10:58,074
[man] Mike Wallace interview
with guest Dick Gregory,
245
00:10:58,115 --> 00:11:00,409
take one.
246
00:11:02,203 --> 00:11:05,206
[Wallace] Until how recently--
I mean this quite seriously--
247
00:11:05,247 --> 00:11:06,499
was money a problem for you?
248
00:11:06,540 --> 00:11:09,377
[Dick] Up until a month ago.
249
00:11:09,418 --> 00:11:10,836
[Wallace] Up until a month ago?
250
00:11:10,878 --> 00:11:13,297
[Dick] Last year, I think
I cleared about $1,500.
251
00:11:13,339 --> 00:11:16,133
[Wallace] From $1,500
to half a million dollars
252
00:11:16,175 --> 00:11:17,843
in one year.
253
00:11:17,885 --> 00:11:20,846
- You must be a happy fella.
- I'm very happy.
254
00:11:20,888 --> 00:11:23,391
When I was young,
we were poor. We were hungry.
255
00:11:23,432 --> 00:11:27,728
We were raggedy, you know?
And, uh, and, well, you know,
256
00:11:27,770 --> 00:11:29,563
matter of fact, the best day
we had in our house
257
00:11:29,605 --> 00:11:31,190
was Halloween, you know?
258
00:11:31,232 --> 00:11:33,234
[laughter]
259
00:11:33,275 --> 00:11:35,820
In fact, that was the day you
could wear your natural clothes
260
00:11:35,861 --> 00:11:37,738
and everybody thought you was
dressed for the occasion, right?
261
00:11:37,780 --> 00:11:38,906
[laughter]
262
00:11:38,948 --> 00:11:40,408
Ooh, look at Richard,
got on shoes
263
00:11:40,449 --> 00:11:42,702
look just like feet.
264
00:11:42,743 --> 00:11:45,413
[laughter and applause]
265
00:11:45,454 --> 00:11:50,793
dramatic music
266
00:11:50,835 --> 00:11:55,923
267
00:11:56,674 --> 00:11:59,802
[Christian] My father had an
extremely difficult childhood.
268
00:11:59,844 --> 00:12:03,347
He was born in 1932, which was
literally the poorest year
269
00:12:03,389 --> 00:12:07,101
of the Great Depression.
270
00:12:07,143 --> 00:12:09,645
He used to always say,
in order to know happiness,
271
00:12:09,687 --> 00:12:11,272
you have to have known sadness.
272
00:12:11,313 --> 00:12:13,023
In order to have known health,
273
00:12:13,065 --> 00:12:16,777
you had to experience
sickness and disease.
274
00:12:16,819 --> 00:12:20,698
You can't truly appreciate
any spectrum of life
275
00:12:20,740 --> 00:12:23,909
unless you'd spent some time
on both sides.
276
00:12:23,951 --> 00:12:25,411
[Dick]
I didn't like where I lived.
277
00:12:25,453 --> 00:12:26,787
I didn't like my mama.
I didn't like none of that.
278
00:12:26,829 --> 00:12:30,791
You know,
so I'd just go walking
279
00:12:30,833 --> 00:12:33,794
and walking and walking
and walking.
280
00:12:33,836 --> 00:12:35,546
281
00:12:35,588 --> 00:12:39,300
So I started running.
282
00:12:39,341 --> 00:12:43,596
And so next thing I knew, I was
running and running and running.
283
00:12:43,637 --> 00:12:46,599
My father used to take us
on these mandatory runs.
284
00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:48,976
He taught us how to run.
285
00:12:49,018 --> 00:12:51,645
Uh, we had to spend a great deal
of time in nature,
286
00:12:51,687 --> 00:12:55,483
and particularly running.
287
00:12:55,524 --> 00:12:57,943
Letting your feet touch
that ground
288
00:12:57,985 --> 00:13:02,656
and feeling that cosmic force
coming up through the roots
289
00:13:02,698 --> 00:13:06,952
into our feet--
he wanted us to feel that.
290
00:13:06,994 --> 00:13:09,663
291
00:13:09,705 --> 00:13:14,502
Growing up in extreme times,
292
00:13:14,543 --> 00:13:16,587
I really do believe
293
00:13:16,629 --> 00:13:22,009
running became his way
of reinventing himself.
294
00:13:22,051 --> 00:13:25,304
My dad had two weapons. He could
either run like the wind,
295
00:13:25,346 --> 00:13:27,681
or that razor-sharp tongue
of his could lay into you.
296
00:13:27,723 --> 00:13:29,767
[Dick] Kids used to
pick on me a lot.
297
00:13:29,809 --> 00:13:31,519
"My daddy's not home.
298
00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:35,356
You know, I'm gonna leave.
"Haven't got him with me.
299
00:13:35,397 --> 00:13:37,191
So how can I get him with me?"
300
00:13:37,233 --> 00:13:41,529
I laid home in bed one night,
and I figured it out.
301
00:13:43,155 --> 00:13:46,033
I start making jokes about me
not having no daddy,
302
00:13:46,075 --> 00:13:50,704
how poor we were,
and then I noticed that
303
00:13:50,746 --> 00:13:53,999
once you get a man
laughing with you,
304
00:13:54,041 --> 00:13:55,793
it's hard for him to laugh
at you.
305
00:13:55,835 --> 00:13:58,921
306
00:13:58,963 --> 00:14:03,801
And the whole thing
changed then.
307
00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:06,846
Can you remember
when you first stood up
308
00:14:06,887 --> 00:14:09,682
and told jokes to an audience?
When was that?
309
00:14:09,723 --> 00:14:11,183
Oh, yeah, first time I told
jokes to an audience
310
00:14:11,225 --> 00:14:13,227
was in, uh, 1959.
311
00:14:13,269 --> 00:14:18,065
funk music
312
00:14:18,107 --> 00:14:23,195
313
00:14:30,202 --> 00:14:32,663
[Dick] I had never had
nightclub life.
314
00:14:32,705 --> 00:14:35,040
I never smoked. I never drank.
315
00:14:35,082 --> 00:14:38,836
And so I went to a nightclub
one night, South Side Chicago,
316
00:14:38,878 --> 00:14:41,380
and I saw the Black comic
come out.
317
00:14:41,422 --> 00:14:43,048
Everybody got quiet.
318
00:14:43,090 --> 00:14:46,385
And I said, God, what
a lovely way to make a living.
319
00:14:46,427 --> 00:14:48,762
jazz music
320
00:14:48,804 --> 00:14:51,056
So I went out
to a real small nightclub,
321
00:14:51,098 --> 00:14:54,101
which was the Esquire,
and I told the guy
322
00:14:54,143 --> 00:14:59,315
I was this big-time comedian,
and he let me up on the stage.
323
00:14:59,356 --> 00:15:01,275
And I was funny.
324
00:15:01,317 --> 00:15:03,944
I went out on the stage,
and I tried to look as funny
325
00:15:03,986 --> 00:15:05,946
as I could, so I took...
I took some white buck shoes,
326
00:15:05,988 --> 00:15:08,699
and I painted 'em powder blue,
327
00:15:08,741 --> 00:15:10,826
and I put
some big suspenders on
328
00:15:10,868 --> 00:15:12,870
and a big cap, you see?
329
00:15:12,912 --> 00:15:16,040
Because, you see,
in the low income nightclub,
330
00:15:16,081 --> 00:15:18,042
the brother got a lot
of problems on his mind,
331
00:15:18,083 --> 00:15:21,462
and he's off from work,
and he will out-talk you
332
00:15:21,503 --> 00:15:23,547
if you don't come out there
and shock him into his thing.
333
00:15:23,589 --> 00:15:25,883
He gave me a job.
334
00:15:25,925 --> 00:15:30,888
And the next thing I knew,
I wasn't funny.
335
00:15:30,930 --> 00:15:32,806
When you're not a comedian,
336
00:15:32,848 --> 00:15:34,433
but when you become
a profession,
337
00:15:34,475 --> 00:15:37,144
then you have a challenge
to make them laugh, you know?
338
00:15:37,186 --> 00:15:39,647
You could have a 5-year-old son
that's a marvelous piano player,
339
00:15:39,688 --> 00:15:40,981
and you could bring him here,
340
00:15:41,023 --> 00:15:42,566
and everybody would listen
to him and say,
341
00:15:42,608 --> 00:15:44,985
"Beautiful, beautiful,"
but put him in Carnegie Hall
342
00:15:45,027 --> 00:15:47,738
at $5 a ticket,
and, uh, we might decide
343
00:15:47,780 --> 00:15:49,615
he don't play that well,
you know?
344
00:15:49,657 --> 00:15:50,950
And so this is what happened
to me.
345
00:15:50,991 --> 00:15:54,912
So those early days
at the Esquire
346
00:15:54,954 --> 00:15:56,413
was really learning
the audience,
347
00:15:56,455 --> 00:15:59,041
but most of all,
learning timing.
348
00:15:59,083 --> 00:16:02,461
It's the timing,
breathing properly,
349
00:16:02,503 --> 00:16:06,382
learning how to play a joke,
how to play it with your face,
350
00:16:06,423 --> 00:16:08,300
how to play it with your body.
351
00:16:08,342 --> 00:16:09,969
When I used to smoke cigarettes,
352
00:16:10,010 --> 00:16:12,137
I wasn't aware
until I stopped smoking
353
00:16:12,179 --> 00:16:14,974
how much I used that cigarette
for timing.
354
00:16:15,015 --> 00:16:17,267
If I could believe everything
everybody told me,
355
00:16:17,309 --> 00:16:20,062
we wouldn't have a racial
problem in this country.
356
00:16:20,104 --> 00:16:21,897
'Cause everybody I meet
in the nightclub,
357
00:16:21,939 --> 00:16:23,232
after they get drunk,
they all tell me the same thing.
358
00:16:23,273 --> 00:16:26,193
"Greg, some of my best friends
are colored."
359
00:16:26,235 --> 00:16:27,695
[laughter]
360
00:16:27,736 --> 00:16:29,029
Mike, you know and I know
361
00:16:29,071 --> 00:16:30,614
there's not that many of us
to go around.
362
00:16:30,656 --> 00:16:32,449
[laughter]
363
00:16:32,491 --> 00:16:38,330
[Rock] He was a real cool cat,
like another level of smooth.
364
00:16:38,372 --> 00:16:42,376
'Cause most Black comics come
from a tradition of preachers,
365
00:16:42,418 --> 00:16:45,838
so they're loud, and they talk
a certain way and...
366
00:16:45,879 --> 00:16:49,883
and they were there
for five, seven minutes,
367
00:16:49,925 --> 00:16:52,386
and they had to get
your attention in a certain way.
368
00:16:52,428 --> 00:16:54,888
With Dick Gregory, he had
the same five or seven minutes,
369
00:16:54,930 --> 00:16:57,182
but he really took his time.
370
00:16:57,224 --> 00:17:00,853
Excuse me.
371
00:17:00,894 --> 00:17:02,062
I have to smoke here because
I made the great mistake
372
00:17:02,104 --> 00:17:05,399
of writing off 180 cartons
on my income tax.
373
00:17:05,441 --> 00:17:09,862
[laughter]
374
00:17:09,903 --> 00:17:11,280
And then the Internal Revenue
boys told me
375
00:17:11,321 --> 00:17:14,241
every time they see me,
I'd better be smoking.
376
00:17:14,283 --> 00:17:15,451
[laughter]
377
00:17:15,492 --> 00:17:17,077
[Chapelle] Dick Gregory,
real handsome guy.
378
00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,164
Rock a suit onstage,
smoke a cigarette onstage.
379
00:17:20,205 --> 00:17:21,790
There's a few comics
that did that,
380
00:17:21,832 --> 00:17:23,417
they looked real suave
when they'd do it.
381
00:17:23,459 --> 00:17:24,960
They timed themselves
with their cigarettes
382
00:17:25,002 --> 00:17:27,129
to say a funny joke
and the punchline hits,
383
00:17:27,171 --> 00:17:28,672
and he was one of the guys
who just did it.
384
00:17:28,714 --> 00:17:30,007
When you stop and think,
385
00:17:30,049 --> 00:17:32,468
football's a fair sport
for my people.
386
00:17:32,509 --> 00:17:34,928
How many sports in the world,
a negro can chase a white man
387
00:17:34,970 --> 00:17:37,765
and 40,000 people stand up
and cheered?
388
00:17:37,806 --> 00:17:42,686
[laughter and applause]
389
00:17:42,728 --> 00:17:46,065
[Rock] Chappelle and Gregory
have a lot in common.
390
00:17:46,106 --> 00:17:51,111
Dave and Dick have this really,
like, goddamn,
391
00:17:51,153 --> 00:17:54,782
you motherfuckers are relaxed.
392
00:17:54,823 --> 00:17:56,784
I kinda perform like
they're gonna
393
00:17:56,825 --> 00:17:58,660
take the stage from me
at any moment.
394
00:17:58,702 --> 00:18:00,287
Like, I've never been
that comfortable.
395
00:18:00,329 --> 00:18:03,499
[Bell] Dick Gregory was
a pioneer in political comedy.
396
00:18:03,540 --> 00:18:06,085
He doesn't get enough credit
for being the bridge
397
00:18:06,126 --> 00:18:08,003
for Black comedians to come out
of the Chitlin' Circuit.
398
00:18:08,045 --> 00:18:10,214
He wasn't moving around a lot.
399
00:18:10,255 --> 00:18:13,425
He wasn't tap dancing. He's not,
like, selling out Black folks.
400
00:18:13,467 --> 00:18:14,760
In fact, he's standing up
for Black folks by saying,
401
00:18:14,802 --> 00:18:16,595
"I'm going to do
the same things I do
402
00:18:16,637 --> 00:18:19,932
in front of a Black audience
here,
403
00:18:19,973 --> 00:18:21,809
and they're actually
more powerful here
404
00:18:21,850 --> 00:18:23,268
because the stakes are higher.
405
00:18:23,310 --> 00:18:24,728
20 years ago,
406
00:18:24,770 --> 00:18:26,146
the light-complected negro
had it made.
407
00:18:26,188 --> 00:18:27,731
Today it's
the dark-complected negro
408
00:18:27,773 --> 00:18:29,441
simply because of
government contracts.
409
00:18:29,483 --> 00:18:32,528
In order for big business to get
good government contracts,
410
00:18:32,569 --> 00:18:35,072
today you'd have to hire negro
and white on an equal basis.
411
00:18:35,114 --> 00:18:37,574
So they go out and get
the blackest cat they can find.
412
00:18:37,616 --> 00:18:39,284
[laughter]
413
00:18:39,326 --> 00:18:40,869
So when that government
inspector walk in that plant,
414
00:18:40,911 --> 00:18:43,247
he can see him
seven blocks away.
415
00:18:43,288 --> 00:18:44,790
[laughter]
416
00:18:44,832 --> 00:18:46,083
"Sir, you got one!"
"Darn right, we had one."
417
00:18:46,125 --> 00:18:47,376
Oh.
418
00:18:47,417 --> 00:18:50,045
[laughter and applause]
419
00:18:50,087 --> 00:18:56,093
His stage presence was, like,
just so smooth.
420
00:18:56,135 --> 00:18:58,554
I'll say thank you very much,
but never clap for me.
421
00:18:58,595 --> 00:19:01,890
Just take me to lunch when
it's not Brotherhood Week.
422
00:19:01,932 --> 00:19:05,561
He's saying powerful commentary.
It's like, damn,
423
00:19:05,602 --> 00:19:07,771
he's talking to these
white people like that?
424
00:19:07,813 --> 00:19:09,690
Where is he? Dick Gregory!
425
00:19:09,731 --> 00:19:11,024
Well, will you welcome now,
please,
426
00:19:11,066 --> 00:19:12,651
on the stage of
the Little Theatre, Mister...
427
00:19:12,693 --> 00:19:14,153
Dick Gregory.
428
00:19:14,194 --> 00:19:18,323
[applause]
429
00:19:18,365 --> 00:19:21,910
[Dick] I developed quick,
watching television,
430
00:19:21,952 --> 00:19:24,538
Paar's show,
all the comedy shows,
431
00:19:24,580 --> 00:19:26,790
Ed Sullivan,
every form of entertainment
432
00:19:26,832 --> 00:19:30,252
I could watch,
catching the people
433
00:19:30,294 --> 00:19:32,629
and developing
new material on 'em.
434
00:19:32,671 --> 00:19:35,215
Next thing I knew, I had me
a little following going for me.
435
00:19:35,257 --> 00:19:36,967
436
00:19:37,009 --> 00:19:42,222
By Christmas of '58,
I could taste that fame.
437
00:19:42,264 --> 00:19:46,351
One Sunday afternoon,
a girl walked in there.
438
00:19:49,938 --> 00:19:53,609
Lillian Gregory was,
439
00:19:53,650 --> 00:19:55,861
in the truest sense,
440
00:19:55,903 --> 00:19:58,363
Dick Gregory's foundation.
441
00:19:58,405 --> 00:20:01,408
If you would call Greg
in one city
442
00:20:01,450 --> 00:20:03,160
and ask him where he was
going next, he never knew.
443
00:20:03,202 --> 00:20:05,037
He'd say, "Call Lill."
444
00:20:05,078 --> 00:20:07,748
Every phone call I had
with Greg,
445
00:20:07,789 --> 00:20:09,416
Lill was on the phone.
446
00:20:09,458 --> 00:20:12,002
At some point in the call,
he'd say,
447
00:20:12,044 --> 00:20:14,379
"Lill, can you patch in
Mark Lane?"
448
00:20:14,421 --> 00:20:17,090
And, you know,
she was part of him.
449
00:20:17,132 --> 00:20:20,260
He could not have lived
the life he did,
450
00:20:20,302 --> 00:20:23,222
nor could he have accomplished
451
00:20:23,263 --> 00:20:25,265
the things that he did
without Lill.
452
00:20:25,307 --> 00:20:27,684
453
00:20:27,726 --> 00:20:32,773
In 1957, I was a secretary
at the University of Chicago,
454
00:20:32,814 --> 00:20:34,441
and he was running
455
00:20:34,483 --> 00:20:37,653
on the University of Chicago
track team,
456
00:20:37,694 --> 00:20:40,614
and also he was appearing
in a nightclub
457
00:20:40,656 --> 00:20:43,242
called the Esquire
on the South Side of Chicago.
458
00:20:43,283 --> 00:20:45,994
I really hadn't heard anything
about him before,
459
00:20:46,036 --> 00:20:48,121
but he was performing, and I--
460
00:20:48,163 --> 00:20:50,457
you know, and I really
interested in him,
461
00:20:50,499 --> 00:20:52,459
and, uh, he came over
to the table and talked
462
00:20:52,501 --> 00:20:55,796
to my sister and a few other
friends that were with us,
463
00:20:55,837 --> 00:21:00,384
and then, in fact, I think
I came back the next night also.
464
00:21:00,425 --> 00:21:05,013
slow jazz music
465
00:21:05,055 --> 00:21:08,308
466
00:21:08,350 --> 00:21:09,643
[Dick] That's why
it's always so nice
467
00:21:09,685 --> 00:21:11,395
to be polite to people.
468
00:21:11,436 --> 00:21:16,066
Because in walking
to that table,
469
00:21:16,108 --> 00:21:19,403
I didn't know I was
gonna meet my wife.
470
00:21:19,444 --> 00:21:23,490
471
00:21:23,532 --> 00:21:28,745
[Lillian] We were married in
February 2, 1959.
472
00:21:28,787 --> 00:21:31,665
[Dick] Have you checked out
the price of onions lately?
473
00:21:31,707 --> 00:21:34,167
You believe onions?
474
00:21:34,209 --> 00:21:35,669
'Cause onions are still how
my wife used to cry
475
00:21:35,711 --> 00:21:37,629
when she'd peel 'em.
She cry when she buy 'em now.
476
00:21:37,671 --> 00:21:39,339
[laughter]
477
00:21:39,381 --> 00:21:41,717
478
00:21:41,758 --> 00:21:45,345
[Christian] My mother worked
at the University of Chicago,
479
00:21:45,387 --> 00:21:47,180
and my father liked that.
480
00:21:47,222 --> 00:21:49,850
My father always liked
intellect.
481
00:21:49,891 --> 00:21:53,395
She would type up his shows
for that night.
482
00:21:53,437 --> 00:21:55,856
[Lillian] I used to go by
and see him after a night
483
00:21:55,897 --> 00:21:57,357
after I'd get off of work,
484
00:21:57,399 --> 00:21:58,608
and, uh,
I would always bring him
485
00:21:58,650 --> 00:22:00,235
a lot of magazines and things.
486
00:22:00,277 --> 00:22:01,903
487
00:22:01,945 --> 00:22:03,363
He was always very interested
488
00:22:03,405 --> 00:22:07,451
in what was going on
in the world.
489
00:22:07,492 --> 00:22:08,785
[Christian]
My dad had a routine.
490
00:22:08,827 --> 00:22:10,203
He would look at the newspapers.
491
00:22:10,245 --> 00:22:12,497
He would highlight
and he would extract
492
00:22:12,539 --> 00:22:15,542
that evening's show
based on the front page.
493
00:22:15,584 --> 00:22:17,544
Kennedy and Khruschev
is arguing over Berlin,
494
00:22:17,586 --> 00:22:19,546
and pretty frightening.
495
00:22:19,588 --> 00:22:21,340
I think both these men
have the one button
496
00:22:21,381 --> 00:22:23,967
they can push and do away
with the whole world.
497
00:22:24,009 --> 00:22:25,385
And the frightening thing
about it
498
00:22:25,427 --> 00:22:27,846
is Kennedy's button is located
in Caroline's playroom.
499
00:22:27,888 --> 00:22:29,639
[laughter]
500
00:22:29,681 --> 00:22:33,727
He had that cool monotone,
and he'd tell a little story,
501
00:22:33,769 --> 00:22:37,230
and once he had you seduced
into the story he was telling,
502
00:22:37,272 --> 00:22:39,191
he would pop the color thing
on you.
503
00:22:39,232 --> 00:22:40,859
A lot of people got caught
right in the middle
504
00:22:40,901 --> 00:22:45,697
of loving what he was doing
and then being given a message.
505
00:22:45,739 --> 00:22:47,449
And he was a genius at that.
506
00:22:47,491 --> 00:22:48,909
And we have a lot of
racial prejudice up north,
507
00:22:48,950 --> 00:22:51,411
but we're so clever with it.
508
00:22:51,453 --> 00:22:53,872
Take my old pal in Chicago.
509
00:22:53,914 --> 00:22:57,250
I mean, you can't see it
just...just going in there.
510
00:22:57,292 --> 00:22:59,544
But when negroes in Chicago
move into one large area,
511
00:22:59,586 --> 00:23:01,755
and it look like we might
control the votes,
512
00:23:01,797 --> 00:23:03,382
they don't say anything to us.
