Last on Roots:
Now, you watch and you listen, and l just might pound enough sense...
...into that thick head to get you through from Monday to Tuesday.
l've been waiting my whole life to love somebody...
...to be loved by someone...
...to touch, to hold. Please, l don't wanna waste another minute.
Will you marry me?
Yes.
What you going to do now, Haley, with the war over?
l don't know. lt's funny.
All these months and months of writing letters for the other guys....
lf l thought l could make a life for myself writing--
When l hear myself say that out loud, it really sounds crazy.
Maybe you should give it up.
-Maybe it wasn't meant to be. -lt was.
Honey, we already have so much.
l've got this feeling so strong.
There's something special l was born to do. l used to tell my papa that.
l don't know what it is...
...but when the time comes to do it, l've gotta be ready.
And part of being ready is being a writer.
Nan, this is crazy. Nan, we can work it out.
l am sorry, Alex.
Mostly, l'm sorry for myself and the children...
...but a little bit for you.
l wish l could have helped.
Forasmuch as almighty God hath received unto himself...
...the soul of our departed sister Elizabeth Harvey...
...we, therefore, tenderly commit her body to the ground.
Next of kin, Mrs. Georgia Anderson.
That's me.
Professor Haley.
George Haley.
Alex Haley.
"l am the resurrection and the life," saith the Lord.
Funny, isn't it?
The only time the whole family gets together is for a funeral.
And Christmas.
Alex, why don't you come on out to Kansas City for Christmas.
Dad's coming, and Julius.
Yeah, maybe, if l can get away.
You busy?
You mean, am l making a living?
Well, yes. l often wonder...
...is it remunerative writing squibs for popular magazines?
-Dad-- -What is a squib?
Well, what he calls a squib is a magazine article that pays $500...
...but has no redeeming footnotes.
Footnotes simply give evidence that the author has documented his work.
Excuse me.
He isn't gonna change, Alex.
His values were formed too long ago for that.
l mean, you know how he feels about Du Bois and Booker T...
..."The Talented Tenth" and all that.
Well, you made it.
You have a successful law practice.
Julius is an architect.
Well, l wanted to be a professional writer, and l am.
l've nothing to apologize for.
l make a respectable living. What more would l want?
Sister Will Ada, l'd like you to consider Aunt Liz in your prayers tonight.
Oh, she'll always be in my prayers, but l don't know about taking this money.
Well, Sister Will Ada, as long as l can remember...
...you've been the chief prayer for this family...
...and there always was a coin or two involved.
Yes, that's true for a fact.
But the younger people just been all over me about it.
-Well, what do you do with the coins? -Put it in the collection plate.
Well, l won't be here next week, so l'm hoping you can do me the kindness...
...of putting this coin in the collection plate next Sunday.
l didn't think Dad went in for that kind of thing.
Oh, well, yeah.
Mama used to tell about having Sister Will Ada pray...
...when Dad was in France in World War l.
Grandma Cynthia was a steady customer.
She used to say, "Don't mock, son. Sister Will Ada is a powerful prayer."
You know, l used to come out here when l was a kid, after Grandpa died.
l'd sit in the high grass with all them around me...
...all the way back to Great-Grandpa Tom the blacksmith, and his father.
Chicken George.
And l'd say, "Well, here l am, Alexander Palmer Haley...
...now, what do y'all think of that?"
What did they say?
Damn little.
You know, and it seems like l'd hear Grandpa Will in the wind...
...or in a cricket chirp saying, "Go forward, boy. Go forward!"
That cricket's been chirping in our family for a long time now.
Well, l aim to go forward with my squibs.
l got a mighty big squib that'll make a lot of folks sit up and take notice.
Buy a copy of Muhammad's speech. Voice of the Nation of lslam.
-Cost you a quarter. -Oh, sure.
You plainclothes or something?
Oh, no. Sorry, excuse me. l have an appointment with him.
Sit here.
Minister Malcolm X?
You always sit facing the door?
l like a solid wall at my back.
Many a good man has died because he failed to observe that simple precaution.
What is your name, sir?
Haley, Alex Haley. l'm a writer.
Thank you.
-What do you write? -Articles for magazines.
-White magazines? -Mostly.
Why do you write these articles?
-Well-- -For money? Right?
l try to make a living at it, but that's not the only reason.
You make a living writing lies the white man tells you to write.
They're not lies.
lf you were picked, a black writer, hoping you could get in here to spy...
...then you're another tool of the white man.
The Reader,s Digest sent me to do an article.
They want me to do an article on the Nation of lslam...
...an objective approach, so l intend to write the truth...
...what you say and what Mr. Elijah Muhammad says...
...and what is said against the organization.
Sir, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was sent by Allah...
...to speak the truth to the black man of North America.
Well, l have no evidence that he was sent from Allah.
My research shows that he was born in Georgia as Elijah Poole...
...and that he formed the Muslim movement in 1 931 .
That doesn't mean anything.
l was born with a slave name too, but through the inspiration of Allah...
...l have become Malcolm X.
That's fine. l wanna hear your side. l wanna hear how you became Malcolm X.
And l intend to write the article whether l do or don't.
lf you listen to me, you won't hear what you expect to.
l like surprises.
You trust those white devils to print what l say?
You can trust me.
Sir, l was a hustler out there in those streets.
l sold reefers, any other kind of drug you can name.
l was a pimp, and l learned the hustler's lesson: Trust no one.
No one?
l trust the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
But l don't trust any white man, and l don't trust you...
...more than 5 percent.
We have this little man, you know, darling old man.
He comes with a rag and a bottle of oil and goes over all the wood.
lt's really wonderful when he does it. l guess he didn't come--
Excuse me. There doesn't seem to be anybody answering the door.
Forgive me.
Oh, hello. Hello! You must be Alex Haley.
Welcome.
l'm Dodie Brattle. l'm so happy to see you.
Would you take Mr. Haley's coat, please?
Well, you know, Jimmy Baldwin told me that he knew you...
...when you only had 1 8 cents in the whole world.
l do think adversity can be very challenging, don't you?
Jimmy's still in Paris, you know.
Michael, would you please get Mr. Haley a drink?
-What would you like? -Doesn't matter. Scotch.
"Doesn't matter. Scotch."
Well, everyone l know is talking...
...about that fascinating article you wrote about Malcolm X...
...which appeared in...
