Now, I need you to listen to me, Elise.
You go out there, and you keep doing the work
that Malcolm was doing.
I ain't gonna give up on justice, not today, not ever.
I told you, I want in on your new venture.
The whole thing. You owe me.
You keep this shit up, we will go to war.
I don't want to see him destroy what's been
a really good deal for our family.
60 kilos of junk are gonna be distributed from us
to the other families. I need your help.
There is something you could do for me.
Chin gigante... Rob him blind.
You let one guy Rob my truck with you and two men in it?
He came out of the blue.
Weren't you supposed to give that back to bumpy?
Gave him back some. The rest was milk sugar.
You fine gentlemen can make a choice
either I keep the narcotics, and we go to war,
or I give it back, and chin takes his ass out of Harlem.
So, what's it gonna be, fellas?
I need you to report back to me every move that pino takes.
He's gonna be the new face of the family uptown.
You're the brains.
Thank you for offering me protection to come back.
I'm really glad you're back.
I want my workers to live someplace clean, new.
The new Harlem.
I love it.
Do you think you could get James Baldwin
to write an exhibition text?
All things are possible.
I'm James Baldwin, an author of many bestselling books.
But the question all of you here really should be asking,
if you were to actually stop to consider it,
how do you really and truly see me?
I'm black, but am I a man?
What am I to you?
Three-fifths of a person,
as our founding fathers declared a negro to be?
That is the reality of being negro in america.
And what of Harlem?
All of us are packed in a dirty, crowded ghetto,
crawling with police, ready to arrest any of us at any moment
for nothing more than being black.
And who is to blame?
You say the negro man needs to work harder.
But I say there's a white consortium owns our schools,
hospitals, and housing projects.
This is an American nightmare.
The only black men to own anything in Harlem
are the drug lords
who find a way to profit off the people suffering.
Drug lords. Speak of the devil. Look who's here.
The infamous bumpy Johnson, Mr. Harlem himself.
And there you are, the silver-tongued Jimmy Baldwin.
It's easy for you to get up on that stage and judge a man
for trying to make things better in the streets.
You think my life is easy? I survived those streets.
To do what... entertain white folks
while jabbing at me?
Black against black.
You're putting on quite a show here.
This is better than... Two circus monkeys, isn't it?
Isn't it?
You dragged me out of James Baldwin for this?
Bumpy... When it comes to New York real estate,
one thing is for certain... larceny is legal.
I don't think I like where this conversation is going.
Yes, well, I don't wanna have to take it here,
but here we are.
A man by the name of Marshall Grant
bought your new Harlem buildings.
I got contracts on those buildings.
Yes, well, the city accepted a higher offer.
The city has my deposit in escrow.
This can't be legal.
Well, they'll return your deposit.
With poverty programs
excuse me, "urban revitalization plans"
every single millionaire
in the tri-state area wants a piece,
and they can wash money and get a tax break while they do it.
Let me see that paper.
I'm gonna roll up on this Marshall Grant,
see what he's about.
I-I don't want to stick in your craw,
but I'd steer clear of any arm-twisting.
This fella... Is he even black?
Well, according to the box he checked, he is.
It's right there.
But, you know, not all skin folk are kinfolk.
What's wrong, daddy?
Just having some trouble moving this shit.
What? The junkies not buying?
They buying.
Just got a bunch of motherfuckers looking for me.
I don't know, frank.
Maybe stealing that dope wasn't a good idea.
I mean, can't you give it back to them?
That ain't how it work.
I give this shit back to 'em,
I have a bullet in my head before they say, "thank you."
Fuck.
What about bumpy Johnson? Maybe he can help you.
No, bumpy don't want nothing to do with me.
Easier to find an Italian.
Italians. They always hating on us.
I just gotta find one who don't.
Where the fuck is bumpy Johnson?
Bumpy's a very busy man these days.
That's real convenient, given what he's done with our junk.
I don't follow.
Well, he returned it.
But when we tested the purity, which was at 90%,
turns out it was cut with milk sugar.
Your boss stole at least one-third of our junk.
Bumpy don't want your dope.
Bumpy don't sell that shit no more.