513
00:23:03,423 --> 00:23:05,300
They have a slum clearance.
514
00:23:05,342 --> 00:23:08,637
[laughter]
515
00:23:08,678 --> 00:23:13,225
- [cheers and applause]
- Mr. Tan? Mr. Tan?
516
00:23:13,266 --> 00:23:15,227
- Man, Tanman Moreland.
- Hey, Nipsey Russell.
517
00:23:15,268 --> 00:23:16,561
- Where have you been?
- What do you wanna know?
518
00:23:16,603 --> 00:23:17,979
- What...What you wanna--
- Where have you been?
519
00:23:18,021 --> 00:23:20,273
What do you know
where I've been for?
520
00:23:20,315 --> 00:23:22,943
[Dick] You show nothing in
this country but my bad.
521
00:23:22,984 --> 00:23:27,572
Show my good. Show my good.
522
00:23:27,614 --> 00:23:29,574
523
00:23:29,616 --> 00:23:31,535
And we weren't really saying
take "Amos 'n' Andy" off.
524
00:23:31,576 --> 00:23:34,538
We were saying balance it out.
525
00:23:34,579 --> 00:23:37,582
Put the man on there
that's splitting all the verbs.
526
00:23:37,624 --> 00:23:39,793
But also, let me see
my Ralph Bunche.
527
00:23:39,835 --> 00:23:42,462
Let me hear my Marian Anderson.
528
00:23:42,504 --> 00:23:46,258
Get me a negro news commentator.
529
00:23:46,299 --> 00:23:48,510
Then balance it out.
530
00:23:50,137 --> 00:23:51,888
See, wherever we call
big crimes,
531
00:23:51,930 --> 00:23:56,017
which is pretty cool,
and, uh, we have small crimes,
532
00:23:56,059 --> 00:23:58,145
which they hang you for.
- [laughter]
533
00:23:58,186 --> 00:23:59,688
No, no, I mean, like
a guy go out,
534
00:23:59,729 --> 00:24:01,690
and he's been on relief,
and his check hasn't shown up
535
00:24:01,731 --> 00:24:03,525
in, like, six months.
536
00:24:03,567 --> 00:24:04,818
His war disability check
haven't shown in a year.
537
00:24:04,860 --> 00:24:07,821
And he sticks up a bank
for about $20,000.
538
00:24:07,863 --> 00:24:10,866
They catch him. He get about
four years in Alcatraz.
539
00:24:10,907 --> 00:24:13,034
The president of that same bank
embezzled it
540
00:24:13,076 --> 00:24:16,079
for, like, $2 million, he get
three years' suspended sentence.
541
00:24:16,121 --> 00:24:18,957
[laughter and applause]
542
00:24:18,999 --> 00:24:23,503
[Christian] He took that power
at the height of his career
543
00:24:23,545 --> 00:24:26,506
to do a step that most people
didn't see coming.
544
00:24:26,548 --> 00:24:29,342
Pretty early on, he was willing
to give his time,
545
00:24:29,384 --> 00:24:32,846
which was money,
when you were an entertainer
546
00:24:32,888 --> 00:24:34,181
who could be booked probably
three or four different cities
547
00:24:34,222 --> 00:24:36,016
in any given night.
548
00:24:36,057 --> 00:24:40,020
And then in the fall of 1962,
he goes down to Mississippi,
549
00:24:40,061 --> 00:24:42,105
and that will change his life.
550
00:24:42,147 --> 00:24:47,360
ominous music
551
00:24:48,904 --> 00:24:52,949
[Dick] Everything was all right,
but, uh, something missing.
552
00:24:52,991 --> 00:24:58,330
553
00:25:01,333 --> 00:25:03,418
[Christian]
The folks in the North
554
00:25:03,460 --> 00:25:05,295
continued to see the images
in the news reports
555
00:25:05,337 --> 00:25:07,589
of what was happening
down South.
556
00:25:07,631 --> 00:25:09,674
See, just one thing
I have learned.
557
00:25:09,716 --> 00:25:11,426
They're not bad folks,
558
00:25:11,468 --> 00:25:14,971
provided you can treat
a negro like a nigger.
559
00:25:15,013 --> 00:25:16,890
560
00:25:16,932 --> 00:25:18,517
It was a time of terror,
561
00:25:18,558 --> 00:25:22,729
and I'm not exaggerating
with that.
562
00:25:22,771 --> 00:25:27,817
Um...the system, as it was,
was determined
563
00:25:27,859 --> 00:25:30,695
not to allow people of color
564
00:25:30,737 --> 00:25:34,115
the opportunity to register
and to vote.
565
00:25:35,909 --> 00:25:41,248
The clerk, who might have had
a sixth grade education,
566
00:25:41,289 --> 00:25:47,420
and a person of color may have
had a college education,
567
00:25:47,462 --> 00:25:50,340
could simply throw
your sheet out.
568
00:25:50,382 --> 00:25:52,425
[man] I would think certainly,
569
00:25:52,467 --> 00:25:54,261
that it would not be
for the welfare
570
00:25:54,302 --> 00:25:59,391
of any community to have
illiterate, uneducated people
571
00:25:59,432 --> 00:26:03,562
to be able to vote.
572
00:26:03,603 --> 00:26:06,022
[Dick] The demonstrations
started in Jackson, Mississippi.
573
00:26:06,064 --> 00:26:09,818
I read about 'em,
I listened to 'em on the radio,
574
00:26:09,859 --> 00:26:11,444
I looked at 'em on TV.
575
00:26:11,486 --> 00:26:15,073
And I told myself,
what those negroes do down there
576
00:26:15,115 --> 00:26:18,743
don't affect my life.
577
00:26:18,785 --> 00:26:21,580
I was definitely afraid.
578
00:26:23,582 --> 00:26:28,086
It seems like he was getting
more and more aware
579
00:26:28,128 --> 00:26:31,506
of the civil rights thing,
I guess maybe during the time
580
00:26:31,548 --> 00:26:34,175
that Martin Luther King
came into being,
581
00:26:34,217 --> 00:26:38,513
and being known.
582
00:26:38,555 --> 00:26:41,808
The future of
the United States of America
583
00:26:41,850 --> 00:26:46,313
may well be determined here
in Mississippi.
584
00:26:46,354 --> 00:26:48,815
But it's here that democracy
585
00:26:48,857 --> 00:26:53,820
faces its most
serious challenge.
586
00:27:01,911 --> 00:27:04,789
And I realized if I can
subject myself
587
00:27:04,831 --> 00:27:07,709
to go to a foreign country,
lay on some cold dirt,
588
00:27:07,751 --> 00:27:11,755
take a chance of losing my life
to guarantee some foreigner
589
00:27:11,796 --> 00:27:14,674
a better way of life than
my own family has in America,
590
00:27:14,716 --> 00:27:16,551
then it's a must
that I get involved.
591
00:27:16,593 --> 00:27:20,305
592
00:27:20,347 --> 00:27:24,351
He was a very wealthy man.
593
00:27:25,268 --> 00:27:29,606
When Medgar called him,
594
00:27:29,648 --> 00:27:31,816
he could have sent a check.
595
00:27:31,858 --> 00:27:33,902
596
00:27:33,943 --> 00:27:37,572
Instead he went to Mississippi
and put his life on the line.
597
00:27:37,614 --> 00:27:39,449
598
00:27:39,491 --> 00:27:40,825
He never stopped.
599
00:27:40,867 --> 00:27:44,871
From the moment
he went to Mississippi,
600
00:27:44,913 --> 00:27:49,292
he never stopped putting
his life on the line.
601
00:27:49,334 --> 00:27:51,878
[man] Where you're going, have
you been given any warning?
602
00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,881
I just play it by ear, and I
think if I can sit in a room
603
00:27:54,923 --> 00:27:56,841
and entertain a room full
of drunks,
604
00:27:56,883 --> 00:28:00,720
I can go to Mississippi
in a dry state. [laughs]
605
00:28:00,762 --> 00:28:02,097
[jet roaring]
606
00:28:02,138 --> 00:28:05,266
607
00:28:05,308 --> 00:28:06,893
[Christian]
I don't think in 1962
608
00:28:06,935 --> 00:28:08,978
my father thought
an invitation he received
609
00:28:09,020 --> 00:28:10,563
from Medgar Evers
610
00:28:10,605 --> 00:28:12,524
to come and speak
at voter registration rallies
611
00:28:12,565 --> 00:28:15,068
in Jackson, Mississippi,
was gonna change his life.
612
00:28:15,110 --> 00:28:17,904
[Evers] Now for many of us
who have gone overseas,
613
00:28:17,946 --> 00:28:22,826
fought for this country,
fought for Mississippi,
614
00:28:22,867 --> 00:28:26,496
we fought for Alabama,
we fought for North Carolina,
615
00:28:26,538 --> 00:28:28,206
we fought for Illinois,
616
00:28:28,248 --> 00:28:30,709
and we fought for every state
in this union.
617
00:28:30,750 --> 00:28:32,210
[Christian]
Medgar being a sergeant
618
00:28:32,252 --> 00:28:35,922
who had fought
in the Korean War,
619
00:28:35,964 --> 00:28:39,843
Medgar was fearless. Medgar was
the first person I ever heard
620
00:28:39,884 --> 00:28:43,138
my father describe
as if they were superhuman.
621
00:28:43,179 --> 00:28:45,932
The two of them hit it off.
622
00:28:45,974 --> 00:28:50,311
They were...brothers.
623
00:28:50,353 --> 00:28:55,233
Stronger, I believe, than blood.
624
00:28:55,275 --> 00:28:59,821
Both the same goal--justice.
625
00:28:59,863 --> 00:29:03,241
Dick knew how to take
a heated issue,
626
00:29:03,283 --> 00:29:07,412
bring humor, and move forward.
627
00:29:07,454 --> 00:29:09,998
It encouraged people.
628
00:29:10,039 --> 00:29:12,625
See, I had a dream
about Clark last night.
629
00:29:12,667 --> 00:29:14,669
[laughter]
630
00:29:14,711 --> 00:29:16,713
I was...I was dreaming that
this...
631
00:29:16,755 --> 00:29:18,798
this white citizen council guy
632
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:24,012
who was drunk,
driving about 90 miles an hour
633
00:29:24,053 --> 00:29:27,599
and he hit two demonstrators
accidentally,
634
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,059
didn't mean to.
- [man] Go ahead.
635
00:29:30,101 --> 00:29:35,148
And Clark showed up,
and one demonstrator
636
00:29:35,190 --> 00:29:38,902
flew about 500 yards in the air
and bounced off in the field,
637
00:29:38,943 --> 00:29:41,154
and the other demonstrator
came through
638
00:29:41,196 --> 00:29:46,034
the dashboard window
and landed in the front seat.
639
00:29:46,075 --> 00:29:49,537
And Clark got to whuppin'
this cat about being drunk
640
00:29:49,579 --> 00:29:51,581
until he found out that
641
00:29:51,623 --> 00:29:54,751
those were two colored cats
he had hit.
642
00:29:54,793 --> 00:29:57,420
And he went and he arrested
the one colored guy
643
00:29:57,462 --> 00:29:58,630
that was 500 yards down the road
644
00:29:58,671 --> 00:30:01,424
for leaving the scene
of an accident.
645
00:30:01,466 --> 00:30:04,302
[laughter,
scattered applause]
646
00:30:04,344 --> 00:30:06,429
And the one that came
through the windshield,
647
00:30:06,471 --> 00:30:09,265
he booked him
for breaking and entering.
648
00:30:09,307 --> 00:30:14,521
[laughter and applause]
649
00:30:19,067 --> 00:30:22,111
[Dick] I had no intentions
on demonstrating.
650
00:30:22,153 --> 00:30:25,198
None whatsoever.
651
00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:26,699
I was scared enough just knowing
652
00:30:26,741 --> 00:30:31,037
I was going to an area where
there were demonstrations.
653
00:30:31,079 --> 00:30:34,707
And after speaking
to these people that night
654
00:30:34,749 --> 00:30:38,044
and seeing the beauty
of these people
655
00:30:38,086 --> 00:30:41,714
and seeing the police
harassment at the church,
656
00:30:41,756 --> 00:30:43,049
and not one negro doctor
657
00:30:43,091 --> 00:30:44,884
which means when these
negro demonstrate,
658
00:30:44,926 --> 00:30:46,845
that mean they forfeiting
all their medical attention,
659
00:30:46,886 --> 00:30:49,222
I'm looking at a man,
that when he demonstrates,
660
00:30:49,264 --> 00:30:53,560
he's gonna get his name
and his picture in the paper.
661
00:30:53,601 --> 00:30:55,728
And if I must die
with him, man,
662
00:30:55,770 --> 00:30:57,605
I couldn't think of
a better way of dying.
663
00:31:00,066 --> 00:31:03,778
In doing this, I know you'll
kill yourself in show business.
664
00:31:03,820 --> 00:31:06,322
And I called up Lill,
and I said, "Honey,
665
00:31:06,364 --> 00:31:08,741
are you willing to eat in a tent
666
00:31:08,783 --> 00:31:11,703
and go back to where we were
for right?"
667
00:31:11,744 --> 00:31:13,329
And she said yes.
668
00:31:13,371 --> 00:31:17,584
She told me as she's told me
so many other times,
669
00:31:17,625 --> 00:31:22,422
that the true test of a rich man
is strip him of all his wealth,
670
00:31:22,463 --> 00:31:24,173
then see how much he's worth.
671
00:31:24,215 --> 00:31:26,467
[static]
672
00:31:36,060 --> 00:31:39,230
[amplified voice]
This is an announcement.
673
00:31:39,272 --> 00:31:44,277
We will ask you to proceed
in smaller groups.
674
00:31:44,319 --> 00:31:47,113
And a bunch of illiterate whites
that probably couldn't even
675
00:31:47,155 --> 00:31:50,950
pass the test themselves.
That's what you're seeing.
676
00:31:50,992 --> 00:31:53,786
- Guns and sticks.
- Guns and sticks.
677
00:31:53,828 --> 00:31:56,122
- In America.
- Exactly.
678
00:31:56,164 --> 00:31:58,833
- [man] Yes, man.
- Get a good look at their faces
679
00:31:58,875 --> 00:32:00,627
so the rest of the world
can see it.
680
00:32:00,668 --> 00:32:02,170
- Yeah.
- See what they look like.
681
00:32:02,211 --> 00:32:06,799
[Lipsyte] A civil rights
demonstration in the South
682
00:32:06,841 --> 00:32:09,594
was in grave danger.
683
00:32:09,636 --> 00:32:15,475
Dogs, fire hoses, truncheons,
guns,
684
00:32:15,516 --> 00:32:18,394
but if Dick Gregory flew down
685
00:32:18,436 --> 00:32:21,981
to wherever, Mississippi,
686
00:32:22,023 --> 00:32:25,735
for a rights demonstration,
687
00:32:25,777 --> 00:32:30,573
one of the network news crews
would follow.
688
00:32:30,615 --> 00:32:32,992
But he also knew
that the cameras being on
689
00:32:33,034 --> 00:32:35,954
does not protect me
from getting hurt or killed.
690
00:32:35,995 --> 00:32:41,250
[indistinct conversations]
691
00:32:41,292 --> 00:32:43,920
[Lillian] When I'd see things
on TV of him being arrested,
692
00:32:43,962 --> 00:32:45,838
you know, I really would get
a little upset,
693
00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:48,549
and, uh, at that time,
we just had two children
694
00:32:48,591 --> 00:32:50,176
and, you know, "Why is Daddy,
695
00:32:50,218 --> 00:32:52,845
you know, why are
they putting him in jail?"
696
00:32:52,887 --> 00:32:56,557
697
00:32:56,599 --> 00:33:00,353
[Dick]
This is where we are today.
698
00:33:00,395 --> 00:33:04,732
This is what we fightin' for...
699
00:33:04,774 --> 00:33:08,987
to free this country.
700
00:33:09,028 --> 00:33:12,031
Make this country
America the beautiful.
701
00:33:14,993 --> 00:33:20,039
He upset people. He really made
people wanna kill him.
702
00:33:20,081 --> 00:33:23,042
I mean, I got hundreds
of death threats
703
00:33:23,084 --> 00:33:26,838
about how they were gonna
kill him at a certain place.
704
00:33:26,879 --> 00:33:28,339
[Lillian] People would call.
705
00:33:28,381 --> 00:33:30,049
They were gon' come
kill all of us.
706
00:33:30,091 --> 00:33:31,968
"And gonna come get
your nigger kids,"
707
00:33:32,010 --> 00:33:36,639
just many, many bad calls,
many, many very bad calls.
708
00:33:38,683 --> 00:33:41,144
[Dick] You can feel a town.
709
00:33:41,185 --> 00:33:45,565
You can sense a town,
sense the police.
710
00:33:45,606 --> 00:33:47,900
And there's a stillness
in a town
711
00:33:47,942 --> 00:33:50,319
before something's gonna happen.
712
00:33:50,361 --> 00:33:55,575
I felt that someone...
713
00:33:55,616 --> 00:33:57,702
was gonna be killed.
714
00:33:57,744 --> 00:34:01,748
poignant music
715
00:34:01,789 --> 00:34:05,293
I decided to go the long way
to Chicago
716
00:34:05,334 --> 00:34:09,380
to stop by and see
the wife and the kids,
717
00:34:09,422 --> 00:34:13,134
only to explain to her
that if anything happened to me,
718
00:34:13,176 --> 00:34:15,428
if I got killed,
719
00:34:15,470 --> 00:34:19,098
that she would never raise
those kids with hate.
720
00:34:19,140 --> 00:34:21,517
I would feel I had died in vain
if my kids turned out hating.
721
00:34:21,559 --> 00:34:24,437
722
00:34:24,479 --> 00:34:26,105
Always had a lot of trouble
with Lill
723
00:34:26,147 --> 00:34:29,525
because I was on the road
when they were born.
724
00:34:29,567 --> 00:34:32,028
725
00:34:32,070 --> 00:34:33,946
Dick Junior was laying
in the bed, crying,
726
00:34:33,988 --> 00:34:38,743
so I tipped him in the room,
and I picked him up,
727
00:34:38,785 --> 00:34:41,788
and he stopped crying,
and he'd smile.
728
00:34:41,829 --> 00:34:45,792
Lill walked out.
She was so happy because
729
00:34:45,833 --> 00:34:47,126
I was playing with my son,
730
00:34:47,168 --> 00:34:51,798
kiss my daughter Michele,
731
00:34:51,839 --> 00:34:55,301
kiss my daughter Lynne,
732
00:34:55,343 --> 00:35:00,264
said Daddy's gonna try to make
it a better world for you.
733
00:35:00,306 --> 00:35:02,767
[Lillian] He really had
a feeling that something
734
00:35:02,809 --> 00:35:04,644
was gonna happen.
735
00:35:04,685 --> 00:35:06,813
He really didn't know what,
736
00:35:06,854 --> 00:35:10,566
but he just really had
a bad feeling.
737
00:35:10,608 --> 00:35:14,153
738
00:35:14,195 --> 00:35:16,197
[Dick] Medgar Evers
woke me up that morning
739
00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:20,159
with a phone call.
740
00:35:20,201 --> 00:35:22,578
Asked Medgar what had happened.
He said he didn't know.
741
00:35:22,620 --> 00:35:25,873
He tried to make me call home,
and I said,
742
00:35:25,915 --> 00:35:28,876
"Medgar, what happened?"
743
00:35:28,918 --> 00:35:34,298
A man as brave as Medgar...
744
00:35:34,340 --> 00:35:36,634
couldn't tell me.
745
00:35:36,676 --> 00:35:42,098
Because when he said,
"Your son is dead,"
746
00:35:42,140 --> 00:35:44,433
he almost said it like
he had killed him himself.
747
00:35:44,475 --> 00:35:49,438
748
00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:51,023
This can't be true.
749
00:35:51,065 --> 00:35:53,818
I just held him...
750
00:35:53,860 --> 00:35:57,613
only a few hours ago.
751
00:35:57,655 --> 00:35:59,782
So I called home.
Lill picked up the phone,
752
00:35:59,824 --> 00:36:01,033
and she was screaming.
753
00:36:01,075 --> 00:36:05,246
She said,
"Greg, Richard's dead."
754
00:36:05,288 --> 00:36:08,124
755
00:36:08,166 --> 00:36:13,462
I said, "Honey, I'll be there.
756
00:36:13,504 --> 00:36:16,048
I love you very much."
757
00:36:16,090 --> 00:36:21,345
758
00:36:33,691 --> 00:36:37,570
Never will forget that Medgar
cried when he told me.
759
00:36:37,612 --> 00:36:41,699
He was sorry I was leaving,
but he understood,
760
00:36:41,741 --> 00:36:44,410
got out of town, not knowing
that that would be
761
00:36:44,452 --> 00:36:47,205
the last time I would ever see
Medgar Evers alive.
762
00:36:47,246 --> 00:36:51,876
763
00:36:51,918 --> 00:36:55,713
I knew my husband
was gonna be killed.
764
00:36:55,755 --> 00:36:59,592
We knew it.
765
00:36:59,634 --> 00:37:02,762
He pulled into the driveway.
766
00:37:04,347 --> 00:37:06,641
And I remember our children
saying,
767
00:37:06,682 --> 00:37:09,727
"Daddy's home, Daddy's home."
768
00:37:09,769 --> 00:37:13,064
And in the process of getting up
to go to the door,
769
00:37:13,105 --> 00:37:15,316
a shot was heard.
770
00:37:15,358 --> 00:37:19,362
771
00:37:19,403 --> 00:37:21,989
And I think of all the blood
on my car
772
00:37:22,031 --> 00:37:26,369
as he tried, struggled
to get in
773
00:37:26,410 --> 00:37:31,249
and fell at the steps
with the door key in his hand.
774
00:37:31,290 --> 00:37:34,585
775
00:37:34,627 --> 00:37:38,798
That nightmare...
776
00:37:38,839 --> 00:37:41,634
never leaves.
777
00:37:41,676 --> 00:37:43,719
[siren wailing in distance]
778
00:37:43,761 --> 00:37:45,638
The only reason
779
00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:49,433
Dick Gregory
was not with Medgar Evers
780
00:37:49,475 --> 00:37:52,311
on the night Medgar Evers
was shot and killed,
781
00:37:52,353 --> 00:37:55,648
is because his child had died
in his sleep
782
00:37:55,690 --> 00:37:57,233
at three months old.
783
00:37:57,275 --> 00:37:59,944
I don't think anything
less than that
784
00:37:59,986 --> 00:38:01,862
you could have pried
Dick Gregory
785
00:38:01,904 --> 00:38:03,364
away from Medgar Evers.
786
00:38:03,406 --> 00:38:06,492
787
00:38:06,534 --> 00:38:08,828
[Dick] Funny about a great man,
when he dies,
788
00:38:08,869 --> 00:38:10,830
if the whole world
didn't know him,
789
00:38:10,871 --> 00:38:13,582
the whole world learns, and they
can decide for themselves.
