Mississippi Burning Page #7

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you like foolin' around with witnesses.

A gun don't mean sh*t unless you use it.

- I'll kill you now if you don't listen to me.

- F*** you.

Let me go. Let me go.

- We'll go after all of 'em, together.

- You wouldn't know how!

- You'll teach me.

- You don't have the guts.

Not only do I have the guts,

I have the authority.

What is that supposed to mean?

New rules. We nail 'em any way we can.

Even your way.

Is this you talkin' or

some guy pullin' your strings?

Both.

- We do it my way.

- Your way.

- With my people!

- Whatever it takes.

OK.

Gimme a minute.

- You think he would've shot me?

- Oh, yes, sir.

He's a ballsy little bastard, isn't he?

They want me to say "Let us not forget...

..that two white boys also died

helping Negroes help themselves."

They want me to say "We mourn with

the mothers of these two white boys."

(congregation murmurs)

But the state of Mississippi

won't even allow these white boys...

..to be buried in the same

cemetery as this Negro boy.

I say I have no more love to give.

I have only angerin my heart today,...

..and I want you to be angry with me!

Now, I am sick and I am tired,...

..and I want you to be

sick and tired with me!

I... I... I am sick and tired

ofgoing to the funerals...

..ofblack men who have been

murdered by white men!

I... I am sick and tired

ofthe people ofthis country...

..who continue to allow

these things to happen!

What is an "inalienable right"

ifyou are a Negro?

What does it mean,

"equal treatment under the law"?

What does it mean,

"Iiberty andjustice forall"?

Now I say to these people:

Look at the face ofthis young man

and you will see the face ofa black man.

But, ifyou look at the bloodshed, it is red.

It is like yours!

It isjust like yours!

You...

I'm gonna tell you a story.

A young kid named Homer Wilkes

lives about 30 miles north of here.

He'd just taken his girlfriend home

and was walkin' back along the road...

..when a car pulled up.

Three white boys took him for a ride.

Now...

..he hadn't done anything,...

..except...

..be a Negro.

And they took him to a shack.

A shack like... Iike this one.

And they took out a razor blade,...

..a regular old razor blade, like this one,...

..and they pulled down his pants...

..and they spread his legs...

..and they sliced off his scrotum.

Put it in a coffee cup.

And do you know how much you bleed

when somebody cuts off your balls?

Huh?!

When they found Homer, he looked like

he'd been dipped in blood up to his waist.

He was barely alive when

they got him to the hospital.

He can hardly walk now.

Mayor, we know you know...

..who was there when those three

civil rights boys was murdered.

We know you know

who pulled the trigger.

(grunts)

Is there somethin' you wanna say to me?

(Anderson) OK!

- Is he with the Bureau?

- Yeah. He's kind of a specialist.

- You're sure the mayor won't talk?

- No, they'd kill him!

All right. What do you have?

There were three cars and seven men.

Pell and Bailey did the killing.

- Sheriff Stuckey?

- He was too smart to be there.

- So Pell pulled the trigger for him.

- And Townley?

It was his idea. Grand Dragons,

they don't get their hands dirty.

The whole thing, huh? Bullet by bullet.

I don't suppose you're interested in words

like "coercion" or "hearsay" or "duress".

This is no good in court.

We're not in court, Mr Ward.

We'll never get 'em on murder anyway.

That's a state charge.

These hayseeds will never prosecute.

- I know that!

- We've got to get 'em in federal court!

- Violation of civil rights!

- Remember whose rights you're violatin'!

- Don't put me on your perch, Mr Ward!

- Don't drag me into your gutter!

These people crawled out of a sewer,

Mr Ward!

And maybe the gutter's

where we should be!

Thank you.

This better be important.

Who the hell called this meeting?

- We thought you did.

- Of this group? Are you stupid?

You didn't call this? Sh*t.

- If you didn't call this, who the f*** did?

- Shut up.

Is this some kind of bullshit setup?

Ray, are you sure you didn't call this?

Cos I got a note from my wife

and it said it was from you and Clinton.

Lester, shut up!

Now,

we're all gonna walk straight outta here...

..and say nothing.

That means nothin', Lester.

- First one who opens his mouth is dead.

- Shut up.

Hey, Clinton.

Clinton.

Looks like the rattlesnakes

are startin' to commit suicide.

Hi, Lester.

We'll give you that ride home.

What?

Well, I know you said 4.30

but we're runnin' a little late, so...

- I'll meet you in the car.

- You're cracked.

Do you have change of a 20?

Sure.

Get in the car, Lester.

Or you'll have a hard time pickin'

your nose once I've closed this drawer.

Lester, you could make it a lot easier on

yourself by goin' on the record right now.

I ain't got nothin' to say.

You barkin' up the wrong tree, mister.

Lester, I gotta tell you somethin'.

We got you cold.

Your buddies have already talked.

You're lyin'.

You're in a lot of trouble. We know you

drove the second vehicle, the green truck.

And your buddy says...

Refresh my memory here, Mr Bird.

"Lester Cowens kicked the Negro

twice in the face and then shot him."

- That's a goddamn lie.

- No, it's true. What else, Mr Bird?

"Lester Cowens said 'They only left me

a n*gger, but at least I shot me a n*gger."'

- I didn't kill him. I shot him in the ass.

- We know that.

He was already dead by the time you shot

him. But your buddy sees it differently.

Your buddy tells it that you killed the kid.

You either go on the record right now...

..or it's gonna be your ass

we're talkin' about, not just a black kid's!

Think about it, Lester.

Come on out of there.

Come on out.

This is tricky.

They make it look so easy, don't they?

I got a question for you, Clinton.

You don't mind if I call you Clinton,

do you?

I feel like I know you so well.

The way we have it,

on the night of the murders...

..you made a short speech as the

bulldozer buried the kids in the dam.

How does Lester tell it?

"Mississippi will be proud of you.

You've struck a blow for the white man."

Is that what you said, Clinton? Hm?

Is that what you said?

It must've been you...

..because Clayton Townley and

Ray Stuckey were too smart to be there.

And you was too stupid to think

anybody'd remember what you said.

But old Lester, he got a good memory.

(grunt)

(Anderson) I'm sorry.

I haven't done this for a long time.

Did you make a speech the night that

you beat up your wife, Clinton? Huh?

Did ya?

Did you strike a blow

for the white man that night?

(door closes)

You got a stupid smile.

You know that, Pell?

Can you see it? Huh? Good!

Did you smile when the bulldozer

ran over the black kid's body? Did ya?!

Did you smile when the bodies

were covered over? Did ya?!

Get up here. Come on. Get up!

Did you smile that same stupid smile,

huh?!

Did ya?! You...

(crashing from inside)

Did ya smile, Pell? Did ya smile?!

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