Southside With You Page #4

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Thompson wants you doing research,

interfacing with the clients,

preparing his arguments...

- the grunt work, right?

- Right.

But if I don't speak up,

what's the alternative?

Shut my mouth and sit

there looking pretty?

First of all,

you always sit there looking pretty.

Second of all,

I'm not suggesting you silence yourself.

I'm just wondering why you chose

to work at a corporate firm

where you knew your silence

would be expected.

And, really, what I'm wondering is why

you're wasting the fight you have inside you

on battles you can't win and

issues you don't care about.

Excuse me?

You think because we spend

one afternoon together

and you tried to buy me a sandwich,

you're entitled to pass judgment

on the choices I made in my life?

You think I'm wasting my life.

Now, I never used those words.

You didn't have to use those words.

You used other ones,

and they stung just as much.

Why?

If you really loved what you were doing,

would you be bothered by what I said?

No.

You'd tell me to go screw myself

and you'd go on your merry

way making tons of cash

and doing trademark law

for the rest of your life.

And how do you know that's not

exactly what I plan to do?

Because you spent two years of

law school in Gannett House

working pro bono cases

for poor single moms.

And my guess is that it kills you

to know you can't put the

same passion and intelligence

towards cases that

actually mean something.

You're more than welcome

to pass judgment on your own father.

You know what? You're more than

welcome to pass judgment on me.

But quite frankly,

it sounds like you know me about

as little as you knew him.

- Michelle...

- And the biggest offense

is this is coming from a guy

who quit community

organizing for Harvard Law

only to take a summer position

at the same corporate firm

he's railing against.

Now that is the height of hypocrisy.

I apologize. I meant no offense.

Watch it. Hey, watch it!

Woman:
Barack!

Ladies!

Come in!

- Hello!

- So happy to see you guys.

Looks like we got a full house today.

Well, everyone heard you was coming,

Barack.

We all wanted to get a look at

our Harvard man all grown up.

Does a year and a half change a man?

Woman:
No,

but apparently it gets you a lady.

- Finally, a sister!

- Woman #2:
Mm-hmm!

How you doing, sweetie?

My name's Bernadette.

- Oh, Michelle. Very nice to meet you.

- Hey, girl.

- I'm Janice.

- Hi.

We was your boyfriend's ladies while

he was working here in the Gardens.

- Oh, we're not...

- Platonic ladies, child.

- Hey.

- Don't go giving her any ideas.

We did everything together

except the sexy stuff.

Mm. Now this is a real man

you got yourself here.

- Bernadette:
Mm-hmm...

- Just going right over there.

- Woman:
Hi!

- Tommy, my man.

B.!

- Always so good to see you.

- Janice:
Yo, Rafiqa!

This Barack's woman, Michelle.

Mm, he done well for himself.

- Welcome!

- Janice, we're not together.

- You saying this Barack's girl?

- No, Kyle, this Barack's woman.

- Michelle.

- Y'all married and sh*t?

Kyle, watch your mouth.

Your ass in church.

- Y'all married?

- No.

We're not together at all.

Let me tell you a little

something about Barack.

My son Lawan wanted to be in the navy

since he was playing

with toy boats in the tub.

But growing up in the Gardens, whoo!

Little by little,

the place was getting to him.

And he was starting to get the same ideas

as every other young Negro around here,

thinking there ain't no place

for them outside these walls.

And even if there was, ain't no way out.

Well, then comes Barack,

and every time he come by

the house to talk business,

he sets aside a little time

to talk with my Lawan

about navy boats.

Now, I don't even know how

Barack knew about navy boats,

and he could've been making up names,

for all I know.

The USS this and the USS that.

It didn't matter.

He kept Lawan interested.

He told my boy that he could be anything

if he worked hard enough.

You see, he didn't have

a father to tell him that.

And you know what?

- He made it out.

My son is sailing across the seas

on the USS Dakota.

Bernadette:
He looking all fly and

professional in his military uniform.

Hands off, girl.

That's my boy you're talking about.

Tommy:
All right, afternoon, everybody.

Afternoon.

- Crowd:
Good afternoon!

- Afternoon. Right, right, right.

Okay, now, today, you know we're here

to discuss the community center.

What community center?

- Look, I know.

I know the city's decision was

a disappointment, all right?

Lord, Tommy.

It was more than a disappointment.

It was six months

of our lives down the drain.

Okay, hold on. Everybody, just hold on.

It was a disappointment.

But it wasn't all bad.

See, now, we got ourselves not one,

not two, but three foundations

to fund our community center

programs when the time is right.

And I got that in writing.

Now, how in God's name are they supposed

to fund our community center programs

when we ain't got no community center?

All:
That's right!

Well, that's the dilemma

we're here today to solve.

Now, what we have to do first

is take a look at

why the city council said no.

Well, what difference does it make?

They say no to everything we ask for.

Now, now,

that's just not always true, Curtis.

Now,

we got that job center up and running.

We got people's apartments on hold

for them while they rehabbing.

Look, all I know is this...

Senator Torrance

got himself a state grant

to build a church

that he's gonna preach in

and Alderman Sayid helped him get it.

Crowd:
Tell him, tell him! Tell him!

Meanwhile, my little girls can't

go but a mile up the road to play

for all the gangs

running around the Gardens,

pushing they drugs,

littering they garbage,

shooting they guns like this

is the Wild West or something.

Shoot, our kids can't even go

play in they friends' house

across the street at the gates.

- Man:
Nope.

- The senator got himself a church.

Our kids got themselves the shaft.

All:
That's right!

Okay, okay, okay, okay,

that's a lot of...

that's a lot of issues to address,

- and I know better than anyone else.

- Man:
Mm!

Come on, now, I've devoted my

life to helping this community,

- but we got to stay focused.

- Woman:
That's right.

Look,

we got to take our anger and channel it

towards the goals we setting.

- Right now, that's the community center.

- Woman:
Tell them, Tommy.

Now, you know from past

experiences we got things done

because we honed in on one issue,

we pressed, we squeezed,

and we screamed until

somebody finally listened.

It's taking too long.

We tired of screaming!

- Well, then ain't nothing gonna change.

- Well, maybe it can't!

- Huh?

- No way.

Well, look, I disagree.

And I'm sure our guest here disagrees,

too,

because I seem to recall

when he was standing here

in my position by this podium

a year and a half ago,

y'all got something done.

I seem to recall with his guidance,

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