Everyday Black Man Page #2

She's doing, ah, quite well.

Maybe you should see her

in person.

l teach every Thursday night

at the mosque.

Well, l appreciate that,

but l'm not sure if l'm welcome.

Why not?

-l'm--

-She's not Muslim.

Moses!

Anyone who is seeking the Truth

is welcome at the mosque.

That includes you, brother.

Well, good luck with your desserts.

All right.

Tomorrow's special will be

banana cream pie,

so perhaps l'll bring by

a couple for you and--

Okay.

But, um, seriously, l'm not looking

to get into baked goods.

Well, sometimes a man doesn't know

what he's looking for

until it's presented him

a nice opportunity.

A smart man like yourself

would not back away.

Thank you for your time, brother.

Moses. And, sister--

-Claire, yeah.

-Clare.

Claire. Pretty name.

Thank you.

Thanks for the pie.

Of course.

-You two, take care.

-Peace.

Well, good luck to him, selling

his stuff in this neighborhood.

l like him.

So, you want to try some pie?

Let's see.

lt's good, huh?

l told you it's good.

All right,

you can have the rest of this.

Claire.

Claire.

Smells good.

-Thank you.

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

-All right.

-Bye.

-Bye.

Hmm.

[ Monitor beeping ]

Hey, you.

Moses! What are you doing here?

l'd have been here sooner if you had

left word that you were in here.

l didn't want to bother you.

You never bother me.

You know that.

Now. . .

What'd you do to yourself?

Well, they say l have

congestive heart failure.

Hmm.

That don't sound good.

No.

l don't think l'll be around

much longer.

Please!

They told old man Johnson

five years ago his heart was failing.

He's still around here,

bothering people.

Oh. Easy.

Old man Johnson

never could tell the truth.

He was just up here yesterday

visiting me,

telling lies as usual.

Wait.

He knew about you and l didn't?

Well, l think one of the church

members must have told him.

Well, l'm a church member.

Nobody told me.

Why, you haven't been

coming around that much.

Now, if you would just sit down

and talk with Claire

and tell her the truth,

she would have told you first.

l haven't made anything of myself yet.

Moses, Claire is your daughter.

Not your prospective bride.

She doesn't care what you got

and what you don't got.

She just needs to know

that you are her father,

and you have always

been there for her.

Besides, you have made

something of yourself.

-You've got the store.

-That's not enough.

No money's coming in.

Moses!

l went to the bank

to get a loan to expand.

Reality is l need the money now

just to keep the store open.

l got some money.

Unh-unh.

l got $5,000 in my savings.

l was going to give it to Claire

for my funeral

in case the insurance money

doesn't come through.

Don't matter what they do with me.

-They can just put me in a box--

-Mary, no.

How come your pride is acting up?

My money won't bite you.

No.

Moses, Shauna has been dead

for 20 years.

You have paid your debt to her

and to me.

l'm not going

to take your money, Mary.

l'm never going to take it.

Well, you're just plain stupid.

You tell her!

You tell her the truth.

Don't let my dying

wait for it all to come out.

You're not goin' nowhere.

You're not going anywhere.

You hear me?

Nowhere.

l'm through with that.

Whatever you say.

Yeah.

What do you mean

you're stopping the payments?

You can't stop the payments.

l understand

you can't take late payments,

but, look, we've been doing business

for too long together.

Come on, now!

Look. Surely-- Hello?

Damn it!

Can't be begging white people

for money in business.

You know that's a no-no,

Brother Moses.

l didn't hear you come in.

Obviously not.

Business problems.

lt happens, all right?

Maybe you're doing business

with the wrong people.

Can l do something for you now?

Banana cream pie,

just like l promised.

For Sister Claire

and Brother Sonny.

Since l know you don't have

much of a sweet tooth.

Thanks. Now?

Also thought maybe

you would give yourself a chance

to work with a black man,

for a change,

instead of all these white boys

you owe money to.

Like l told you before,

l'm not looking for a partner.

l know you said that, brother,

but l, you know,

l guess l'm just wondering

if you really meant it.

l mean, l look at you, and you don't

really appear to be a dumb man.

Excuse me?

By appearance, brother,

you're not a dumb man.

But here l am,

walking into your store.

Looking for a handout.

Offering you a chance

to expand your store,

and yet you want to turn me away.

You see everything in this store?

l built this!

lt's my store.

-All right, you got that?

-l got that.

-ls it clear?

-lt's very clear.

But when the doors close

because you wouldn't accept

a kind handout,

and when the products stop coming

because you couldn't

produce a check,

that's what you're going to have left,

Brother Moses.

You will still have your store.

You're right. lt's your store.

Sorry for inconveniencing you.

So, what exactly is it

you're proposing?

Let me aid you in your desire

to serve the community, brother.

Yeah. How are you going to do that?

By offering you a check for $60,000.

All you got to do in return

is allow me to run my bakery

out of your store.

$60,000? Where are you getting

that kind of money?

Well, it definitely wasn't

from whipping my ass,

like you so aptly put it.

l'm a businessman, brother.

Making money is what l do.

Give me an opportunity

to do the same thing for you.

The check's on the table.

Clock is ticking, Brother Moses.

lt's your play.

[ Clears throat ]

Well, l'd have to check with the bank,

and stuff like that.

Of course you do.

You've been working

with the white man for so long,

brother comes along,

you can't even recognize him

helping you

in the middle of the street.

Why me?

Simple. Allah told me so.

You don't make mistakes.

l expect to hear from you.

And may Allah be with you, brother.

And, so l ask you,

l do, l ask you, brothers,

and l ask you, sisters,

that we stop allowing the devil

to drag us apart,

that we stop letting the white man

tear us apart at the seams.

l ask us, brothers and sisters,

to remember

who we are as a people,

to stand up,

to stand up against injustices

and stand up against poverty,

against hate.

That we stand up

to our rightful place.

l think the time is now.

Yes, l think the time is now.

Brothers and sisters,

can we do this?

Can we-- can we stand up

and hold hand-in-hand

and build a new

black nation together?

[ Single applause ]

Very powerful speech, young man.

lt will be.

Still working it out, Brother Moses.

lt's working for me now.

Then, maybe you should come down

to the center right now.

Well, maybe.

-Oh, let me get this right.

-You got it right.

-Asalaam Alaykum, Brother.

-Alaykum Salaam.

See?

-You got it right.

-All right.

Brother Moses,

this here is Brother Yusef.

Brother Yusef is my right-hand man

around here.

The silent type.

Yes.

[ Clears throat ]

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