Last on Roots:
Would you like to take me to the church picnic?
Why.... Why, yes, Miss Palmer.
l'd be-- l'd be right proud to escort you to the picnic.
l is a dirt farmer, and that's what your brothers be.
That's what schooling teach you? To be high and prideful?
-Think you better? -That isn't the point--
l tell you the point! Ain't no money to waste on a grown man going schooling.
-l could warm up some milk for the lady. -Well, that's very kind of you.
Thank you very much. What's your name?
George. Just call me George. George will do fine.
No, l mean your own name.
Simon.
My name is Simon Haley.
The letter registering Simon Haley for a full year...
...with tuition paid for in advance by certified check.
Simon Alexander Haley, l am furious at you. You hear me? l am just furious.
-Honey-- -Running off to enlist without a single word!
We came all the way from Henning. We planned a surprise for you.
-You had to spoil it! -l'm sorry.
-Let's get these damn coons on the train. -Yes, sir.
Bye!
l love you!
l love you, Simon.
The earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof.
He leads me forth beside the water.
A world, and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seashore.
Free your soul from the ties of righteousness.
And establish it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
l will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
Thou shalt prepare a table before me in the presence of them that trouble me.
Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity.
He shall receive the blessing of the Lord.
Surely thy loving kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
This is the generation of them that seek him.
The Lord is my shepherd....
He that hath clean hands.
Lead me beside the waters....
Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity....
He shall convert my soul.
Yea, though l walk through the valley of the shadow of death...
...l will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
This is the generation of them that seek him.
Thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
Thou shalt prepare a table before me in the presence of them that trouble me.
Thou hast anointed my head with oil...
...and my cup shall be full.
Who is this king of glory?
The Lord of hosts. He is the king of glory.
Attention!
lf ye but believe in me, ye shall never die.
Sweet Jesus!
Have mercy on the souls of those poor boys that were hanged.
Receive them in thy bosom and comfort their loved ones.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Army called it "mutiny" and "murder."
But those boys of the 24th lnfantry...
...had no chance to testify to the provocation...
...the indignation and the humiliation...
...they suffered at the hands of the police of Houston, Texas.
Where was the Army...
...when the police took a colored MP and beat him and threw him in jail?
-Amen! -Have mercy.
Then when those colored boys themselves...
...marched into town to protect their brother...
...there was shooting, and there were 20 men dead, black and white.
Yes, there was.
But the Army only blamed the colored.
They put most 1 50 men on trial, but was it done by the law?
Oh, no. No.
The Army took those colored boys in secret...
...without the review of the War Department and the president...
...like the law sayeth.
-Yes, they did. -Have mercy!
Took them in secret to Salado Creek and hung them.
Hung them dead!
-Hear, now. -And they call that military justice.
Brothers and sisters, l say unto you...
...that was a lynching!
-lt was! lt was! -A lynching!
-Yes, indeed! -lt was.
Miss lda Barnett from the NAACP in Chicago...
...sent down a petition to President Wilson...
...for mercy for the men of the 24th lnfantry, whom they still fixing to hang.
So whilst we pray, l want every one of you to fix your names to it.
Mama, what's gonna happen to Simon?
We gonna pray that he gonna be all right.
They're gonna do something to him in that Army.
l won't ever see him again.
Dear Lord, who mark the fall of the sparrow...
...mark our boys from Henning...
...who've been called to the United States Army to fight for their country.
Yes, Lord.
We appreciate anything you do for them in the way of protection over there.
Dear Lord, sweet Jesus...
...put forth your hand and protect our boys over here...
-...where they needs it bad! -Oh, yes!
Lord!
Haley!
Button that button!
Ten-hut! Left face!
Morning.
l want to welcome you new men to the division.
l am 2nd Lt. Ten Eyck.
You men are now soldiers in the United States Army...
...and l want you always to be proud of that.
l know that you are going to perform your duties diligently.
Now, l am required to read to all new recruits a directive...
...from Maj. Gen. Charles C. Ballou, commanding the 92nd Division.
"Directive 35.
Pursuant to a recent incident in Manhattan, Kansas...
...a noncommissioned officer of the 92nd Colored...
...was refused entry to a local theater by the manager.
lt has been determined that, although the civilian was in violation of state law...
...the sergeant in question was guilty of a greater wrong...
...in doing anything, no matter how legally correct...
...that will provoke racial animosity.
Enlisted men of the 92nd lnfantry Colored...
...are ordered to refrain from going where they are not wanted...
...and are instructed to take warning.
White men made the division, and they can break it just as easily...
...if it becomes a troublemaker."
-Sergeant, dismiss the platoon. -Yes, sir.
That's funny. l mean...
...this is a whole division of colored troops, and l haven't seen one colored officer.
You ain't likely to, either.
When this war bust out, there was three colored officers...
...in the whole United States Army.
There. Now, that's just by the book.
Can't be no wrapping too tight, or your feet swell up, fall off.
-You're regular Army, aren't you, Haywood? -l got in the Army when l was 1 6 years old.
Soldiering's the only thing l know how to do.
Besides, ain't no other reason for a black man to be in this Army.
l volunteered.
You shut on up. We know why you here.
Judge done told you one year in jail or join the Army.
Yeah, and l ain't sure l done made the right choice.
Haley, you're a college man and all that.
What the hell you volunteer for?
President Wilson said it:
"The world must be made safe for democracy."
That's all right for them white boys, but what's in it for us?
Dr. Du Bois said blacks...
...must overlook their special grievances for the duration of the war...
...that winning takes precedence over the fight for rights.
We make no ordinary sacrifice, but we make it gladly and willingly with our eyes lifted...
-...to the hills. -Amen!
Praise the Lord! Amen!
l'll make a deal with you. You and Dr. Du Bois...
...keep your eyes lifted to the hills, and l'll keep you out of trouble...
...down here in the mud where we gonna be.
Socialists! Damn socialists, that's what!
Will Palmer, what are you doing?
Cousin Georgia come all the way from Kansas City...
...and you reading The Chicago Defender right in her face.
l says, tell the truth and shame the devil. They socialists.
-Who is, Cousin Will? -This here Chancellor Owens...
-...and A. Phillip Randolph. -l don't understand, Cousin Will.
