Boycott Page #2

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of the buses? Just one day just to see

what happens, okay? [dog barking] - Martin. Martin, here it comes. - It's empty. - It's empty. man: Comin' for

to carry me home - It's empty,

not a soul. - Good morning,

Reverend King, Mrs. King! - Good morning. - A very good morning. - Good day for walkin'. Martin: Yes, yes. Sweetheart, you might want to go on inside

and get dressed. man: Going home,

going home Comin' for to carry me home man: Comin' for

to carry me [man scatting] [percussive music] - They gave me this and said Negroes are supposed

to stay off the bus. [bus engine revving] - "If you work, "take a cab or walk, "but please,

children and grown-ups, don't get on a bus at all

on Monday." Dizzy Gillespie: Swing low,

sweet Cadillac Comin' for to carry me home Swing low,

sweet Cadillac Comin' for to carry me home I looked over Jordan,

and what did I see? Comin' for to carry me home Oh, an El Dorado

comin' after me Comin' for to carry me home [upbeat jazz music] - What?

- We got a ambush. - Quiet.

We got an ambush going. [all yelling] - Based on the evidence

presented here this morning, I find you, Rosa Parks,

guilty of violating the state segregation statute, and I hereby fine you $10, plus $4 court cost. Gray: Your Honor, Mrs. Parks

will refuse to pay the fine and hereby notices her appeal. judge: Very well. I'm setting her appeal bond

at $100. Pay the clerk. [gavel pounds] - Folks just gonna have

to get smart and join the Klan. [overlapping conversations] man: Order! [gavel pounds]

Order. Order! Now, there's

a motion on the floor to suspend the boycott. [all talking at once] - Now, now, it's too soon

to quit, now. It's too soon to quit. Huh, now, we just

getting started. - That's right.

- That's right. - Now, I tell you

what we need to do. We need to have a little bit

more faith in our people and ourselves. - That's right. Banyon: Order! Order! [all talking at once,

people clapping] - We--

[gavel pounds] Now, now,

we talkin' about whether or not

to end the boycott. Now, that's putting the cart

before the horse. What we need to be talkin' about

is electing us a leader to represent us;

then we can go on... - He's had his eyes

on that seat for a while. - You think? - Somebody to negotiate

with the city and present our demands. - I like him, though.

- Mm. - Old union man. - Christ, Lewis,

I don't care. I got something to say! - You don't have the floor.

- Now... - Rufus Lewis,

he's a-- what you might say

a man of the classes. - Now, you ministers

have been living off these washwomen

for the last 100 years and ain't done nothing

for 'em. - These are men

of the masses. Nixon: Let's tell the truth. Let's tell the truth.

Let's tell the truth! It's our women

who've been carrying the torch. It's our women

who've been getting arrested while y'all hide behind

their skirts like a bunch of damn cowards! Martin: Brother Nixon,

Brother Nixon, Brother Nixon. Brother Nixon, uh, I'm not

a coward, and I don't want anybody calling me a coward,

but I agree with you. Uh, the time has come

to stop hiding. Now, uh, Mrs. Parks

didn't hide this morning before that judge,

and we should act openly. Now, as for the question

of whether or not to suspend the boycott,

well, it seems to me that ought to be left up

to the folks who attend that meeting tonight. After all, they're the ones who

gonna be doing that walking. [all talking at once] - While I respect

Mr. Nixon's years of service to the struggle,

I feel we need a minister

to unite our entire community. I think he ought to be,

uh, a young man, a strong man. 'Cause we know this job is gonna take

a lot of energy. man: Amen, that's right. - Therefore,

I nominate, as president of the Montgomery

Improvement Association, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. [people murmuring

unintelligibly] May I have a second

on my nomination? [people murmuring

unintelligibly] - Yeah, I second

that nomination. Lewis: Why, thank you,

Reverend Abernathy. [light piano music] Abernathy: You ain't see

that one comin', did you? Martin: No, Ralph,

not at all. - You the perfect choice. You been in Montgomery,

what, a year? That ain't nearly long enough

to make any real enemies. - So you don't think they think

I'm the best man for the job? - No, of course they do. 'Cause you fail, ain't they ass

in the ringer, is it? It's yours. Who are you, anyway? Just some young hotshot preacher

from Atlanta with a big old

divinity degree from some fancy

Northern university. You're just an outsider,

brother, with a powerful daddy. They'll send you home and be

back to business as usual. - You think so, huh?

- Uh-huh. - Well, thank you, Ralph. - You're very welcome. You worried

about leading this thing? - No. I'm worried about

telling this woman. - And what did you say? - I said yes. - You said yes? - I said yes. I didn't ask for it. Uh, I just made a few remarks to clarify a situation, and before I knew it... - You were trying to bite off

a little piece, and you wound up

with the whole pie. - That's more or less

what happened. - Let's have dinner. Martin: No. No time. I have to give this

speech in an hour, and you know it usually takes me

two days for my sermons. Mm, now I've only got--

good Lord. - You'll think of something. You always do. [clock ticking] [dramatic music] [clock ticking] - Now, brothers and sisters,

today I want you to put on the whole armor

of God. The whole armor of God! all: Yes! [train whistle blowing] - Against the wrong

done against you. all: Yes!

Abernathy:
This is Dr. King. He's president of the Montgomery

Improvement Association. This is Dr. King, yeah. [unintelligible chatter] man: Let him through here.

Let him through. Let him through here. - Dr. King, this is the day

we have waited for. It's now all up to you. - That hold us in high places. all: Yes!

man:
That's right. - And now I introduce to you

the president of the newly founded Montgomery

Improvement Association, Reverend King. [applause] - Uh, good evening. all: Good evening. - First, I would like

to thank, uh, Brother Fields for sharing his pulpit

this evening, and I'd like to thank you all

for coming out. You didn't have to do that. But, uh,

I know you know that we are here this evening

for serious business. [people murmur agreement] We are here in a general sense because, first and foremost, we're American citizens. And we are determined

to apply our citizenship to the fullness

of its meaning. all: Right. - But we're here

in a specific sense because of the bus situation

in Montgomery. all: Right. Yes. - Now, just the other day,

one of the finest citizens in Montgomery-- not one of the finest

Negro citizens, but one of the finest citizens

in Montgomery-- was taken from a bus

and carried to jail and arrested because she refused to get up

and give her seat to a white person. all: Right. Yes. - And, you know, my friends,

there comes a time when people get tired

of being trampled by the iron feet of oppression. all: Yes.

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