790
00:38:13,624 --> 00:38:16,252
They had decided that
791
00:38:16,294 --> 00:38:21,048
we had lost a great man
in this country.
792
00:38:21,090 --> 00:38:22,049
It's a strange world.
793
00:38:22,091 --> 00:38:25,428
794
00:38:25,469 --> 00:38:28,180
To quit demonstrating,
795
00:38:28,222 --> 00:38:32,768
we want complete desegregation
of all public facilities
796
00:38:32,810 --> 00:38:34,312
and all the charges dropped.
797
00:38:34,353 --> 00:38:37,231
Now we're not gonna stop
for nothing short of this.
798
00:38:37,273 --> 00:38:38,441
[applause]
799
00:38:38,482 --> 00:38:42,111
Police dogs is not enough
no more.
800
00:38:42,153 --> 00:38:43,571
If they don't give us
this demand here,
801
00:38:43,612 --> 00:38:45,448
they better go out and try
to put smoke in the barrel
802
00:38:45,489 --> 00:38:47,158
in the contract.
803
00:38:47,199 --> 00:38:48,534
[laughter and applause]
804
00:38:48,576 --> 00:38:52,705
805
00:38:52,747 --> 00:38:54,832
We went to southern Atlanta.
806
00:38:54,874 --> 00:38:57,209
People all over the world
should understand
807
00:38:57,251 --> 00:39:01,130
the American negro
will not be told any longer
808
00:39:01,172 --> 00:39:05,426
that it's gonna take time
to solve this problem.
809
00:39:05,468 --> 00:39:08,387
There's no more time.
We don't want a man to tell us
810
00:39:08,429 --> 00:39:12,141
that we're gonna get it,
that we have to understand.
811
00:39:12,183 --> 00:39:14,393
When you're out demonstrating
in the street,
812
00:39:14,435 --> 00:39:17,938
the social revolution is on,
and it's gonna stay on
813
00:39:17,980 --> 00:39:20,399
until the negro receives
full rights.
814
00:39:20,441 --> 00:39:23,402
We don't want these rights
tomorrow.
815
00:39:23,444 --> 00:39:26,447
We don't want 'em next week.
We don't want 'em tonight.
816
00:39:26,489 --> 00:39:31,035
We want what we are demanding
right this minute.
817
00:39:35,122 --> 00:39:37,416
He is without doubt
the most talked about
818
00:39:37,458 --> 00:39:39,335
and written about comedian
in show business,
819
00:39:39,377 --> 00:39:41,712
not necessarily on
the amusement pages these days
820
00:39:41,754 --> 00:39:43,964
but right on the front page.
821
00:39:44,006 --> 00:39:46,258
Uh, I think he has
some provocative
822
00:39:46,300 --> 00:39:48,636
and interesting things
to say to all of us tonight.
823
00:39:48,677 --> 00:39:51,972
I'm sure he has. So would you
all welcome Dick Gregory?
824
00:39:52,014 --> 00:39:56,352
[applause,
band playing jazz music]
825
00:39:56,394 --> 00:39:59,730
826
00:39:59,772 --> 00:40:01,565
The government realized when
negroes are integrating things
827
00:40:01,607 --> 00:40:04,944
in America today,
in about six more months,
828
00:40:04,985 --> 00:40:07,405
they're gonna be forced to hire
negro bus drivers in Mississippi
829
00:40:07,446 --> 00:40:08,614
so we're growing steering wheels
830
00:40:08,656 --> 00:40:10,032
so they can drive
from the back of the bus.
831
00:40:10,074 --> 00:40:12,910
[laughter]
832
00:40:12,952 --> 00:40:14,703
[applause]
833
00:40:14,745 --> 00:40:16,288
I received a letter one day
informing me
834
00:40:16,330 --> 00:40:20,126
that I had made
Who's Who in America.
835
00:40:22,753 --> 00:40:28,426
This is why I'm willing
to lay down my life, die,
836
00:40:28,467 --> 00:40:30,428
'cause no place else
but America
837
00:40:30,469 --> 00:40:32,513
could a man born and raised
on relief
838
00:40:32,555 --> 00:40:36,851
from 1932 to 1952,
through 11 years later,
839
00:40:36,892 --> 00:40:41,188
I made Who's Who in America.
840
00:40:41,230 --> 00:40:45,651
Yeah.
This is worth fighting for.
841
00:40:45,693 --> 00:40:47,987
842
00:40:48,028 --> 00:40:51,657
Trying to save this country.
843
00:40:51,699 --> 00:40:55,703
You see, bread in your stomach
means nothing
844
00:40:55,744 --> 00:40:57,371
when you're walking around
with a full belly
845
00:40:57,413 --> 00:41:01,917
but your soul has been robbed
of dignity.
846
00:41:01,959 --> 00:41:06,005
All right. Now I'd rather die
trying to be free
847
00:41:06,046 --> 00:41:09,300
than be a full slave.
848
00:41:09,341 --> 00:41:10,342
[audience murmurs]
849
00:41:17,057 --> 00:41:19,852
[indistinct conversations]
850
00:41:19,894 --> 00:41:23,522
[applause continues]
851
00:41:23,564 --> 00:41:26,442
[Healy] Whenever Dr. King
called, Dick was there.
852
00:41:26,484 --> 00:41:29,612
He was kind of his front man.
853
00:41:29,653 --> 00:41:32,656
If Dr. King wanted him to go
and bother Bull Connor,
854
00:41:32,698 --> 00:41:36,202
he would send him in a week
before Dr. King arrived.
855
00:41:36,243 --> 00:41:37,870
That's how he did it.
856
00:41:37,912 --> 00:41:39,413
And Dick would go down there
and speak maybe at a college
857
00:41:39,455 --> 00:41:41,832
or a community event
or it's in the Black community
858
00:41:41,874 --> 00:41:44,043
or at a Black church,
859
00:41:44,084 --> 00:41:46,670
but he'd go down there
and aggravate and stir it up
860
00:41:46,712 --> 00:41:50,049
so when we arrive,
we can make something happen.
861
00:41:50,090 --> 00:41:52,927
There'll be somebody listening,
there'll be somebody talking.
862
00:41:52,968 --> 00:41:54,428
[Bell] As a comic,
I can look at Dick Gregory
863
00:41:54,470 --> 00:41:57,223
and tell that he was killing
in that moment,
864
00:41:57,264 --> 00:41:58,307
'cause he has that look
that comics get
865
00:41:58,349 --> 00:41:59,475
when they've just gotten
a big laugh
866
00:41:59,517 --> 00:42:01,852
and said, "Yeah, I did that."
[laughs]
867
00:42:01,894 --> 00:42:04,104
And I don't know that
I've ever seen a picture
868
00:42:04,146 --> 00:42:06,440
of Martin Luther King Jr.
where he looked that relaxed,
869
00:42:06,482 --> 00:42:08,651
and he looks like,
"Dick, you take it from here.
870
00:42:08,692 --> 00:42:10,402
I'm-a sit here
and just enjoy it."
871
00:42:10,444 --> 00:42:12,696
[Lillian]
Dick, being a comedian,
872
00:42:12,738 --> 00:42:16,367
he was always telling Martin
a funny joke or something,
873
00:42:16,408 --> 00:42:18,369
and then Martin would just roar
with laughter.
874
00:42:18,410 --> 00:42:20,037
I mean, he just loved
to talk to Dick,
875
00:42:20,079 --> 00:42:22,039
you know, 'cause he would--
you know, Dick had
876
00:42:22,081 --> 00:42:24,208
something to say
about everything.
877
00:42:24,250 --> 00:42:26,252
[Christian]
My father and Dr. King
878
00:42:26,293 --> 00:42:29,046
became good friends,
confidantes.
879
00:42:29,088 --> 00:42:31,924
They realized that their time
on this earth
880
00:42:31,966 --> 00:42:36,428
would probably be cut short.
881
00:42:36,470 --> 00:42:39,348
[Connor] You can never
whip these birds
882
00:42:39,390 --> 00:42:41,350
if you don't keep
you and them separate.
883
00:42:41,392 --> 00:42:43,936
I found that out in Birmingham.
884
00:42:43,978 --> 00:42:46,272
You've got to keep the white
and the Black separate.
885
00:42:46,313 --> 00:42:51,110
dramatic music
886
00:42:51,151 --> 00:42:56,532
887
00:43:02,580 --> 00:43:04,915
[Dick] I'm standing there
at the door
888
00:43:04,957 --> 00:43:07,668
with my hands around the bars,
889
00:43:07,710 --> 00:43:09,920
and I'm thinking about Lill,
I'm thinking about home.
890
00:43:09,962 --> 00:43:11,839
[indistinct shouting]
891
00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:17,386
And Bull Connor, them,
they come in with baseball bats.
892
00:43:17,428 --> 00:43:19,430
[crowd shouting and screaming]
893
00:43:19,471 --> 00:43:21,640
They beat me so bad
with the baseball bats
894
00:43:21,682 --> 00:43:22,975
and had done a larger area,
895
00:43:23,017 --> 00:43:25,269
that probably
would have killed me.
896
00:43:25,311 --> 00:43:27,313
[indistinct shouting,
water rushing]
897
00:43:27,354 --> 00:43:31,984
My...my arms swolled up
so it tore my suit right off.
898
00:43:32,026 --> 00:43:36,155
899
00:43:36,196 --> 00:43:39,491
I didn't wanna complain
because I didn't know
900
00:43:39,533 --> 00:43:40,784
if they would take me someplace
901
00:43:40,826 --> 00:43:43,621
where they would
amputate my arm.
902
00:43:43,662 --> 00:43:48,167
903
00:43:48,208 --> 00:43:50,669
Five guards came by.
That's when they opened the door
904
00:43:50,711 --> 00:43:52,796
and started to come inside,
and that's when I walked out
905
00:43:52,838 --> 00:43:55,007
rather than have the kids here,
906
00:43:55,049 --> 00:43:57,551
and this is when the beating
took place.
907
00:43:57,593 --> 00:44:02,765
Birmingham woke
a lot of people up.
908
00:44:02,806 --> 00:44:07,186
Birmingham woke us up
to this cancer
909
00:44:07,227 --> 00:44:09,313
it is not too late to cure.
910
00:44:09,355 --> 00:44:13,275
And if America wants to be
a doctor,
911
00:44:13,317 --> 00:44:16,820
we have to be the doctor
to cure this.
912
00:44:16,862 --> 00:44:19,406
I would like to introduce
very briefly
913
00:44:19,448 --> 00:44:24,078
a comedian fresh from the jail,
Mr. Dick Gregory.
914
00:44:24,119 --> 00:44:29,249
[cheers and applause]
915
00:44:32,586 --> 00:44:34,546
[applause subsides]
916
00:44:34,588 --> 00:44:35,714
I'd like to say
thank you very much,
917
00:44:35,756 --> 00:44:39,385
and it's a pleasure being here
918
00:44:39,426 --> 00:44:43,722
and nice being out of jail.
- [laughter]
919
00:44:43,764 --> 00:44:46,558
And I'm very confused this year
because I never thought
920
00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:48,060
I'd see the day I would give out
921
00:44:48,102 --> 00:44:50,229
more fingerprints
than autographs.
922
00:44:50,270 --> 00:44:51,563
[laughter]
923
00:44:51,605 --> 00:44:56,026
[Bellamy] People have no idea.
924
00:44:56,068 --> 00:45:00,364
You know, he would not
compromise his integrity,
925
00:45:00,406 --> 00:45:03,534
making $5,000-plus a night
926
00:45:03,575 --> 00:45:06,787
and gave that up to go down
927
00:45:06,829 --> 00:45:09,707
with Medgar Evers
and Dr. King.
928
00:45:09,748 --> 00:45:13,585
His economic situation
totally, totally
929
00:45:13,627 --> 00:45:15,087
went down the toilet.
930
00:45:15,129 --> 00:45:16,714
What about the, uh, contracts
931
00:45:16,755 --> 00:45:20,134
that you have to perform
elsewhere?
932
00:45:20,175 --> 00:45:21,677
What are you doing about those?
933
00:45:21,719 --> 00:45:24,513
Well, the only ones that I have
to worry about now
934
00:45:24,555 --> 00:45:27,015
are the ones as of today,
'cause when I'm in jail,
935
00:45:27,057 --> 00:45:28,642
those contracts are
automatically forfeited.
936
00:45:28,684 --> 00:45:30,894
It'll just be a matter
of calling my manager
937
00:45:30,936 --> 00:45:33,605
and just canceling everything
out straight across the board
938
00:45:33,647 --> 00:45:36,525
until...until I get out of here.
939
00:45:36,567 --> 00:45:38,610
[Madison]
Dick used all his credit.
940
00:45:38,652 --> 00:45:42,614
He would come back from
a protest or a demonstration,
941
00:45:42,656 --> 00:45:45,743
and the mortgage payment
was due,
942
00:45:45,784 --> 00:45:47,870
and they didn't know how
they were gonna pay it.
943
00:45:47,911 --> 00:45:50,539
[Belafonte] Well, not many
people in entertainment
944
00:45:50,581 --> 00:45:53,542
that, uh, rocked the boat.
945
00:45:53,584 --> 00:45:57,463
They were all very intimidated
with the fact
946
00:45:57,504 --> 00:45:59,715
that whether
they made commentary,
947
00:45:59,757 --> 00:46:02,968
the establishment
would fall down on them,
948
00:46:03,010 --> 00:46:06,346
so for a long time,
Black humorists remained mute
949
00:46:06,388 --> 00:46:09,975
until Richard.
950
00:46:10,017 --> 00:46:11,935
[Williams] He really was
out of money and, you know,
951
00:46:11,977 --> 00:46:14,021
because he was giving it all
the civil rights movement,
952
00:46:14,062 --> 00:46:16,523
and some of his children
needed money,
953
00:46:16,565 --> 00:46:17,983
uh, to go to school,
because some of them
954
00:46:18,025 --> 00:46:19,318
were in private schools.
955
00:46:19,359 --> 00:46:22,029
He was given a check
by a gentleman
956
00:46:22,070 --> 00:46:25,824
by the name of Bertram Lee
to pay for this tuition
957
00:46:25,866 --> 00:46:28,786
for his children,
but then he saw Hosea Williams
958
00:46:28,827 --> 00:46:32,539
down in Atlanta
and found that Hosea
959
00:46:32,581 --> 00:46:35,417
had been beaten up very badly,
bloodied,
960
00:46:35,459 --> 00:46:36,835
and he needed money
because he said,
961
00:46:36,877 --> 00:46:38,670
"We're going back in two weeks."
962
00:46:38,712 --> 00:46:40,839
And he just signed over
the check
963
00:46:40,881 --> 00:46:43,592
that he had just gotten
for his children's education
964
00:46:43,634 --> 00:46:46,011
because he said what Hosea
was doing
965
00:46:46,053 --> 00:46:48,931
was more important
than his children's education,
966
00:46:48,972 --> 00:46:51,016
and he usually chose
whatever it was
967
00:46:51,058 --> 00:46:53,644
that was gonna help
the greatest number of people.
968
00:46:53,685 --> 00:46:58,816
969
00:47:02,986 --> 00:47:08,158
[Dick] It was me seeing
ordinary people,
970
00:47:08,200 --> 00:47:10,994
people that would never
get their name mentioned,
971
00:47:11,036 --> 00:47:13,580
people that no one would
ever say thanks to.
972
00:47:13,622 --> 00:47:16,750
973
00:47:16,792 --> 00:47:20,838
And that's what that movement
was about.
974
00:47:20,879 --> 00:47:25,217
Lot of Black folks died,
lot of decent white folks died,
975
00:47:25,259 --> 00:47:26,760
setting people free.
976
00:47:26,802 --> 00:47:30,180
And in the eyes of God,
977
00:47:30,222 --> 00:47:34,643
those people would be honored
one day.
978
00:47:34,685 --> 00:47:38,105
And that's what the movement
meant.
979
00:47:38,146 --> 00:47:41,525
Let us die. Not kill.
980
00:47:41,567 --> 00:47:43,193
Let us die to set people free.
981
00:47:43,235 --> 00:47:47,489
982
00:47:47,531 --> 00:47:53,412
[protestors chanting]
983
00:47:53,453 --> 00:47:55,080
[chanting continues]
984
00:47:55,122 --> 00:47:56,915
Oh, I'm sure today
for the first time,
985
00:47:56,957 --> 00:47:59,126
people all over the world
know where I am.
986
00:47:59,167 --> 00:48:00,794
[protestors shouting]
987
00:48:00,836 --> 00:48:03,964
[Dick] And I hope that you'll be
aware there are two jails.
988
00:48:04,006 --> 00:48:05,090
[woman] That's right, Dick!
[continues indistinctly]
989
00:48:05,132 --> 00:48:07,551
One that the establishment
sends you to
990
00:48:07,593 --> 00:48:09,761
that you can break out of,
991
00:48:09,803 --> 00:48:13,181
and one that the establishment
puts you in
992
00:48:13,223 --> 00:48:15,058
that you can never break out of.
993
00:48:15,100 --> 00:48:16,727
[Williams] He was arrested
over 100 times,
994
00:48:16,768 --> 00:48:18,604
and he kept going back
995
00:48:18,645 --> 00:48:21,815
because he was able to use
his celebrity
996
00:48:21,857 --> 00:48:24,192
to make a difference.
997
00:48:24,234 --> 00:48:26,069
You put enough pressure...
998
00:48:26,111 --> 00:48:27,321
[woman] That's right!
999
00:48:27,362 --> 00:48:30,198
[Dick] ...on this foul, corrupt,
insane system.
1000
00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:32,326
[woman] Yes! We've got to do it.
1001
00:48:32,367 --> 00:48:35,370
[Dick] See to it that can give
America her status back.
1002
00:48:35,412 --> 00:48:40,167
[horn blaring]
1003
00:48:40,208 --> 00:48:44,546
1004
00:48:44,588 --> 00:48:45,881
[man] What started the riot?
What was the incident?
1005
00:48:45,923 --> 00:48:47,382
[Dick] Well, the incident
1006
00:48:47,424 --> 00:48:50,636
that started the riot
was an automobile incident.
1007
00:48:50,677 --> 00:48:52,304
There as an argument.
There was a scuffle.
1008
00:48:52,346 --> 00:48:53,722
By then a crowd
1009
00:48:53,764 --> 00:48:54,973
of several hundred negroes
had gathered,
1010
00:48:55,015 --> 00:48:56,642
and the story
of police brutality
1011
00:48:56,683 --> 00:48:59,061
quickly spread
through the community.
1012
00:48:59,102 --> 00:49:00,562
[Dick] Every incident that had
been tipped off in this country
1013
00:49:00,604 --> 00:49:02,189
in the last two years
1014
00:49:02,230 --> 00:49:06,068
had been tipped off
by a uniformed police.
1015
00:49:06,109 --> 00:49:07,819
I'm not saying the police
is right or wrong.
1016
00:49:07,861 --> 00:49:09,655
I'm saying when you have
these incidents
1017
00:49:09,696 --> 00:49:11,990
that's tipped off
with this one symbol,
1018
00:49:12,032 --> 00:49:14,493
then we should look into it
and see what it is.
1019
00:49:14,534 --> 00:49:16,995
These negroes
aren't throwing bricks
1020
00:49:17,037 --> 00:49:19,456
just for the sake
of throwing bricks.
1021
00:49:19,498 --> 00:49:22,167
[indistinct shouting]
1022
00:49:22,209 --> 00:49:24,920
Police brutality
is not when a cop
1023
00:49:24,962 --> 00:49:27,381
necessarily knocks me
upside the head.
1024
00:49:27,422 --> 00:49:30,676
It's when a cop calls me nigger
when he's making the arrest.
1025
00:49:30,717 --> 00:49:32,761
This is a form
of police brutality.
1026
00:49:32,803 --> 00:49:36,598
1027
00:49:36,640 --> 00:49:41,019
As you know, I just got back
from Los Angeles, Vietnam.
1028
00:49:41,061 --> 00:49:44,022
[laughter]
1029
00:49:44,064 --> 00:49:45,816
[man] That was quite a morning.
1030
00:49:45,857 --> 00:49:47,943
We all picked up our papers
here in New York.
1031
00:49:47,985 --> 00:49:50,153
A lot of people didn't read
beyond that headline.
1032
00:49:50,195 --> 00:49:51,697
All it said
here in New York was,
1033
00:49:51,738 --> 00:49:53,240
"Dick Gregory shot
in race riot."
1034
00:49:53,281 --> 00:49:55,659
[Christian]
A bullet to his leg,
1035
00:49:55,701 --> 00:49:59,204
trying to
step in between forces,
1036
00:49:59,246 --> 00:50:03,834
trying to find a peaceful
solution to what was happening.
1037
00:50:03,875 --> 00:50:05,836
[Dick] I would never go
to my baby's crib
1038
00:50:05,877 --> 00:50:08,338
when my baby was crying
and say, "Quit crying."
1039
00:50:08,380 --> 00:50:10,674
First, I would find out
why she was crying,
1040
00:50:10,716 --> 00:50:13,385
uh, because kids do not cry
for no reason at all.
1041
00:50:13,427 --> 00:50:16,638
It's the same thing about what's
happening in America today.
1042
00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:18,640
Those people have such
1043
00:50:18,682 --> 00:50:19,975
legitimate gripes
and frustrations
1044
00:50:20,017 --> 00:50:23,145
built in them for so long.
1045
00:50:23,186 --> 00:50:25,397
Nobody ever talked
about Watts,
1046
00:50:25,439 --> 00:50:27,649
and it's gonna be
a whole lots of Watts
1047
00:50:27,691 --> 00:50:29,901
all over this country,
up north,
1048
00:50:29,943 --> 00:50:32,029
if we don't go in
and start solving
1049
00:50:32,070 --> 00:50:33,405
not only the problem
of the negro
1050
00:50:33,447 --> 00:50:35,574
but the problem
of the poor white man.
1051
00:50:35,615 --> 00:50:37,451
You have white people
that live in the ghetto,
1052
00:50:37,492 --> 00:50:38,910
that they're gonna be next,
1053
00:50:38,952 --> 00:50:41,913
unless we sit down
and solve this problem
1054
00:50:41,955 --> 00:50:43,874
which is not
a Los Angeles problem,
1055
00:50:43,915 --> 00:50:45,584
which is not
a Mississippi problem.
1056
00:50:45,625 --> 00:50:47,377
It's an American problem.
1057
00:50:47,419 --> 00:50:51,590
[indistinct shouting]
1058
00:50:51,631 --> 00:50:56,261
1059
00:50:56,303 --> 00:50:58,305
[man, amplified voice]
This area is being closed.
1060
00:50:58,346 --> 00:51:01,349
Please go in your homes.
1061
00:51:01,391 --> 00:51:03,894
[woman, chanting]
You can't stop the revolution!