-What they do? -They been agitating against the war.
You just listen to this here:
"Negro leaders can volunteer to go to France...
...if they are so eager to fight to make the world safe for democracy.
We would rather make Georgia safe for the Negro."
My husband, Mr. Anderson, say...
...that being against the war is being pro-German.
And he's right. First thing you know...
...the white folks gonna say the colored ain't patriotic...
-...that they afraid to fight for their country. -How they say that...
...when Grandpa Chicken George fought in the Union Army...
...right nearby at Fort Pillow?
Cousin Georgia, ain't nobody remembers that no more.
l do. l remember all the old stories better than anybody.
About Grandpa and his mama, Kizzy...
...and the old African and all that truck.
-Mr. Palmer? -Yes.
-Could l speak with you, Mr. Palmer, sir? -Sure. Come on in.
No. l just leave not.
l done rode 1 0 miles to get here, and l smells of mule sweat.
-Same to you, l'd rather talk on the porch. -Okay, Luke.
l didn't know who to ask for help.
Well, my Fanny, she say, "Go see Mr. Palmer."
See, now, l done told them l can't go...
-...because l got the farm and the children-- -Now, wait a minute.
You couldn't go? You talking about the draft board?
They say l gotta go three weeks from Saturday, and l can't.
l got 50 acres in cotton to chop.
Now, l done explained to them l got a wife and three kids and one coming.
You is exempt for dependents.
All you has to do is appeal the classification--
Mr. Palmer...
...they is all white men on that board.
Think they'll listen to a nigger dirt farmer?
Now, you look here, Luke. That don't make no never mind.
They has to go by the rules.
Well, now, there is young Mr. Calloway, and they knows you.
You can talk to them.
There is nobody else to speak up for me, sir.
Well...
...l guess l'll go down to that draft board with you on their next meeting.
Thank you, sir.
Recover!
High port! Whirl!
High port!
Whirl!
Recover!
High port!
-Well, how they shaping up, lieutenant? -Not bad, sir.
l've been looking over some records.
There are even a few college men among them.
Hope you stay around longer than the last two lieutenants we had.
But, then, l guess you've got your request in for a transfer already, eh?
-No, sir. -No?
Well, takes all kinds.
Suppose it don't matter to you war's over. You just go on back to your fancy college.
Let me tell you, you're in the regular Army, it rubs off on you.
Headquarters says, "Capt. Bowker? Ain't he the one with that coon regiment?"
There goes your chance for promotion.
Captain, don't you think that if these men are treated fairly and patiently...
...that they'll do as well as any other?
Oh, my. Ten Eyck, where you from?
-Fishkill, New York, sir. -Well...
...let me tell you, the Army has had a lot of experience handling nigger troops.
Haley! Who told you you can open your canteen?
-He's sick. -All right, Haley!
You spill that water on the ground.
You heard me! Spill it on the ground!
And that's the way it's gonna be.
-Sergeant? Trouble? -No, sir! A man done passed out. That's all.
-Get him out of the sun. -Haley, Haywood, move him out!
Soldier!
Yes, sir?
You're Haywood. l read your record.
You were busted from sergeant, you did three months.
Yes, sir.
There's not gonna be any trouble like that in my company, do you understand?
Yes, sir.
See what l mean?
lt's the only way to handle them. Come down hard from the word "go."
Now, Will, the Selective Service Act is very complicated.
l sat on the committee that drafted it...
...and l'm blamed if l can understand all that lawyer talk and the small print.
Yes, sir, but Luke here ought to be classified 4A:
"Man whose wife and children are mainly dependent on his labor for support."
Or 4C: "Necessary sole-managing head of necessary agriculture enterprise."
Now, Will. l assure you every case is considered on its own merits.
-Yes, sir. l'm sure that-- -They deferred George McKay.
And he's a colored farmer, same as me, and he ain't married yet.
We had an affidavit from Mr. Bordegray, who owns McKay's farm...
...that there would be a large financial loss if he was not deferred.
Now, Will, we just don't have that kind of affidavit for Luke.
That's because Luke here owns his own place.
Mr. Calloway, l've done business with your father...
...at the bank for 20 years before he passed away.
Now, l done come to know your family as fair-minded Christian gentlemen.
-Well, thank you, Will, but the point is-- -Hear me all the way, sir!
Are you really gonna draft this man...
...who is a farmer with a wife and three children...
...and one on the way?
-There are rules and laws! -Will, l never thought l'd hear you...
...stand up for a slacker.
Father said you were the one colored man that could be trusted.
-But maybe he was wrong. -All l is saying is, fair is fair!
You are impugning the impartiality of this board.
-There will come a day l'll remember that. -Now, you listen here--
Gentlemen, gentlemen.
Now, Will, there are appeal procedures...
...but the review board is likely to be reluctant to challenge the wisdom...
...of a democratically chosen local board.
And, as an old friend, l'm telling you, it ain't gonna do any good anyway.
The Army ain't gonna hurt a good Henning colored boy.
lt's an honor to serve your country.
White and black, fighting for democracy...
...side by side.
Say, Haley, where did you go on your pass?
To the social at the Methodist church.
Professor, now, you just don't know where to look!
Now, l found me a big woman.
Now, l done had some big women, but this woman was big.
And she had this big old brass bed, and there was room enough--
There was room enough for--
Haywood.
Come on. Here.
-Get some water. -No, no. Whiskey.
-Dushay, bring my canteen! -Take it easy.
-What happened? -Damn town cops.
They had a fellow from D Company between them.
They was busting his head with sticks.
Lousy bulls!
Now, l asked them real nice, l said, "ls he under arrest?"
You can't mess with no small-town lllinois police!
lt's not worth it, man!
Then one of them lays his pistol up alongside my head.
Well, they works me over pretty good.
And then tells me that l'm under arrest and try to take me down to the station.
Well, l kicks one of them real hard and busted loose.
l come back to camp and a court-martial is ready.
That's an affront to the United States Army. You were obeying orders.
-They can't do that! -Where's their respect for this uniform?
-Right! -There's got to be some action taken.
Now you talking, college boy.
Hand me my gun! l'm serious!
Come on, professor. What you got in your blood?
Grab your piece and join the party.