As a matter of fact,
you wouldn't even have that duji to sell
if bump didn't give chin the connection
all to himself.
Fuck would he want to steal it for?
Look, we know that bumpy's a man of his word,
but we can't sell product that's been whacked to shit.
Makes us look bad.
It's bad for our arrangement with bumpy, too.
Well, bumpy knows the value of a good reputation.
I tell you what.
Let me talk to him, and we'll see what we can dig up.
- Nah. - Thank you.
I'm acting boss, and I don't like digging.
I need real fucking answers right fucking now.
Acting boss?
Have some breakfast on me.
Look, I think it's best if we try
and stay on good terms with Johnson, you know?
No disrespect, Stella. Your father put me in charge
'cause he knows I know how to talk to the blacks.
All trying to rip us the fuck off.
The people in this court
and the people in the legislature...
Did you finish all your homework, Margaret?
I will.
Discipline is just as important as aptitude.
I hate school anyways.
But you love to read.
- Shh, shh, shh. - The pamphlet says
that the black panther party for self-defense
calls on the American people in general
to take careful note of the racist California legislature.
Why do you believe the legislature is racist?
Don't you know? You're a part of it,
and, obviously, this is a white system.
This is obviously where we at.
The statement seems to indicate
that these people feel that the black people have been enslaved
throughout most of their lives,
that the white society is responsible for this,
and then they go on to say
the black panther party for self-defense
believes that the time has come... Who are they?
I saw a few of them around here.
Betty knows 'em.
Look like a bunch of California criminals, if you ask me.
They look fine to me.
Excuse me, young lady.
I know my daughter didn't just say that.
She's not wrong. They do look fine.
Elise, can you please?
The black panther party for self-defense calls
upon the American people in general
and the black people in particular
to take full note of the racist California legislature,
which is now considering legislation aimed
at keeping the black people disarmed and powerless
at the very same time
that racist police agencies throughout the country
- are intensifying the terror... - Okay.
Brutality, murder, and repression of black people.
Margaret, go finish your homework.
I'm not a little kid anymore.
But you're still my kid.
Sitting around watching TV
doesn't help a girl whose grades are faltering.
And what are you teaching her
to turn the TV off when a strong black man
is trying to make a difference?
Bump, this can't be the right address.
You're telling me the man who took your property
lives in this dump?
Come on.
Stay down!
D-Don't shoot.
Shut the fuck up, okay?
Forgive me.
I came to speak to you about a group of buildings
that you seem to have purchased.
I know you.
He's clean.
I've known you since you was a nappy-head country bumpkin.
I knew your sister before she died.
You knew Mabel?
I intended to marry Mabel.
Mr. G.
You're Marley g.
Marshall Grant.
Help him up. Let him up.
This way. Let's just go inside.
You played sax over at the Apollo.
I remember Mabel was sweet on you.
I put my sis through her paces, I know.
When mama sent me up here to live with Mabel,
I was pretty angry.
Your sister tried,
but you were just too hard-headed and rotten.
She was a good woman. Big heart.
I remember one day she gave me a roll full of pennies.
I was bowled over.
I slipped those coins into my pocket.
I felt like I was rich, like I was Mr. Big stuff.
I remember that.
She gave you those pennies on Saturday,
and by Monday, you was in a fight.
You broke a boy's face with a fistful of coins.
Remember that part?
You was a little thug even then.
You see, I'm not that boy anymore.
You still a gangster, ain't you?
That's what I want to talk to you about
about doing things differently.
When you was 11 years in prison,
your sister blamed herself
for not setting you on the right path.
That's what killed her.
And Mabel may have blamed herself, but I blame you.
Pettigrew, give him some money for the door.
The true opiate plaguing america
is its addiction to money.
The haves and have nots.
That's the exact sort of thing ellsworth is trying to fight.
By building a bigger casino?
A casino that will provide jobs,
not to mention he wants to build restaurants, a theater.
Which will all allow bumpy to rake in the money
hand over fist.
What is your problem with my husband and his money?
It's just an observation, not an opinion.
Ellsworth is a businessman.
Everything he has, he's made from nothing.