1062
00:51:03,935 --> 00:51:05,353
[male reporter]
In Newark alone,
1063
00:51:05,395 --> 00:51:08,940
thirty persons were killed
in four days of rioting.
1064
00:51:08,982 --> 00:51:10,442
Hands up! Don't shoot!
1065
00:51:10,484 --> 00:51:12,903
- Hands up--
- [gunshot]
1066
00:51:12,944 --> 00:51:16,448
[indistinct shouting]
1067
00:51:16,490 --> 00:51:18,408
[female dispatcher] All units,
looters at 62 and Broadway.
1068
00:51:18,450 --> 00:51:23,246
1069
00:51:23,288 --> 00:51:25,457
[Dick] People,
whether you like it or not,
1070
00:51:25,499 --> 00:51:27,375
are controlled by nature.
1071
00:51:27,417 --> 00:51:29,127
If you put a tight shoe
on your foot, you get a corn.
1072
00:51:29,169 --> 00:51:30,045
If you wear the shoe
long enough,
1073
00:51:30,087 --> 00:51:31,630
it turns into a callus.
1074
00:51:31,671 --> 00:51:32,631
If you wear the shoe
long enough,
1075
00:51:32,672 --> 00:51:33,924
it turns into a bunion,
1076
00:51:33,965 --> 00:51:35,383
and eventually,
it'll wear the shoe out.
1077
00:51:35,425 --> 00:51:38,929
Black folks in America
got a callus around their souls.
1078
00:51:38,970 --> 00:51:40,514
And if the system
don't back up their shoe,
1079
00:51:40,555 --> 00:51:42,140
it's gonna be wore out.
1080
00:51:42,182 --> 00:51:44,643
1081
00:51:44,684 --> 00:51:49,106
[indistinct shouting]
1082
00:51:49,147 --> 00:51:51,608
There used to be many
who doubted the motives
1083
00:51:51,650 --> 00:51:53,819
of Dick Gregory.
1084
00:51:53,860 --> 00:51:56,988
He's been a leading figure
in the civil rights movement,
1085
00:51:57,030 --> 00:51:59,491
and yet he is billed as a comic.
1086
00:51:59,533 --> 00:52:03,161
Uh, there were charges
of publicity, money, career.
1087
00:52:03,203 --> 00:52:07,124
Recently, he was shot
in a race riot in Los Angeles.
1088
00:52:07,165 --> 00:52:08,625
He and his family
have been jailed
1089
00:52:08,667 --> 00:52:10,418
both in the North and South.
1090
00:52:10,460 --> 00:52:11,920
He won his fame as a comedian,
1091
00:52:11,962 --> 00:52:16,007
and yet his fellow negro comics
say his dedication
1092
00:52:16,049 --> 00:52:18,677
has blunted his humor,
1093
00:52:18,718 --> 00:52:19,803
that he's lost his sense
of satire,
1094
00:52:19,845 --> 00:52:22,514
that he's now more angry
than funny
1095
00:52:22,556 --> 00:52:25,600
Judge for yourself,
'cause we believe him to be
1096
00:52:25,642 --> 00:52:27,644
a funny, funny, courageous man.
1097
00:52:27,686 --> 00:52:30,105
Here is Dick Gregory. Yeah.
1098
00:52:30,147 --> 00:52:34,442
[band playing uptempo jazz,
applause]
1099
00:52:34,484 --> 00:52:39,865
1100
00:52:42,075 --> 00:52:47,205
[applause continues]
1101
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:53,170
[cheers and applause]
1102
00:52:56,756 --> 00:52:58,300
[applause subsides]
1103
00:52:58,341 --> 00:53:00,510
[laughter]
1104
00:53:00,552 --> 00:53:06,308
And nobody's not that funny,
but you're about to convince me.
1105
00:53:06,349 --> 00:53:09,853
[applause]
1106
00:53:09,895 --> 00:53:12,397
We give so much
to celebrities.
1107
00:53:12,439 --> 00:53:15,442
1108
00:53:15,483 --> 00:53:16,943
We want 'em to be perfect.
1109
00:53:16,985 --> 00:53:22,199
1110
00:53:24,951 --> 00:53:28,663
As long as all the negativity
you're doing is glamorous,
1111
00:53:28,705 --> 00:53:30,165
you could be a drunkard,
1112
00:53:30,207 --> 00:53:32,417
you could be hooked to dope,
1113
00:53:32,459 --> 00:53:36,254
we can still admire you
1114
00:53:36,296 --> 00:53:38,048
Come out here and get to saying
1115
00:53:38,089 --> 00:53:42,344
that we can't treat women
a certain way or...
1116
00:53:42,385 --> 00:53:45,347
Catholics a certain way
or Jews a certain way
1117
00:53:45,388 --> 00:53:50,018
or Blacks a certain way,
Chicanos a certain way
1118
00:53:50,060 --> 00:53:52,562
then you can lose
your celebrity status.
1119
00:53:52,604 --> 00:53:58,443
1120
00:53:58,485 --> 00:53:59,653
You get dirty.
1121
00:53:59,694 --> 00:54:02,989
1122
00:54:03,031 --> 00:54:05,158
There are certain people
in society
1123
00:54:05,200 --> 00:54:07,577
who love you
but can't touch you.
1124
00:54:07,619 --> 00:54:10,247
1125
00:54:10,288 --> 00:54:12,916
If I was young enough
to get drafted,
1126
00:54:12,958 --> 00:54:14,876
I would wait till I got
my induction notice,
1127
00:54:14,918 --> 00:54:16,795
then, uh, show up
in the draft board,
1128
00:54:16,836 --> 00:54:18,255
and they give you that little
questionnaire to fill out,
1129
00:54:18,296 --> 00:54:19,881
and when it got
to that little section
1130
00:54:19,923 --> 00:54:23,301
that said "Occupation,"
I would just write "murderer."
1131
00:54:23,343 --> 00:54:24,844
[laughter]
1132
00:54:24,886 --> 00:54:27,305
That sounds funny, but you know,
we got such dumb laws
1133
00:54:27,347 --> 00:54:28,932
in this country, we would never
be permitted by law
1134
00:54:28,974 --> 00:54:31,643
to draft a murderer into
the army to send him to Vietnam
1135
00:54:31,685 --> 00:54:33,645
to kill Viet Cong?
1136
00:54:33,687 --> 00:54:35,730
[laughter]
1137
00:54:35,772 --> 00:54:39,317
It was one thing to talk about
moving into your neighborhood.
1138
00:54:39,359 --> 00:54:43,780
That was...That was something
that he said on the Paar show.
1139
00:54:43,822 --> 00:54:47,075
But it was another thing to talk
about the war of Vietnam.
1140
00:54:47,117 --> 00:54:48,618
The Federal Bureau
of Investigation
1141
00:54:48,660 --> 00:54:52,789
is waging and will continue
to wage a relentless warfare
1142
00:54:52,831 --> 00:54:55,292
against crime and criminals.
1143
00:54:55,333 --> 00:54:58,128
Further advances
against the insidious activities
1144
00:54:58,169 --> 00:54:59,587
of underworld characters
1145
00:54:59,629 --> 00:55:02,048
and their vicious,
conspiring parasites
1146
00:55:02,090 --> 00:55:04,592
must yet be made.
1147
00:55:04,634 --> 00:55:08,179
Hoover had written, "Watch this
negro comedian Dick Gregory."
1148
00:55:08,221 --> 00:55:12,100
Only a fool today would sit back
and blame Hitler's army
1149
00:55:12,142 --> 00:55:13,518
and not blame Hitler.
1150
00:55:13,560 --> 00:55:15,103
That's why the whole world
is looking at us
1151
00:55:15,145 --> 00:55:17,856
very critical now.
1152
00:55:17,897 --> 00:55:21,151
Because anytime we can go
to Vietnam
1153
00:55:21,192 --> 00:55:23,528
and do the same thing there
Hitler was doing,
1154
00:55:23,570 --> 00:55:25,572
the world will know it will not
be too much longer
1155
00:55:25,613 --> 00:55:27,282
before they do it to us.
1156
00:55:27,324 --> 00:55:30,410
[Greg] The head of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
1157
00:55:30,452 --> 00:55:35,790
signed a letter asking for
the FBI to do an investigation
1158
00:55:35,832 --> 00:55:38,043
of Dick Gregory.
1159
00:55:38,084 --> 00:55:41,379
[Dick] This secret, secret
police was out to discredit you,
1160
00:55:41,421 --> 00:55:44,466
not to help you
but to discredit you.
1161
00:55:44,507 --> 00:55:48,887
It said, "Chicago, as office
on Richard Claxton Gregory,
1162
00:55:48,928 --> 00:55:50,805
also known as Dick Gregory,
1163
00:55:50,847 --> 00:55:52,307
Chicago should develop
1164
00:55:52,349 --> 00:55:56,227
counterintelligence measures
to neutralize him.
1165
00:55:56,269 --> 00:55:57,896
This should not be done
in the nature of an exposé,
1166
00:55:57,937 --> 00:56:01,524
since he already gets
far too much publicity.
1167
00:56:01,566 --> 00:56:04,944
Instead, sophisticated,
completely untraceable means
1168
00:56:04,986 --> 00:56:08,073
of neutralizing Dick Gregory
should be developed."
1169
00:56:08,114 --> 00:56:11,785
I had every government agency
in America's tapping my phone,
1170
00:56:11,826 --> 00:56:16,331
the CIA, the FBI, bunch of cats
we ain't never heard of.
1171
00:56:16,373 --> 00:56:17,582
[laughter]
1172
00:56:17,624 --> 00:56:20,335
Once in a while,
there would be phone calls,
1173
00:56:20,377 --> 00:56:22,128
and a telephone call
from Greg
1174
00:56:22,170 --> 00:56:27,675
would usually be
at three o'clock in the morning.
1175
00:56:27,717 --> 00:56:29,052
And it would be a whisper.
1176
00:56:29,094 --> 00:56:31,179
And he would always say...
1177
00:56:31,221 --> 00:56:32,680
uh, "Talk clearly so the FBI
1178
00:56:32,722 --> 00:56:35,892
can understand
what you're saying." [laughs]
1179
00:56:35,934 --> 00:56:39,104
[Dick] You know, I mean,
I ain't into nothing.
1180
00:56:39,145 --> 00:56:40,855
[laughter]
1181
00:56:40,897 --> 00:56:42,440
And I mean,
1182
00:56:42,482 --> 00:56:45,443
they know I know
they're tapping the phone.
1183
00:56:45,485 --> 00:56:47,195
[laughter]
1184
00:56:47,237 --> 00:56:51,783
The people booking entertainers,
especially comedians, said,
1185
00:56:51,825 --> 00:56:53,618
"We don't wanna talk
about the war in Vietnam.
1186
00:56:53,660 --> 00:56:56,788
We don't wanna talk about
civil rights movement."
1187
00:56:56,830 --> 00:57:00,792
And he realized he was talking
to the wrong people.
1188
00:57:00,834 --> 00:57:05,338
1960s rock music
1189
00:57:05,380 --> 00:57:07,966
1190
00:57:08,007 --> 00:57:11,970
He was getting a lot of calls
from universities and colleges
1191
00:57:12,011 --> 00:57:16,141
all over the country
who wanted to hear him talk.
1192
00:57:16,182 --> 00:57:18,518
These are educated young people
1193
00:57:18,560 --> 00:57:21,271
who were really interested
in changing the world.
1194
00:57:22,856 --> 00:57:26,192
And it dawned on him that
this was the greatest audience
1195
00:57:26,234 --> 00:57:28,111
he could have.
1196
00:57:28,153 --> 00:57:29,362
[Dick] You know how it felt
1197
00:57:29,404 --> 00:57:31,489
with the civil rights
legislation is?
1198
00:57:31,531 --> 00:57:33,199
White folks in America
gonna get their rights
1199
00:57:33,241 --> 00:57:34,325
under the United States
Constitution,
1200
00:57:34,367 --> 00:57:35,285
and Black folks got to get
our rights
1201
00:57:35,326 --> 00:57:38,288
under civil rights legislation.
1202
00:57:38,329 --> 00:57:40,999
I don't want my rights
on no damn installment plan.
1203
00:57:41,040 --> 00:57:42,917
He was like the most popular,
1204
00:57:42,959 --> 00:57:46,337
most in-demand guest lecturer
you could find.
1205
00:57:46,379 --> 00:57:48,006
You got three hours
of information,
1206
00:57:48,047 --> 00:57:51,676
and it was from one of
the funniest guys in the planet.
1207
00:57:51,718 --> 00:57:54,345
I got on the plane yesterday
morning flying in here,
1208
00:57:54,387 --> 00:57:56,181
and I'm on my way to my seat,
1209
00:57:56,222 --> 00:57:57,974
and this old white cat
sitting there,
1210
00:57:58,016 --> 00:58:01,352
looked at me and say, "Uh, uh,
can I talk to you, my brother?"
1211
00:58:01,394 --> 00:58:06,524
[laughter and applause]
1212
00:58:08,610 --> 00:58:11,488
Your what?
1213
00:58:11,529 --> 00:58:13,364
Things have got so bad,
I'm your brother now.
1214
00:58:13,406 --> 00:58:15,950
He had
this vast college audience.
1215
00:58:15,992 --> 00:58:18,578
You see,
the word "white liberals"
1216
00:58:18,620 --> 00:58:20,538
is an unconscious racist
statement
1217
00:58:20,580 --> 00:58:25,001
because nobody's ever admitted
that we got Black liberals,
1218
00:58:25,043 --> 00:58:28,004
which is far more worse
than white liberals, definitely.
1219
00:58:28,046 --> 00:58:29,380
[laughter]
1220
00:58:29,422 --> 00:58:30,882
[applause]
1221
00:58:30,924 --> 00:58:33,426
The reason I spend about 90%
of my time
1222
00:58:33,468 --> 00:58:36,596
on college campuses today
because I sincerely feel
1223
00:58:36,638 --> 00:58:38,515
that the young people
in this country today
1224
00:58:38,556 --> 00:58:40,183
are the most honest, ethical,
dedicated, committed
1225
00:58:40,225 --> 00:58:42,685
group of young people that's
ever lived in this country.
1226
00:58:42,727 --> 00:58:45,939
You young folks have come
to the nation's Capitol today
1227
00:58:45,980 --> 00:58:49,734
to do away with
the military industrial complex.
1228
00:58:49,776 --> 00:58:51,778
We're gonna see to it
1229
00:58:51,819 --> 00:58:54,739
there will be no more war!
1230
00:58:54,781 --> 00:58:57,492
[cheering]
1231
00:58:57,534 --> 00:59:00,036
The promises
of the great society
1232
00:59:00,078 --> 00:59:04,874
have been shot down
on the battlefield of Vietnam.
1233
00:59:04,916 --> 00:59:10,505
The war on Vietnam
was the demarcation point
1234
00:59:10,547 --> 00:59:13,925
for him, for Dr. King,
for a lot of people.
1235
00:59:13,967 --> 00:59:18,346
That was the point where they
had to give up everything.
1236
00:59:18,388 --> 00:59:21,641
[Dick] But being an agitator,
1237
00:59:21,683 --> 00:59:27,730
I realize that you get
dirt on you.
1238
00:59:27,772 --> 00:59:31,609
But looking at my children
wash their hands,
1239
00:59:31,651 --> 00:59:34,362
I can tell the intensity
of their playing
1240
00:59:34,404 --> 00:59:38,491
according to how dirty
the soap is.
1241
00:59:39,200 --> 00:59:43,454
Dirty soap don't bother me
'cause I can wash it clean.
1242
00:59:45,081 --> 00:59:49,210
But looking at that, I realized
that I'm America's soap,
1243
00:59:49,252 --> 00:59:53,339
and all the dirt you see on me
come off of America.
1244
00:59:53,381 --> 00:59:56,593
1245
00:59:56,634 --> 01:00:00,805
For those who say to me,
"Stick to civil rights,"
1246
01:00:00,847 --> 01:00:03,474
I have another answer.
1247
01:00:03,516 --> 01:00:06,728
Injustice anywhere
1248
01:00:06,769 --> 01:00:10,690
is a threat
to justice everywhere.
1249
01:00:13,276 --> 01:00:15,111
Dr. King was standing
on the balcony
1250
01:00:15,153 --> 01:00:17,322
of a second floor hotel room
tonight,
1251
01:00:17,363 --> 01:00:20,283
when according to a companion,
a shot was fired
1252
01:00:20,325 --> 01:00:22,660
from across the street.
1253
01:00:22,702 --> 01:00:26,414
somber music
1254
01:00:26,456 --> 01:00:29,167
[Lillian]
And they killed Dr. King.
1255
01:00:29,208 --> 01:00:31,336
There was no turning around.
1256
01:00:31,377 --> 01:00:33,630
Dick was just despondent,
crushed,
1257
01:00:33,671 --> 01:00:36,549
and just terrible, terrible.
1258
01:00:36,591 --> 01:00:40,178
[Dick] You have to realize
that we are living
1259
01:00:40,219 --> 01:00:43,514
in a country that's so prone
to killing that they...
1260
01:00:43,556 --> 01:00:46,017
that a man of peace
and kindness and of love
1261
01:00:46,059 --> 01:00:49,479
like Dr. Martin Luther King
can die a violent death,
1262
01:00:49,520 --> 01:00:52,357
hated by Americans
1263
01:00:52,398 --> 01:00:56,069
while our generals of the army
is loved in big parades
1264
01:00:56,110 --> 01:00:57,695
and standing ovation.
1265
01:00:57,737 --> 01:01:01,449
That's the mess you youngsters
is fixing to inherit.
1266
01:01:01,491 --> 01:01:03,284
1267
01:01:03,326 --> 01:01:07,038
When you asked me to be
nonviolent in Mississippi...
1268
01:01:07,080 --> 01:01:09,374
1269
01:01:09,415 --> 01:01:14,545
...or go to Vietnam and be
so violent, I can be a hero,
1270
01:01:14,587 --> 01:01:17,632
to someone that's never
smacked my mother,
1271
01:01:17,674 --> 01:01:21,219
to someone that's never
insulted my children.
1272
01:01:21,260 --> 01:01:23,721
You know, America,
1273
01:01:23,763 --> 01:01:25,973
you're gonna have
to stop expecting
1274
01:01:26,015 --> 01:01:29,143
Black folks to be better
than them.
1275
01:01:29,185 --> 01:01:34,232
1276
01:01:34,273 --> 01:01:36,567
I didn't know what I could do
to protest strongly
1277
01:01:36,609 --> 01:01:39,904
the war in Vietnam,
1278
01:01:39,946 --> 01:01:43,449
and I thought that if I did
a 40-day fast,
1279
01:01:43,491 --> 01:01:44,742
it come dramatize the issue
1280
01:01:44,784 --> 01:01:46,411
better than any other way
I knew.
1281
01:01:46,452 --> 01:01:48,037
funk rock music
1282
01:01:48,079 --> 01:01:50,248
[male reporter]
The White House announced
1283
01:01:50,289 --> 01:01:52,917
that another 50,000 troops
would be sent to Vietnam,
1284
01:01:52,959 --> 01:01:55,086
bringing the total
to nearly half a million.
1285
01:01:55,128 --> 01:01:58,923
That call probably broke
into a weeklong series
1286
01:01:58,965 --> 01:02:01,134
of increasingly
bloody demonstrations.
1287
01:02:01,175 --> 01:02:02,510
The draft week continued
today...
1288
01:02:02,552 --> 01:02:06,848
1968 really was a unique year.
1289
01:02:06,889 --> 01:02:09,934
Some historians have said
it was like a second civil war.
1290
01:02:09,976 --> 01:02:12,520
The fight for freedom
and to end all communism.
1291
01:02:12,562 --> 01:02:14,689
And these punks here
walking around,
1292
01:02:14,731 --> 01:02:17,442
that's what you call anarchy
and treason.
1293
01:02:17,483 --> 01:02:20,778
For the first time
in American history,
1294
01:02:20,820 --> 01:02:24,449
there was a very serious
anti-war movement.
1295
01:02:24,490 --> 01:02:28,786
I'm just sad you young folks
don't tie up and paralyze
1296
01:02:28,828 --> 01:02:31,122
every city in America,
because there should be
1297
01:02:31,164 --> 01:02:34,459
no order of business
in this country anymore
1298
01:02:34,500 --> 01:02:36,419
but the business
that's at hand.
1299
01:02:36,461 --> 01:02:39,297
Yes, I'm determined to set
an example as an individual,
1300
01:02:39,338 --> 01:02:41,424
American, lawfully protesting
1301
01:02:41,466 --> 01:02:43,801
against my government's
involvement
1302
01:02:43,843 --> 01:02:45,762
in the war on Vietnam,
and we're probably
1303
01:02:45,803 --> 01:02:48,681
the only country in the world,
uh, that's overfed,
1304
01:02:48,723 --> 01:02:51,684
and I think the fact of...
of someone in our society
1305
01:02:51,726 --> 01:02:53,311
as we know it
withdrawing from food
1306
01:02:53,352 --> 01:02:54,854
from Thanksgiving to Christmas,
1307
01:02:54,896 --> 01:02:57,190
I think this will have
a tremendous effect.
1308
01:02:57,231 --> 01:02:59,776
I don't know anything that I
ever did in the whole movement
1309
01:02:59,817 --> 01:03:03,780
that got as much press reaction
as that 40-day fast.
1310
01:03:03,821 --> 01:03:08,826
[applause]
1311
01:03:12,580 --> 01:03:14,248
[applause subsides]
1312
01:03:14,290 --> 01:03:17,126
[laughter]
1313
01:03:17,168 --> 01:03:20,004
1314
01:03:20,046 --> 01:03:22,173
You know, this is my...
my 14th month
1315
01:03:22,215 --> 01:03:26,302
of not eating any solid food in
protest of the war in Vietnam,
1316
01:03:26,344 --> 01:03:30,139
and the reason I mention that to
you now is because I'm hungry.
1317
01:03:30,181 --> 01:03:31,641
[laughter]
1318
01:03:31,682 --> 01:03:34,519
What do you have now
in the course of a day?
1319
01:03:34,560 --> 01:03:36,938
Uh, fruit juice and water.
I travel with a juicing machine,
1320
01:03:36,979 --> 01:03:38,481
not to be mixed up
with a blender.
1321
01:03:38,523 --> 01:03:41,651
This is where you put it in,
and it extracts the juice.
1322
01:03:41,692 --> 01:03:44,111
Sends the juice one way
and the pulp go another.
1323
01:03:44,153 --> 01:03:45,613
You really feel well?
Still feel well?
1324
01:03:45,655 --> 01:03:47,031
I really...I really feel good,
yeah.
1325
01:03:47,073 --> 01:03:51,160
I go through little periods
of...of...of hunger.