We going back and make that damn town safe for democracy.
-You've gotta report this to the authorities. -Done that.
Captain asked me why l'm inciting racial violence.
Ain't you heard enough yet, Haley? You gonna back up your buddy?
-You a soldier, or you a yellow dog? -Right! Let's go!
-l'll go. -All right! Come on!
All right, hold it!
Now, anybody that leave here tonight gonna go over my dead body.
What you talking? They done laid your head open!
They insulted the whole damn United States Army.
We have a right to defend ourselves.
We gonna make white police pay for your blood.
-That right? -That's right!
Tell you what. The same thing happened to the 24th lnfantry in Houston, Texas.
The Army brass disarmed the whole damn battalion...
...1 1 0 colored soldiers in the stockades for murder.
Then hung 1 3 of them and gonna hang more!
They got 41 doing life in Leavenworth, so put your weapon down, soldier.
Put your weapon down, all of you!
You're on my squad. l ain't gonna let not one of you...
...hang from the end of a rope.
You want to shoot somebody?
Wait till France. You can shoot some Germans.
What l got against them Germans?
lt seem to me we fighting the wrong white men.
l know, Mr. Calloway, but Luke's appealing the draft-board rule...
...to the state review in Memphis.
No, sir, l ain't instigating nothing. That's Luke's right by law.
Well, l's sorry you feel that way, sir, but--
Well, goodbye to you, sir.
Mr. Calloway don't take too kindly to no appeal to the state review.
He ain't gonna do nothing to you, Will.
His father set you up in this lumber business in the first place.
Oh, yeah, but then, "There come a pharaoh who knew not Joseph."
Daddy, you didn't give me an answer about--
A young lady do not pick up and go all the way to Chicago unchaperoned...
-...to be with a man. -Simon's in the Army, Papa. That's--
l ain't gonna argue with you, girl.
You said we can get married after his graduation.
-We're practically married. -"Practically" ain't the same thing!
Have him come here with your family around.
His division is going overseas.
All he can get is a one-day pass to Chicago.
l don't want to lose him.
The child telephoned Miss lda Wells Barnett in Chicago.
-She can stay with her. -You known Miss Barnett for a long time.
-She head of that NAACP and everything. -All right. Miss Barnett. Fine.
But you don't throw two young people together with all that foolishness...
...about going overseas and last chance. You just asking for trouble!
Will Palmer, have l ever mixed in your family?
No, Lizzie, you ain't never mixed in my family.
Well, let me tell you something, Will Palmer.
A father got to love his daughter...
...and she got to mind what he say up to a point.
There comes a time when a papa got no more notion...
...of what's going on in his child's heart than he got the other side of the moon.
My papa, Tom, made that kind of mistake.
So, Will, you want to keep the love of the child?
You want to keep her respect for your word?
Then you got to bend. You gotta let go.
l'm talking about what's proper and decent.
Will, these children are in love, and that boy's going off to war!
Now, old folks say, "Don't make no never mind.
He come back by and by." Well, that ain't true.
They don't always come back.
And there are times all a woman got to remember the rest of her life...
...is the soft, sad word of her love saying goodbye.
l know.
l still hear John Dolan. Now, God forbid, Simon don't come back.
Now, you let them cling to each other and say goodbye!
Tell me everything's gonna work out.
Tell me l won't lose Simon.
You won't lose Simon, baby.
Tomorrow morning, we'll go down to the train station...
...and get your ticket.
Wire Miss Barnett that you're coming to Chicago.
Thank you, Daddy.
Hey, Dox! By the time you finish going through them frog gals, man...
...there ain't gonna be enough left for a dose of Epsom salt!
You ain't got to mind them old frog girls, now.
There ain't no loving like good old down-home Chicago loving.
When Frances gets finished saying goodbye to you...
...you ain't gonna be able to say hello to nobody.
l thought l heard somebody knocking out there.
ls this where Doxey Walker live?
-They said third floor, rear. -That's right.
Hey, Doxey! Friends of yours?
Come on in.
Simon?
The professor! l didn't think you was gonna be here!
We got lost on the trolley.
Well, well, well, lookie here.
Miss Palmer, l'd like you to meet Doxey Walker.
So you're Bertha! Well, that's all he talk about in camp.
"Bertha, Bertha, Bertha."
-And you much prettier than he say. -How do you do, Mr. Walker?
Mr. Walker?
That's my daddy's name, and he been gone since the day l was born.
Doxey, that's me. Doxey. This here is Big Slew.
-How you doing? -Pleasure.
-How are you, ma'am? -He work in the stockyards.
He don't even need no sledge to poleax them steers...
...because he bust them twist-eyes with his fist!
-You ain't nothing but a big-- -Shut your mouth, fool.
Can't you see there's a lady present? Y'all come on in.
Get yourself a drink, a mess of ribs or something...
...because everybody here is friends.
Hey, hey, hey, Francey.
This here is my buddy from the Army. Simon, the professor.
-This his girl, Bertha. -Well, hello. How you doing?
Y'all just make yourself at home.
You know, if you got to go, it's out back in the yard.
Here, have a drink.
Hey, Doxey. Come and play something for us.
Look here. Y'all just relax. Have yourself a good time, you hear?
Hey, here you are, sweetie.
Have one of these here pig ears here.
Get back! Hey, look. You don't want one?
Look, they my bestest thing.
-l get them by the buckets at the stockyard. -No, thank you.
-Maybe later. -All right.
Simon, l think it's whiskey.
No, honey, that's gin. lt puts hair on your chest.
What do l do?
You all right, honey?
l just feel--
-l'm all right, l just need some air. -l know it.
lt was quite hot.
Stuffy, that's all it was.
What's that?
l think that's the stockyards.
-You wanna go back inside? -Simon, what we gonna do?
-Ain't no place to go. -l know, honey.
We don't know anyone else in Chicago. We can't go back to Miss Barnett's.
She won't let me receive a gentleman caller there.
Simon, it's our last night.
Hey! Hey, professor! What you doing out here? Come on in, join the party.
-Doxey, you some kind of idiot? -Hey, buddy, look.
This our last night before we headed over there.
You better load up on some home cooking and some home loving!
Thanks. We'll be in soon.
Can't you see this little lady is shivering?