...of all places, the Reader,s Digest.
l mean, it must be very strange...
...Malcolm X between "Bronchitis Can Be a Ball" ...
...and "The Most Unforgettable Character."
Well, he certainly is unforgettable.
ls he? ls he?
You know, l saw him on television once.
He scared the hell out of David Susskind, and l thought:
"Anybody who can scare David Susskind can't be all bad." Here's your drink.
Thank you, Michael.
Oh, that's Murray Scheiber. Do you know him?
He's here tonight to talk to us about Alabama.
You know, he was down there with the legal defense team for the Freedom Riders.
Oh, my God, the horror stories he told about the atrocities.
But of course, you know about all that because you were down there.
Well, actually, l'm from Tennessee.
All the South is kind of down there as far as l'm concerned.
Oh, well.
l was in Florida once, but that doesn't count, does it?
Bye Bye Birdie was wonderful.
lt was really wonderful. Dick Van Dyke is in it. Have you ever heard of him?
No, l haven't.
You must be Alex Haley.
lndeed, l am.
lt's about time.
What's about time?
Well, l knew you'd be along.
Wait a minute, l don't think l understand.
Do we know each other?
You're the obligatory second.
The obligatory what?
You see, white Liberals can't give a party these days...
...without making a political statement...
...so they have to invite at least one token black.
lf they have only one, we may realize we're a token, so they have to have--
The obligatory second.
What about Bobby Short?
Well, see, he doesn't count.
No, he's hired help.
Well, anyway, my name is Alex Haley.
l know. Mrs. Brattle said she had someone...
...she knew l would be most anxious to meet.
With this roomful of elegant people, why would you be anxious...
-...to meet dull old colored me? -She said you were a writer.
Actually, she said you were "a Negro writer."
Yes, l noticed that too.
On the way over here, l was asked about the Freedom Rides...
...and the appointment of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court.
But l was not asked about the Kennedy Round tariff talks.
Do you know about the Kennedy Round tariff?
No, but l would just love to be asked.
What is your name?
Odile Richards.
Odile?
lt's a very nice name.
lt's African, isn't it?
No, Mama named me after one of the swans in Swan Lake.
And you are like a swan.
A black swan.
Was that one of the lines you used when you were writing love letters...
...for your shipmates in the Coast Guard?
Mrs. Brattle told you a few more things about me than l realized.
Now, you see, you didn't answer my question.
Was that one of the lines from those love letters?
Yes.
Was it effective?
Well, l'll ask you.
Was it effective?
l shouldn't. l didn't get a chance to say good night to Mrs. Brattle.
lt's the first time l've seen her since l got back into town.
-Back into town from where? -Back into town from England.
Well, l may as well get this over now.
l've been studying in England. l came back to enter the doctoral program at NYU.
l am an educated and ambitious black woman...
...and that scares most black men right out of their socks.
Still there.
-We gotta stop meeting like this. -Paul.
Miss Odile Richards, Paul Reynolds, my agent.
-How do you do? -Hello.
-Alex, l got some good news. -Later, Paul, please.
You're gonna love this. Murray Fisher at Playboy bought the idea.
You've got the assignment.
Hey, great. That's swell.
You got a job writing an article for Playboy?
That's what the man said.
l thought the people who bought that magazine only looked at the pictures.
They can read.
They usually get to the articles the fifth time around.
What's it about?
Oh, a guy l know.
Malcolm X.
We have had white values imposed on us.
Who do we think is the most beautiful? Lena Horne because she looks white.
You've heard that expression, "lf you're white, you're all right.
lf you're brown, stick around. lf you're black, stand back."
Alex, please don't. No.
No?
-Not yet. -What do l have to do?
Make an appointment? Take a ticket? What?
l mean, l'm not all that brilliant. l gotta work like hell.
l'm an overachiever, and l just don't have time for falling in love...
...or any long-term emotional commitments.
Okay. Okay, that's fine.
On the other hand, l was not raised to sleep around.
You said your grandma would rise up from the grave.
Well, mine doesn't have to come that far.
She'll just rise up from Washington, D.C. and cane me right alongside my head.
Now that that's understood...
...would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?
lt might keep me awake.
-That's all right. You ain't sleeping here. -Not tonight.
Not tonight.
l want it hot, black and sweet.
You are talking about your coffee?
What else?
Black!
Oh, yes, beautiful black brothers and sisters.
Now, there is a difference when we say black.
We mean everything not white.
Yes, indeed.
Because we come in 1 001 different shades and colors.
Now, we didn't come here that way. We all know who is responsible for that.
What shade of black African...
...polluted by devil white man, are you?
Look at yourself!
Look at each other!
Look at me.
We used to go for it.
Yes, we did. Yes, we did.
ln the streets, they used to call me "Detroit Red." You all know that.
l poured lye on my hair to get it straight and shiny...
...like that raping, redheaded devil that was my grandfather.
Tell them about it!
lf l could drain his blood that pollutes my body, l'd do it...
...because l hate every drop of his racist white blood that's in me.
l hate it!
And the white devil--
The white devil has the gall to say we preach hate.
He has the arrogance to say--
To think that we, his victims, should love him.
And so do a lot of those other old handkerchief-head Uncle Toms...
...going around preaching integration. lntegrate with the devil?
They gotta be out of their minds!
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that the black man must unite...
-...for his own benefit. -Yes, sir!
Now, do they call that hate when the lrish do it?
Do they call that racism when it's the Jews?
Brothers and sisters, we have the right to defend ourselves...
...against our enemies.
Brothers and sisters, there is a white reporter down there.
He's been sitting there without writing anything for 40 minutes.
But as soon as l start to say anything about a black man defending himself by force...
...he jumps to write it down just to prove that l am advocating violence.
Well, you make sure you write it down correctly.
We will defend ourselves against anyone who attacks us...
...and we know who our enemy is.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Don't let that white man fool you.
Beneath his white skin is a beast...
...a beast who doesn't want for you what he wants for his own kind!
Don't let that white man fool you!
Yes! He's a beast!
Wait a minute. Hold it, brother.
We're not gonna do to them what they do to us.
Just harness your power there, brother. Let him go.
You don't need nobody to hold you.
You gotta learn to harness your power, brother. Keep it in rein.
Weigh it, balance it.
Use your power when it's gonna do you some good, not when it's gonna hurt you.
That man there can't hurt you.
Come to the meetings, brother. We'll show you how to harness your power.