1326
01:03:51,202 --> 01:03:52,495
Do you dream of
cheesecake or anything--
1327
01:03:52,537 --> 01:03:54,539
Man, I dream of dog food.
1328
01:03:54,580 --> 01:03:57,208
[laughter]
1329
01:03:57,250 --> 01:03:58,751
- [applause]
- Cheesecake.
1330
01:03:58,793 --> 01:04:04,715
Eight ounces of water,
eight glasses a day.
1331
01:04:04,757 --> 01:04:07,009
You're starving yourself. Why?
1332
01:04:07,051 --> 01:04:10,388
And he said, "Because what'll
happen is people will ask you,
1333
01:04:10,429 --> 01:04:14,183
'Why aren't you eating?'
And then once they ask you,
1334
01:04:14,225 --> 01:04:19,063
you now get to explain to them
what the issue is about."
1335
01:04:19,105 --> 01:04:22,900
The United States Constitution
talks about justice,
1336
01:04:22,942 --> 01:04:25,528
and I think that
we're being shortchanged
1337
01:04:25,570 --> 01:04:27,530
because everybody's worried
about communism.
1338
01:04:27,572 --> 01:04:29,740
If America could become
as frightened
1339
01:04:29,782 --> 01:04:34,078
of things like injustices
as she is of communism,
1340
01:04:34,120 --> 01:04:36,747
and wipe it out
with all of the vigor
1341
01:04:36,789 --> 01:04:38,416
she's trying to
wipe out communism,
1342
01:04:38,457 --> 01:04:40,251
this would be a groovy country,
1343
01:04:40,293 --> 01:04:45,423
and that in itself would be
the greatest goal
1344
01:04:45,464 --> 01:04:48,885
in the history of communism.
1345
01:04:48,926 --> 01:04:51,095
You don't use the fast
to change the minds
1346
01:04:51,137 --> 01:04:54,682
or hearts of tyrants or to make
bad people good people,
1347
01:04:54,724 --> 01:04:56,934
but to create a positive force
1348
01:04:56,976 --> 01:05:00,021
where other positive forces
can join,
1349
01:05:00,062 --> 01:05:02,607
and eventually things
will change.
1350
01:05:02,648 --> 01:05:03,482
When he first said that,
you know,
1351
01:05:03,524 --> 01:05:05,484
he was going on a long fast,
1352
01:05:05,526 --> 01:05:07,695
I really thought he was
out of his mind
1353
01:05:07,737 --> 01:05:11,908
just to go that long, uh,
without eating.
1354
01:05:11,949 --> 01:05:14,493
And then when I would see him,
I would see how he was,
1355
01:05:14,535 --> 01:05:15,995
you know, losing weight.
1356
01:05:16,037 --> 01:05:19,332
[Dick] I weighed 288 pounds
when it started,
1357
01:05:19,373 --> 01:05:21,542
98 pounds when it finished.
1358
01:05:21,584 --> 01:05:25,087
- How's everybody?
- [man] How are you?
1359
01:05:25,129 --> 01:05:27,506
Do we need to test,
check for levels, everybody?
1360
01:05:27,548 --> 01:05:29,926
Testing one, two, three, four.
1361
01:05:29,967 --> 01:05:32,219
[man] Do you think this gesture
is futile?
1362
01:05:32,261 --> 01:05:34,555
Do you think it will really
bring about what you want?
1363
01:05:34,597 --> 01:05:37,642
I think if enough pressure
comes down,
1364
01:05:37,683 --> 01:05:39,894
uh, in the money areas,
1365
01:05:39,936 --> 01:05:42,229
I think it will have
a profound effect.
1366
01:05:42,271 --> 01:05:44,315
I didn't expect a tremendous
amount of college kids
1367
01:05:44,357 --> 01:05:46,817
to go on and fast.
1368
01:05:46,859 --> 01:05:48,402
Uh, matter of fact,
I've had to intercede
1369
01:05:48,444 --> 01:05:51,489
and get' em come off
because they wanted to go
1370
01:05:51,530 --> 01:05:53,658
for long, long periods.
1371
01:05:53,699 --> 01:05:55,618
Uh, word of mouth
had really carried it.
1372
01:05:55,660 --> 01:05:57,411
It's really surprising.
1373
01:05:57,453 --> 01:06:00,247
[man] You think this will have
a lasting effect on your health?
1374
01:06:00,289 --> 01:06:03,125
- On my health?
- Yeah.
1375
01:06:03,167 --> 01:06:05,169
I don't know.
I don't have any...no idea.
1376
01:06:05,211 --> 01:06:06,253
[man] Are you under
a doctor's care at all?
1377
01:06:06,295 --> 01:06:07,922
No.
1378
01:06:07,964 --> 01:06:11,342
Brother Dick also did
a tremendous amount of harm
1379
01:06:11,384 --> 01:06:13,678
to his body, not being
reckless and irresponsible,
1380
01:06:13,719 --> 01:06:16,889
but really prepared to die
for the movement,
1381
01:06:16,931 --> 01:06:22,561
and he just didn't know
how belated that fatal aspect
1382
01:06:22,603 --> 01:06:24,814
of what he was doing
was going to be.
1383
01:06:24,855 --> 01:06:27,108
1384
01:06:27,149 --> 01:06:28,734
[Dick] The minute you say
go on a fast,
1385
01:06:28,776 --> 01:06:34,240
they wanna know,
"Did you check with a doctor?"
1386
01:06:34,281 --> 01:06:35,908
See, people don't check with
a doctor when they snort coke.
1387
01:06:35,950 --> 01:06:37,493
People don't check with a doctor
when they smoke reefers.
1388
01:06:37,535 --> 01:06:39,495
People don't check with a doctor
when they smoke cigarettes.
1389
01:06:39,537 --> 01:06:43,708
1390
01:06:43,749 --> 01:06:46,335
As long as I was smoking
four packs of cigarettes a day
1391
01:06:46,377 --> 01:06:48,462
or drinking a fifth of Scotch
every day,
1392
01:06:48,504 --> 01:06:52,967
nobody worried about how I felt.
1393
01:06:53,009 --> 01:06:57,304
A lady named Dr. Fulton--
she basically taught me
1394
01:06:57,346 --> 01:07:00,933
what to look out for
and how much water to drink.
1395
01:07:00,975 --> 01:07:05,396
My success in fasting would be
thanks to Dr. Fulton.
1396
01:07:05,438 --> 01:07:09,608
The greatest nutritionist
in the history of the planet.
1397
01:07:09,650 --> 01:07:14,655
She had that special magic
of putting herbs together,
1398
01:07:14,697 --> 01:07:17,283
plus the prayer piece.
1399
01:07:17,324 --> 01:07:21,996
I have not run across anybody
like her yet.
1400
01:07:22,038 --> 01:07:26,042
[Bellamy] Dr. Fulton had
a health food store in Chicago.
1401
01:07:26,083 --> 01:07:29,462
She explained to him
that you need to do something
1402
01:07:29,503 --> 01:07:32,381
that's going to leave a legacy,
1403
01:07:32,423 --> 01:07:35,384
and it's important that you get
your health together.
1404
01:07:35,426 --> 01:07:40,222
[Dick] And we just talked and
talked and talked and talked,
1405
01:07:40,264 --> 01:07:43,059
and the next thing I know,
my whole life changed.
1406
01:07:43,100 --> 01:07:44,977
1407
01:07:45,019 --> 01:07:47,396
To smoke four to five packs
of cigarettes a day,
1408
01:07:47,438 --> 01:07:49,440
I started smoking when I was
13 years old,
1409
01:07:49,482 --> 01:07:50,941
and I smoked all the way up
to six months ago,
1410
01:07:50,983 --> 01:07:53,402
and I'll tell you why I quit.
1411
01:07:53,444 --> 01:07:56,363
[applause]
1412
01:07:56,405 --> 01:07:58,240
I did my homework,
and I looked up,
1413
01:07:58,282 --> 01:08:00,367
and I found out every time
I bought a pack of cigarettes,
1414
01:08:00,409 --> 01:08:02,995
I gave the government
eight cents tax,
1415
01:08:03,037 --> 01:08:04,622
and at the end of the year,
the cigarette industry
1416
01:08:04,663 --> 01:08:06,248
gave the government
$2 billion more,
1417
01:08:06,290 --> 01:08:09,251
and at that point, I decided
I will not catch cancer
1418
01:08:09,293 --> 01:08:13,589
and buy napalm and mace
at the same time.
1419
01:08:13,631 --> 01:08:17,009
[applause]
1420
01:08:17,051 --> 01:08:19,220
1421
01:08:19,261 --> 01:08:23,557
I really never understood hunger
until I went on a fast.
1422
01:08:23,599 --> 01:08:26,435
When I look at television,
I see a dog food commercial.
1423
01:08:26,477 --> 01:08:29,647
And I wanted some, and then
after I came off the fast,
1424
01:08:29,688 --> 01:08:31,398
I started checking,
1425
01:08:31,440 --> 01:08:34,235
and in St. Louis, Missouri,
they sell more dog food
1426
01:08:34,276 --> 01:08:36,570
in the stores
next to the projects
1427
01:08:36,612 --> 01:08:38,989
where the people are not
permitted to have dogs.
1428
01:08:39,031 --> 01:08:40,366
And for the first time,
I was aware
1429
01:08:40,407 --> 01:08:42,535
that how many people
was eating dog food.
1430
01:08:42,576 --> 01:08:45,079
And so consequently, when you
start looking at these things,
1431
01:08:45,121 --> 01:08:47,331
and then for the first time,
I started realizing,
1432
01:08:47,373 --> 01:08:50,584
you know, what crime
in the street is all about.
1433
01:08:50,626 --> 01:08:52,586
[Christian] My father
was profoundly impacted
1434
01:08:52,628 --> 01:08:54,421
by the nonviolence
of the civil rights movement.
1435
01:08:54,463 --> 01:08:56,841
That's what led to him
being a vegetarian
1436
01:08:56,882 --> 01:08:58,175
and then ultimately a vegan.
1437
01:08:58,217 --> 01:09:01,011
He figured, "If I am not
gonna harm another man,
1438
01:09:01,053 --> 01:09:04,390
I'm gonna give that same respect
to other living things."
1439
01:09:04,431 --> 01:09:06,433
The number one force
1440
01:09:06,475 --> 01:09:10,646
on this here thing
called planet Earth is us,
1441
01:09:10,688 --> 01:09:14,900
human, real, and one of
the things we need to survive
1442
01:09:14,942 --> 01:09:18,320
is what they call whole food.
1443
01:09:18,362 --> 01:09:21,407
We sort of take diet culture
as, like, that's just something
1444
01:09:21,448 --> 01:09:23,033
that we all do or we...
or, you know,
1445
01:09:23,075 --> 01:09:25,244
now I'm gonna eat vegetarian
or vegan.
1446
01:09:25,286 --> 01:09:27,037
But none
of that's happening then.
1447
01:09:27,079 --> 01:09:28,747
He was way ahead of his time
in that,
1448
01:09:28,789 --> 01:09:31,083
as far as, like, thinking about
what you put into your body
1449
01:09:31,125 --> 01:09:32,835
and how it helps you long-term.
1450
01:09:32,877 --> 01:09:35,921
poignant music
1451
01:09:35,963 --> 01:09:38,132
[Dick] I had
to get out of Chicago.
1452
01:09:38,174 --> 01:09:43,137
1453
01:09:43,179 --> 01:09:46,140
Be where the air was pure
1454
01:09:46,182 --> 01:09:49,143
and, uh, where you had
some room to move around in.
1455
01:09:49,185 --> 01:09:54,273
1456
01:09:54,315 --> 01:09:56,525
Close to nature.
1457
01:09:56,567 --> 01:09:59,153
1458
01:09:59,195 --> 01:10:01,655
So Lill got out the hospital
with baby number 10,
1459
01:10:01,697 --> 01:10:04,909
and we packed up everything,
and I wanted to find a place
1460
01:10:04,950 --> 01:10:10,664
where the children could have
fresh air and clean water.
1461
01:10:10,706 --> 01:10:13,584
My first reaction, I looked out
and saw this water.
1462
01:10:13,626 --> 01:10:15,586
I said, oh, God, the...all
my children are gonna drown.
1463
01:10:15,628 --> 01:10:17,254
[laughs]
1464
01:10:17,296 --> 01:10:20,591
It seemed like that road was,
like, 20 miles long,
1465
01:10:20,633 --> 01:10:23,594
and I said, wait a minute.
You mean the kids
1466
01:10:23,636 --> 01:10:26,555
that are school age, they gotta
go up and down that road?
1467
01:10:26,597 --> 01:10:29,058
It just seemed like we were
in the middle of nowhere.
1468
01:10:29,099 --> 01:10:33,270
I probably was in tears
every day.
1469
01:10:33,312 --> 01:10:38,108
Take a family of 10 Black kids
from, you know, Chicago,
1470
01:10:38,150 --> 01:10:39,735
and move them
to Plymouth, Massachusetts,
1471
01:10:39,777 --> 01:10:43,614
and I joke with people often
that when we moved in '73,
1472
01:10:43,656 --> 01:10:46,617
we integrated the town.
1473
01:10:46,659 --> 01:10:49,286
First day of school,
you know, the teacher...
1474
01:10:49,328 --> 01:10:52,498
"Uh, Gregory Greg?" One name,
and, you know, all...
1475
01:10:52,539 --> 01:10:53,791
all eyes on me.
1476
01:10:53,832 --> 01:10:56,919
We hated it at first,
but as we grew older,
1477
01:10:56,961 --> 01:10:59,630
man, what a...what a blessing
it was, you know?
1478
01:10:59,672 --> 01:11:04,385
After a while, just suddenly,
I fell in love with it.
1479
01:11:04,426 --> 01:11:08,973
1480
01:11:09,014 --> 01:11:11,600
[Dick] There's something
about nature.
1481
01:11:11,642 --> 01:11:14,937
There's something about outside.
1482
01:11:14,979 --> 01:11:19,108
It changed my whole life.
1483
01:11:19,149 --> 01:11:22,820
It gave me a new energy.
1484
01:11:22,861 --> 01:11:25,322
One of my small daughters,
I said, "Hey, come here."
1485
01:11:25,364 --> 01:11:27,741
And she walked up.
She said, "What do you want?"
1486
01:11:27,783 --> 01:11:30,077
I said, "Give me some sugar."
And she looked at me.
1487
01:11:30,119 --> 01:11:31,787
She said, "What's that?"
1488
01:11:31,829 --> 01:11:33,330
- [laughter]
- Oh, wow.
1489
01:11:33,372 --> 01:11:34,748
We never had sugar
in the house.
1490
01:11:34,790 --> 01:11:36,292
That's great.
1491
01:11:36,333 --> 01:11:38,627
[Christian] We had this
extreme diet of veganism
1492
01:11:38,669 --> 01:11:40,713
where not only was it
no animal products,
1493
01:11:40,754 --> 01:11:43,841
it was, you know,
no white flour, no white sugar,
1494
01:11:43,882 --> 01:11:45,551
no fried foods.
1495
01:11:45,592 --> 01:11:47,678
Couldn't eat what we wanted,
stuff, you know,
1496
01:11:47,720 --> 01:11:50,514
folks were hiding things
in different places,
1497
01:11:50,556 --> 01:11:52,683
and all I knew is that
when Dad came home,
1498
01:11:52,725 --> 01:11:55,185
a lot of stuff got shut down.
1499
01:11:55,227 --> 01:11:57,688
I remember one day,
they got a pizza that
1500
01:11:57,730 --> 01:11:59,815
they weren't supposed to have.
1501
01:11:59,857 --> 01:12:04,153
He got a chain and put it
around the refrigerator
1502
01:12:04,194 --> 01:12:06,322
and says, "When you get
the food that is supposed
1503
01:12:06,363 --> 01:12:09,992
to be in this refrigerator,
I'll take the lock off."
1504
01:12:10,034 --> 01:12:12,536
And that lasted three days.
1505
01:12:12,578 --> 01:12:14,455
[Frost] There's all the talk
of divorce today and of...
1506
01:12:14,496 --> 01:12:16,040
of love that doesn't last
and so on.
1507
01:12:16,081 --> 01:12:18,542
Does it seem like
a foreign land to you?
1508
01:12:18,584 --> 01:12:20,502
No, I feel...I feel strange
talking about it
1509
01:12:20,544 --> 01:12:22,171
'cause I'm not home
most of the time.
1510
01:12:22,212 --> 01:12:25,883
[Lillian] He was always gone.
He was gone out of the country.
1511
01:12:25,924 --> 01:12:28,177
One of the kids said,
"Oh. Like, you're a stranger."
1512
01:12:28,218 --> 01:12:32,056
[laughs] And he didn't
take that very well.
1513
01:12:32,097 --> 01:12:33,849
By his admission,
he was probably gone
1514
01:12:33,891 --> 01:12:37,353
from the homestead
90% of the time.
1515
01:12:37,394 --> 01:12:40,731
I think to a great extent,
Dick Gregory
1516
01:12:40,773 --> 01:12:45,569
struggled with the effort
to mix his family
1517
01:12:45,611 --> 01:12:48,530
and his responsibility
as a citizen
1518
01:12:48,572 --> 01:12:50,366
and to the civil rights
movement.
1519
01:12:50,407 --> 01:12:52,451
I think he didn't know how
to do it sometimes.
1520
01:12:52,493 --> 01:12:56,955
1521
01:12:56,997 --> 01:13:01,168
Lill imbued in the kids
an understanding
1522
01:13:01,210 --> 01:13:04,713
that their father
was really being
1523
01:13:04,755 --> 01:13:07,466
a father to the world also.
1524
01:13:07,508 --> 01:13:09,968
[Lillian] It was a family
where you knew
1525
01:13:10,010 --> 01:13:11,553
you were doing something good.
1526
01:13:11,595 --> 01:13:13,430
You were doing something
for the cause,
1527
01:13:13,472 --> 01:13:16,683
and even though he was gone
more than not,
1528
01:13:16,725 --> 01:13:18,602
he had enough faith in me
to know that I could take care
1529
01:13:18,644 --> 01:13:20,354
of everything at home.
1530
01:13:20,396 --> 01:13:24,024
[Christian] The farm that
us Gregorys grew up on
1531
01:13:24,066 --> 01:13:27,236
in Plymouth, Massachusetts,
was called Tower Hill Farm.
1532
01:13:27,277 --> 01:13:30,114
Tower Hill Farm was a lot of
things for the Gregory family.
1533
01:13:30,155 --> 01:13:32,449
But for my father,
it was his workshop.
1534
01:13:32,491 --> 01:13:35,953
It was where he formulated
his 4X Formula.
1535
01:13:35,994 --> 01:13:40,040
The 4X Formula was
a combination of vitamins
1536
01:13:40,082 --> 01:13:42,459
and nutrients,
ground into a powder
1537
01:13:42,501 --> 01:13:45,921
that you would scoop and mix
with water or juice.
1538
01:13:45,963 --> 01:13:48,465
We would go to whatever health
food store was in the city.
1539
01:13:48,507 --> 01:13:51,468
He spent about $2,000, $3,000
on vitamins,
1540
01:13:51,510 --> 01:13:53,595
and he would make
individual packs,
1541
01:13:53,637 --> 01:13:55,305
and he would be up
all night long in the kitchen,
1542
01:13:55,347 --> 01:13:58,308
just making pill packs.
1543
01:13:58,350 --> 01:14:02,604
It was a secret concoction
of ingredients
1544
01:14:02,646 --> 01:14:04,440
that Dick Gregory
had put together,
1545
01:14:04,481 --> 01:14:07,860
and any individual that
he found had a health issue,
1546
01:14:07,901 --> 01:14:10,487
he would literally put
his formula together
1547
01:14:10,529 --> 01:14:13,073
and send it to him for free.
1548
01:14:13,115 --> 01:14:16,577
Greg played a...
a very important role,
1549
01:14:16,618 --> 01:14:20,330
as told by Yoko Ono
in finding a formula
1550
01:14:20,372 --> 01:14:24,835
to get both she
and John Lennon off of drugs.
1551
01:14:24,877 --> 01:14:26,795
[Christian]
My dad and Michael Jackson
1552
01:14:26,837 --> 01:14:28,964
flew over to Ethiopia
during the famine
1553
01:14:29,006 --> 01:14:31,967
and were able to save
hundreds of infants
1554
01:14:32,009 --> 01:14:35,846
by bringing that product over
and paying the money theirselves
1555
01:14:35,888 --> 01:14:37,514
to distribute it.
1556
01:14:37,556 --> 01:14:40,684
He influenced individuals,
not just in the United States,
1557
01:14:40,726 --> 01:14:42,352
but globally,
1558
01:14:42,394 --> 01:14:46,523
people start drinking water
1559
01:14:46,565 --> 01:14:49,109
because of Dick Gregory,
because when he said to them,
1560
01:14:49,151 --> 01:14:50,944
that no matter what
your disease,
1561
01:14:50,986 --> 01:14:52,529
no matter what your ailment,
1562
01:14:52,571 --> 01:14:56,200
no matter what
your health challenge may be,
1563
01:14:56,241 --> 01:14:57,951
if you just increase
your water intake,
1564
01:14:57,993 --> 01:15:00,037
you will find yourself
improving.
1565
01:15:00,078 --> 01:15:01,580
That made sense to people.
1566
01:15:01,622 --> 01:15:03,499
And so around the world,
millions of us
1567
01:15:03,540 --> 01:15:05,876
started consuming
large amounts of water
1568
01:15:05,918 --> 01:15:07,961
for the first time in our lives.
1569
01:15:08,003 --> 01:15:10,964
We're talking about people
starving right now.
1570
01:15:11,006 --> 01:15:12,216
We're talking about a world
1571
01:15:12,257 --> 01:15:15,052
where there's
a half a billion people
1572
01:15:15,093 --> 01:15:17,221
that could be dead
from starvation
1573
01:15:17,262 --> 01:15:20,557
in the next six months,
and I'm just insulted
1574
01:15:20,599 --> 01:15:24,436
living in a nation that can send
tanks around the world
1575
01:15:24,478 --> 01:15:25,854
but can't send turnips,
1576
01:15:25,896 --> 01:15:28,607
that can supply the whole world
with napalm,
1577
01:15:28,649 --> 01:15:30,150
but not fertilizer.
1578
01:15:30,192 --> 01:15:34,905
rhythmic drum music
1579
01:15:34,947 --> 01:15:39,826
1580
01:15:39,868 --> 01:15:42,871
I ran from Chicago
to Washington, D.C.,
1581
01:15:42,913 --> 01:15:45,541
drinking nothing
but orange juice, fruit juice,
1582
01:15:45,582 --> 01:15:47,584
and taking this solution,
1583
01:15:47,626 --> 01:15:49,920
which the base of it being kelp,
k-e-l-p, which is seaweed,
1584
01:15:49,962 --> 01:15:53,215
which is 70 million tons
laying off the Indian Ocean.