Everybody know the night air from the stockyards bring on the ague.
-Come on in here. -l'll be all right, really.
Doxey, you ain't got the brains of a jumping flea. Can't you see they's in love?
They don't want to spend their time with a bunch of gin-swigging strangers.
Y'all can have the loan of my room, on the second floor in front. Nobody bother you.
And l got a big, fine brass bed with a real sateen coverlet--
Thank you. But...
...we can't stay too long. We'll be all right here.
Francey, come on. There's plenty of liquor in here ain't been drunk yet.
Well, ain't been for the lack of trying.
Now, honey, l know they're wild and all, but....
Maybe that's because they're city folk, and we've never met anybody like that.
l wish you could stay with me now. Come home to Henning.
-We could get married in an old church. -We will, honey. We will.
Simon, why you have to go?
lt's--
Well, it's just my patriotic duty.
Well, that's what Dr. Du Bois wrote in The Crisis:
"We of the colored race have no ordinary interest in the outcome.
German power spells death to the aspirations of Negroes...
...for equality, freedom and democracy. Let us close our--"
l don't want to hear Dr. Du Bois.
l don't want to hear about patriotism or politics or anything.
l just want to hear you say you love me and you're gonna be coming back all right.
Honey, please.
Well, l just don't know.
-l mean, about being all right. -Then lie to me.
-Tell me lies, Simon, please! -Bertha....
Bertha, l love you.
l'm gonna come back to you. That's all that matters.
Oh, Simon, l love you.
Then nothing else matters.
Nothing.
We love each other.
Remember that.
Let's move out! Let's move out!
All right. The two machine-gun positions are here...
...and here.
Now, my orders from Capt. Bowker are to get to the guns and destroy them.
Battalion wants them wiped out before the push.
Yes, sir.
-Sergeant, you'll check the men. -All right, sir.
Lieutenant...
...them krauts got that whole field of fire measured and zeroed in.
They could shoot the toenails off a fly in the dark.
Don't worry about it, corporal.
Headquarters is calling in a creeping barrage.
That'll keep their heads down. We'll be very well-covered.
Lieutenant...
...listen.
Notice anything?
There ain't nothing to listen to.
Lord almighty!
They were supposed to be here five minutes ago.
-Where the hell is Artillery? -They're probably in the sack.
They sure as hell ain't shooting off no 75s.
Capt. Bowker made it absolutely clear we have to destroy those machine guns.
-What do you think, Haywood? -Lieutenant, l ain't paid to think.
All right.
We are gonna wait exactly five minutes for covering artillery.
And then what?
Then we are going to follow the captain's orders.
Nothing from Artillery.
A long, loud nothing.
All right.
Let's go.
Move out!
That's wire! Get down!
Wire! Down!
On your backs!
Go under it! Move it, down there! Move it!
Johnson! Johnson!
l'm caught in the wire!
Doxey, you all right?
Come on, you recruits! Move in!
We're taking too much fire, lieutenant. We got to go back.
Men, go back! Men!
Stay down!
Sergeant, Washington out there dead.
And Johnson.
Dushay hit in the leg...
...but he be all right.
Cut up by the wire some, though.
Why the hell isn't Artillery coming?
That's what l wanna know. Hell, that fool white man...
...probably didn't call no Artillery liaison.
Why bother?
Nothing out there but a bunch of niggers.
-That cracker. -l can't let you talk like that.
-Capt. Bowker's your superior officer. -Oh, that what he is?
Yes, sir.
That's all we need in this hole in the ground...
...is a bunch of military courtesy.
Yes, sir.
Haywood, what are we going to do?
-You the officer. -Yes, but you're an experienced soldier.
Do you think we can get through that barbed wire?
Oh, hell.
With no artillery cover?
We ain't got no wire cutters.
And them Heinie machine guns with a known-range field of fire...
...it take a frontal assault at full-battalion strength, sir.
Yes. l agree with you.
I sent you out to carry out my orders...
...and you just plain failed.
-Captain, lf l had tried-- -Stand at attention, Ten Eyck!
What am l gonna tell Battalion?
Patrol of dumb darkies just sat in some damn shell hole...
-...rolling their big bug eyes? -Sir, my men did their duty.
Two of them are dead, and one is wounded.
The patrol was undermanned, sir. There was no wire shown on my map.
-We didn't have wire cutters. -l don't want excuses.
And there was supposed to be an artillery barrage.
They cancel it? Or just forget to call Division Artillery?
How do l know what went on? Something always goes wrong!
Are you going to find out, sir?
Will you protest that you almost lost an entire troop?
Just exactly how far do you think l would get with that?
Somebody up there is awful busy covering up his rear.
l'm gonna cover up mine.
No patrol in the world could have gotten through--
Up in Battalion, they expect these troops to fail.
They know what we're up against. They don't wanna hear anything else.
-They did not fail! -And nobody gets a promotion...
...by telling higher command what they don't want to hear.
Captain, l cannot let my men be held responsible for something--
You stick your thumb in your mouth and you listen to me!
They put me in this manure pile.
l'm gonna get out with my record clean! Dismissed!
-Sir, l cannot let-- -Dismissed!
Where have you been? You're half an hour late.
Sorry, Haley.
Oh, l'm sorry, sir. l thought it was Walker.
Anything going on?
No, sir.
All quiet.
There was an observation two-seater about a half-hour ago...
-...crossing this sector left to right. -Yes, we saw that.
And there was a barn swallow.
You mean a bird?
Yes, sir.
Or some kind of swift.
lt's nesting in that dead tree about 1 00 yards out.
A bird's nest in this circle of hell.
What a sight.
There's a female sitting on top.
"Hope is that thing with feathers which nestles near the heart."
Emily Dickinson. You ever read any of her poems at college?
-l took ag courses mostly, sir. -Well, that's interesting, Haley.
-You wanna be a farmer? -l want to teach agriculture...
-...at the college level. -You have it all figured out.
-You know exactly what you're gonna do. -l guess so. Yes, sir.
l wish to hell l did.
l went through three years at Harvard with a gentleman's C...
...and all l know is the first two lines of a handful of poems...
...and all the verses of "Abdul Abulbul Amir."
Yes, sir.