There is nothing like the force of a black man when his power is unleashed.
Yes, sir.
And look at our white reporter friend down there. He's laughing now.
He's laughing, but he is full of fear.
Whenever the white man hears the black man say...
...that he will defend himself to the death against his white devil attackers...
...it fills the white devil full of fear...
...which he covers with a little laugh.
See, the white man don't even know how to laugh.
He just spreads his old thin lips and shows his teeth.
He doesn't even know--
He doesn't have any soul. There's no heart there.
He doesn't know how to laugh, but we know how to laugh.
Can l do anything?
l feel helpless. Every Saturday night, you make dinner, and l--
l'm used to it. l put in 20 years over a hot stove in the Coast Guard.
Besides, gal, l've ate your cooking.
Do you ever send what you write to your father?
Nope.
Why not?
Well, he can always see Reader,s Digest at the dentist...
...and l don't think my father could take Playboy.
-That's strange. -What is?
That you're not sending him your stuff to read...
...because you obviously want his approval very much.
Odile, that is Freudian nonsense!
Then why do you go into a minor depression every time you have an article printed?
l do not.
You carry the tear sheets around with you for a week before you show them to me.
And then you stay away from me as if you're afraid l'll criticize your performance...
...afraid you'll fail some test.
l mean, whose approval are you waiting for?
-What makes you th--? -Whose approval are you waiting for?
Oh, big psychological insight, right?
l suppose you think it's my father. l'm still trying to satisfy him. lt's not.
Odile, will you please stop trying to psychoanalyze me?
You don't know what you're talking about.
-l'm sorry. -Okay.
lt's very good.
You're damn right it is, so just shut up and eat.
After dinner, we can go to some pretentious foreign movie...
...and you can explain all the Freudian symbols in that to me.
Nope.
l don't wanna go anywhere after dinner.
Well...
...goodbye, girl, and hello, woman.
Don't they ever turn that sign off?
No. lt's the eternal light.
Delicatessen.
Alex...
...l don't want anything to happen because of this.
Amen, baby.
Just count on the Coast Guard. Always prepared.
-l don't think that's funny. -All right, all right.
No, no. Look, l'm serious.
l can't do this. l've gotta get my degree.
What is it? They're passing out Ph.D.s only to virgins these days?
lt's a big joke. ls that it?
My work is funny. No. What l wanna achieve isn't important.
Damn all you black men.
You are scared to death of a black woman...
...unless she is flat on her back with her eyes closed.
Scared? You're talking to a Coast Guardsman with a good-conduct medal.
Sure, you're full of fun and smiles now.
But there's so much, so much bottled up inside you...
...more than l could ever know, ever touch.
You know...
...when we were making love and it happened for you...
...you made a noise from way down deep.
But there was no joy in the sound, Alex.
l mean, and there was no caveman triumph, either.
lt was a sound like somebody wanting so bad to weep...
...and too afraid to let it out...
...afraid that if the weeping ever started, it might never, ever stop.
What are you afraid of, Alex?
l'm afraid of dying without knowing why l really lived.
There's got to be more to my life than what l'm doing now.
There's got to be a reason for Alex Haley.
Alex?
You in there?
Alex?
Alex!
Don't you ever get off the phone? l've been calling you--
l'll make it quick.
Be sure.
Playboy called, and they're this close to finalizing the interview with Rockwell.
And they want you for the job.
Rockwell? Have you flipped?
Norman Rockwell draws Boy Scouts and puppy dogs for The Saturday Evening Post.
What kind of interview can he do for Playboy?
Alex, l'm talking about George Lincoln Rockwell...
...the leader of the American Nazi Party.
lt's probably him now.
He wants to ask you something before he approves the interview.
Hello?
-Mr. Alex Haley? -Yes.
This is George Lincoln Rockwell...
...and I believe some of the people at Playboy magaziine...
...may have told you I,d be calling.
Yes, that's right.
I have one question.
Mr. Haley, are you a Jew?
No, sir. l'm Methodist.
Then I,ll see you next Thursday, Mr. Haley. Good night.
Mister...
...you sure you've come to the right address?
Yeah, American Nazi Party headquarters.
l've been driving around Arlington for 1 0 years, and l've never seen that before.
l don't care if l never see it again.
-You'll be all right? -Yeah.
-Thank you. -Thank you, sir.
Hello.
l'm Alex Haley.
l have an appointment with Cmdr. George Lincoln Rockwell.
Nice day.
You can come in now.
Thank you.
You deceived me.
When l spoke to you the other night on the phone, you said that--
No, sir, l did not.
You asked me if l were Jewish. l told you the truth.
l am not Jewish.
Ready when you are.
Before we begin...
...l would like...
...to ask you...
...why you are keeping that pistol there.
Oh, it's just a precaution.
l don't mix with your kind.
And we call your race "niggers."
Well, commander, l have been called nigger many times...
...and this is the first time that l'm being paid for it.
So you just go right ahead.
Now, what have you got against us niggers?
Oh, l've got nothing against you.
The white people simply aren't going to allow you to mix...
...whether you like it or not.
Well, are you entitled to speak for the people of America?
Well, l'm saying the same thing, l think, that Malcolm X is saying.
l think l'm speaking for the majority of white people...
...when l say that race-mixing simply isn't going to work.
The average black simply don't fit into modern society.
lf you study history...
...you'll find that the black race has done absolutely nothing.
Nothing. What about the contributions of all those millions of African Negroes...
...and their descendants who helped to build this country?
Well...
...the fact is that that so-called contribution...
...was mostly menial, manual.
lt could have been done by horses...
...or trained monkeys...
...from the same trees that you...
...were flushed from, back in Africa.
Your average nigger is not as intelligent as a white man.
Well, there is no evidence to substantiate that.
Well, but see, you're an intelligent person.
l enjoy talking to you.
But then, you're not pure black.
There must have been some...
...white man in your background.
Am l right?
Right.
What l'm saying is that your intelligence comes from my race.
lt comes from the blood of my people.
And white blood can make a part-nigger intelligent.
Every authority in genetics has attested to the fact...
...that the racial groups around the world...
...are genetically indistinguishable from each other.
So, commander, in other words...
...all men, hybrids included...
...are created equal.
You're bringing tears to my eyes.
Don't you know all this equality garbage was started...
...by a Jew anthropologist...
...by the name of Franz Boaz?