1585
01:15:53,257 --> 01:15:57,761
One heaping tablespoon full
were to keep you alive.
1586
01:15:57,803 --> 01:16:01,306
We can produce this now
at five cents a day per person.
1587
01:16:01,348 --> 01:16:05,269
[indistinct conversations]
1588
01:16:05,310 --> 01:16:08,939
We're not gonna tolerate
living in a world
1589
01:16:08,981 --> 01:16:13,026
where millions of people
gon' die for lack of food.
1590
01:16:13,068 --> 01:16:14,319
This is what it's all about.
1591
01:16:14,361 --> 01:16:17,990
When he was running
across the country,
1592
01:16:18,031 --> 01:16:20,534
he was telling the press
and telling anyone
1593
01:16:20,576 --> 01:16:23,453
that would listen
that this country
1594
01:16:23,495 --> 01:16:27,374
is going to experience
a serious epidemic
1595
01:16:27,416 --> 01:16:31,336
in obesity, diabetes,
high blood pressure,
1596
01:16:31,378 --> 01:16:33,839
and all kinds of illnesses.
1597
01:16:33,880 --> 01:16:37,634
The newest stunt was gonna be
a cross-country run.
1598
01:16:37,676 --> 01:16:39,761
[Dick] We're gonna run
from New York City
1599
01:16:39,803 --> 01:16:43,098
all away cross
to Los Angeles, California,
1600
01:16:43,140 --> 01:16:46,310
to dramatize
that there's a need
1601
01:16:46,351 --> 01:16:49,271
for all the major governments
to deal
1602
01:16:49,313 --> 01:16:50,981
with the hungry people
in the world
1603
01:16:51,023 --> 01:16:52,065
and that this food do work.
1604
01:16:52,107 --> 01:16:54,651
1605
01:16:54,693 --> 01:16:57,070
[Christian] He got wind
that a schoolteacher
1606
01:16:57,112 --> 01:16:58,572
by the name of Gordon Brooks
1607
01:16:58,614 --> 01:17:00,407
had already mapped out a route
1608
01:17:00,449 --> 01:17:02,200
and was planning
to do the same thing.
1609
01:17:02,242 --> 01:17:06,705
He called me up and said,
"Hey, brother, how you doing?
1610
01:17:06,747 --> 01:17:09,416
I want you to coordinate my run
from L.A. to New York,"
1611
01:17:09,458 --> 01:17:12,878
and I went, "Okay."
1612
01:17:12,919 --> 01:17:17,507
Yeah, I got to spend, like,
four or five months with him,
1613
01:17:17,549 --> 01:17:19,509
and he kept me cracked up
all the time.
1614
01:17:19,551 --> 01:17:21,345
[laughs]
1615
01:17:21,386 --> 01:17:22,596
Sometimes, we'd have to hop
in the van
1616
01:17:22,638 --> 01:17:25,515
and get to a media event,
1617
01:17:25,557 --> 01:17:28,644
because he was trying
to raise awareness.
1618
01:17:28,685 --> 01:17:30,896
John Doe citizens should not
have to go around
1619
01:17:30,937 --> 01:17:33,815
running across countries
to feed hungry people.
1620
01:17:33,857 --> 01:17:39,404
He was always trying to test
the public, test the media.
1621
01:17:39,446 --> 01:17:43,075
Nobody believed he could do it.
1622
01:17:43,116 --> 01:17:48,955
And he did it, basically,
on a total fast.
1623
01:17:48,997 --> 01:17:51,875
That was the scary part.
1624
01:17:51,917 --> 01:17:54,878
1625
01:17:59,383 --> 01:18:01,468
[Dick]
We're averaging 50 miles a day,
1626
01:18:01,510 --> 01:18:03,762
which is the equivalent
of two marathons a day.
1627
01:18:03,804 --> 01:18:06,098
1628
01:18:06,139 --> 01:18:10,268
Pain going through my body
that it's hard to believe
1629
01:18:10,310 --> 01:18:13,563
that the human body could take.
1630
01:18:13,605 --> 01:18:18,318
[Brooks] The pain that
Dick Gregory was going through
1631
01:18:18,360 --> 01:18:22,447
was beyond comprehension.
1632
01:18:22,489 --> 01:18:23,990
They don't call it
Hells Canyon for anything.
1633
01:18:24,032 --> 01:18:25,826
It was hell.
1634
01:18:25,867 --> 01:18:30,455
[Bellamy] The blisters that
he would get on his feet,
1635
01:18:30,497 --> 01:18:32,290
the tiredness, how tired he was,
1636
01:18:32,332 --> 01:18:34,793
but he would say,
"I gotta do it."
1637
01:18:34,835 --> 01:18:37,170
We'd wake up
the next morning. He'd say,
1638
01:18:37,212 --> 01:18:38,130
"Let's go to work."
1639
01:18:38,171 --> 01:18:42,426
1640
01:18:42,467 --> 01:18:45,595
He gets to New Mexico, roughly,
1641
01:18:45,637 --> 01:18:49,683
calls me and said, "Jack...
1642
01:18:49,725 --> 01:18:52,602
we're not getting
the press we need."
1643
01:18:52,644 --> 01:18:54,396
1644
01:18:54,438 --> 01:18:58,942
"You have to go out and see
Muhammad Ali tonight."
1645
01:18:58,984 --> 01:19:03,447
Said, "Mr. Ali, we need you
in our run across the country."
1646
01:19:03,488 --> 01:19:05,949
Ali said, "You know
I'm the greatest fighter
1647
01:19:05,991 --> 01:19:07,868
in the world. I'm gonna destroy
Jimmy Young tonight?"
1648
01:19:07,909 --> 01:19:10,078
Uh, yes, sir. Yes, sir.
1649
01:19:10,120 --> 01:19:13,039
"I'm gonna pee blood for
two weeks, pay for this myself,
1650
01:19:13,081 --> 01:19:15,292
and you want me to go out there,
run in that damn desert?"
1651
01:19:15,333 --> 01:19:18,086
Yes, sir, I do.
1652
01:19:18,128 --> 01:19:19,463
"Okay!"
1653
01:19:19,504 --> 01:19:21,089
[crowd shouting]
1654
01:19:21,131 --> 01:19:23,925
Here he is, the heavyweight
champion, leaving no doubt.
1655
01:19:23,967 --> 01:19:26,470
I must say that Dick Gregory's
a great man.
1656
01:19:26,511 --> 01:19:27,804
He's running
from coast to coast,
1657
01:19:27,846 --> 01:19:29,890
putting an emphasis
on the food problem.
1658
01:19:29,931 --> 01:19:33,393
He's now about 20 miles
out of Wichita, Kansas,
1659
01:19:33,435 --> 01:19:35,187
on Highway 54.
I wanna say hello to him.
1660
01:19:35,228 --> 01:19:40,609
funk music
1661
01:19:40,650 --> 01:19:42,319
1662
01:19:42,360 --> 01:19:45,781
It was for the nation.
It was because Dick called him,
1663
01:19:45,822 --> 01:19:48,033
just like Dr. King called Dick.
1664
01:19:48,074 --> 01:19:50,744
They felt something
inside of themselves
1665
01:19:50,786 --> 01:19:52,329
that was important
to the nation,
1666
01:19:52,370 --> 01:19:53,747
important to the world.
1667
01:19:53,789 --> 01:19:56,541
1668
01:19:56,583 --> 01:19:59,669
[Ayanna] Running initially
was a way out.
1669
01:19:59,711 --> 01:20:04,174
Later in life,
running, just like fasting,
1670
01:20:04,216 --> 01:20:06,676
was a way of protesting.
1671
01:20:06,718 --> 01:20:10,347
He ran for
activism against apartheid.
1672
01:20:10,388 --> 01:20:14,851
He ran for Native Americans.
He ran for women.
1673
01:20:14,893 --> 01:20:17,020
1674
01:20:17,062 --> 01:20:18,647
His time
in the civil rights movement,
1675
01:20:18,688 --> 01:20:21,691
he learned that there is
no more humane thing
1676
01:20:21,733 --> 01:20:24,027
than to take care
of your health and well-being,
1677
01:20:24,069 --> 01:20:26,446
and that led
to the natural transition
1678
01:20:26,488 --> 01:20:29,866
of him becoming an advocate of
healthy living and clean living.
1679
01:20:29,908 --> 01:20:34,704
He decided at that time
that health and wellness
1680
01:20:34,746 --> 01:20:36,373
was right up there
with activism.
1681
01:20:36,414 --> 01:20:40,210
Somewhere way, way, way down
was entertainment.
1682
01:20:40,252 --> 01:20:42,087
[Dick] I saw a conflict
in saying to young folks
1683
01:20:42,128 --> 01:20:44,589
that drugs and alcohol is bad
than coming to a nightclub
1684
01:20:44,631 --> 01:20:46,258
and catching my act, and--
1685
01:20:46,299 --> 01:20:47,342
[Cathy] Where people
were smoking and drinking.
1686
01:20:47,384 --> 01:20:49,052
[Dick] Yeah.
1687
01:20:49,094 --> 01:20:51,930
[man] And then all of a sudden,
he called me and said,
1688
01:20:51,972 --> 01:20:54,975
I'm not gonna do any more dates
at nightclubs.
1689
01:20:59,062 --> 01:21:01,898
As many of you no doubt know,
1690
01:21:01,940 --> 01:21:07,362
this is a very special
and historic night
1691
01:21:07,404 --> 01:21:09,322
in the history of show business
1692
01:21:09,364 --> 01:21:14,244
and in the almost legendary life
of Dick Gregory.
1693
01:21:14,286 --> 01:21:19,541
His final nightclub performance.
1694
01:21:19,583 --> 01:21:22,252
No man has given more,
asked less,
1695
01:21:22,294 --> 01:21:24,713
or been more needed.
1696
01:21:24,754 --> 01:21:27,090
As you go on to other service,
1697
01:21:27,132 --> 01:21:30,385
we thank you
and dedicate ourselves
1698
01:21:30,427 --> 01:21:35,765
to returning your gifts in kind
to your chosen beneficiary.
1699
01:21:35,807 --> 01:21:37,934
Mankind.
1700
01:21:37,976 --> 01:21:43,398
[applause]
1701
01:21:43,440 --> 01:21:48,236
[Dick] Why am I giving it up?
Well, I'll tell you why.
1702
01:21:48,278 --> 01:21:53,241
I will be 41 years old
this coming October,
1703
01:21:53,283 --> 01:21:56,328
and thanks to
the civil rights movement,
1704
01:21:56,369 --> 01:21:59,164
thanks to the peace movement
and all the beautiful people
1705
01:21:59,205 --> 01:22:01,917
I was able to meet
because of my involvement
1706
01:22:01,958 --> 01:22:06,963
on a worldwide level,
at 41-years-old-to-be,
1707
01:22:07,005 --> 01:22:09,257
I know now that there is
a universal force
1708
01:22:09,299 --> 01:22:10,759
that controls the whole thing.
1709
01:22:10,800 --> 01:22:13,303
You call it anything
you wanna call it.
1710
01:22:13,345 --> 01:22:17,057
One day it's gonna balance out
all of our ledgers,
1711
01:22:17,098 --> 01:22:18,600
and it's gonna be
a simple question.
1712
01:22:18,642 --> 01:22:21,394
Not "How much money
did you make? Were you funny?
1713
01:22:21,436 --> 01:22:23,396
Did they like you?
Were you a celebrity?
1714
01:22:23,438 --> 01:22:24,981
Who was your mother?
Who was your father?
1715
01:22:25,023 --> 01:22:26,274
Where did you live?
What school did you go to?
1716
01:22:26,316 --> 01:22:27,734
Where'd you send your kids
to school?"
1717
01:22:27,776 --> 01:22:29,152
Well, here's one simple question
1718
01:22:29,194 --> 01:22:31,780
that all of us are going to
have to deal with.
1719
01:22:31,821 --> 01:22:35,492
How much service did you give
to your fellow human beings?
1720
01:22:35,533 --> 01:22:37,577
Just that simple
and just that sweet.
1721
01:22:37,619 --> 01:22:38,995
[woman] Yes.
1722
01:22:39,037 --> 01:22:44,042
[applause]
1723
01:22:45,710 --> 01:22:46,962
You may remember Dick Gregory
1724
01:22:47,003 --> 01:22:49,673
as the hip, acid-tongued
nightclub comedian
1725
01:22:49,714 --> 01:22:51,675
of the '60s whose
outspoken political views
1726
01:22:51,716 --> 01:22:54,386
so rankled the FBI
that an internal memo
1727
01:22:54,427 --> 01:22:57,847
called him demented,
or you might remember him as
1728
01:22:57,889 --> 01:22:59,891
the civil rights activist
or the man who fasted
1729
01:22:59,933 --> 01:23:03,687
for nearly two years
to protest the Vietnam War,
1730
01:23:03,728 --> 01:23:05,939
or the man
who has devoted himself
1731
01:23:05,981 --> 01:23:08,108
to stamping out world hunger.
1732
01:23:08,149 --> 01:23:11,653
At 57, his life has been
more chaotic than calm,
1733
01:23:11,695 --> 01:23:13,154
but he says that's what happens
1734
01:23:13,196 --> 01:23:15,699
when you walk the path
he's chosen.
1735
01:23:15,740 --> 01:23:20,996
1736
01:23:22,706 --> 01:23:27,127
[Dick] The number one problem
that we're confronted
1737
01:23:27,168 --> 01:23:30,338
with today is diet,
uh, the poisons,
1738
01:23:30,380 --> 01:23:32,132
the additives
that's in the food,
1739
01:23:32,173 --> 01:23:34,884
the vitamins it destroys
when it's cooked or it's frozen.
1740
01:23:34,926 --> 01:23:36,970
1741
01:23:37,012 --> 01:23:42,058
My goals is to...to really help
change the priorities
1742
01:23:42,100 --> 01:23:46,813
in this country, that I could
change the whole food industry.
1743
01:23:46,855 --> 01:23:49,524
Because I think
that this nation,
1744
01:23:49,566 --> 01:23:52,444
will never be a great nation,
will never be a strong nation.
1745
01:23:52,485 --> 01:23:56,531
Great nation is not a gun
or a bomb or an Air Force.
1746
01:23:56,573 --> 01:23:59,451
This great nation is a nation
that has the healthiest people
1747
01:23:59,492 --> 01:24:02,287
mentally and physically.
1748
01:24:02,328 --> 01:24:06,374
Oh, we've been eating bad shit
for hundreds of years.
1749
01:24:06,416 --> 01:24:08,460
You know, there's no whole foods
in the hood.
1750
01:24:08,501 --> 01:24:10,211
There's very few choices,
1751
01:24:10,253 --> 01:24:12,630
and the fact
that he took nutrition,
1752
01:24:12,672 --> 01:24:14,966
it's one
of the most basic things
1753
01:24:15,008 --> 01:24:17,802
to improve the quality
of someone's life.
1754
01:24:17,844 --> 01:24:20,305
I told him. I said,
"Greg, you have come down
1755
01:24:20,346 --> 01:24:22,432
from almost 300 pounds.
1756
01:24:22,474 --> 01:24:26,102
You need to find a way
to convert the 4X Formula
1757
01:24:26,144 --> 01:24:29,230
into a diet
and take it to the market."
1758
01:24:29,272 --> 01:24:31,858
He said, "I don't...
I don't know how to do that."
1759
01:24:31,900 --> 01:24:34,110
[man] Dick Gregory
for the Bahamian Diet.
1760
01:24:34,152 --> 01:24:35,612
The problem is
you're overweight.
1761
01:24:35,653 --> 01:24:37,363
Whether it's 10 pounds
or 150 pounds,
1762
01:24:37,405 --> 01:24:40,241
hey, I've been there,
and the solution is simple.
1763
01:24:40,283 --> 01:24:41,576
The Bahamian Diet.
1764
01:24:41,618 --> 01:24:43,119
You can do it. I know.
1765
01:24:43,161 --> 01:24:45,288
I've been there,
and it ain't pretty.
1766
01:24:45,330 --> 01:24:48,083
1767
01:24:48,124 --> 01:24:52,295
We were able to find someone
that assisted him
1768
01:24:52,337 --> 01:24:56,466
with the finalizing formula
for 4X, Dr. David Allen.
1769
01:24:56,508 --> 01:24:59,969
And Dr. Allen took the product
and started marketing it
1770
01:25:00,011 --> 01:25:03,056
to multi-level marketing.
1771
01:25:03,098 --> 01:25:08,853
When the Bahamian Diet
came to market in 1984,
1772
01:25:08,895 --> 01:25:12,398
we did about $113 million
in sales
1773
01:25:12,440 --> 01:25:14,192
in a two-year period of time.
1774
01:25:14,234 --> 01:25:17,529
He was concerned about nutrition
for poor people
1775
01:25:17,570 --> 01:25:19,155
and Black people in particular.
1776
01:25:19,197 --> 01:25:21,116
It's like we were poisoning
ourselves.
1777
01:25:21,157 --> 01:25:23,368
[Sykes]
That was killing us, too.
1778
01:25:23,409 --> 01:25:25,495
High blood pressure,
diabetes, all of that.
1779
01:25:25,537 --> 01:25:29,666
So I think he was pushing
nutrition another way
1780
01:25:29,707 --> 01:25:32,085
to try to help his people.
1781
01:25:32,127 --> 01:25:33,962
And it was so popular,
you know?
1782
01:25:34,003 --> 01:25:36,172
I mean, everybody was,
"You on that Bahamian Diet?"
1783
01:25:36,214 --> 01:25:38,925
You know, whenever you see
somebody lose weight,
1784
01:25:38,967 --> 01:25:40,426
"Oh, you on that Dick Gregory."
1785
01:25:40,468 --> 01:25:43,012
Hey, now, fix me some
of that Dick Gregory.
1786
01:25:43,054 --> 01:25:44,681
At that point, if you're talking
about diet culture
1787
01:25:44,722 --> 01:25:46,516
or food culture,
1788
01:25:46,558 --> 01:25:48,351
anything that's about
taking better care of yourself
1789
01:25:48,393 --> 01:25:50,270
is white people talking
to white people.
1790
01:25:50,311 --> 01:25:52,522
So to have a Black man
who's saying,
1791
01:25:52,564 --> 01:25:54,440
"We need to take better care
of ourselves,
1792
01:25:54,482 --> 01:25:55,942
and we need to do it
for ourselves,"
1793
01:25:55,984 --> 01:25:57,485
like, he's not recommending
you go to, like,
1794
01:25:57,527 --> 01:25:58,653
a white product and do it.
1795
01:25:58,695 --> 01:26:00,405
He's saying,
"We can do this ourselves."
1796
01:26:00,446 --> 01:26:02,365
That's the revolutionary idea
in there.
1797
01:26:02,407 --> 01:26:04,534
[Dick]
There's a new economic arm
1798
01:26:04,576 --> 01:26:06,411
to the civil rights movement.
1799
01:26:06,452 --> 01:26:07,871
The Black neighborhood is
1800
01:26:07,912 --> 01:26:09,622
the only neighborhood
you can come in in America,
1801
01:26:09,664 --> 01:26:13,793
and someone's selling the
product other than that group,
1802
01:26:13,835 --> 01:26:18,590
and so we saying that when we
sell to one another
1803
01:26:18,631 --> 01:26:22,010
and open up our businesses,
that money changes hands,
1804
01:26:22,051 --> 01:26:24,262
and it stays
in the neighborhood
1805
01:26:24,304 --> 01:26:26,514
and you see
the whole piece change.
1806
01:26:26,556 --> 01:26:30,268
And if they can bring dope
and cigarettes, caffeine,
1807
01:26:30,310 --> 01:26:32,395
and nicotine to your doorstep,
1808
01:26:32,437 --> 01:26:34,898
then we want to bring health
to your doorstep.
1809
01:26:34,939 --> 01:26:36,983
That's the greatest
welfare system I know,
1810
01:26:37,025 --> 01:26:38,610
is entrepreneurship.
1811
01:26:38,651 --> 01:26:40,695
- How so?
- We businesspeople,
1812
01:26:40,737 --> 01:26:43,823
we can go and buy all the booze
we wanna buy for lunch,
1813
01:26:43,865 --> 01:26:46,159
and a welfare mother
would have trouble
1814
01:26:46,201 --> 01:26:47,827
trying to get free apple juice
for the babies.
1815
01:26:47,869 --> 01:26:49,204
It's just so insane.
1816
01:26:49,245 --> 01:26:53,583
I started getting
so many phone calls
1817
01:26:53,625 --> 01:26:54,918
from people crying out for help.
1818
01:26:54,959 --> 01:26:56,669
People said, you know,
1819
01:26:56,711 --> 01:26:59,005
"I'm thinking about
committing suicide."
1820
01:26:59,047 --> 01:27:01,758
dramatic music
1821
01:27:01,799 --> 01:27:05,470
Walter Hudson was a man
in Long Island, New York,
1822
01:27:05,511 --> 01:27:08,431
who was over a thousand pounds.
1823
01:27:10,391 --> 01:27:12,685
He had actually tripped
and fell
1824
01:27:12,727 --> 01:27:16,522
and got wedged in the doorway
between his bedroom
1825
01:27:16,564 --> 01:27:19,234
and his bathroom.
1826
01:27:19,275 --> 01:27:23,112
It took eight rescue workers
four hours
1827
01:27:23,154 --> 01:27:26,407
to get him out of that doorway,
1828
01:27:26,449 --> 01:27:29,535
and it made such big news
in Long Island,
1829
01:27:29,577 --> 01:27:32,705
that it caught the attention
of Dick Gregory.
1830
01:27:32,747 --> 01:27:35,291
[Dick] And we were
on "The Phil Donahue Show."
1831
01:27:35,333 --> 01:27:38,336
Eliminate all the sugar,
uh, all the bread.
1832
01:27:38,378 --> 01:27:41,631
The most important thing,
he was drinking almost no water.
1833
01:27:41,673 --> 01:27:43,258
Uh, he was drinking soda pop.
1834
01:27:43,299 --> 01:27:46,803
We've increased his water now
to about 12 glasses a day.
1835
01:27:46,844 --> 01:27:49,973
We'll eventually move that up
to 16 glasses a day.
1836
01:27:50,014 --> 01:27:52,392
He was under house arrest.
He will eat no cooked food,
1837
01:27:52,433 --> 01:27:54,894
no animal product,
no dairy product,
1838
01:27:54,936 --> 01:27:56,145
no white refined sugar,
1839
01:27:56,187 --> 01:27:57,647
no bread, no butter,
no cheese.
1840
01:27:57,689 --> 01:27:59,315
And...and we're gonna do it.
1841
01:27:59,357 --> 01:28:00,733
[reporter] But for a man who
hasn't left the house
1842
01:28:00,775 --> 01:28:02,235
but once in 27 years,
1843
01:28:02,277 --> 01:28:04,696
content until his recent fall
to lie in bed
1844
01:28:04,737 --> 01:28:07,699
watching television,
reading the Bible, and eating,
1845
01:28:07,740 --> 01:28:09,367
it's an enormous task.