You know what's interesting, though, Haley?
l've never known a colored person before, other than my uncle's butler.
There was that chap at Harvard...
...but none of us ever seemed to speak to him.
Here we are living together...
...for all we know, dying together...
...and l still don't know a damn thing about any of you.
Sir...
...l'm supposed to keep the sector under constant observation.
What?
The binoculars, sir.
Oh, no, Haley. Go on down to the rear dugout.
Sgt. Haywood brought up the chow, and the mail is in.
You don't have to do that, sir. Walker is supposed to be here.
lt's all right. That's all right. Go ahead.
l'll take over for a while.
Thank you, sir.
She's back on the nest.
Hey, y'all, listen up here.
l got something to tell you. Wake up here. Hey, wake up, Williams!
Hey, Haley! Hey!
They talking about a big push coming.
Now, the Heinies may use gas in this sector.
l want all of y'all to have your gas masks with you at all times.
lf you got tobacco and rations in your mask, just get it the hell on out.
What you talking about, "a push"? Ain't what them krauts say.
-What you talking about? -That Heinie fly over yesterday...
...drop a mess of leaflets.
Come in real handy because we clean out of paper.
What them Heinies say?
"Hello, brave black boys.
What are you doing over there, fighting Germans?
Why? For democracy?
What is democracy?
Can you go to a restaurant where white people dine?"
Don't wanna, because white folks don't know good food.
Like this food we eating right here.
"Or can you ride in the South in the same streetcar with white people?"
Hell, no! Now, they saying gospel there.
"ls lynching a lawful process in a democratic country?
There is nothing in the game for you but death.
Throw your gun away and come over to the German lines."
lt's a good thing they wrote that on thin, smooth paper.
Then it do be good for something.
Simon.
Simon, what's the matter?
My father died.
Bertha heard from my mother.
l'm sorry.
He....
He died on the operating table in that....
ln that....
That colored hospital in Memphis.
Hey, l'm real sorry, buddy.
That's all she says.
"Your father died on the operating table."
That's yellow smoke in F Company.
Damn! That's gas!
Gas! Get your masks on!
Who's in forward post?
-The lieutenant. -Haley, go and tell him about it.
He can't see it. lt's behind him. lt's blowing this way! Hurry up!
Lieutenant. Lieutenant, gas!
Lieutenant!
How are you?
What outfit are you from? You from the 92nd?
Listen.
Do you know anything about Company C?
Did you hear anything about Company C?
The 366th?
Do you know if anybody else around here...
...is from the 366th?
My name is Simon Haley.
Simon Haley. What's yours?
What's the matter with you? l'm talking to you.
What are you doing? l told you to lie still, to rest.
-What--? What's--? -Oh, l understand.
No, he is not American. He is Senegalese.
A French soldier. An African.
-He's from Africa? -Yes, yes. Africa.
He is no Yankee.
He doesn't speak French, only his African language.
You're from Africa?
l'm sorry, buddy.
The folks didn't--
Folks didn't carry on the language.
l guess we could be related.
Some kind of kin.
And we can't say one word to each other.
What are we doing in the middle of France, fighting Germans?
No. No, thank you.
Thank you. As a matter of fact, l'm temperance.
Why not?
Thanks, cousin.
To you.
To-- To Africa.
To the end of the war.
Hey, Haywood. Hey, Simon.
Look, y'all. l want y'all to meet a friend of mine.
She's a grande femme.
That's frog for a "big woman."
That's my friend Sgt. Haywood.
This is my buddy Simon Haley.
Simon. He just come back from the hospital just in time to go home!
Hey, Haywood, look there. The boy is blushing!
-Doxey, you're drunk. -You're right.
And l'm gonna stay drunk till l gets my papers...
...that gets me out of this man's Army.
-Then y'all know what l'm gonna do? -Gonna get drunk again.
l'm gonna stay right here!
l'm going to Paris, where's l can walk up...
...have me a drink at any bar that l want.
Where l can ride a train. Where l don't have to worry about no dirty...
...Jim Crow car, and where l can-- Where l can--
Where l can mess with a pretty woman.
Don't have to worry about some redneck lynching me up to the nearest tree.
Hey, Haywood, how about you?
-Why ain't you turn frog with me? -No, Doxey.
l'm too old for them kind of carryings on.
What will you do now that the war's over?
Well, l guess l'll go on back home...
...take care of my sister and her children in Knoxville and then....
l guess l'll just re-enlist for another hitch.
You mean, you going back to that...
...miserable, low-down, nigger-hating country?
That may be, Dox, but it's my "miserable, low-down...
-...nigger-hating country." -Well, that's all right.
"Everyone to his own taste," the man said as he kissed a pig.
How about you, Simon? You college and all that truck.
Why ain't you go get that pretty gal of yours...
...bring her over here so you can live the life of Riley, huh?
l guess l just want to go home.
Anyway, it's gonna be different about race.
Boy, you is whistling up a hollow tree.
Well, it's got to be.
There was our division and the 93rd and all the other colored troops.
And we fought for our country. They know that.
President Wilson has brought Negroes into the government as advisers.
That means something.
-Everything's gonna be different. -What you drinking?
-l wants me a shot of that! -Attention!
Oh, l didn't-- Oh, my goodness!
That's all right. Gentlemen, sit down, please. Please sit down.
Really, it's.... Sit.
-Haley, l wanted to see you before-- -Lieutenant!
-Sit down and have a drink with us. -Shut up! You crazy?
No, no, no, sergeant. That's all right.
l think that's a fine idea.
-Might l borrow this chair? -Yes, sir.
-Well, what are we drinking? -Anything we can get.
Thank you.
To my platoon.
The best damn fighting men in the AEF.
Come on, honey. Let me show you how they do the one-step...
...on the South Side of Chicago!
Y'all excuse me? Thanks.
l've been looking for you because...
...l haven't had the chance to tell you...
...l'm grateful.
That's all right, sir.
-Aren't you drinking? -No.
You know, Haley...
...l'm 22.
When l go home, there's every chance that l won't ever do anything of any...
...consequence again in my whole life.
ln a way, l envy you.
You're going home to a challenge.
And you have a very clear idea of what you're going to do.
l....
l will drink to your homecoming.
Thank you, sir.
Whereas l will probably spend the next 50 years...