He cares for his family. He's charitable,
not to mention he's reinvented himself,
gotten out of the drug trade.
I, for one, admire him.
Hmph.
He's a man of many facets... And contradictions.
So, you're saying... His money isn't about the paper.
It's about the power?
Yes, exactly.
But all the while, our people are being abused by the cops
and exploited by an economic caste system.
Well, you give voice to that in your writing.
My husband does what he can in his way.
But, Mrs. Johnson, is either enough?
Mail for Marshall Grant? I'll take it.
You're at the wrong zip code, brother.
Bingo.
Yeah.
Brought you some biscotti.
I sure do love me a Guinea cookie.
It's the kind you like.
But you didn't come here for that.
What do you need? I know that face.
It's just... My father was right.
It's hard.
What's hard?
Being a woman, holding your weight in a man's world,
or the fact that your dope got stolen?
Both.
If bumpy knows who stole your dope, he won't give the man up.
- That's not bumpy. - Then I'm fucked.
Whatever happened to you going to Paris?
Going to Paris was never really about Paris.
It was about getting away from my family.
It was about being free.
I thought that by working for my dad,
I could earn that freedom here.
How's that going?
I'm the smartest one of all my father's goombahs,
and he put fucking pino in charge.
I don't know anything about big Italian families, Stella,
or mobsters and their dope.
But if what you want is power,
don't wait for some man to bestow that on you.
He won't.
Fight for it. Steal it if you have to.
Power is something you gotta take.
Same with this Guinea cookie.
If you won't tell me how to make 'em,
I'm-a break right into your kitchen
and snatch your recipe box.
Thanks, Delia.
I'll see you soon.
"Straub & partners."
That mean anything to you, bump?
Fred straub, the real estate tycoon.
That cat's one of the richest motherfuckers in the city.
That's him.
I have a feeling he's using Mr. G as a straw man.
Straw man?
Straub's probably paying Marshall a few dollars
to be his Harlem resident
his token black man to get city tax breaks.
Fred straub... he's the real owner.
So, that rich ofay's trying to buy up Harlem.
Motherfucker.
He bought your building right out from under you.
I was surprised to learn there were female panthers.
That's from your time in the noi,
where the women are covered from head to toe,
their mouths included.
I traveled the world with Malcolm X.
He never once silenced me.
Never gave you the microphone, either.
It wasn't about me.
It was about Malcolm's aspirations.
Now that he's gone, we've lost our voice,
our vision, our compass, our way.
So, what brought you here to meet with me?
I saw the panthers on TV, and I... Just felt pulled.
Your mission didn't die with Malcolm.
That's that white patriarchal bullshit
they want us to believe.
Malcolm only stoked a fire
that was already inside of you.
It's inside the panthers, too.
Now, numbers in New York are still growing.
The real cavalry's out in California.
But we don't silence our women.
We put bullhorns in their hands.
Mr. Straub, Mr. Ellsworth Johnson is here.
Bumpy Johnson.
Fred straub.
Care for a whiskey?
No, thanks.
Is this the monstrosity you plan on building on my city blocks?
It seems that this property
was deeded to a... Marshall Grant.
Yes.
Wonderful man. A musician, no less.
Yeah, but that's what made me wonder
what's a retired musician have to do with the deed
to demolish city blocks?
He's probably a smart businessman like you.
Let's call it what it is.
You're using an old man to cheat a city-funded program.
Harlem is in shambles.
We're gonna tear down and rebuild
and stimulate economic growth.
I'm sure the mayor's office will agree
that's good for the city.
That's my property.
If Marshall Grant doesn't sign it back over to me,
I'm gonna sue you and your investors.
Straub & partners retains the most powerful,
expensive team of attorneys on the east coast.
I can tie you up in legal paperwork
for as long as you spent in Alcatraz.
But... Perhaps we can discuss terms
if you're interested in becoming an investor.
With all due respect... Go fuck yourself.
You fucking strunz.
What did I say about drinking on the job?
This liquor is cheap as shit anyways.
- What'd you find? - Nothing.
Looked everywhere.
Checked all of Johnson's spots, like pino said.
Wherever he's hiding our dope,
it's gonna take a team of bloodhounds to find it.
