The Free State of Jones Page #6

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 picking cotton for you.

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 buying and selling people.

How much, Mr. Eakins? Hmm?

How much for me to buy back this

here lawful apprenticeship, huh?

That's $70.

That do it?

Fair enough.

Fair enough. Yeah.

Let's go.

Let's go.

- No more auction block for me.

- No more, no more.

No more drivin' stacks for me.

No more, no more.

No more pounding 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 abridged...

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.

Yeah.

We got the right to vote now.

Congress done passed a law.

Yeah, it's a black church, Jasper,

but it's a union church as well.

They fought beside us, and our boys got

as much to lose in this than anyone.

I know. Then get 'em to

come to one meeting.

Get 'em to come to one

union league meeting.

They gonna see the fight ain't over.

They ain't gonna come.

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's for everybody.

Black, white, rich, poor.

It's for our oppressors

who don't know

what's good for them yet.

It's for everybody

who came before us

who couldn't even read

this ballot.

It's for our children,

who, lord willing, won't have to

shed blood for it like we have.

And it's for their children

and their children's children.

Push!

Come on. Push!

One more good push.

- Aaah!

- I see it coming. One more.

One more.

There it is!

Oh, your baby!

I got your baby!

Look at that nose.

Do he look black

or white to you?

Well, I don't know.

Neither, I guess.

You just a brand-new thing,

ain't you?

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.

Oh. There, darling.

It's all right.

It's all right.

It's okay, baby.

It's okay.

It's okay.

Shh, shh, shh, shh.

Hmm?

Hmm.

Look at that.

You got him to stop.

Well,

man just wants to be

listened to, right?

Especially these men.

Getting 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 sound like heaven,

and I ain't ready to die yet.

All right. I'm gonna

need your whole name.

Ed-Edward James.

Edward James. Edward James.

Yes, sir.

And, uh,

you know how old you are?

No, sir.

No. Thirty?

1835 maybe.

That's what we gonna say.

All right.

Don't forget now.

Yes, sir. They might ask

you some questions.

What's your name?

Thomas. Watson.

Thomas.

Samuel Whitman. That's a good name.

Strong name.

Joseph Thomas.

Joseph Thomas. Okay.

We gonna change some things.

We just got to believe.

- You know where you was born?

- Natchez.

Okay.

You know your age?

I'm 30.

Thirty years... what's your last name?

Davis.

Davis.

And what about your father?

- What's your mama's name?

- Meryl.

All right.

Hey!

Where you going, boy?

Hold up there!

Hear that man

talkin' to you, boy?

Hey, boy!

Talking to you, n*gger!

Moses?

Moses?

Moses!

Lord, today we bring you

our-our brother...

To take into your loving arms.

To hold and shelter...

And to 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.

Man had so many reasons to be

full of hate, yet he never was.

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.

And now he is.

Moses deserved

a better world than this.

And now he's got one.

I guess that's it.

It ain't but noon.

Others could show up.

Nah, they're scared, Jasper.

Scared's a powerful thing.

Don't seem too American for an election

to be over 'fore 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.

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 something to you.

These men are here to vote.

And they mind dying

a whole lot less than you do.

I'll see if I can find any.

No!

No! No!

- Get him up!

Ain't just for you to decide.

That child has a choice.

I didn't have no choice.

What kind of life

will be better for him?

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?

Course I do.

We got to go up north.

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 which side

of the family you were on.

What's your offer?

We have no desire to send

your client to jail, Mr. oaks,

but we can't tolerate

this kind of example either.

So if he will get

this marriage annulled,

leave the state of Mississippi,

then we'll agree to drop

all charges against him.

You mean, I end my marriage?

In case you haven't been here for

the past three weeks, Mr. knight,

your marriage is neither

a lawful nor proper union.

Proper union?

Prop...

I was married

in this courthouse.

I was married

in this courthouse!

But where we gonna go? We can't

get married anywhere else.

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