...going to dinner in all the same isolated houses.
Tuxedo, Rhinebeck, Hyde Park.
But l will have met men...
...that none of them will ever know.
l hope l remember.
Thank you, Haley.
Lieutenant.
What are you doing here?
l am having a drink with my victorious legions.
Will you join us?
You crazy? Drinking with enlisted men? Niggers? You can't sit with them.
Why not? l almost died with them.
You're drunk.
At ease.
Don't want to get in any trouble, now, son.
All hell is breaking loose right now.
Gen. Bullard up in 2nd Army...
...has just ordered all colored outfits shipped home first.
Well, how thoughtful of the dear general.
The point is, he told Marshal Foch...
...the French don't know how to keep the blacks in line.
Now, you listen up good.
-l'm ordering you to round up all your men. -Captain.
l'm no longer under your command.
Here is my transfer order.
The Army has assigned me to go to the Sorbonne...
...to study Rimbaud, Verlaine and Balzac.
Lieutenant, l gave you an order!
Balzac.
-Sergeant! -Sir!
l want every colored soldier out of this town in five minutes!
All of you! You are restricted to camp.
You will be shipped home first, and you better start to remember...
...how to stay where you belong!
Move them out!
Time to go home.
lt is.
lt's Simon!
lt's Simon. l saw him.
Oh, child, that's a whole regiment up there.
lt's like picking out one black-eyed pea in a bushel.
l did see him.
Oh, look at that.
Old Blackjack Pershing himself.
Hey. Yeah. Hey, yeah, that's him.
That Henry Johnson, he whupped a whole 20 Germans single-handedly.
This white minister from First Congregational, Jackson, Mississippi...
...preached this sermon on racial tolerance...
...and it made all the papers, and he preached it right here in Tennessee.
Even the governor done issued out a proclamation against lynching.
Baby, l tell you, your Simon coming home to a new world.
Afternoon, Will.
Congressman.
lt's a great sight, our boys marching home victorious.
Yes, sir.
Bertha, l expect your young fellow be coming home soon, and then you can...
...settle down and raise yourself a whole passel of fine little pickaninnies.
She's got a Kodak snapshot of her soldier boy in France.
-Show it to him. -Papa, l--
Bertha, l would admire to see it.
l have the greatest admiration for our boys in their country's service.
That's Simon there on the right-hand side, before he got wounded.
That's very interesting.
That's a fine-looking boy.
Well, it's about time we should be moving along. lt's very nice talking to you.
Excuse us.
"Pickaninny."
Make your blood boil, black bucks standing there with rifle guns and bayonets...
...the government give them.
We're in for interesting times when the boys come home.
What are we all gonna do when them nigger soldiers get home anyway?
How are we gonna keep them down on the farm after they seen Paris?
lt isn't only the farm. We are gonna need a large, cheap and manageable labor supply.
Colored boys coming home with wild ideas about all kinds of things isn't gonna help.
The mistake, sir, was in taking perfectly amiable Negroes...
...and putting them in the Army in the first place.
l tell you, we have sown dragon's teeth, sir. Dragon's teeth!
l told you them French would spoil our niggers rotten.
Everything in the country's unsettled.
Where will it all end?
Well, gentlemen, l'm reminded of my old father, Col. Warner.
Now, he deplored violence in any form, but there would come a time...
...when he would say of some particular obstreperous darky:
"lt's too bad, but l guess that fellow deserves whatever happens to him."
Well, l do hope the Negroes will be sensible and will settle down...
...without provoking any violence.
Afraid there's already been violent outbursts of indignation...
...in Longview, Texas, and Elaine, Arkansas, up north in Chicago...
...against Negro soldiers coming home with dangerous ideas.
Sorry days for all.
Well, gentlemen, if l'm to become senator, l have work to do, if you'll excuse me.
Certainly, Andy.
Andy, l'm going up to Knoxville on Tuesday...
...to remind the blacks they're coming back home.
Now, Earl...
...inside two years, l expect to be junior senator from the state of Tennessee.
Now, a national figure and a power in the Democratic Party cannot be mixed up...
...in unexpected, spontaneous outbursts before they happen.
Shoot, Andy, l don't care if you're running for dogcatcher or senator.
When push come to shove, you're gonna holler "nigger" like always.
But with dignity, Earl.
Always with dignity.
O, kinsmen! We must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered Let us show us brave
And for their thousand blows Deal one deathblow!
What though before us lies the open grave
Like men, we,ll face The murderous, cowardly pack
Pressed to the wall, dying But fighting back!
Where it come from?
lt's by Claude McKay in The Messenger.
Ain't that the truth?
l done heard of groups of white men strolling through the streets...
...looking for a friendly lynching.
They round the corner, bam! Black men fighting back.
Bubba, eat your vittles.
-Simon, you want potatoes? -Thank you, ma'am. This is just fine.
l'm sorry l asked you to come to Knoxville. l thought you was coming--
Now, it ain't your fault them rednecks rampaging all over town.
lt's a good idea.
Chance to meet your sister...
...sort of be together for the last time.
Besides, my train connection is in Knoxville. l would've been here anyway.
Well, you're all safer off the streets.
This ain't your regular lynchings with the town folk looking for one particular nigger.
They got gangs streaming through the colored part of town.
They don't care who they get, long as they're black.
Yeah. Ain't nowhere safe, even in Chicago.
Papers say 23 colored was killed last month. Sixteen white.
-And 1 000 families was burned out. -Always the colored too.
l seen this old white man driving areal, gang of coloreds throw rocks...
...through his windshield and drag him out.
That poor old man was all over, blood.
Well, it's the Red Summer. That's what they calling it, the Red Summer.
Haywood, maybe we ought have stayed in France.
Leastways there we had hand grenades.
l got myself a few souvenirs around the house here.
Maybe you should've stayed in France, Doxey.
Maybe we all should have.
Tell you the truth, buddy...
...sleeping in that old French barn with all that cow manure piled up...
...l got homesick for that sweet smell of the stockyards blowing across Division Street.
Miss Carson! Miss Carson!
-What is it, Tim? -They up the street!
Mama told me to tell the folks. There's a whole gang of white men. They going mad!
Okay, honey, be careful.