Do you think that Hitler was justified...
...in exterminating six million European Jews?
l don't believe for one minute that any six million Jews...
...were exterminated by Hitler. lt never happened.
Those photographs that have been passed off as pictures of dead Jews...
...have been identified by my research director here...
...as the corpses of innocent Germans...
...killed in the one-night Allied bombing of Dresden.
ls mail-order hate literature your primary source of income?
Yeah, that plus initiation fees from members...
...plus small donations from those people who...
...appreciate what we're trying to do here.
And....
Well, plus the proceeds from special....
Special events like our hatenannies.
What are those?
Big musical jamborees. We hold them on patriotic holidays.
Well, could you give us an example of a hatenanny lyric?
Oh, sure, but just remember that you asked for it.
Ring the bell, shout forjoy
White man,s day is here
Twenty million ugly coons Waiting on the pier
America for whites Africa for blacks
Hand that ugly chimp a stick
Hand that coon a spear
Now, those are some of the lyrics. Do you want to hear more?
No.
We get the general idea.
l think a man has gotta stand up...
...hoist his flag and tell you who he is.
And that's just what--
That's what we try to do around here.
Do you have any anti-Jewish ballads...
-...in your hatenanny song lyrics? -Oh, sure.
One of the favorites around here is "The Jews Are Through in '72."
We sing it to the tune of "Mademoiselle From Armentieres."
Then it goes on. The chorus repeats itself.
l can't remember the last part.
lt was just crazy.
Fingering that pistol, waiting for me to jump.
And l almost did four or five times.
All l could think of was decking him. He's crazy.
He's not one of the clear thinkers of our generation.
What really got to me, he kept quoting Malcolm to back himself up.
Well, they do sound like opposite sides of the same coin.
Racial hatred, separatism.
No. lt's not exactly that.
You see, Malcolm has some sort of a distorted reaction to a very real problem...
...but Rockwell is a two-bit fascist.
Alex, didn't you tell me your brother was going to be in New York next month?
Yeah. He's got a political convention at the Waldorf.
He's coming in with Dad.
Bring him a copy of the article.
-George? -No, your father.
Oh, come on.
Are you proud of it?
Of course, but l'm not a kid. What difference does it make--?
lf it doesn't make any difference, then why don't you bring him a copy of it?
Besides, it would be a nice thing to do.
For both of you.
Do you realize your brother didn't even have to rent that tuxedo?
-He owns it. -Come on, Dad, get dressed.
l have to be at that cocktail reception at 6.
l mean, this is an occasion.
My son delivering a report to the Republican Party...
...right here in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in the city of New York...
-...before a distinguished gathering of-- -All right, Dad.
Well, the point is, George has worked hard.
He's the second Negro to graduate from the University of Arkansas Law School.
l know, Dad. l did an article in Reader,s Digest on him.
The point is, if you have a clear vision, a plan...
...and you work diligently and responsibly, you will succeed.
Alex, your brother is a state senator.
And it is entirely possible that he may be the first Negro governor of a state.
"Black," Dad. Black.
These days you call it black.
lt took the best part of my life to get them to call us "Negro."
Can't see why we have to change now.
Dad, did you get a chance to see this?
Oh, that. Well, yes, l did.
And l thought it was very disturbing.
-Why? -Well...
...l was coming up the elevator, holding that magazine...
...and all of a sudden, a page just fell out and unfolded.
There were ladies in the elevator. l was completely mortified.
l'm sorry, Dad. l only did the writing.
All right. l got good news for you.
l'm stepping up from Playboy. You won't have to cope with the bunnies anymore.
l just signed a contract to write a book.
Yeah, an honest to God book.
The kind that you have in college libraries.
-That's great. Why didn't you tell us? -Well, it was just settled.
-What kind of book is it? -An autobiography.
Someone is going to print your autobiography?
No, Dad, not mine. Malcolm X, but l do the writing.
lt's what they call an "as told to" book.
Malcolm X...
...he's the one who's so viciously anti-Christian, isn't he?
Dad, a book like that is very important.
l don't see the value in dwelling on the unpleasant...
...and negative aspects of your own people.
l prefer washing dirty linen at home.
Dad, it is not dirty linen.
The anger and rage and frustration that Malcolm voices is real.
We may not see it on your college campuses and in my world...
...the Coast Guard and all that, but it is out there.
And Malcolm X is telling black people that that rage is righteous!
He's given them a way to feel proud of being black!
Now, there's no need to raise your voice.
Well...
...all l was saying...
...is that it is an important book.
And it's my first book.
Well...
...l suppose someone has to write that sort of thing.
l'm really no judge.
l don't often have the time for popularized light reading.
lt's 1 0 of. We'd better go.
Dad.
l saw thousands, literally thousands of pilgrims in Mecca.
All colors, from all over the world.
All participating in this same ritual as equals.
And then it hit me.
l thought of this college professor in New England.
The black one. The one l called "the pompous Negro."
The one that you said his brains went to bed.
That's the one, right.
But in Mecca, my brains just jumped out of bed.
l realized if we could accept the oneness of God...
...maybe, just maybe, we could accept the oneness of man.
l'll tell you one thing.
When you stopped saying that all white folks are devils, they really got upset.
The press was fit to be tied.
Well, that's their problem.
l saw it with my own eyes.
l learned in the Holy Land that not all whites are racist.
Some are sincere.
Some are even capable...
...of brotherly love toward a black man.
What time is it?
That should be in the book.
Grove Press is pushing. They want the book for next year.
You should wear a watch, my friend.
Proper respect for time determines success or failure in all things.
lt is exactly 3:1 7 a.m., Eastern Standard Time.
Oh, what do they call these, the galleys?
"l was born Malcolm Little, but l never knew my real name.
lt was stolen from me along with my black soul...
...200 years before l was born.
Little was a slave-master name which some blue-eyed devil wished on my ancestors."
This is good.
Good.
"When l got out of prison in Chicago...
...l received my X.
The Muslim X that symbolizes the true African name l could never know.
We give up the false slave name...
...but the X is a wall which bars us from the truth of our ancestors.
And it is always a bitter reminder...
...like the bitter herbs the Jews eat on their Passover...
...to remember the bitterness of their slavery under a Pharaoh.
We are taught that we will keep this X until God himself returns...
...and gives us a holy name from his own mouth."
All right.
All right, all right, l like the book.
