The Sleeping Negro (2021) Movie Script
I'm 35 years old.
I have 29 teeth,
ten shirts,
ten pairs of pants,
five pairs of shoes,
24 socks
and $6,000 a month to live on.
Something is broken.
My notion of belonging to the world
is starting to slip away from me.
My past...
my present...
and my future merge into one.
I have no true identity.
I am viewed as a monkey...
a freak...
and always...
always viewed as a threat.
I am tired of not being able
to live in my truth.
Hey, good to see you.
Happy birthday.
You're always on time.
That's what I like about you.
Come on in. Have a seat.
How are things?
- Very good, sir.
- What happened to your eye?
Uh, recreational basketball.
It's nothing.
I see.
I hate to call you in on your day off...
..but it's not without good reason.
I have a birthday gift for you.
Whoa!
Thank you.
What?!
James Baldwin's signature.
Are you serious?
Took me a while to find that.
It's a rare copy.
- I hope you like it.
- No, I do. I do.
It's... It's the best gift
that anyone's ever given me.
Thank you, sir.
Listen,
the gift is not why I called you in.
I know we've talked about giving you
more responsibilities
in the company as we grow
and I think the time has come
for that to happen.
Great!
Soon, you'll be joining
my family in marriage.
By the way,
my cousin's lucky to have you.
Oh, I'm lucky to have her, sir.
It's time for you
to reach your earning potential.
I'm going to give you an opportunity
that anybody would kill to have.
There's a property in Pasadena
where the owner's
fighting their eviction in court.
If he wins, we lose the property,
which can't happen, because I have
a developer with cash, ready to bulldoze
the place and build something much nicer.
Someone along the way forgot
to file an affidavit of publication.
I need you to take this paper to my notary
so he can backdate it and notarize it.
Then I need you to file it
with the court clerk.
Today.
Is there a problem?
You're asking me to forge a document?
No, it's a document
someone screwed up on
and forgot to file.
We're just fixing a small mistake.
This is fraud.
I'm giving you a chance
to help me in a huge deal,
which I will pay you handsomely for.
Listen, most folk would kill
to be in your shoes.
When I hired you, how many job interviews
had you gone on?
- 30.
- Exactly.
You sat in that very chair
and begged me for a job.
Said that you would prove
your self-worth to me over time.
- Sir...
- This is just taking advantage
of an already broken system, so that I...
we, can get ahead.
I'm giving you a great opportunity here.
You have to trust me on this.
It's for the betterment of your future.
Well, I would hate
for my uncle and his wife
to hear about what you did
during the last company party.
I'm not sure my cousin,
your fiance, would like it either.
Thank you.
Seems like the decision's
already made up for me.
I forgot who said it,
but it is not the strongest
or the most intelligent
who will survive...
but those who can best manage change.
Enjoy your day.
Have a nice day.
- Motherfucker!
- No, no, no. Please, don't shoot.
I don't speak Spanish, sir.
I'm an American.
Please, help.
I just want to see my family again.
How did you get here?
I... I was kidnapped.
Attention, dispatch, this is 317.
I got a potential USC in custody. Copy.
Copy, 317. Do you need back-up?
Negative on the back-up.
I'm currently 10-13. Copy.
Copy that.
You scared me.
I think you're fucking crazy.
..Klux Klan is not
100% pure American.
I don't hate niggers, man.
I don't...
I don't associate with niggers.
On the other hand, I don't associate with
common white trash or Jews or Catholics.
I think the nigger has rights
in this country.
He should have equal rights,
but separate rights.
It's worked for 100 years in the South
and I think it will work now.
But if he was the nicest fellow
in the world
and Lyndon Johnson said
I had to associate with you every day,
I'd tell Lyndon Johnson
to go straight to Hell
'cause I would not associate with you.
I read in my history books
that the nigger man, the nigger race,
was an inferior race.
And that was the history
that was taught me when I was in school.
That hasn't been too long ago.
Well, how the hell you find me?
Get your ass on in here, man.
It's great to see you.
You know, social media can be
- a blessing and a curse sometimes.
- Oh, man.
- What a surprise. It's been five years.
- Good to see you.
- You too, brother.
- Yeah, man.
Have a seat, have a seat.
- Can I get you something to drink?
- Um...
- Would you like whiskey?
- Water.
Water.
- Really?
- Yeah.
I thought scotch only flowed
through your veins, brother.