Rosie, you take the kids, hear?
Go on to Mr. Pinckney's place past the square.
You done cooked for him a lot of years. He'll hide you in his house.
-Go on. -Children, come on.
l'm about to load this thing up.
-Don't let it jam up. -Let me have one. l'll cover the back.
No, you take Rosie and the kids to safety. We'll hold position in here, get you clear.
-Well, let me-- -l gave you an order!
Somebody has to take these kids to safety. Go ahead. You can do it. Go on, boy.
Here you go, Dox.
-Burn them out! -Cover him!
Doxey, start to retreat. l'll cover you. Come on.
Go on, boy! Go ahead!
His clip's empty! He's fired his clip!
l got him, boys!
l got him.
All right, boys. Let's check these other houses.
Bertha!
Darling!
Darling, l missed you.
Oh, l missed you so much.
Oh, Simon, l'm so happy.
Will?
Will Palmer?
Luke Bettiger?
Yes, sir.
Look, Will, if there's anything l can do, l mean, for the widow.
We're real proud here in Henning of all our war heroes.
Luke Bettiger ain't no war hero.
He just a plain farmer with four children...
...who got drafted and die of Spanish influenza...
...Camp Alexander, Virginia.
Now, Will, don't use that tone with me.
-l'm offering a favor. -Mr. Calloway...
...l'm gonna pay my notes at the bank when they due.
l ain't never gonna ask you for no favor.
You all go ahead. l'll meet you at the cemetery.
"For America and her highest ideals, we fought in far-off hope.
For America, that represents in gloats and lynching...
...disenfranchisement, caste, brutality and devilish insult.
We were forced by a vindictive fate to fight also.
We return, we return from fighting. We return fighting."
Dr. Du Bois?
Simon, what is it?
l don't understand.
When l saw you at the station, my heart just....
Well, l just couldn't stand it.
When l was running to you, l kept thinking, "lt's over. Now we can begin.
lt's finally over."
Simon, it's over.
l went down home to Savannah.
My mama was...
...turned out of the ferry house when Papa died.
She's working with a white family in town, sleeping in.
She has a...
...a room over the stable...
...no bigger than an upper berth...
...and there isn't anything l can do to help her. l have no money.
l tried to find a job, but...
...the only work was digging ditches. There was 50 men in line ahead of me.
Why you want that kind of job anyway? You're a college graduate.
l'll tell you what l am. Same thing l was in the Army.
A nigger.
Simon Alexander Haley, l don't ever wanna hear you say anything like that again.
You're a colored. You're a Negro, and so am l.
Don't you ever use their words to make yourself small.
But l've seen too much.
-l'm not a fool anymore. -Yes, you are.
You're the worst kind of a fool.
Didn't you just read to me from Dr. Du Bois? "We return fighting." You call this fighting?
What good is it? You only lose in the end. Haywood is dead.
Well, that's one way of fighting.
Now, you were gonna get your master's degree and teach agriculture.
Bertha, you don't understand.
Oh, yes, l do.
l used to make fun of Mama and Auntie Liz when they told stories about the old days.
l never liked that old-time stuff, but l listened.
l couldn't help it.
And now l see what they meant.
About the African? He kept trying to be free until they cut off his foot.
And Grandpa Tom fought off the Klan after the war.
And Papa, he's in trouble with the bank...
...because he fought the draft board for being unfair.
You can't sit down and give up.
-They never did. -Well, maybe that isn't my kind of family.
Well, it will be when you ask me to marry you!
Honey.
All right. You win.
You are irresistible, and you're right.
l'm going to get my degree...
-...and then l'm gonna-- -That's for later.
Now, Papa's building a brand-new house, and the first Sunday after it's finished...
...you gonna marry me, and we're gonna have the reception on the front lawn.
"Best wishes and eternal gratitude...
...your military colleague...
...Hamilton Ten Eyck."
My land!
Well, l've never seen the like!
This silverware displayed in a velvet-lined box...
...like it was a $500 funeral.
"To Mr. and Mrs. Simon Alexander Haley:
Warmest congratulations...
...Mr. and Mrs. RSM Boyce, The Saturday Evening Post."
-Now, who they? -l don't know.
But it came all the way from the Tiffany store in New York City.
Will Palmer sure spread himself on this here wedding.
Paid $1 00 to bring that college choir down here from Jackson.
Ain't no card.
Now, who sends something like this here to a wedding?
Do l gets to kiss the bride?
Why, of course you do.
You're a lucky man, buddy.
Too bad old Sgt. Haywood ain't here with us.
Drink some cognac to the bride and groom.
Well, l'm afraid this is very Methodist, Doxey. No liquor.
Now, don't you worry, because l done brought my own canteen.
Come on. Come on.
l certainly don't understand you Southerners.
ln New York, we'd never go to a Negro wedding.
lt's the custom, my dear.
See? Tom Calloway is here, and Judge Quartermain.
That's why we get along so well with our Negroes. We have mutual respect.
When l married you, Andy, l expected to be in the middle of a Washington social life.
But l didn't count on starting at the Darktown Strutters' Ball.
Mama, are you all right?
-Maybe you ought to get out of this sun. -Child, l've been out in the sun...
...1 4 hours a day chopping cotton.
l'll stand the might of it to see my boy's wedding party.
-So you having a good time, Mama? -Well, yes and no.
To tell you the truth, l am plain scared.
l never seen such grand folks, white and black.
They're no grander than you are, Mama.
Well, that's as his will be.
l remember your daddy say, "l ain't gonna waste no boy on schooling!"
This here's some waste.
You go and spot your friends.
How do you do?
Well, l am sorry that l missed the ceremony at the church, Will...
...but l just drove back from Knoxville.
l had to identify a body.
Excuse me, please.
You know, l hear tell they find Earl Crowther's body.
My God, it was awful.
He'd been under a porch for two weeks, with his throat cut from ear to ear.
-lt's a terrible business. -lt surely is.
l guess it's like the Good Book say:
"Thou shalt die by the sword."
Let me introduce you to the groom's mother.
This here is Miss Queen Haley.
How do you do?
-Queen Haley? -Yes, ma'am. My middle name Victoria.
Queen Victoria Haley.
How interesting.
This here is my son-in-law, Simon Haley.
