Free State of Jones Page #6

"and bring him before

any justice of the peace

"whose duty it shall be

to remand said apprentice

"to the service

of his or her masters."

You done yet?

You, sir, are out of order.

No, I'm not out of

order, lieutenant.

I understand this

quite clearly.

Y'all get your land back,

then you go and work up

some fancy law just last week

that gets this boy

back in the fields

pickin' cotton for ya, huh?

Mr. knight, you're gonna

get your chance to talk.

No, I'm gonna settle this

right here and now.

How much, huh?

How much? You buyin'

and sellin' people.

How much, Mr. eakins? Hmm?

How much for me to buy back

this here lawful

apprenticeship, huh?

Here's $70. That do it?

Fair enough.

Fair enough.

Here, let's go. Let's go.

No more auction block for me.

No more, no more.

No more driver's lash for me.

No more, no more.

No more pound of salt for me.

No more, no more.

No more auction block for me.

No more, no more.

Union league! Union league!

Union league! Union league!

Union league! Union league!

The meeting of the soso

and Jones county union league

will officially come to order.

Here it is. Right here.

Congress just passed

an amendment

to the United States

constitution.

Article 15, section 1.

"The right of citizens

of the United States to vote

"shall not be denied

or breached

"by the United States

or by any state

"on account of race, color,

"or previous condition

of servitude."

That means when

we was all slaves.

We got the right to vote now.

Yeah. All right.

Congress done passed the law.

Yeah,

it's a black church, Jasper,

but it's a union church

as well,

and they fought

side-by-side us

and our boys got as much

to lose in this than anyone.

I know.

Well, then get them

to come to one meetin'.

Get them to come to

one union league meetin'.

They gonna see that

the fight ain't over.

They ain't gonna come,

newt. They just ain't.

Their war is over.

It's over.

You know better than that.

God bless you, newt.

You are the most stubborn

man I ever met in my life.

It ain't just for us,

all right?

It is for everybody.

Black, white, rich, poor.

It's for our oppressors

who don't even know

what's good for 'em yet.

It's for everybody

who came before us

who couldn't even

read this ballot.

It's for our children,

who, lord willin',

won't have to shed blood

for it like we have.

And it's for their children,

and their children's children.

Push! Push!

One mo' good push.

I see it comin'. One mo'.

There it is, oh, your baby!

I got your baby!

Look at that nose.

Does he look black

or white to you?

I don't know.

Neither, I guess.

You just a brand-new

thing, ain't ya?

Yes, you is.

Your honor, a new piece

of evidence has come to our attention

that we would like

to introduce

as people's exhibit 7.

Objection, your honor.

We weren't noticed

on this piece of evidence.

Well, I wasn't exactly noticed

on his census report either.

What exactly is this new piece

of evidence, counselor?

The knight family Bible

in newt knight's own hand.

How much y'all need?

A lot more than this.

Oh.

This spindle.

Here...

I'll take him.

Aw. There, darlin',

it's all right.

It's okay, baby. It's okay.

It's okay.

Hmm?

Hmm.

Look at that.

You got him to stop.

Well, men just want

to be listened to, right?

Especially these men.

Gettin' chilly.

Hmm. It is.

Yeah.

You ain't got

to fill it out now.

I'll fill it out for you.

You gonna register.

You get to vote.

You get to vote in public

and you get to vote

for black folks.

Vote for black folks?

Yes, sir,

black judges. Maybe

even a black sheriff.

I don't know.

That sounds like heaven,

and I ain't ready to die yet.

All right. I'm gonna

need your whole name.

Edward James.

Edward...

Edward James.

Yes, sir.

- You know how old you are?

- No, sir.

Thirty? 1835 maybe.

That's what we gonna say.

All right.

Don't forget now 'cause they

might ask you some questions.

What's your name?

Thomas Watson.

Thomas.

Samuel weaton.

That's a good name.

Strong name.

Joseph Thomas.

Joseph Thomas.

We gonna change some

things. All right?

We just got to believe.

Do you know

where you was born?

Natchez.

Okay. How old are you?

Do you know your age?

Thirty.

Thirty years old.

What's your last name?

Davis.

Davis.

Now what about your...

What about your father?

What's your mama's name?

Meryl.

All right.

Man 12 hey!

Where you goin', Dov?

Hold up there!

Lam talking to you, boy.

Man 2; Say, hey, boy!

I'm talkin'

to you, n*gger.

Moses?

Moses!

Moses!

Lord, today we bring

you our brother

to take into your lovin' arms.

To hold and shelter and bless

with life everlasting.

Lord, if it's the good

that you seek in men,

then you ain't never

gonna find no better

than Mr. Moses Washington.

A man who had so many

reasons to be full of hate,

yet he never was.

And that, lord, is one of

your greatest miracles.

So let us not weep.

Let us not shed

a tear here today

'cause since the

day I knew him,

all he ever wanted

to do was get free.

Now he is.

Moses deserved

a better world than this.

Right now, he's got one.

I guess that's it.

It ain't but noon.

Others could show up.

No, they're scared, Jasper.

Scared's a powerful thing.

Don't seem too American

for an election to be over

before it starts, does it?

Nope.

Well, we got 22 registered

Republicans here.

We're damn sure

gonna vote.

Twenty-three.

Election day, ain't it?

Sure is.

His truth is marching on

John brown's body lies

a-moldering in the grave

John brown's body lies

a-moldering in the grave

John brown's body lies

a-moldering in the grave

his truth is marching on

he's gone to be a soldier

in the army of the lord

he's gone to be a soldier

in the army of the lord

he's gone to be a soldier

in the army of the lord

his truth is marching on

we'd like republican tickets.

Mmm. We ain't got those yet.

Hmm.

Just the democrat tickets.

We'll wait.

Might be a pretty

long wait.

Hmm.

Let me explain

somethin' to ya.

These men are here to vote.

They mind dying a whole

lot less than you do.

I'll see if i

can find any.

Get him up!

It ain't just

for you to decide.

That child has a choice.

I didn't have no choice.

What kind of life do you think

is gonna be better for him?

Yeah, that ain't

the point.

I don't want my boy

to get lynched.

Or beat.

I want him to

go to a school.

I don't want him

to drop his eyes

every time a

white man walk by.

I don't want him

to be a "boy" no more

once he turn into a man.

Don't you want that, too?

Of course I do.

We got to go up north.

Mmm-hmm.

It ain't your fault

we lost that war.

I know you tried to

win it all by yourself.

This is our home.

It's our home.

We would

like to offer you

a proposal, Mr. knight.

This book is pretty

conclusive evidence.

In fact, in all my

years of prosecuting,

I never seen a more

damning piece of evidence.

Now, Mr. knight, I don't

believe you really knew

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