Forget bumpy. He didn't take our shit.
Go back to all our dope spots and check out who's dealing.
You see anybody who ain't ours,
yank 'em up and bring the dope with.
The fuck you looking at? Do like she says.
The great explorer Christopher Columbus
brought civilization to the American Indians,
a tribe of people that hadn't even entered the iron age.
Write this down, class. You will be tested.
According to Columbus's own testimony, the arawak
that's one of the tribes
they willingly gave us everything they own.
They brought us parrots and balls of cotton and Spears
and many other things.
Yes, Margaret?
In addition to being a great explorer,
wasn't Columbus also responsible for a lot of murders?
No, he was not.
But it says right here in the book.
Where? Where does it say that?
You're right. I apologize.
It wasn't murder because he says here in one of his letters,
"the arawak people would make fine servants.
With 50 of my men, we could subjugate them all
and force them to do whatever we want."
Stop reading. Stop! You're disrupting my lesson.
"To subjugate"... that means "to oppress," correct?
That's enough, Margaret. Be quiet.
So, Columbus never wanted to kill the arawak people.
- He wanted to enslave them. - Shut your mouth!
Well, well, well.
If it isn't our little heroin kingpin.
Trust us when we tell you
handing back bumpy Johnson a bunch of milk sugar
ain't the smartest idea.
Bumpy wants to talk with you.
I'm guessing I'm in trouble?
You are trouble.
Tell you what.
Y'all boys let me go, I got ten kilos left.
You split it between each other.
Boy... Ain't you learned nothing?
Bumpy don't sell no dope. Neither do we.
Let's go.
No, I don't think I will.
Hey, hotshot... If bumpy wanted you dead,
we wouldn't be standing here flapping our gums.
So, come walking, or come flat on your back.
Your call.
See, the thing you gotta understand
Johnson is about as thick-headed as they come.
You know, once he gets his mind set on something,
you can't change it.
You got a light?
We can't have him getting in the way of the project.
I've got investors to answer to.
You're gonna need to take care of Johnson.
That I can't do.
Isn't that exactly what mob guys do?
Mob guys?
What kind of term is that?
It's a form of prejudice because I'm Italian.
Let me be very clear about something.
I am a businessman.
I supply the concrete. I supply the workers.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Fine.
What are we gonna do about Johnson interfering?
Look, all we have to do is make sure
that Marshall Grant stays in our pocket.
But Johnson's trying to get to the guy.
If Marshall changes his mind,
then we can kiss Harlem revitalization bye-bye.
He's not gonna change his mind.
I tell you what I do. I sit down with Marshall,
make sure he understands what's at stake.
Good. Good.
And once the project's finished,
Marshall's gonna have to go.
The man is practically an octogenarian.
He's lived a good, long life, I'm sure.
Salute.
Yes, I understand the school's policy.
I absolutely will.
We need to talk, young lady.
I'm tired.
The principal of your school just called me.
You've been suspended?
Mr. Williams is the one that should be kicked out.
Did you or did you not talk back to your teacher
the same way you're talking back to me right now?
I raised my hand.
And you still managed to disturb your class.
It's not my fault Mr. Williams didn't know the facts.
I raised you better than this.
We conduct ourselves in a respectable manner
no matter what the circumstance.
What's going on?
That child is on my last nerve.
Margaret?
What's going on?
It's not like you to be disruptive.
You can tell me.
You wanna know what really goes on in class?
Of course.
It's happening to a lot of kids.
I got a feeling that you didn't leave the south
to come up here and Rob me.
I suggest you return that duji you skimmed.
I got a feeling you ain't my pops.
I mean, you don't know nothing
about why I didn't came from anywhere.
You always so salty?
You care about the duji so much,
why you just give it back to the Italians any old way?
I like to stay at peace with the gigantes.
What about the rest? Who they is?
Joe Colombo, lucchese, gambino
they're all in the duji game, too.
Why did you come up to Harlem?
You didn't come to Harlem, did you?
You runned here.
You was chased.
Nah.
Geechee man?
Nah.
Now, what you done ran here from?
Likely same reason as you.