I gave up drinking for my girl.
Good for you.
Yeah, she said that
I turned into a monster
whenever that brown liquid
flowed through my veins.
So, it was either the liquor or her,
and...I chose her.
- You're a better man than I.
- Mm...
I would not say all that, man.
No, I'm...
Smoke?
I gave up cigarettes as well.
Next thing you're going to say
is you're a born-again Christian
or something like that.
What the fuck?
I thought you were an atheist.
You got a real nice place here, man.
Oh, uh, Mom told me
that you got married.
I'd love to meet her, man.
Why did she tell you that, bro?
My wife is dead.
She's dead, man.
You still got the same
sick sense of humor, man.
I'm serious, though.
I'd really love to meet her sometime.
I found her in the bathtub
with her wrist slit.
Blood was everywhere.
She told me
she was going to be real quick,
I didn't know she was going to be
real quick in ending her life, man.
She didn't even leave me a suicide note.
I've been fucked-up about this
for the past two years.
I love my mom, but she shouldn't be
telling my business, man.
I'm... I'm sorry.
I had... I had no idea.
My sincerest condolences.
And I pray that...
..God will give you peace and comfort.
I'm just fucking with you, dude.
- She ain't dead, man.
- Oh, come on.
We got divorced two years ago.
Look, I... She caught me cheating.
I was an asshole, I deserved it.
I have a new fiance now.
That's messed up, bro.
You should have seen
the look on your face.
"I pray that God will give you, uh...
"peace and comfort."
Man, get the fuck out of here
with all that bullshit.
Hey, if you need to get that,
go ahead.
Nah, it's cool. It's just my sister.
- Oh, I didn't know you had a sister.
- Yeah, she's a lawyer.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
So, what brings you to LA?
I've been out here for three years.
I'm an actor now.
- Really? No shit.
- Yeah.
- How's your girl feel about that?
- She's really supportive.
Hmm.
What kind of law?
Your sister.
What kind of law is she studying?
- Criminal defense.
- Oh, she's... She's a smart one.
I got the better grades in high school,
though, so...
What have you been in?
Have I seen you in commercials
- or anything like that?
- No, nothing yet.
Nothing yet.
I'm... I'm still working on it.
What law school did your sister go to?
- Harvard.
- Oh, it just keeps getting better.
- That's outstanding.
- Yeah.
At 29, she's making $200,000 a year
while I'm just standing on the corner
selling sandwich boards
and giving out star maps in Hollywood.
- She's probably the better person.
- I'm the best person there is.
She probably slept her way
through the law firm.
Oh, well,
at least you're not pissed about it.
Of course I'm not pissed about it.
- I wish her the best.
- Hmm.
29? Partner?
- Tesla?
- Yep, that's...that's it.
And she's got a four-bedroom house.
She's not even married.
She's got a maid, she's got a gardener.
Can we just...?
Can we just talk about something else?
I mean,
you keep bringing her up, man.
You mind if I, um...?
Woah, woah.
I thought you were a Christian.
- Aren't we all just works in progress?
- Okay.
Whatever you need to tell yourself
to justify your sin, go ahead.
- No, I'm good.
- All right.
Oh.
- It's cute, right?
- I like that. It's not bad.
So, um...
What about you?
Mom tells me you're in real estate.
Why are you here?
What happened to your face?
I had a political conversation
with a Trump supporter.
- Take a difference of opinion?
- Just a little bit.
How's his face?
Well,
he's going to need
all his front teeth replaced.
- Jesus.
- I think I have some of his teeth
embedded in my boot in the closet,
- if you want to see...
- No, I'm good, man.
I don't need to see it, I'm fine.
- Did that bother you?
- What?
Me telling you
I got into a fight with a Trump supporter.
I mean, you...
you squirmed a little bit when I...
- No, I didn't.
- Yeah, you did.
No, I just think that we should
respect each other's
differences of opinion, that's all.
- Oh, my God.
- What?
You Black, Trump-supporting motherfucker.
I don't want to get into politics
with you, man.
Okay, wait.
So, you stopped drinking?
- Yeah.
- You don't smoke cigarettes,
but you still smoke weed,
which I don't understand.
You became a born-again Christian.
You probably think, what, that all
liberals will be owned by God when we die
and wake up
in a lake of fire and brimstone.
- They will.
- Why are you here?
So, what? That's it?