Oh, one last thing.
Do you know that clause in the publisher's contract, the one about royalties?
"All monies paid to Muhammad Mosque No. 2 in Chicago"?
Yeah, l want that changed.
Okay, fine. l can--
l'll get my agent on it and lawyers from Grove Press.
l want all monies paid directly to my wife.
-You understand? -Right, sure.
-l can get a meeting set up for next week. -No.
No, it's gotta be done now.
l think you know why.
You all right? There been any more threats?
l know the names of the men who will be sent to kill me.
Things have changed that much between you and Elijah Muhammad?
There will be an honored place in paradise for the ones who punish the traitor.
Have you called the police?
The police.
l think they'll just stand by and watch.
Don't worry, my brother. We will finish the book as we planned.
But l don't think l'll live to see it printed.
All right.
l think...
...l trust you...
...70 percent.
Peace be unto you.
And unto you be peace.
-Come on, get your hand out of my pocket. -l ain't in your pocket, brother.
Brothers, break it up.
Don't take me for no chump!
-Break it up. -Just stay away from me, man!
Well, a friend of mine got himself killed, Cousin Georgia.
And it's just not the same anymore.
Every time l do something, first l'm proud of it...
...and then l feel that l'm disappointing somebody, and l don't know who.
What you talking about, child?
When this friend of mine died...
...in that last instant before it got darker than any dark we know about...
...l believe he could say to himself:
"l've done a lot of the things l wanted to do. Maybe not all, but a lot."
And l just can't say a thing like that. And it eats me, Cousin Georgia.
lt eats me.
What you say your friend's name was, Alex? The man that got himself killed?
Malcolm. Malcolm X.
What kind of name is that? X?
The idea is that nobody knows his real family name...
...so they use X, unknown.
Maybe that's all right for him, that X...
...but nobody never need worry about nothing like that in our family.
What do you mean, Cousin Georgia?
We don't need no X.
We knows our name.
Kinte.
From the old African himself, Kinte.
How do l know that? l mean, how do l really know that?
Because l told it to you.
And so did your Great-Aunt Liz and your Grandma Cynthia.
They told it to you out of their own mouth.
You see, it's merely word of mouth.
What you mean, "merely"?
You ever call your Grandma Cynthia "merely" ...
...she'd give you a lick with a wooden spoon.
What l mean, Cousin Georgia, is, it has no corroborative evidence...
...or documentary records or research in the contemporary.
Wouldn't it be a hoot, though...
...if we could go back and find the old guy himself...
...that ghost from all these evenings here on the porch?
Old Kinte.
Just trace him all the way back and find out that his name was real, Cousin Georgia?
Go on.
Tell me again.
You said his name was Kinte.
That's right.
And how he tell his little daughter, named Kizzy...
...what things was called in African.
Like the guitar was ko.
And the river was Kambi Bolongo.
-What you doing with that little pad? -Just taking some notes.
That's what you do when you're gonna write something.
You mean, you went all over the world learning how to be a writer...
...and you end up right back here on this here porch in Henning, Tennessee?
l guess that's what it was all for in the first place, Cousin Georgia.
Was there any part of the story that you didn't tell so often? Any details?
Now, you remember about how the African went out into the woods...
...to cut down a tree to make himself a drum.
That's when them slavers catched him.
Right. l remember that.
Were there any other names, people or places you remember?
Of course, he land in Annapolis. You know that.
He was owned by a Reynolds.
Reynolds? l never heard that before.
-You sure? -Of course l'm sure.
Now, how about before they came to Henning...
...now, that would be in Tom the blacksmith's time...
...where'd they come from?
Alamance County, North Carolina.
Find anything?
-Any luck? -Oh, no. Not yet.
-What have you got, tax records? -No, the 1 870 census.
Oh, dear. Tax records are better.
People are much more careful about taxes.
The census was a little devil-may-care.
-How long have you been at it? -Five hours.
You know, l never knew there were so many people in Alamance County.
-Looking for anyone in particular? -My great-grandfather.
-Oh, what name? -Harvey.
Oh, well, there are certainly a lot of Harvey lines in Tidewater.
There are the Col. Lucius Harveys and the Altamaha Harveys from--
But you wouldn't be one of those Harveys.
Probably not.
Well, cheer up.
lt once took me six weeks to find a Randolph.
Can you imagine that? A Randolph.
Why, you can't sling a dead cat around these parts without hitting a Randolph.
Why do you want a Harvey?
l'm trying to establish some evidence tracing my family back--
Oh, l see.
Of course, l can trace my family--
That is, mine, not my husband's, back to William the Conqueror.
l was a Powers.
Well, that was originally dePouer.
French, you know.
What was yours?
Toby. Originally Kinte. African.
Oh, how nice.
l just think genealogy is a fascinating hobby, don't you?
Of course, until it's time to get out the roses.
Well, l'll be very frank with you. l've about had it.
l've gotta get back to my real work here in Washington...
...and l could use about six aspirin.
Well, you're not going to give up so soon, are you?
Five hours trying to read those steel-pen chicken tracks is enough for me.
Let's see.
l mean--
That's it, isn't it?
You said Harvey, didn't you?
"Harvey, Thomas. B." That's for black.
"Blacksmith. Age 37.
Wife: lrene.
Children...
...age 3.
Elizabeth."
Oh, my God! That's Aunt Liz!
My Cousin Georgia's stories...
...about Spotsylvania County led me to you, Dr. Lewis.
Well, Mr. Haley, if your story is accurate, we may be blood relatives.
Extraordinary.
Well, there's something even more incredible.
What's that?
At some point, not too far back, your ancestors may have owned mine.
Well.
Let's see if we can find out for sure, one way or another.
Now, this is the ledger for the Reynolds plantation of Upper Spotsylvania County...
...for the years 1 840 to 1 844.
And my great-grandfather obviously kept very careful records...
...of Negro births and deaths.
Here, see?
The mother's name and age.
The father's name, where known.
That's surprising.
ln nearly all the cases, the relationships remain constant.
Well, that's not so surprising.
They were told who to marry, and they were told how long to stay married.
l guess you're right.
Well, l never really thought all that much about it.
Do you think you might have the records that l need?
A man named Toby who had a child, Kizzy.
Well, you have to understand, the plantation ledgers are not complete.
Most of them were destroyed just after the Civil War.
But you must have other family papers.
