The Butler Page #7

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talking about your daddy.

What?

He was saying all that

stuff about house Negroes.

I saw you get mad.

My dad is not a house Negro.

- He a butler, ain't he?

- Don't talk about my dad.

I don't talk about your dad,

all right?

That's 'cause my daddy's

proud of what I'm doing.

You all right?

Everybody went to church to

raise money for the kids down in Selma.

But I didn't go. I wasn't gonna give

money to pay for my son to be killed.

Once again, them kids got beat.

This one was so bad that the press

called it "Bloody Sunday. "

They barely left Selma.

They marched in small groups

through the city of Selma

- and were not stopped...

- ... mortars and rockets...

...can pound Con Thien

around the clock

with devastating effect.

And our ground troops

cannot go into...

...it was a different story.

Mounted sheriff's deputies

helped to break up the column.

Once the line was broken...

How are your boys, Cecil?

I don't know how my oldest is,

Mr. President.

I believe he might

be in Selma.

And, you know,

sometime I feel like

we're living in

two different worlds.

Just want to keep him safe.

...marchers were

treated for tear gas burns,

open wounds and broken bones.

One hospital treated...

Every American citizen

must have an equal right to vote.

Yet the harsh fact is that

in many places in this country,

men and women

are kept from voting

simply because they are Negroes.

"Negroes?"

Since when did he start

calling us Negroes?

That n*gger uses the word

"n*gger" more than I use it.

But really it's all of us...

...who must overcome

the crippling legacy

of bigotry and injustice.

And we shall overcome.

First,

a barrage of cover fire,

and then a charge across the street.

The Marines moved out from

the fortified Army compound

blitzed by the original attack.

Hey, hey, LBJ!

How many kids

did you kill today?!

Hey, hey, LBJ!

How many kids

did you kill today?!

...the ancient imperial city.

It is to Vietnamese

what old Boston is to Americans,

where many of its country's

leaders are born or educated.

I wish they'd shut up.

The first sniper shots ricochet

around the thick walls of the building,

taking the first casualties

of the first squad.

The snipers may be

only two or three,

invisible to the buildings

beyond the wall.

But there is also a machine gun

down the street to the left.

Dr. King, you might want to

lie down with that fever.

President Johnson is making

a tragic error in Vietnam.

Move over, big yellow.

Why shouldn't we fight in Vietnam?

The Vietcong don't call us

"n*ggers," for one.

Seriously, how many of

your parents support the war?

Well, my Lord.

Why do your parents support it?

We haven't spoken about it specifically,

I just know they do.

Well, what do your daddy do?

He's a butler.

The black domestic play an

important role in our history.

I didn't tell you that

to make fun of me.

Young brother, the black

domestic defy racial stereotypes

by being hardworking and trustworthy.

He slowly

tears down racial hatred

with his example of a strong work ethic

and dignified character.

Now, while we perceive the butler

or the maid to be subservient,

in many ways, they are subversive,

without even knowing it.

- Come in, Cecil.

- Afternoon, Mr. Warner.

Thank you for seeing me.

Since the colored...

...the black staff

does just as much work

as the white staff,

I believe that our salaries

should reflect our service, sir.

"Black" staff?

I also feel

that we should have...

...opportunities of advancement.

No black houseman

has ever been promoted

to the engineer's office.

You're very well liked here, Cecil.

But if you're unhappy

with your salary or position,

then I suggest you seek

employment elsewhere.

- With all due respect...

- Don't let that Martin Luther King sh*t

fill your britches out.

Just remember where I found you.

Yes, sir.

Excuse me.

Dr. Martin Luther King,

the apostle of non-violence

in the civil rights movement has been

shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee.

Police have issued

an All Points Bulletin

for a well-dressed, young white

man seen running from the scene.

Officers also reportedly

chased and fired on

a radio-equipped car

containing two white men.

I didn't know if I was

gonna get home alive.

It was the first time I felt like

I didn't belong in my own neighborhood.

The whole world was changing,

and I didn't know where I fit in.

Dr. King has been a buffer

the last two years,

between the black community

and the white community.

The white people do not know it,

but the white people's

best friend is dead.

The black people's leader,

our Moses,

the once in a four-

or five-hundred year leader,

has been taken from us

by hatred and bitterness.

Even as I stand at this hour,

I cannot even allow hate

to enter my heart at this time,

for it was sickness,

not meanness, that killed him.

Ma... my room's pink.

Make sure you get some more

of my sweet potatoes, Carol.

I use orange juice

when I make 'em,

that's what make 'em so... tart.

How long y'all been dating?

- Five years.

- We're just friends.

Is, uh,

all the rest of the students

are they getting involved

in politics, too?

There's been a division.

Kind of a split, Ma.

A few of them,

like John Lewis, they're still...

- I love John Lewis.

- How you know who John Lewis is?

'Cause, honey,

I read Jet magazine.

I'm not just sitting up there

sewing for you all day.

Ooh.

I'm sick and tired of getting

thrown in jail.

Yeah, well, that makes

two of us, don't it?

Dr. King's philosophy ultimately

got him murdered.

It worked when we started,

but... now it's time to take

the next step, which is politics.

So y'all going

to the White House now?

Daddy, Louis going

to the White House.

You know they ain't gonna

let you in there

with them nipples out.

Maybe one, but not both of 'em.

Shut up. Nah, we're...

we're more grass roots.

One-on-one with the community.

Although we have started

our own political party.

What's your party?

You like to party?

I like to party.

What's your party called?

The Black Panther Party.

What kind of name is that?

What's that stand for?

We... provide free breakfast

for children,

free medical clinics, free clothing,

self-defense classes.

And why y'all need self-defense?

We ain't gettin' beat no more.

Me and your daddy saw a

wonderful movie the other night.

Reminded me so much of you.

Oh, yeah?

What was the name

of that movie, honey?

In the Heat of the Night.

In the Heat... of the Night,

with Sidney Poitier.

Lord, Sidney Poitier.

I love Sidney Poitier.

Sidney Poitier's a white man's fantasy

of what he wants us to be.

But his movies have him

fighting for equal rights.

Only in a way that's acceptable

to the white status quo.

- Ah.

- The brother can't act.

What are you talking about?

He just won the Academy Award.

He's breaking down barriers

for all of us.

By being white.

By acting white.

Sidney Poitier is nothing but

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