You don't want to catch up any more?
I haven't seen you in years, and...
Look, I wanted to take you out tonight,
for your birthday.
No.
Come on, man.
It'll be like old times.
Okay. All right.
Say we went out.
What would we do, since you don't drink?
We could go to a movie or, like, go...
- ..play volleyball on the beach..
- No, no, I'm...
I'm good.
I'm good.
Look, I wanted to come here
to surprise you
'cause I haven't seen you in years,
it's your birthday, I wanted...
to take you out,
and I wanted to make amends
for how things ended between us.
- Oh, you remember that?
- Yeah.
And I prayed for forgiveness,
and God forgave me.
- Oh, did he now?
- Yeah, he did.
I was excited to see you until I realized
you were a Bible-thumping Republican.
What's that got to do with anything?
Because if you support
the Republican Party...
and their cronies,
then you're a racist.
- You're racist against your own people.
- Stop right there, that's...
I hate when Black people
try to bring race into any situation.
You can't be worried about
what happened to you 400 years ago.
What the white man
did to your ancestors. It...
That doesn't involve you, just like
it doesn't involve the white man now.
You got to let that get above you.
That can't be the reason
why you're depressed.
What are you going to do?
Swoop down and save the Black man
with your intellect?
Who says the Black man needs saving?
We need a revolution.
We need to understand
that we have strength in numbers.
You had a Black president,
where'd that get you?
You probably one of them niggas
that think we live
- in a post-racial society.
- We do!
We... We can live wherever we want,
we can go wherever we please,
worship whoever we like.
Last I checked, Jim Crow didn't exist.
Fuck you, nigga.
Jim Crow is alive and well.
Enlighten me.
Let's take the prison system, for example.
- What about it?
- Modern-day slavery.
- I'm leaving.
- Yeah, go ahead and leave, snowflake.
People like you can't stand a little heat.
I can take it.
What else you want to school me on?
We need to have Black people
step up and become leaders.
Oh, no, brother.
We need Black people
to stop feeling sorry for themselves,
- stop being lazy...
- Lazy?
..and pull themselves up
by their own bootstraps.
"Bootstraps"? Nigga, we ain't never had
bootstraps to begin with.
I'm sorry that you think that.
Every time we had a black leader,
they killed him.
- Who is this "they"?
- The Feds, the white man.
No, those people
were killed by crazy folk.
- The US government didn't kill them.
- Okay.
If you want to stay asleep,
you go ahead and stay asleep,
but I ain't staying asleep no more.
- I'm not asleep, my friend.
- You are.
And you need to wake up and realize
that we're freer than we've ever been.
We ain't got no freedom, nigga.
We have the perception of freedom
which keeps us from pursuing true freedom.
Man, you're crazy, man.
Look, I was once like you, too.
I thought in order to get ahead
and play alongside the white man,
I had to study what they studied,
go to their institutions.
I went to Columbia University thinking
that was my ticket out of poverty.
- You know how much that decision cost me?
- No, I don't.
170,000 fucking dollars.
And then in 2008,
the market crashed...
and I couldn't quit my bar-tending job
because everyone and their mother
wanted my bar-tending job.
So, I decided to go to grad school,
get a master's degree,
get a better-paying job
after I get that master's degree.
But guess what happened?
- You didn't get a better-paying job?
- Yeah, bingo.
Then my dumb ass decided
to get a second master's.
- And what?
- I don't want to talk about it.
I got $400,000 in student loans,
and you know what the real kicker is?
I'm in the same socio-economic position
I was to begin with.
I'm just more aware
as to how fucked-up the system is.
The white man
will allow me to get educated,
but he won't allow me
to get a good-paying job,
and if I happen to get one,
he won't allow me to keep it.
Man, what the fuck is that?
That sounds like poor decision-making
on your part.
Man, fuck you, nigga.
I wish you could wake up
and see the mental prison system
that you and every other Black person
that thinks like you currently inhabits.
And I currently don't agree with you.
Why is it that white people
don't have to hyphenate?
What, they get to be American,
the rest of us get to be sub-American?
You know, Malcolm X said that
you can't have capitalism without racism.
He was right.
You want to know the truth?
About what?
- Well, you asked me why I came here.
- And?
I wanted to apologize to you
for cutting you out of my life
when...when you needed me the most.
I owed you $500, and I only needed
two more weeks to pay you back.