Look, trouble is, you don't know which Reynolds you're looking for.
Our family was spread all over the county.
l'm a Reynolds on my mother's side, as you know.
There's just got to be some way--
Hold on. Now, hold on.
Mr. Haley, l don't want to seem hard to get along with...
...but tracing your genealogy is not the most important thing in my life.
l definitely-- l want to help.
But if l can't, l can't.
That's all there is to it.
l'm very sorry.
Anything you can do, l'd be most appreciative.
l couldn't help but notice, did your family always raise horses?
Oh, surely. With a passion.
My grandfather, he was a doctor too.
Never heard of a man more dedicated to the improvement of the breed.
Your grandfather, did he keep a studbook of the stable?
Oh, absolutely.
Well, if you look in it...
...you might find that he also kept a breeding record of the slaves in it too.
Property.
Remember?
Oh, my God.
You're right.
l have to go to Annapolis. l have reason to believe that my ancestors landed there...
...so if you could contact the rest of your family...
-...and ask them to check their records. -Yeah, of course. l will.
l'm sorry, Mr. Haley. l really am.
Oh, there's no need. You did nothing wrong.
l really had no idea.
Well, very few people do, Dr. Lewis, and l intend to change all that.
We,d really like to help you, Mr. Haley.
And we have the records that can help you...
...but you just do not have sufficient information.
l've told you everything l know. Every little shred.
l know, but you're talking about more than a 50-year span of time.
Roughly 1 740 through 1 81 0.
Do you have any idea how many vessels cleared this port?
Not to mention the considerable number that went into the coves...
...to avoid customs duties?
lsn't there any way we can check the slave ship manifests or the bills of sale?
l would say, roughly, over that time, over 1 00,000 Negroes were landed.
We desperately need a clue, a place to start.
What year? What ship? What owner? What was the captain's name?
At this moment, all l know is that he landed in Annapolis.
The truth is, Mr. Haley, Africa is a mighty big place...
...and the Atlantic is a mighty big ocean.
There isn't any way in the world you can find what you're looking for here.
There's got to be.
Good luck.
-Thank you. -Bye.
Thanks for meeting me here, Paul.
You don't answer your phone. l sent you a registered letter. That came back.
l was in Annapolis. l didn't find a thing.
l didn't have any leads. No name of the ship. No date. Nothing.
-So l've got to find it from the other end. -Find? Find what?
The old African.
Paul, how many black families do you know...
...that can trace their origins back before the Civil War?
How many black people know where they came from?
Now, what do you mean, "black people"?
The night that Malcolm X explained his X, there was such a feeling of loss.
He said that that X was like a wall that barred him from his ancestors.
But my family knows. We got words.
Now, in order to find him...
...l gotta go all the way back to Africa, where it all began.
And, Paul, you've got to give me an advance.
l can't get you an advance from anybody. What do you want, a check from Playboy?
They rejected the last article we sent them.
Where are you going?
l'm going to meet a man who may be able to tell me what those words mean.
-Can l help you, sir? -Yes.
l'm here to see a Mr. Joshua Mbura of Uganda.
Alex Haley to see him.
He's expecting me.
Mr. Mbura said he's very sorry. He had to leave for Paris.
He'll be glad to make another appointment if you call next month.
Thank you.
Paul, l've got to find somebody who can identify that language.
How about Columbia? Harvard?
Listen, Alex, this thing is gonna drive you crazy...
...and make me poor!
Give it up.
Sir, excuse me. l'm a journalist, Alex Haley.
Would you mind if l ask you something?
Do you recognize these words? Kambi Bolongo?
Ko.
Sir, it's very important. You see, Kambi Bolongo means "river" ...
...and Ko is some sort of a musical instrument.
Well, the point is, do you recognize that language?
l'm sorry, sir, but l haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about.
Good day to you, sir.
Well, l tell you, if you like to follow those kind of long shots...
...l definitely want to play poker with you sometime.
That U.N. delegate must have thought l was crazy.
When you first wrote to me...
...l thought we would discuss this matter...
...by letter, methodically, like scholars.
l didn't expect to find you on my doorstep in Wisconsin.
When your letter said that you might be able to help, l just got on the plane.
Well...
...l gave you everything l have to go on.
And to tell you the truth, Dr. Vansina, you're the last hope l got.
Well, Mr. Haley, it happens that the oral transmitting of history...
...happens to be my particular interest.
For instance, the American lndian handed down their clan and national histories...
...only in that way, orally.
This is a Maori talking chief from New Zealand.
He can trace royal ancestries back 1 00 generations...
...by memorized chants over and over.
lt's beautiful.
Of course, there is a tradition which we don't think of as oral...
...but which existed for a thousand years by word of mouth only...
...until it was finally reduced to writing in King David's time.
The Bible.
And these oral histories are surprisingly accurate.
But in your letter, you gave me no answer.
And you still haven't.
Can you identify the African words l gave you?
That word you told me that means "guitar"--
Ko.
No wonder your friend at the U.N. had trouble.
Your African has a rather pronounced Tennessee accent.
Ko, not ko.
Ko.
Come here. l'll show you.
You see?
The body is a gourd covered with goatskin...
...21 strings.
This is called kora. Kora.
lt is the oldest string instrument in the Mandingo tribe.
You see, you hold here, you hold here and here...
...and you play with the thumbs.
Kora.
This could be the ko mentioned in your oral tradition.
The last syllable would drop away...
...under the influence of the plantation Creole.
Now, doctor, what about the other word?
The word for river, Kambi Bolongo?
The words seem to be in Mandinka...
...the language of the Mandingo tribe.
Bolongo means "river."
So you see, your old ladies were quite accurate.
And Kambi...
...well, that is a little more speculative...
...but l think it is a fair inference...
...that the word could well mean "Gambia."
Kambi, Gambia.
Now, l show you...
...the west coast of Africa.
You see, now....
Over here, Senegal.
The estuary where the Gambia River runs to the sea.
lt is entirely possible, Mr. Haley...
...that your ancestor, the African...
...came from here.
Gambia.
l will give you first refusal for any articles l write.
Of course exclusive.
All l need is an advance to cover the expenses.
Well, that's the whole point, l can't do it from here. l've got to go to Africa.
Murray, it could be one whale of an idea.
Well, yes, l know l promised you the interviews with Sammy Davis Jr...
...but l got involved with this thing.