1846
01:28:09,409 --> 01:28:11,869
[Dick] You know, there's a lot
of people out there...
1847
01:28:11,911 --> 01:28:12,996
- [Hudson] I know.
- ...that love you.
1848
01:28:13,037 --> 01:28:14,372
[Hudson] Yes, I know.
1849
01:28:14,414 --> 01:28:16,666
[Dick] You wanna say
anything to 'em?
1850
01:28:16,708 --> 01:28:18,167
[Hudson] Well, I wanna tell them
that I haven't given up.
1851
01:28:18,209 --> 01:28:19,752
I have hope,
and I believe that
1852
01:28:19,794 --> 01:28:21,921
I'm gonna do it.
1853
01:28:21,963 --> 01:28:24,382
I will lose that weight.
1854
01:28:24,424 --> 01:28:25,883
[male reporter]
In just three months,
1855
01:28:25,925 --> 01:28:28,720
he lost 300 pounds.
1856
01:28:28,761 --> 01:28:32,307
But his biggest lost came
the first time
1857
01:28:32,348 --> 01:28:33,766
he tried to leave his house.
1858
01:28:33,808 --> 01:28:36,311
[Dick] Next move was to get him
out of that house
1859
01:28:36,352 --> 01:28:37,645
and take him to a facility
1860
01:28:37,687 --> 01:28:39,355
where we could get him
in the ocean.
1861
01:28:39,397 --> 01:28:41,482
[male reporter]
On that day in February,
1862
01:28:41,524 --> 01:28:43,276
with the world watching,
1863
01:28:43,318 --> 01:28:45,903
Walter refused
to walk outside.
1864
01:28:45,945 --> 01:28:48,740
So Dick Gregory walked out
on him.
1865
01:28:48,781 --> 01:28:51,701
Energy-wise and nutrition-wise,
he's ready.
1866
01:28:51,743 --> 01:28:54,537
The psychological problem,
we can't deal with.
1867
01:28:54,579 --> 01:28:57,206
Do you feel you are letting
people down?
1868
01:28:57,248 --> 01:28:59,667
No, because I figure that,
you know,
1869
01:28:59,709 --> 01:29:04,339
I'm still going on with my diet
so I haven't let them down.
1870
01:29:04,380 --> 01:29:07,175
I feel that, you know,
that they'll know that,
1871
01:29:07,216 --> 01:29:08,843
and I figure further down
the road,
1872
01:29:08,885 --> 01:29:10,011
when they see me more thinner,
1873
01:29:10,053 --> 01:29:12,889
they'll know
that I didn't give up.
1874
01:29:14,265 --> 01:29:18,353
[Dick] Two years later,
he passed away.
1875
01:29:18,394 --> 01:29:22,231
I can't help him.
I didn't know what to do,
1876
01:29:22,273 --> 01:29:25,485
and I really felt bad
about it.
1877
01:29:28,613 --> 01:29:31,032
[waves lapping]
1878
01:29:31,074 --> 01:29:34,744
I decided that
if I could take a group
1879
01:29:34,786 --> 01:29:39,207
and could really dramatize them
on the press,
1880
01:29:39,248 --> 01:29:42,460
then maybe we could wake
America's conscience up.
1881
01:29:42,502 --> 01:29:44,420
This is gonna be
the first breathing exercise.
1882
01:29:44,462 --> 01:29:46,297
So move it in.
1883
01:29:46,339 --> 01:29:49,425
[Bellamy] We opened up
a facility in the Bahamas
1884
01:29:49,467 --> 01:29:51,677
called Dick Gregory's
Health Resort,
1885
01:29:51,719 --> 01:29:54,931
and it just began to blossom.
It began to grow.
1886
01:29:54,972 --> 01:29:56,349
- I love who?
- Myself!
1887
01:29:56,391 --> 01:29:58,351
- I love who?
- Myself!
1888
01:29:58,393 --> 01:30:00,103
- I love who?
- Myself!
1889
01:30:00,144 --> 01:30:01,437
[Dick] Most doctors
and most hospitals
1890
01:30:01,479 --> 01:30:03,523
don't know what to do
with the morbidly obese,
1891
01:30:03,564 --> 01:30:06,442
and yet there's 34 million
Americans obese.
1892
01:30:06,484 --> 01:30:08,194
There's 100 million
that's overweight.
1893
01:30:08,236 --> 01:30:10,113
- 301.
- 301!
1894
01:30:10,154 --> 01:30:12,031
[cheers and applause]
1895
01:30:12,073 --> 01:30:14,367
Some of the guys
hadn't seen their feet,
1896
01:30:14,409 --> 01:30:16,035
you know, standing up.
1897
01:30:16,077 --> 01:30:19,789
They hadn't seen collarbones
in their bodies in years,
1898
01:30:19,831 --> 01:30:22,458
things that we take for granted.
1899
01:30:22,500 --> 01:30:27,463
We were able to effect change
in...in people's lives.
1900
01:30:27,505 --> 01:30:30,466
[male reporter] And last year,
he sold the franchise rights
1901
01:30:30,508 --> 01:30:34,470
for his Slim Safe Bahamian Diet
for a reported $30 million.
1902
01:30:34,512 --> 01:30:38,766
Do you think people would
find it somewhat of a paradox
1903
01:30:38,808 --> 01:30:41,519
to...to see a man who is
such an activist,
1904
01:30:41,561 --> 01:30:44,814
who has so long been connected
with so many cause,
1905
01:30:44,856 --> 01:30:46,190
to be such a wealthy man?
1906
01:30:46,232 --> 01:30:49,152
No, well, I think
you'd probably be surprised,
1907
01:30:49,193 --> 01:30:51,320
but I've always made money.
1908
01:30:51,362 --> 01:30:55,158
[Sykes] When Dick Gregory became
this entrepreneur
1909
01:30:55,199 --> 01:30:59,537
with the Bahamian Diet,
I don't remember anyone saying
1910
01:30:59,579 --> 01:31:02,623
that he was a sellout or...
or was disappointed with him,
1911
01:31:02,665 --> 01:31:06,127
as, "Hey, this is a good idea,"
you know?
1912
01:31:06,169 --> 01:31:07,420
At least it was
something positive.
1913
01:31:07,462 --> 01:31:09,172
It's not like he was selling,
you know,
1914
01:31:09,213 --> 01:31:11,340
Dick Gregory Cigarettes.
1915
01:31:11,382 --> 01:31:13,926
[Christian]
My father, as somebody
1916
01:31:13,968 --> 01:31:15,178
who came from very little,
1917
01:31:15,219 --> 01:31:17,346
had very little attachment
to money.
1918
01:31:17,388 --> 01:31:19,682
If he had it,
he was going to use it,
1919
01:31:19,724 --> 01:31:22,351
and he was using it to advance
something for the better.
1920
01:31:22,393 --> 01:31:23,519
[male reporter]
But we're talking about
1921
01:31:23,561 --> 01:31:25,021
millions and millions
of dollars here.
1922
01:31:25,062 --> 01:31:27,440
[Dick] No, I don't think so.
I mean, I'm sure.
1923
01:31:27,482 --> 01:31:30,443
I'm sure they're shocked
because--not shocked because of,
1924
01:31:30,485 --> 01:31:32,987
I don't act the way
you think wealthy people
1925
01:31:33,029 --> 01:31:34,489
are supposed to act.
1926
01:31:34,530 --> 01:31:36,866
[Yohance]
What his net value was
1927
01:31:36,908 --> 01:31:40,703
was never
even remotely important to him.
1928
01:31:40,745 --> 01:31:44,832
And so when you don't keep your
eye on that financial needle,
1929
01:31:44,874 --> 01:31:48,169
yeah, things can go wrong.
1930
01:31:48,211 --> 01:31:52,924
somber music
1931
01:31:52,965 --> 01:31:58,179
1932
01:31:58,221 --> 01:32:00,973
- Tried your diet.
- I love it.
1933
01:32:01,015 --> 01:32:04,227
- Thank you.
- All right. Fine. Okay.
1934
01:32:04,268 --> 01:32:09,315
He was a great entertainer
and a very poor businessman.
1935
01:32:09,357 --> 01:32:12,026
He did not end up
in a situation
1936
01:32:12,068 --> 01:32:15,321
where much of the money
flowed to him at all.
1937
01:32:15,363 --> 01:32:17,573
1938
01:32:17,615 --> 01:32:20,076
[Christian] It became an inside
fight between Dick Gregory
1939
01:32:20,117 --> 01:32:22,578
and his partners.
1940
01:32:22,620 --> 01:32:26,832
1941
01:32:26,874 --> 01:32:30,086
They felt as though Dick
was spending too much money
1942
01:32:30,127 --> 01:32:34,674
in these desires to have
a facility and other things
1943
01:32:34,715 --> 01:32:37,385
he wanted to do versus
what they wanted to do,
1944
01:32:37,426 --> 01:32:40,221
was just basically move
and distribute product.
1945
01:32:40,263 --> 01:32:42,682
Two different sides
of the executive team
1946
01:32:42,723 --> 01:32:46,727
sued each other, and it wound up
in federal court.
1947
01:32:46,769 --> 01:32:50,106
The facility
in Fort Walton Beach
1948
01:32:50,147 --> 01:32:52,692
ultimately closed.
1949
01:32:56,487 --> 01:32:58,614
It ended very badly
1950
01:32:58,656 --> 01:33:00,533
with over $2 million worth
of his royalties
1951
01:33:00,575 --> 01:33:04,829
were tied up in court
that he couldn't access.
1952
01:33:04,870 --> 01:33:09,333
Bankruptcy really was
the only option.
1953
01:33:10,710 --> 01:33:15,047
[birds calling]
1954
01:33:15,089 --> 01:33:17,508
I got a call from him one day,
and he said,
1955
01:33:17,550 --> 01:33:20,595
"Doctor, it's gonna be bad.
It's gonna be bad,"
1956
01:33:20,636 --> 01:33:21,804
and I said, "What do you mean?
1957
01:33:21,846 --> 01:33:24,807
He said,
"Well, I'm at the point now
1958
01:33:24,849 --> 01:33:27,727
where I will no longer be able
to pay my life insurance.
1959
01:33:27,768 --> 01:33:32,815
I will no longer be able
to protect my family."
1960
01:33:40,865 --> 01:33:42,825
[Christian]
It wasn't long after that
1961
01:33:42,867 --> 01:33:47,413
before we started
to lose things.
1962
01:33:52,710 --> 01:33:55,630
And it was just me and my mother
and my daughter
1963
01:33:55,671 --> 01:33:58,299
living there at the time,
1964
01:33:58,341 --> 01:34:00,176
and I see these big trucks
outside,
1965
01:34:00,217 --> 01:34:02,219
and I'm like, "Mom?"
1966
01:34:02,261 --> 01:34:04,430
somber music
1967
01:34:04,472 --> 01:34:05,389
[Lillian] Oh, God,
it was a terrible time.
1968
01:34:05,431 --> 01:34:07,099
It was just a terrible time,
1969
01:34:07,141 --> 01:34:11,979
and it all just sort of
happened in a blur.
1970
01:34:12,021 --> 01:34:14,732
[Christian] We lost the farm,
Tower Hill Farm,
1971
01:34:14,774 --> 01:34:16,984
it was a fixture
for us Gregorys,
1972
01:34:17,026 --> 01:34:20,613
was no more.
1973
01:34:20,655 --> 01:34:25,868
1974
01:34:34,043 --> 01:34:36,045
I was at Morgan State
at that time,
1975
01:34:36,087 --> 01:34:38,464
and I just remember
getting a call that
1976
01:34:38,506 --> 01:34:39,715
we had lost the farm
1977
01:34:39,757 --> 01:34:44,553
and that everything
got taken offsite.
1978
01:34:44,595 --> 01:34:47,723
The lien holder had secured
a company to come
1979
01:34:47,765 --> 01:34:51,811
and move everything and move it
into their storage unit.
1980
01:34:51,852 --> 01:34:55,398
I never knew for sure,
except I knew every time
1981
01:34:55,439 --> 01:35:00,277
I needed to reach him directly,
there wasn't really a phone.
1982
01:35:00,319 --> 01:35:01,779
There was no home phone.
1983
01:35:01,821 --> 01:35:05,783
I could call Lill or I could
call his son Christian,
1984
01:35:05,825 --> 01:35:08,077
but I kinda sensed
1985
01:35:08,119 --> 01:35:11,997
that he was living
from place to place.
1986
01:35:12,039 --> 01:35:15,793
[Dick] I didn't know that I'd
have a Rolls-Royce repossessed,
1987
01:35:15,835 --> 01:35:21,465
that I'd be put out of my house
with worldwide television there,
1988
01:35:21,507 --> 01:35:24,635
and I didn't care.
1989
01:35:24,677 --> 01:35:27,430
[woman] Did he wish he was
still a millionaire?
1990
01:35:27,471 --> 01:35:30,182
I'm sure he did,
1991
01:35:30,224 --> 01:35:35,104
but I think what he really
would have missed,
1992
01:35:35,146 --> 01:35:38,357
if someone said, "You are not
Dick Gregory anymore.
1993
01:35:38,399 --> 01:35:41,360
What you say does not matter,"
1994
01:35:41,402 --> 01:35:43,946
that would have broke
his spirit.
1995
01:35:43,988 --> 01:35:47,074
There's a whole generation
that grew up listening
1996
01:35:47,116 --> 01:35:48,743
to Dick Gregory.
1997
01:35:48,784 --> 01:35:53,622
And I don't know that you have
the visibility today
1998
01:35:53,664 --> 01:35:55,541
that you had before.
- No, I don't.
1999
01:35:56,834 --> 01:36:02,047
2000
01:36:04,091 --> 01:36:07,970
One day, I went
into this huge showroom.
2001
01:36:08,012 --> 01:36:09,930
2002
01:36:09,972 --> 01:36:14,602
Did my whole act
to an empty auditorium.
2003
01:36:14,643 --> 01:36:19,523
I just went in and did
my whole act.
2004
01:36:19,565 --> 01:36:22,067
I don't know why I did.
2005
01:36:22,109 --> 01:36:24,153
2006
01:36:24,195 --> 01:36:28,949
Ooh, it was painful.
I mean, painful 'cause why?
2007
01:36:28,991 --> 01:36:30,951
Ain't no laughs.
2008
01:36:30,993 --> 01:36:35,080
When you're doing humor
or doing entertainment,
2009
01:36:35,122 --> 01:36:38,459
you depend on human beings
to react,
2010
01:36:38,501 --> 01:36:41,670
and if you don't get
that reaction,
2011
01:36:41,712 --> 01:36:44,173
then your rhythm,
your juice don't flow.
2012
01:36:44,215 --> 01:36:45,925
2013
01:36:45,966 --> 01:36:49,178
That made me have respect
for hecklers.
2014
01:36:49,220 --> 01:36:52,348
You know, I would rather be
in a room full of hecklers,
2015
01:36:52,389 --> 01:36:55,851
try to do my act than in a room
with nobody in it.
2016
01:36:55,893 --> 01:36:59,855
2017
01:37:03,901 --> 01:37:06,529
Next up, we are honored
to have a world-renowned
2018
01:37:06,570 --> 01:37:08,739
civil rights activist
and nutritionist
2019
01:37:08,781 --> 01:37:11,075
who allowed me to eat
his pre-roast meat,
2020
01:37:11,116 --> 01:37:12,493
and I appreciate that.
2021
01:37:12,535 --> 01:37:16,163
Please welcome
the very old Dick Gregory.
2022
01:37:16,205 --> 01:37:17,957
[cheers and applause]
2023
01:37:17,998 --> 01:37:19,542
[Schneider] I met Dick Gregory
at the roast of Hugh Hefner.
2024
01:37:19,583 --> 01:37:22,127
After I met him,
I knew he was funny,
2025
01:37:22,169 --> 01:37:25,464
and I...I remembered I went
like, "I gotta hire him."
2026
01:37:25,506 --> 01:37:28,133
So I asked him if he wanted
to be in one of my movies.
2027
01:37:28,175 --> 01:37:30,928
And I said, "It's a...
It's a silly movie."
2028
01:37:30,970 --> 01:37:33,889
Movie was called
"The Hot Chick." [laughs]
2029
01:37:33,931 --> 01:37:36,851
I wanted Dick to come in there
and have some fun.
2030
01:37:36,892 --> 01:37:39,895
He got it instantly.
He just nailed it.
2031
01:37:39,937 --> 01:37:41,355
- You got to hold on to it.
- Oh!
2032
01:37:41,397 --> 01:37:44,608
Not too tight, but enough
to let it know you the boss.
2033
01:37:44,650 --> 01:37:47,069
- [grunting]
- Remember, if you shake it
2034
01:37:47,111 --> 01:37:49,154
more than twice,
you're playing with it.
2035
01:37:49,196 --> 01:37:50,906
[grunts]
2036
01:37:50,948 --> 01:37:53,826
If you know funny,
you don't ever lose it.
2037
01:37:53,868 --> 01:37:55,369
You...you always know it.
2038
01:37:55,411 --> 01:37:57,037
And then, 'cause like
a month later, I got a call,
2039
01:37:57,079 --> 01:38:00,749
and he said,
"Because of that movie I did,
2040
01:38:00,791 --> 01:38:03,878
I got health insurance
for Lillian,
2041
01:38:03,919 --> 01:38:07,214
and, uh, she broke her arm,
and she, uh,
2042
01:38:07,256 --> 01:38:08,799
we got insurance,
paid for the whole thing,
2043
01:38:08,841 --> 01:38:10,885
so thank you, my brother."
2044
01:38:10,926 --> 01:38:15,514
I didn't know
he didn't have insurance.
2045
01:38:15,556 --> 01:38:17,892
[indistinct conversations]
2046
01:38:17,933 --> 01:38:20,436
[Christian] We all get older.
We all have a life cycle,
2047
01:38:20,477 --> 01:38:23,355
and you know, it doesn't matter
how legendary you may be,
2048
01:38:23,397 --> 01:38:25,107
aging's aging.
2049
01:38:25,149 --> 01:38:27,610
2050
01:38:27,651 --> 01:38:30,404
He called me up, and he said,
2051
01:38:30,446 --> 01:38:34,533
"Hey, hey, doc, I've been
walking around this hotel
2052
01:38:34,575 --> 01:38:38,829
for 20 minutes
looking for my kitchen,
2053
01:38:38,871 --> 01:38:42,082
and it took that long
before it dawned on me
2054
01:38:42,124 --> 01:38:43,500
that I wasn't home."
2055
01:38:43,542 --> 01:38:49,006
He had early onset
of Alzheimer's.
2056
01:38:49,048 --> 01:38:51,550
That was the first time
that I started to see
2057
01:38:51,592 --> 01:38:53,385
the anger kind of rise up.
2058
01:38:53,427 --> 01:38:54,803
What you say? See, you keep
looking for shit.
2059
01:38:54,845 --> 01:38:57,306
But I'm not understanding
what the difference
2060
01:38:57,348 --> 01:38:58,766
of your search and my search.
2061
01:38:58,807 --> 01:39:00,309
You ain't supposed to
understand. It's money.
2062
01:39:00,351 --> 01:39:02,102
Fucking money.
2063
01:39:02,144 --> 01:39:04,438
I was a former assistant
2064
01:39:04,480 --> 01:39:08,776
and manager of Dick Gregory.
2065
01:39:08,817 --> 01:39:10,945
[laughs] Man, Mr. Gregory
cursed me out so many times,
2066
01:39:10,986 --> 01:39:12,571
and I got fired so many times,
2067
01:39:12,613 --> 01:39:17,034
and then rehired
in the same sentence.
2068
01:39:17,076 --> 01:39:18,869
You know, he cursed out
everybody.
2069
01:39:18,911 --> 01:39:20,704
I seen him curse out Kevin Hart.
2070
01:39:20,746 --> 01:39:23,624
2071
01:39:23,666 --> 01:39:25,167
[Hart] Nick Cannon
was in the hospital.
2072
01:39:25,209 --> 01:39:28,295
Dick Gregory was there
when I showed up to visit,
2073
01:39:28,337 --> 01:39:30,673
and he started cussing me out.
2074
01:39:30,714 --> 01:39:32,925
"You better put your money in
the Black financial institution,
2075
01:39:32,967 --> 01:39:35,302
you stupid motherfucker."
[laughs]
2076
01:39:35,344 --> 01:39:37,930
He...He would cuss at you,
and it was aggressive,
2077
01:39:37,972 --> 01:39:40,140
but you still had to understand
that he meant well.
2078
01:39:40,182 --> 01:39:42,142
You try to speak out of turn
when Mr. Gregory's talking,
2079
01:39:42,184 --> 01:39:44,645
you don't care who you are
or what's going on.
2080
01:39:44,687 --> 01:39:46,313
He gon' let you have it.
2081
01:39:46,355 --> 01:39:48,983
On one hand, he's one of the
greatest comedians to ever live.
2082
01:39:49,024 --> 01:39:50,985
On the other hand,
can't stop talking.
2083
01:39:51,026 --> 01:39:53,696
He had a little briefcase
with him.
2084
01:39:53,737 --> 01:39:55,489
He broke that out, and he had
2085
01:39:55,531 --> 01:39:58,325
you know,
clippings of news articles.
2086
01:39:58,367 --> 01:40:00,869
So it went from,
"Here comes Dick Gregory,"
2087
01:40:00,911 --> 01:40:03,539
to "Oh, shit!
Here comes Dick Gregory."
2088
01:40:03,580 --> 01:40:06,041
And he gon' tell you
that you don't know nothing
2089
01:40:06,083 --> 01:40:08,377
and that you need to sit down
and listen.
2090
01:40:08,419 --> 01:40:10,295
"You're a stupid motherfucker."
Like...and it was...
2091
01:40:10,337 --> 01:40:12,214
it was like, okay,
"Well, hold on now, Dick."
2092
01:40:12,256 --> 01:40:14,466
"You know, the Russians own
Mountain Dew,
2093
01:40:14,508 --> 01:40:17,219
and they're putting uranium
in..." You know, so okay.
2094
01:40:17,261 --> 01:40:18,637
First of all, ain't nobody
ever telling me this.
2095
01:40:18,679 --> 01:40:22,474
Second of all, let me...
let me receive the information.
2096
01:40:22,516 --> 01:40:26,395
"You know, Hasbro has a chip
inside your brain
2097
01:40:26,437 --> 01:40:30,816
that you think is a toy that
monitors your..." Huh? What?
2098
01:40:30,858 --> 01:40:34,236
Possibly, if you lowered
the tone and aggression,
2099
01:40:34,278 --> 01:40:36,113
and aggression...