You walked out on our friendship
over 500 fucking dollars.
I know.
And I'm sorry about that.
And I'm a changed person.
Truth be told, I...
..I'm in a bit of a financial bind,
and I could use some money myself.
Maybe if you weren't a black Republican,
I would help your ass.
- You know what you are?
- What?
You're a lost soul.
You're a lost soul
that needs to open up
and let Jesus live in his heart.
Man, fuck that shit.
You know what you are?
Sleeping Negro.
I'm in control of my own destiny.
Not some random act
that happened over 400 years ago.
Fuck you, nigga.
You Uncle Tom, coon motherfucker.
Get the fuck out of my house.
Bitch-ass nigga.
I don't want to interact with anyone.
Or talk...
think...
or move.
Every day I get up...
I shit...
I wash...
I sometimes shave.
I get dressed and roam around this city
feeling like an alien.
The smoke from my last cigarette
abandoned in the ashtray
rises in an almost straight line.
I listen to the sounds of the street.
I gaze into my mirror.
I close my eyes,
and allow my nightmare to wash over me.
I forgot my key again.
- How you doing?
- What happened to your eye?
- Ah, jujitsu practice.
- Oh.
What is all this?
Uh, well, I went shopping,
um, cause we're going to meet my parents
for the first time tonight...
and, you know,
I just want you to look presentable.
"Presentable"?
- You know what I mean.
- What does...?
Try this on.
- Can you finish...?
- Yeah.
So, what do you think?
- No...
- I don't want to wear this shirt.
- You look fucking hot.
- I hate wearing shirts like this.
- Why? It looks so snazzy.
- How much was it?
- It doesn't matter.
- How much was it?
- How much?
- It was 200.
Jesus. I told you to stop
spending money like this.
If your parents can't accept me
for who I am,
you know they'll never accept me.
My parents are going to love you.
Look, they are super-hip and liberal.
- They voted for Obama.
- Oh, God.
I thought that, like,
we were past all this.
Look, I'm Black, okay?
And my fiance is white.
Have you not seen Get Out?
Stop!
- Sorry, I had to.
- Such an asshole.
My parents
are nothing like those white people, okay?
Also, can you do me a favour?
Can you, just for one day,
not point out the color of your skin?
Just one day, please.
Also, technically, you are brown,
not Black.
It doesn't matter.
I'm still seen as a threat.
Oh, my God.
Seriously, I can't with you today.
Why are you so stuck on the color
of your skin?
It's 2020.
You've had a Black president.
- What?
- I'm kidding.
You want to fuck?
No, I don't want to fuck.
I'm not even sure
if I'm ready to meet your parents.
Oh, my God.
Just don't worry about my parents.
You haven't touched me in,
like, two weeks.
You're starting to get cold feet,
aren't you?
- No... No, I'm not.
- About marrying me.
- Yeah, you are. I can feel it.
- I'm not.
I'm not. I still want to marry you.
If I was a Black girl,
you wouldn't feel this way.
Look, I apologize for that.
Okay, I was drunk, and I apologize.
And clearly my apology
was not good enough for you.
Can we stop?
Seriously, can we just not argue
- and just have a nice afternoon...
- Okay.
..and just focus on meeting my parents?
All right, yes.
I'm not wearing this shirt.
How do you see me?
Can we please talk about something else?
How do you see me?
I see you as an extremely sexy,
intelligent, Black man.
You're just telling me
what I want to hear?
I have been supporting you since day one.
I am a Democrat,
I am a feminist,
I think that you should love
whoever you want to love.
And, look, I don't...
I don't fetishize over you
in any way, so...
like, what do you want from me?
How many Black men
have you been with before me?
- What does that have to do with anything?
- How many?
None.
Okay, so, why is that?
I don't know,
it just never happened.
So, what was it about me that made you
change your mind about Black men?
The size of your cock.
- Come on, be serious.
- I am being serious.
Look, you're not going to get out
of this conversation.
No, look.
It is a big day. Can we just...
Can we just not talk about
this heavy stuff, okay? Come on.
Listen, you're not going to
get out of this conversation
by trying to have sex with me, okay?
Look, I'm trying to have
a real, honest conversation with you...
and all you do,
and all you want, is to have...
- All you want to do is have sex.
- You... You don't want to have sex?
- No, I don't.
- You're looking at me right now
- and you don't wanna have sex with me?