Well, that's a hell of an attitude.
Okay. All right. Forget it. Forget the whole thing.
Have you got a clean glass anywhere?
Alex, are you in some kind of trouble?
Here, you're a lawyer. You handle that.
This is an eviction notice. How did it happen?
Well, George, l think it comes from not paying the rent.
All right, all right.
-How much do you need? -$2000.
For this place?
For the airplane ticket to Africa and the expenses.
George, l spent six weeks tracing all over Virginia...
...for a bill of sale for a man called Toby.
Well, there are Tobys all over Spotsylvania County...
...so l can't be sure. l've got to trace him...
...all the way across to Africa, to Gambia, where--
Hello.
Yes, this is Alex Haley speaking.
Yes, l'm ready.
Hello. Sister Will Ada?
This is Alex Haley. Bertha's boy, Alex.
Speak up because youse talking long-distance, and l got the arteries.
Bertha Palmer's boy. Cynthia Palmer was my grandma.
Are you calling Sister Will Ada in Henning?
Do you remember me, Sister Will Ada?
Good. Sister Will Ada, l am in very big trouble.
l need your help because there's just nobody else l can turn to.
Now, you have always been a mighty powerful prayer.
And I was wondering, are you still praying?
Oh, child, l'll be praying till they put me in my grave...
...and they'd best be careful about that first shovelful...
...because my mouth be still open.
Sister Will Ada, l am sending you a check for $1 00.
lt'll be in the mail.
And l want you to pray for me, for what l got to do.
Can you do that?
Now, don't you worry, you hear?
Now, you just hang up, son, because l'm gonna start praying right now.
Twenty minutes ago, l swear...
...it ranks with the parting of the Red Sea.
Hallelujah, Sister Will Ada! l can go!
lt is all clear! lt is all set. l can go!
-Where? -What do you mean, "where?"
How can you say, "where?" Where else would l be going?
What have l been breaking my head trying to set up?
How would l know, Alex?
Africa.
Africa!
The River Gambia!
l tell you, it's spooky.
Last night, Sister Will Ada began to pull on the Lord's coattail...
...and this morning, the Reader,s Digest called...
...and said they'd pay all expenses for the trip as an advance.
And the Lord done reached down his hand...
...to Pleasantville, New York.
Do you believe that?
You know, l'm not knocking it.
l wouldn't be surprised.
You know, when l first started on this thing, Cousin Georgia said:
"Child, they're all sitting up there watching you.
So you do what you got to do."
lt's the first thing l've done that hasn't felt like taking some dumb test at school.
And l don't care who approves.
l am going to do what l am going to do.
"lf you would find yourself, you must first lose yourself."
Who is that? Freud?
l think it's Jesus.
l hope you find what you're looking for.
l gotta find it, or else l'm not coming back.
Not coming back until l do.
Alex, get your head out of the closet. l am saying goodbye.
Not now.
Come with me to the airport. l'm flying...
...from JFK to Dakar on Thursday at 1 1 a.m.
l didn't say bon voyage. l said, goodbye.
Well, l'd prefer a bon voyage.
l think a lot of it was my fault. l was too anxious about my Ph.D.
-Well, l've got it now, and-- -Hey, marvelous. When?
l defended my dissertation six weeks ago.
-l didn't know. -Yes, you did.
l told you when you were leaving for North Carolina.
You promised we'd celebrate when you got back.
-Now l'm leaving for Africa. -You left for Africa a long time ago.
But it's okay, Alex.
lt wouldn't have worked out.
Two obsessives could never have made it.
l hate it when you use that vocabulary.
lt is my goodbye. l'm entitled to choose the vocabulary!
See, the trouble with us, Alex, is that contrary to the stereotype...
...we have no rhythm.
Not together. Our timing is off.
l am home with my Ph.D., and you're off chasing whatever in Africa.
-Listen, when l get home-- -You're going home, Alex.
That's what you've been looking for. That's what you've always been looking for.
Goodbye, Alex.
l'd prefer bon voyage.
And give my love to the old African.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen...
...TWA flight 901 will be available for boarding momentarily.
-At this time, any passengers.... -Well, that's it.
-That's your plane. -Take it easy, Dad.
Flight 901 . That's your--
No, we've still got plenty of time to make it.
You didn't have to come all the way to New York to see me off.
Well...
...l'm meeting George in Philadelphia on Saturday.
He's coming for a National Republican Committee meeting.
Oh, yes. l see.
l'm glad you came.
Well, l certainly thought l should. After all, Africa is a long way off.
You know, l was thinking, it took him months...
...chained up in a slave ship, and l'll be there in 1 6 hours.
Coach, but no chains.
Yes, we have come a long way.
Yeah, l guess we have.
Dad, do you still think about how l didn't go back to college...
...like you wanted me to?
Well, that was a long time ago, Alex.
But you were disappointed, weren't you?
Well, l suppose l was at the time, yes.
But l had to reconcile myself to the fact...
...that my values were not exactly the same as yours.
You see, l was so busy running away from you, trying to be free...
...l never made it. Never was.
l guess the only reason l never showed you anything l wrote...
...l thought you'd look at it and say, "lnadequate. D minus."
No. l never criticized your work, Alex.
-l didn't know you read any of it. -Oh, yeah.
Yes. A great deal of it.
Well, l read that.
l borrowed it from the college library.
l kept it overdue four days.
Well?
-Well what? -Well, what did you think of it?
Of course, l cannot condone his attack on Christianity.
l've always accepted Jesus as my savior, and l'm sorry for anyone who doesn't.
Dad, what did you think of it?
Well, l kept thinking it was such a heavy book.
Of course, it was in hardcover...
...but there must have been so much work...
...scholarship put into it.
Well, it was almost like a thesis.
A Ph.D. dissertation.
Ladies and gentlemen, TWA flight 901....
Alex, you're going to be late.
l want to give you this.
But l just told you l read it.
l know.
"To my dad.
l no longer need his approval...
...but l will always need his love."
Have a nice flight.
Thank you. Have a nice flight.
That's my son.
He wrote this book.
l sympathize with your pious desires to find the trace of your distant ancestors...
...but, sir, there are estimates that over 1 4 million black Africans...
...were kidnapped by slavers and carried off.
The chances of tracing one chap from the others....
But if l know the language that he spoke and his name--
-What name? -His African name.
-l don't believe l heard that. -Didn't l tell that?