2100
01:40:36,155 --> 01:40:38,073
"You know, the government counts
every time you say 'nigga.'"
2101
01:40:38,115 --> 01:40:39,742
Huh? What? Okay.
2102
01:40:39,783 --> 01:40:42,619
And even though it came out
aggressive,
2103
01:40:42,661 --> 01:40:44,413
at the end of it, he was like,
"I'm talking to you
2104
01:40:44,455 --> 01:40:48,250
the way I talk to you because
I want you to be somebody
2105
01:40:48,292 --> 01:40:51,086
that does the right thing
so other people can follow."
2106
01:40:51,128 --> 01:40:53,964
He just spoke his truth.
Like, that's his truth.
2107
01:40:54,006 --> 01:40:55,257
You know, he don't care if you
don't like it or not.
2108
01:40:55,299 --> 01:40:56,925
He don't care
if you don't respect it or not.
2109
01:40:56,967 --> 01:40:58,719
This is his truth.
2110
01:40:58,761 --> 01:41:02,222
You look on the internet now,
and you just see countless clips
2111
01:41:02,264 --> 01:41:06,727
of just a fire-breathing,
angry man.
2112
01:41:06,769 --> 01:41:09,938
We'd tell Pop, "You know,
maybe you should rest yourself
2113
01:41:09,980 --> 01:41:11,607
for a little bit."
2114
01:41:11,648 --> 01:41:13,358
Resting for him was...I said,
"Well, if you're gonna give
2115
01:41:13,400 --> 01:41:14,693
the same level of energy,
2116
01:41:14,735 --> 01:41:16,278
we might as well have you
up on the stage."
2117
01:41:16,320 --> 01:41:21,450
So as he got back into comedy,
he made a very clear decision
2118
01:41:21,492 --> 01:41:24,453
that he was going to, you know,
be R-A-W.
2119
01:41:24,495 --> 01:41:26,580
He was gonna be as raw
as he wanted to be.
2120
01:41:26,622 --> 01:41:31,210
uptempo jazz drum music
2121
01:41:31,251 --> 01:41:33,045
2122
01:41:33,087 --> 01:41:33,962
[DJ Envy] We got
a special guest with us
2123
01:41:34,004 --> 01:41:35,464
in the building this morning.
2124
01:41:35,506 --> 01:41:36,548
[Charlamagne tha God]
A very, very special guest.
2125
01:41:36,590 --> 01:41:37,925
It's a privilege and honor
2126
01:41:37,966 --> 01:41:39,176
to have this man in the building
this morning.
2127
01:41:39,218 --> 01:41:41,303
- Mr. Dick Gregory.
- Mr. Dick Gregory.
2128
01:41:41,345 --> 01:41:45,140
- I've got 10 children, man.
- Damn.
2129
01:41:45,182 --> 01:41:47,309
- That's...Damn?
- I'm happy for you. I'm proud.
2130
01:41:47,351 --> 01:41:48,644
Happy now?
2131
01:41:48,685 --> 01:41:49,686
I want my sperm to catch up
to yours.
2132
01:41:49,728 --> 01:41:52,106
Oh, man, I'd just get me
some booty.
2133
01:41:52,147 --> 01:41:54,108
[laughter]
2134
01:41:54,149 --> 01:41:55,776
Towards the end,
he ended up being funny again,
2135
01:41:55,818 --> 01:41:57,277
and he was doing club shows.
2136
01:41:57,319 --> 01:42:00,447
It was like, oh, okay.
Now we can hang.
2137
01:42:00,489 --> 01:42:03,867
Well, I got a cousin
outside of St. Louis--Jabo.
2138
01:42:03,909 --> 01:42:06,036
He'd be my Secretary of Defense,
2139
01:42:06,078 --> 01:42:08,205
and I would just see these
white folks on "60 Minutes."
2140
01:42:08,247 --> 01:42:09,832
"Jabo, now that you're
Secretary,
2141
01:42:09,873 --> 01:42:11,333
what you plan on doing
about defense?"
2142
01:42:11,375 --> 01:42:13,752
"See, first I'm-a fix it,
then paint it."
2143
01:42:13,794 --> 01:42:17,506
[laughter]
2144
01:42:17,548 --> 01:42:21,176
- God bless. Dick Gregory.
- I met you when I was 19.
2145
01:42:21,218 --> 01:42:22,761
Here you are today
still kicking knowledge.
2146
01:42:22,803 --> 01:42:25,514
What drives you, sir?
2147
01:42:25,556 --> 01:42:27,182
- My bills.
- Mm.
2148
01:42:27,224 --> 01:42:28,934
[laughter]
2149
01:42:28,976 --> 01:42:30,811
He would never
get off the stage.
2150
01:42:30,853 --> 01:42:35,023
Imagine three hours on the stage
and then an hour and a half
2151
01:42:35,065 --> 01:42:37,192
doing a meet and greet
afterwards,
2152
01:42:37,234 --> 01:42:39,027
and it's like
one in the morning.
2153
01:42:39,069 --> 01:42:41,530
[Dick] I never thought I'd see
the day
2154
01:42:41,572 --> 01:42:44,533
that white folks would start
asking me to comment
2155
01:42:44,575 --> 01:42:46,243
on white folks problems.
2156
01:42:46,285 --> 01:42:48,537
I came back in from Europe
last month.
2157
01:42:48,579 --> 01:42:51,915
CNN. "Uh, Mr. Gregory, you think
we'll ever catch bin Laden?"
2158
01:42:51,957 --> 01:42:53,709
I said, "We?"
2159
01:42:53,750 --> 01:42:56,211
[laughter]
2160
01:42:56,253 --> 01:42:59,548
- I ain't looking for him.
- [laughter]
2161
01:42:59,590 --> 01:43:03,802
The best? I don't wanna talk
about who was the best.
2162
01:43:03,844 --> 01:43:06,763
I wanna talk about
who's the baddest.
2163
01:43:06,805 --> 01:43:08,724
I became aware of Dick Gregory
2164
01:43:08,765 --> 01:43:10,517
because there's something called
2165
01:43:10,559 --> 01:43:12,769
State of the Black Union,
2166
01:43:12,811 --> 01:43:14,438
and Dick Gregory
was always on the panel.
2167
01:43:14,479 --> 01:43:16,648
The Black brother
from Wells Fargo...
2168
01:43:16,690 --> 01:43:18,358
- [laughter]
- Uh-huh.
2169
01:43:18,400 --> 01:43:21,737
...head of the mortgages,
2170
01:43:21,778 --> 01:43:24,740
I pulled him over and said,
"I need to talk to you."
2171
01:43:24,781 --> 01:43:26,408
- [laughter]
- He said, "Brother Greg,
2172
01:43:26,450 --> 01:43:27,868
you need a mortgage?"
2173
01:43:27,910 --> 01:43:30,537
I said, "No, they took my house
when times was good."
2174
01:43:30,579 --> 01:43:32,748
[laughter]
2175
01:43:32,789 --> 01:43:35,083
I need two big banners,
2176
01:43:35,125 --> 01:43:38,086
one for the FBI
and one for the White House.
2177
01:43:38,128 --> 01:43:42,424
Picket it, shut the shit down,
and then...
2178
01:43:42,466 --> 01:43:44,259
and then go to jail.
You ready to go?
2179
01:43:44,301 --> 01:43:46,386
I think people get confused
and think
2180
01:43:46,428 --> 01:43:48,096
that he was an activist
who decided to be funny.
2181
01:43:48,138 --> 01:43:51,266
No, no, no, his soul was that
of a stand-up comic.
2182
01:43:51,308 --> 01:43:53,310
He just could not
just do that in a world
2183
01:43:53,352 --> 01:43:55,270
that was falling down
around him.
2184
01:43:55,312 --> 01:43:57,272
No, I wish Bill Clinton
was here
2185
01:43:57,314 --> 01:44:00,400
so I would apologize to him
for you Black folks.
2186
01:44:00,442 --> 01:44:01,944
This is why he's a comedian,
'cause...'cause...
2187
01:44:01,985 --> 01:44:03,362
'cause you bring up
Bill Clinton,
2188
01:44:03,403 --> 01:44:05,030
and all...every Black person
kinda goes,
2189
01:44:05,072 --> 01:44:07,407
"Okay, first Black president.
We, uh..."
2190
01:44:07,449 --> 01:44:09,409
But the fact is, we...I would
apologize to Bill Clinton.
2191
01:44:09,451 --> 01:44:11,078
Even as a Black person
who thinks
2192
01:44:11,119 --> 01:44:12,955
you know where he's going,
he's like, "Wait. What?"
2193
01:44:12,996 --> 01:44:15,832
No, I mean that.
You Black folks tricked him.
2194
01:44:15,874 --> 01:44:18,585
You went in
that big, old Black pot
2195
01:44:18,627 --> 01:44:22,130
and said, "Here, white boy.
You Black."
2196
01:44:22,172 --> 01:44:24,258
- [laughter]
- Huh?
2197
01:44:24,299 --> 01:44:27,094
And then you went back
in that Black pot
2198
01:44:27,135 --> 01:44:28,887
and said, "Here, Obama.
You ain't Black enough."
2199
01:44:28,929 --> 01:44:30,806
What kind of fool is you?
2200
01:44:30,847 --> 01:44:32,724
- [uproarious laughter]
- Huh?
2201
01:44:32,766 --> 01:44:35,394
What kind of fool is you?
2202
01:44:35,435 --> 01:44:38,480
He was at that age that he
really could say whatever.
2203
01:44:38,522 --> 01:44:42,567
Your children ain't violent
because they Black.
2204
01:44:42,609 --> 01:44:44,278
They ain't violent.
2205
01:44:44,319 --> 01:44:45,821
Most people in the world
lived in the ghetto.
2206
01:44:45,862 --> 01:44:47,322
They don't kill people.
2207
01:44:47,364 --> 01:44:51,910
What are you putting
in my malt liquor, white boy?
2208
01:44:51,952 --> 01:44:53,662
What are you putting in it? Huh?
2209
01:44:53,704 --> 01:44:55,622
And you could see everybody
next to him, like,
2210
01:44:55,664 --> 01:44:57,791
"Oh, man, I gotta follow this?
Like..." [laughs]
2211
01:44:57,833 --> 01:45:03,171
2212
01:45:14,057 --> 01:45:16,893
The week before he died,
2213
01:45:16,935 --> 01:45:19,229
Dick Gregory was still
doing engagements.
2214
01:45:19,271 --> 01:45:22,482
My son Christian was probably
getting ready
2215
01:45:22,524 --> 01:45:25,360
to take him to the airport,
and he said,
2216
01:45:25,402 --> 01:45:27,904
"Oh, I just don't feel so good,"
and then Christian said,
2217
01:45:27,946 --> 01:45:30,907
"Dad, wait a minute. You just
gotta cancel this engagement."
2218
01:45:38,332 --> 01:45:40,959
[Christian] We thought my father
was in the hospital
2219
01:45:41,001 --> 01:45:43,795
for a simple
urinary tract infection.
2220
01:45:43,837 --> 01:45:48,633
It wasn't until an astute eye
of a radiologist
2221
01:45:48,675 --> 01:45:52,637
caught what he believed to be
a significant problem
2222
01:45:52,679 --> 01:45:56,641
taking place
with my father's blood vessels.
2223
01:45:56,683 --> 01:45:59,061
And they said,
"We really don't think
2224
01:45:59,102 --> 01:46:00,687
he's gonna live that long."
2225
01:46:00,729 --> 01:46:03,231
And we were just like, "What?"
You know, we're just stunned.
2226
01:46:03,273 --> 01:46:07,194
2227
01:46:07,235 --> 01:46:10,947
I know he was ready to go.
2228
01:46:10,989 --> 01:46:14,242
He knows he had did everything
he needed to ever do.
2229
01:46:14,284 --> 01:46:17,412
And I just felt he...
he just...
2230
01:46:17,454 --> 01:46:20,540
I just wished a picture
could've been taken of his face.
2231
01:46:20,582 --> 01:46:24,544
To this day, it's the most
beautiful facial expression
2232
01:46:24,586 --> 01:46:26,213
that I've seen
in my entire life,
2233
01:46:26,254 --> 01:46:31,676
was that last wink made.
2234
01:46:31,718 --> 01:46:34,721
Just that last wink.
2235
01:46:34,763 --> 01:46:36,306
[exhales deeply]
2236
01:46:36,348 --> 01:46:41,019
The look on his face was
one of the most peaceful looks
2237
01:46:41,061 --> 01:46:43,730
I ever saw on his face
in my life.
2238
01:46:43,772 --> 01:46:48,610
And we just stayed right there,
and there it was.
2239
01:46:48,652 --> 01:46:51,029
2240
01:46:51,071 --> 01:46:54,116
We all quickly became
clear that
2241
01:46:54,157 --> 01:46:57,953
the...the...
the world just lost...
2242
01:46:57,994 --> 01:47:01,706
[voice breaking] uh...
an incredible human being.
2243
01:47:04,626 --> 01:47:09,381
hopeful music
2244
01:47:09,423 --> 01:47:14,636
2245
01:47:16,721 --> 01:47:18,306
[birds chirping]
2246
01:47:18,348 --> 01:47:21,184
[Dick]
I'll always have advocates,
2247
01:47:21,226 --> 01:47:25,147
many of my friends,
people that work for me,
2248
01:47:25,188 --> 01:47:29,818
that see through
all my ignorance
2249
01:47:29,860 --> 01:47:32,195
and can still see my dreams.
2250
01:47:32,237 --> 01:47:36,324
And that's what my wife
was able to do,
2251
01:47:36,366 --> 01:47:40,120
see through my hostility...
2252
01:47:40,162 --> 01:47:43,248
and see the love.
2253
01:47:43,290 --> 01:47:48,503
2254
01:47:49,546 --> 01:47:51,923
[birds chirping]
2255
01:47:51,965 --> 01:47:54,426
2256
01:47:54,468 --> 01:47:58,096
If young people were to ask me
what distinguished him,
2257
01:47:58,138 --> 01:48:01,475
I would say the fact
that he shook the body politic,
2258
01:48:01,516 --> 01:48:03,852
that he enjoyed flirting
with the establishment
2259
01:48:03,894 --> 01:48:05,479
on his terms.
2260
01:48:05,520 --> 01:48:07,063
I just fell in love with him
all the time.
2261
01:48:07,105 --> 01:48:10,484
He was just my man.
2262
01:48:10,525 --> 01:48:12,777
He lived an extraordinary life.
2263
01:48:12,819 --> 01:48:15,155
Like, most people
2264
01:48:15,197 --> 01:48:18,909
don't get to do a tenth...
[laughs]
2265
01:48:18,950 --> 01:48:21,077
of what he experienced.
2266
01:48:21,119 --> 01:48:25,665
If somebody told you, "Hey,
this guy did all these things
2267
01:48:25,707 --> 01:48:30,003
and was kind of oppressed,"
you'd be like, "Get outta here."
2268
01:48:30,045 --> 01:48:35,926
The thing you learn from
guys like that is...is try it.
2269
01:48:35,967 --> 01:48:39,221
Don't be lazy. Go for it.
2270
01:48:39,262 --> 01:48:41,389
You wanna tell jokes,
tell jokes.
2271
01:48:41,431 --> 01:48:43,975
If you don't think
you can do it, yes, you can.
2272
01:48:44,017 --> 01:48:47,729
You...Oh, you weigh 300 pounds.
Well, I'm gonna lose it.
2273
01:48:47,771 --> 01:48:50,106
Yes, you can lose it all.
You can make a lot of money.
2274
01:48:50,148 --> 01:48:52,234
You can lose a lot of money.
2275
01:48:52,275 --> 01:48:54,319
This guy lived the life,
2276
01:48:54,361 --> 01:48:58,740
and that's what
everyone should aspire to.
2277
01:48:58,782 --> 01:49:00,575
He saw the flaws
2278
01:49:00,617 --> 01:49:04,079
in how we were being treated
and where we were being placed.
2279
01:49:04,120 --> 01:49:06,581
He wanted to be a part
of the change,
2280
01:49:06,623 --> 01:49:09,000
and he always fought
for that change.
2281
01:49:09,042 --> 01:49:11,461
[Chappelle] The sacrifices he
made aren't necessarily required
2282
01:49:11,503 --> 01:49:14,464
of every artist,
but that there are
2283
01:49:14,506 --> 01:49:18,552
very special people
every few generations
2284
01:49:18,593 --> 01:49:23,056
we're blessed with
that are willing to do that.
2285
01:49:23,098 --> 01:49:24,558
And when you see these people,
2286
01:49:24,599 --> 01:49:26,434
you should give 'em your love
and your respect,
2287
01:49:26,476 --> 01:49:28,979
protect them to whatever extent
you can,
2288
01:49:29,020 --> 01:49:31,273
and try to recognize that
2289
01:49:31,314 --> 01:49:33,108
they're doing something
very difficult
2290
01:49:33,149 --> 01:49:35,026
for the benefit of all of us.
2291
01:49:35,068 --> 01:49:39,531
He set a very high bar for
the people that came after him.
2292
01:49:39,573 --> 01:49:41,491
2293
01:49:41,533 --> 01:49:46,288
He gave so much of himself
to a movement, to a people,
2294
01:49:46,329 --> 01:49:48,665
and he wasn't afraid to do that,
2295
01:49:48,707 --> 01:49:52,419
and I think the work that he did
is still necessary.
2296
01:49:52,460 --> 01:49:55,505
We still have to fight.
We still have to protest.
2297
01:49:55,547 --> 01:49:57,340
We still have to speak up.
2298
01:49:57,382 --> 01:49:59,718
[Sykes] When I started out
doing comedy,
2299
01:49:59,759 --> 01:50:02,929
I would look at the tapes
of him from back in the day,
2300
01:50:02,971 --> 01:50:08,435
and it definitely taught me
to aim higher.
2301
01:50:08,476 --> 01:50:10,895
When you gon' throw something,
aim higher.
2302
01:50:10,937 --> 01:50:16,318
2303
01:50:17,944 --> 01:50:19,738
[man] Mr. Gregory,
is there anything else
2304
01:50:19,779 --> 01:50:23,116
that you'd like to say
before we leave?
2305
01:50:23,158 --> 01:50:27,245
I've had white folks used to
tell me, "Love it or leave it."
2306
01:50:27,287 --> 01:50:31,666
[laughs] I'm not gon' leave
America till I straighten it out
2307
01:50:31,708 --> 01:50:33,627
and I'm not gon' love it
till she become lovable,
2308
01:50:33,668 --> 01:50:35,170
then I'm getting the fuck
outta here.
2309
01:50:35,211 --> 01:50:38,840
2310
01:50:38,882 --> 01:50:41,134
I know now that there is
a universal force
2311
01:50:41,176 --> 01:50:43,011
that controls the whole thing.
2312
01:50:43,053 --> 01:50:44,804
You can call it anything
you wanna call it.
2313
01:50:44,846 --> 01:50:48,475
One day, it's gonna balance out
all of our ledgers,
2314
01:50:48,516 --> 01:50:49,851
and it's gonna be
a simple question.
2315
01:50:49,893 --> 01:50:51,394
Not "How much money
did you make?
2316
01:50:51,436 --> 01:50:53,855
Was you funny?
Did they like you?
2317
01:50:53,897 --> 01:50:55,690
Were you a celebrity?
Who was your mother?
2318
01:50:55,732 --> 01:50:57,484
Who was your father?
Where did you live?
2319
01:50:57,525 --> 01:50:58,860
What school did you go to?
2320
01:50:58,902 --> 01:51:00,403
Where did you send your kids
to school?"
2321
01:51:00,445 --> 01:51:01,529
There's one simple question
that all of us
2322
01:51:01,571 --> 01:51:03,365
are going to deal with--
2323
01:51:03,406 --> 01:51:07,452
"How much service did you give
to your fellow human beings?"
2324
01:51:07,494 --> 01:51:09,663
Just that simple
and just that sweet.
2325
01:51:09,704 --> 01:51:11,122
- [man] Yes.
- [ applause ]
2326
01:51:11,164 --> 01:51:12,957
2327
01:51:12,999 --> 01:51:14,459
[Black Thought]
I'm tactical and strategic
2328
01:51:14,501 --> 01:51:16,294
Practical and collegiate
2329
01:51:16,336 --> 01:51:18,380
Enough to know
if you read it
2330
01:51:18,421 --> 01:51:20,799
Don't mean you need it,
I follow proper procedure
2331
01:51:20,840 --> 01:51:24,052
And get my money right off top
like alopecia
2332
01:51:24,094 --> 01:51:27,222
I see what's trending
was truly the end of an era
2333
01:51:27,263 --> 01:51:29,724
But it's forever or never,
I'm ever and ever
2334
01:51:29,766 --> 01:51:31,851
I am the vendetta
that's never been better
2335
01:51:31,893 --> 01:51:34,062
Than lyrical terrors,
incredibly clever
2336
01:51:34,104 --> 01:51:36,398
Perspective is meta
2337
01:51:36,439 --> 01:51:38,066
Y'all niggas need
to get it together
2338
01:51:38,108 --> 01:51:39,401
Like birds of a feather
2339
01:51:39,442 --> 01:51:42,070
I pen the words
of an Edgar...
2340
01:51:42,112 --> 01:51:44,239
Allan Poe
'cause I go for broke
2341
01:51:44,280 --> 01:51:45,699
Whether or not it's
for more cheddar
2342
01:51:45,740 --> 01:51:48,952
'Cause I am a go-getter
2343
01:51:48,993 --> 01:51:50,286
Loaded lines,
my bars bear the burden
2344
01:51:50,328 --> 01:51:52,038
I been in the gym overtime
2345
01:51:52,080 --> 01:51:54,749
No calls for disturbing
my over grind
2346
01:51:54,791 --> 01:51:57,085
And moving on me
gets you immobilized
2347
01:51:57,127 --> 01:52:00,422
My rhymes, super human,
I've been next to immortalized
2348
01:52:00,463 --> 01:52:02,882
The honorable, I come right
at you comical clowns
2349
01:52:02,924 --> 01:52:05,969
And break it down
into particles and molecules
2350
01:52:06,010 --> 01:52:08,972
So trying me is trying
the impossible
2351
01:52:09,013 --> 01:52:12,016
Slingshots to a monster
that keep darts in the arsenal
2352
01:52:12,058 --> 01:52:13,852
[Dick] I would like to say
thank you very much
2353
01:52:13,893 --> 01:52:17,731
and, uh, I really picked
a good time to quit.
2354
01:52:17,772 --> 01:52:20,942
Probably won't miss me at all.
2355
01:52:20,984 --> 01:52:23,611
Plus with all them clowns
in the White House,
2356
01:52:23,653 --> 01:52:26,114
they'll keep you laughing
for years to come.
2357
01:52:26,156 --> 01:52:28,742
[woman] Right on! All right.
All right, All right.
2358
01:52:28,783 --> 01:52:33,997
293912
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