Went to live somewhere black,
where I'd wake up in the morning
without a haint or a boo hag sitting on my chest,
sucking all the life out of me.
Shit.
I don't know nothing about all that.
I came here to make some bread.
And yet when I gave you a job, you skimmed the duji.
Gave me a job?
No.
You chose me for that job 'cause I was expendable,
and now you're gon' school me?
Let me learn you something, Mr. Johnson.
Ain't no man lord over me.
I'm the boss of me.
You're a punk and a fool.
The job I gave you was a test.
You failed, just like you're failing again right now.
Get out!
Don't make me deliver your ass to the devil.
Cross me once more, and I will.
As you both know,
the law allows teachers to punish disobedient children.
Lashing a student isn't punishment.
It's abuse.
Your child was insubordinate.
I don't give a goddamn iota what Margaret's offense were.
You should know
that there are other students with bruises.
I don't see those other mothers here.
But your daughter's been a troublemaker.
She... talks back to Mr. Williams.
Quite honestly, we are here to talk about Mr. Williams.
That man abused Margaret. He hit her with a yardstick.
Ladies. Ladies, please.
I'll speak to Mr. Williams directly.
No! You'll fire Mr. Williams!
I think it's time you left my office.
We aren't going anywhere until we get justice.
You'll have to leave the premises now.
Don't make me call the police.
Mabel sure was pretty.
Yeah, until you drove her to drink.
I want to apologize for busting into your apartment last time.
What do you want this time... break a window?
I didn't come here to make a problem with you, Mr. G.
Scam artists never want problems, do they?
Frank straub is the one who's running the scam,
not me.
Straub is the one paying my rent.
That ain't no scam. That's an agreement.
I'll happily provide you with more than rent money.
For starters...
You can flash all the cash you want, boy.
Money don't make the man. The man make the man.
"Boy"?
This is bumpy Johnson you're talking to.
Show some respect.
Why? He ain't earned it.
You're about to earn yourself a thorough ass-whupping.
Pettigrew, ease up, okay?
I ain't letting him talk to you like that.
The man is an elder.
Don't think you impress me, ellsworth.
You the same boy you always been.
Beelzebub's inside you.
Frankie, I want my money by this afternoon!
Where's the pusher?
Fuck you!
Hey.
Aah!
Nice ring.
This spaghetti is damn good.
Let me tell you.
You like it?
It's called pappardelle alla carbonara.
It's the best you can find in america.
I have it special-delivered from bamonte's,
along with a very nice bottle of chianti.
Listen...
There's something pressing I'd like to discuss with you.
I'm sorry, Mr. Colombo,
but if it's about that white fellow straub,
I don't want to hear.
No, no, no. No. It's about bumpy Johnson.
Do you know each other?
Used to.
Not anymore.
So, you haven't met recently?
He showed up at my pad.
Wanted to... to talk to me about that lot on 125th.
Well, what did he say?
Some shit about how he owned it.
Did he offer you anything?
Blood money. The man's an upright criminal.
That's how he come out the womb.
Well, I-I take it you're not a fan of Johnson?
You could say I've got a grudge,
and I'm still nursing that grudge right now.
Mr. Grant... Listen, i-it's... Very important
that you don't break your deal with Fred straub.
You understand what I'm saying?
Yeah.
We should tell daddy.
No. No. We cannot tell your father.
Why, because he'll kill my teacher?
Margaret, please.
Your father would never.
I have eyes, mama.
I know what daddy does for a living.
He spent 11 years in jail because of it.
Which is exactly where he'll go back to
if anyone so much lays a hand on your teacher.
If we don't tell daddy, Mr. Williams will get away
with abusing half my class.
Then there are other moms who feel the same as us.
I say we rally them to protest.
We step foot on school property,
that principal will call the police on us.
We'll be arrested.
Or worse.
Not necessarily.
Not if we have help.
My secret?
I just put a small amount of olive oil on the cloth
and rub into the leather.
Forgive me, brother. Mind if I sit?
I owe you an apology.
Have a seat.
I called you out at my book signing,
but I'm the one that turned my back on Harlem.
I went off to France.
It was selfish.
We missed you while you was gone, Jimmy.