No, l don't believe you did.
His first master called him Toby, but he said that his name was Kinte.
Kinte?
You sure of that, sir? Kinte?
lt was passed down that way for 200 years. Kinte.
Of course, you should have said that at first.
Kinte would have been the clan or family name.
And he's heard it? He knows that name?
The old villages in the backcountries are often named for the family...
-...that founded it centuries ago. -That is quite true, sir.
-There are many of them upriver. -Can l go there?
Can l find the records of births and deaths?
What's the matter? What's so funny?
Sir, until recently, the people in the bush in the upriver country were preliterate.
There were no written records, and certainly not several hundred years old.
Even today, we find difficulty with the census.
We can hardly collect taxes on the words of a griot.
A griot. Now, what do you mean by that? What's a griot?
ln these backcountry clans, there are old men, griots...
...who spend their lives remembering the histories and genealogies of their families.
Oh, like Grandma and Aunt Liz. Oral history, you mean?
Yes, sir.
l gotta talk to him. How soon can l see him?
Who knows?
There are no telephone lines.
Perhaps we'll ask the district police to inquire...
...and, in time, there might be some information.
My funds are quite limited, sir. How much time?
Six weeks, perhaps eight.
And that, sir, is in the hands of God.
Sir?
-Mr. Haley, sir? -All right.
All right.
Sir?
All right. All right.
-Sir? -All right.
Yes, Ebou, what's the matter?
-l'm sorry to be so unceremonious. -lt's 3:00 in the morning.
Yes, sir, and we must hurry. The postal service man will part.
We've got to be at the second crossing by noon to make the launch upriver.
-What's going on? Where are we going? -Sir, it's most important.
The district nurse came down with a fever and was flown in by plane.
The pilot mentioned that the old man is in Juffure.
-Old man? -The griot.
Kebba Kanga Fofana, the griot of the Kinte line is in Juffure now.
Hurry, sir. The driver of the postal Land Rover is very fastidious.
-He will not wait. -l'll be ready in 5 minutes.
Yes, sir.
Sister Will Ada, you're still praying.
-What's that for? -He's announcing your arrival.
lt will be passed along from one village to the next.
Sir, Kebba Kanga Fofana says, "Greetings."
Tell him, "Greetings."
Tell him l've come to hear the history of the Kinte clan...
...because l have an ancestor who said that his name was Kinte.
l think he already knows, sir. The whole village knows.
Our forefathers...
...have told us that many of our people are in exile...
...away from our homes in that place called America.
Tell him that the part l want to hear is about 200 years...
...give or take 50. So around about 1 750.
Oh, no, sir. You cannot ask that.
-l thought he memorized all of it. -Well, yes, but he's only a man...
...not a filing cabinet.
Sir, the times are told by the rains...
...and the rules of chiefs and the weather...
...not the European dates.
He must start at the beginning.
How far back is that?
The Kinte clan began in the great empire of the old Mali...
...and that would be about 500 years ago.
Well, let's get started.
The big water on the Upper River.
Kamadu Oro Kinte left the Mali land...
...and traveled to the village of the silverfish.
And when he had 25 rains, he married Balta...
...the daughter of Manin...
...and their children were Yaya, Bautu and Fanta.
The country did not have grass. Kairaba Kinte...
...went to the Gambia...
...and lived in a village called Jabaya.
And when he had 31 rains...
...he married a woman called Baya, and they had a son...
...Omari Bota Lanu Omaia.
He married a woman called Yaisa.
ln the year that we had two rains and the hunger...
...he went to a village called Jaffee Kinte.
-Yaisa begot him a son called Omoro. -lt's been hours. How far are we?
l don't know.
When he had 30 rains...
...he married Binta Kebba...
...who gave him four sons...
...and they were named Kunta, Lamin...
...Suwadu and Madi.
And about that time, the king's soldiers came.
The eldest son, Kunta...
...left the village to cut a tree...
...to make himself a drum...
...and that was the last time he was seen.
What?
What? Say that again. Tell him to say that again.
Tell him to say that again!
The eldest son, Kunta...
...left the village...
...to make a drum, and that was the last time he was seen.
My God.
Again, again, again.
The eldest son, Kunta...
...left the village...
...to cut a tree to make himself a drum...
...and that was the last time that he was seen.
And....
"He say he was out in the woods, not far from his village...
...cutting down a tree to make himself a drum.
And when he was doing that...
...that's when the slavers catched him.
He never see his mama...
...and his papa again in his whole life."
You old African!
l found you!
Kunta Kinte!
l found you!
The old African be Kunta Kinte.
Praise be to Allah for one long lost to us whom Allah has returned.
Welcome, son of Kinte.
Welcome to your village.
She says, "We are you, and you are us."
Go in peace.
Mr. Kinte! Mr. Kinte!
Mr. Kinte.
-Mr. Kinte? -Yes.
That's who l am. Kinte.
Abdul El Karm Moussad Kinte.
Kinte, Kinte.
My cousin Kinte.
Salaam aleikum, Mr. Kinte.
Aleikum salaam...
...my cousin Kinte.
Kinte!
All of my family members...
...depicted in this television dramatization...
...either were or are actual living human beings.
We were deeply moved to see the book and film of Roots...
...become perceived worldwide as synonymous with family.
Before you get to the nations, the races, the creeds...
...or any of the other circumstances we human beings like to regard...
...as differences between ourselves...
...we are first many millions of families sharing this earth.
After the miracle of life itself...
...our greatest human common denominator is families.
l feel that's why Roots touched a universal human pulse.
lf l seek what's recommended to us by this global response to Roots...
...l find two simple acts...
...which can only help strengthen families.
We should interview our families' oldest members.
Ask them, please tell us all their memories hold...
...about those relatives who lived before us.
Often, we'll exclaim later, "Why didn't you tell us this before?"
And they'll say, "Nobody ever asked me."
After learning all you can from all sources you can...
...make a written record of your family's history.
And next, periodically, we should hold family reunions.
Their message is powerful to all who attend them...
...especially to a family's younger members.
What's conveyed to youth is:
"You belong to a family which obviously cares about itself...
...which takes pride in itself and which rightly expects you...
...to contribute to your family's reasons for pride."
Roots couldn't serve a greater purpose than to increase our awareness...
...as individuals, as societies, as nations...
...that our first source of strength is our families.
And thank you from the family of Kunta Kinte.