Congressman and Mrs. Warner.
Well, now, l hope you two newlyweds are gonna settle down right here in Henning.
We could use fine young folks of the right sort.
Well, actually, sir, l've just heard from Cornell University in New York state.
l'll be going there to study for my degree in agriculture.
Well, that is something for a boy from Tennessee!
All the way to New York!
-Simon. -Well, and here comes the beautiful bride.
Well, Bertha, l believe l have known you long enough.
Since birth, and now l'm gonna kiss the bride.
My dear, l'm sure there are a lot of people just dying to make your acquaintance.
lt was very nice meeting you. lf you'll excuse us.
Come, my dear.
Bertha.
Miss Carrie, Uncle Jim wants to show you the library and music room.
That can wait, but if you don't cut the cake soon, the icing will wilt in this heat.
You know, your Grandmother lrene made my wedding cake.
And l made this the same way, smooth in some places and rough in others...
...to show that life will be both.
You figures on taking my little girl away from here?
Away from her family?
Her mama...
...and her daddy?
That what you plans to do?
Well, l....
-l wouldn't-- -Truth is, l'm getting old.
Oh, l puts up a good front, but...
...l just ain't what l was when l was younger.
And l'd done got myself into kind of a bind down at the bank.
l got these extra mortgage payments l got to make.
l just ain't got the cash to hire on extra help.
With this arthritis coming on and all....
But that ain't it, really.
She's my onliest child, Bertha George.
See, l gave her the name George in case she was a boy.
But she was a girl...
...my little girl.
Just let her stay home a little while longer.
-Well, l don't wanna seem-- -That's all l asking.
The summer.
One more summer with my little girl.
Well....
Ain't long. Another month.
Maybe a year or two.
Simon?
Simon, you go on out and take care of your mama.
She among strangers here.
Yes, ma'am.
Thank you.
Will Palmer, you been crying your arthritis to that boy, deviling him to stay here.
l been talking about families.
Colored families got to stick together.
That's the only way they gonna get the strength to go forward in this here world.
That's all l been talking about.
Oh, is that all?
Well, let me tell you something, W.E. Palmer.
All these years, you been trying to bind Bertha to you...
...spoiled her until it's a wonder she done growed up at all.
Well, praise the Lord, somehow she did...
...and she is not your little girl no more.
Then what's the use?
What's the use in working, scraping so hard all these years...
...if l loses everything l worked for now?
Honey.
lt like....
lt like holding a butterfly in your hand.
lf you holds it too tight, you gonna crush it.
You got to let it fly!
l know it.
l know.
We be all right.
Yeah.
All right, everybody!
Quiet down and gather round here.
Come on.
lt's been a happy day.
And l's real proud to announce that the bride and groom gonna be leaving soon...
...for Cornell University, lthaca, state of New York...
...where my son-in-law, Simon Haley...
...gonna be studying agriculture.
And he gonna get his master of science degree.
You know what that is? That master degree?
l reckon that's more education than a body can stand.
All right, all right! All right!
Bye!
See you! Have a good trip!
Ready?
-Here we go! -All right.
Get in there, Doxey!
Oh, it's your arthritis.
-l can get you a hot-water bottle. -Woman, will you be still?
Can't you see l'm trying to sleep?
Standing barefoot in the middle of the floor?
-Will, what you worrying on? -Nothing.
-ls it about the bank? -No!
No.
Anyway, that ain't it.
Well, then, what is?
How long it's been since that girl write us a letter.
Well, l guess there just ain't much to write about.
Now, l know.
l sent her $500 for Christmas...
...and l told her not to tell Simon where she got it from.
That's it. Suppose he found out.
And suppose he's so stiff-necked he get peeved.
Suppose he won't let our daughter write home. Suppose--
Will, you supposing more than the good Lord knows for sure.
l got half a notion to go and give him a piece of my mind.
You can't do that. You got to take care of the lumberyard.
Well, l'll tell you what.
lf we ain't heard by Saturday...
...l'll get the train up to lthaca, New York, my own self.
Done! And, by G, l don't care what it cost.
Yeah.
You suppose you can sleep before you meet yourself getting up in the morning?
Will?
l hear something.
Oh, no, woman. Don't start that. l just got my mind at peace.
Will, l hear somebody. Somebody fussing with the front door.
There.
There's a knocking.
Who's there?
Simon! Will! Will, it's them!
They come home!
Why didn't you write you was coming?
Bertha, what you doing out there?
You come--
Oh, my.
My.
-Jesus. -Surprise for you, Mama.
lt's a boy.
Oh, child, what got into your head?
We been up day and night...
...just waiting for your mama and papa.
Looks like my father, Tom, about the eyes.
And my mama, lrene, about the mouth.
Hello, Papa.
l'm so glad to see you, Papa.
-One of his names is after you. -Will?
He's Alexander Murray Palmer Haley.
You come with me, Alex Haley.
-Come over here. -Alex.
Come on. Oh, yeah, yeah.
Come on.
Mama? Where's he going?
Oh, don't you worry, child. lt's all right.
lt just something come down in our family.
Your Grandpa Tom done the same thing the night you was born.
Come.
My grandpa, Chicken George, held me up to the night...
...and his mama, Kizzy, done it for him.
And the old African himself...
...showed his Kizzy to the moon.
And l expect, way back in Africa...
...his papa held up Kunta Kinte the night he was born.
Moon...
...this here is the seventh generation since then.
This here is Alex Haley.
You watch over him.
Next on Roots:
Oh, you got it! You're gonna be a professor!
l am a professor! A college professor.
Simon Alexander Haley, college professor!
Damn their hides! Got no right to treat a white man like a nigger.
The truth is...
...they've got no right to treat any man like a nigger.
You should never put a nigger ahead of a white man, Mr. Pettijohn.
Should never do that.
You talking about that New York Bolshevik...
...thinks he'll ride his wheelchair into Washington...
...tell me how to run my business?
Yes, sir. l'm talking about Mr. Roosevelt.
Let me tell you something, Haley.
There aren't enough niggers and Jews in this country to vote him into office!
Now, we'll just pay another visit when Professor Haley is at home.
Now, y'all coming?
Haley, get the hell out of there!
There ain't nothing you can do now!