Selfish?
I wanted out of the ghetto.
I needed air.
But in truth
I was trying to run away from being black.
You weren't black in Paris?
Brother, if I learned anything overseas,
I learned that I am a negro man.
I am always black.
Loud and proud.
And if you ask me,
the best thing that we can do as black people
is to remember who we are.
We need to bend ourselves against white aggression,
and I hope we can shield each other along the way.
This brother got a silver tongue, don't he, bumpy?
It's not just whitey.
I've been trying to build something.
Got black folks putting stones in my path.
Is what you're trying to build for you or for them?
It's for all of us.
Then why don't you take those stones
folks are putting in your path
and let them be a part of the foundation?
Open up!
Bumpy needs to see you.
I can't. I-I-I got plans today.
I-i-i... I just can't.
Rearrange your schedule.
Well, now.
Look who's here.
Are you gonna kill me?
One thing's for sure... I'm done reasoning with you.
Why are you bringing me here, then?
Why didn't you just shoot me in the head?
I'm not trying to intimidate you, Mr. G.,
but I gotta find some way to... Open your eyes.
My eyes are wide open,
and what I'm looking at is a damn gangster.
There are all kinds of gangsters
black ones, white ones.
Straub is a corporate gangster.
Well, I can't do nothing to stop any of you.
That's not true.
You have all the power. You just don't realize it.
I don't have no power.
I never have.
The future of Harlem rests in your hands.
And I'm gonna drag your ass to straub's office to prove it.
Fellas, get the car.
We anticipate starting construction
within the next three months.
Sorry, sir. I couldn't stop them.
Mr. Johnson.
To what do we owe the pleasure?
And I see you brought a friend with you.
I thought you knew each other.
This is Marshall Grant, your straw man.
What the hell do you people think you're doing here?!
I order you to leave this building at once!
Sisters, are we in a schoolhouse,
or are we in a slave house?
Keep your hands off our kids!
Preach!
I just wanna let the owner of these buildings
see what you've got planned for his properties.
You don't mind, do you?
No. No.
Of course. Be my guest.
As you can see,
it's a magnificent multi-structure complex.
That will displace all the residents.
Exaggeration.
Displacement might occur in some instances
as a practical necessity,
but it's not something I anticipate.
In these halls or on those streets,
what are we actually punished for?
The color of our skin?
The texture of our hair?
The shape of our bodies?
Or is it just the fact that we exist at all?
Is that our crime?
Touch my daughter again, and I'll beat your ass!
That's right!
Check out the skyscraper.
These gentlemen will get to see the sun.
The rest of us... we get to live in the shadows.
I wanna build a place for us folks
where we can just be.
You all can come visit if you like, but when you come,
no one will be bowing their heads to you.
And when the cops come,
they won't be putting their boots on our necks.
These people never learn.
Let's remind them who's in charge.
No more violence in our schools!
No more abuse in our community!
Stop the pigs!
Fire that teacher, or we are never going to leave.
You want to test us?
Pig?
Percy's parking garage.
Are you gonna tear down the Apollo theater
to put this up?
Well, this is all subject to review.
There will be a great need for parking structures
with a project of this magnitude,
and, ideally, we'd like to create some
- I'm selling. - Pardon me?
Well, that's exactly what we wanted to hear, Mr. Grant.
I'm selling my property
and giving my 40 acres and my damn mule
to bumpy Johnson.
I can sell it to you for a dollar.
That'll be two rolls of pennies, please.
I can do that.
Yes, sir.
I'm here to see Joe Colombo.
Got a business proposition for him.
So, you're the Joe Colombo I've been hearing so much about.
Well, depends on what the fuck you heard.
Folks saying you the shit.
Man that wants to own the whole Avenue.
- Who wants to own? - That's right.
If you go into business with me,
you'll be owning Harlem.
Who the fuck are you?
I'm frank Lucas,
the motherfucker that just scooped up 20 kilos
of high-quality dope
well, after it done fell off a truck.
Your whole new place.
So?
This?
This is it?
Shoot!
This is all right!
One more thing.
Now we're even.
Who'd have thought?
Bumpy Johnson.