- I don't wanna have sex with you.
- Look, I...
- Jesus.
..need to know if you care
about my feelings.
Of course I care about your feelings.
Why would you even think that?
Because I thought about the fact that
no matter what we go through,
there will always be
a huge relational gap between us
because you will never understand
what it feels like to be Black.
- Okay, Stop.
- What?
Please tell me
that we are not going to have
another conversation
about white privilege.
Now that you brought it up, yes,
let's have another conversation about it.
- Can we not?
- What are you afraid of?
I'm afraid that we're going to have
another argument like we did last week.
And I'm afraid you're going
to fuck things up for tonight.
Well, I can't believe
you don't think white privilege exists.
Because it doesn't.
I was born poor.
Like, how did that help me?
You know it has more to do than, like,
just being able to get a job.
You really wanna have this conversation?
- You want to go down this road?
- Yes, I do.
Fine.
Look, please explain to me why
you think white privilege is not an issue.
Just because I was born white
doesn't mean my life was easy.
I had to work hard to get good grades,
to get a good scholarship, to get...
Stop looking at everything
through your white frame.
- There's no such thing as white frame.
- Yes, there is.
You believe that the system
favors you as a default.
- No, I don't.
- Yes, you do.
- No, I don't.
- Yes, you do.
No, I don't!
Sorry.
I don't think we should
be together any more.
What?
You do have a sick sense of humor.
No, I'm serious.
I'm realizing that today out of all days,
I've been asleep.
I'm full of rage, and I've been
suppressing that rage my entire life.
No, you haven't.
I see anger in you all the time.
Any time...
someone bumps into you at the store
or cuts you off in traffic.
I mean, you're not, like,
yelling and screaming, but I can feel it.
You don't know how I really feel.
I mean, how could you?
You're always wrapped up
in your own little world.
I have been your ride-or-die bitch
since day one.
Don't talk like that.
- Sorry.
- No, seriously, don't ever say that shit.
Okay, I won't.
- Where are you going?
- I got to disappear.
How long have we been together?
A year and a half.
Okay, so,
why all of a sudden
are you treating me like I've hurt you?
You have, you just don't realize it.
How?
By being white.
Fuck you!
That was really mean!
I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel.
- You're not sorry. You meant it.
- You're right, I did.
I can't help the fact
that I was born white.
Just like I can't help the fact
that the last eight months
I have been in love with a man
who clearly doesn't love me back.
I never said I didn't love you.
A man who spins everything
to make me feel like I'm the crazy one.
I'm sick and tired of being
your little token Black boyfriend
for your little white girlfriends
to fantasize over.
My girlfriends don't fantasize over you!
- They don't?
- No!
What do you call this?
How many girlfriends
send their best friend's fiance
a picture of them masturbating
with the caption
"I want your big, Black, chocolate
Mandingo dick to slap me in the face"?
She had to get that word from you
in one of your girl-talk sessions.
- Bullshit!
- Tell me the truth.
Girls talk, okay?
I can't do this any more.
Come on.
This was supposed to be our big day.
We were supposed
to meet my parents, and...
I just wanted everything to be perfect.
I am tired.
I am tired of walking around
on eggshells around you,
trying not to hurt your feelings.
- So, what are you saying?
- What do you think I'm saying?
I don't know,
that's why I'm asking you.
I can't do this any more.
I'm done.
- Please don't do this to me.
- Why?
Because of how it would make you look like
in front of your family?
Yes!
Do you know how hard it was
to get my parents to want to meet you,
and now you're just going
to fuck that whole thing up?
- Yes! I'm going to fuck it all up.
- Come on. Just, please, I'm begging you.
- Just take a second and think about it.
- No, I'm sorry. I'm done.
Fuck you!
Of all the days to do this to me.
Fuck you!
See, that's your problem.
The world does not revolve around you.
Yeah, and it doesn't
revolve around you either.
I bought you clothes.
You were nothing when I met you.
Yeah, that's right. Go on, tell me.
You weren't cultured
in music or fashion or cuisine.
- Yes.
- So, who did your resume
and made you get,
like, a really good, high-paying job?
Oh, that was me!
- Yeah.
- I did that for you!
Yeah, with a cousin who makes me
do his low-level dirty work for him.
- You owe me!
- I owe you nothing!
You can't reject me. You have
nothing without me, you piece of shit!
That's right.
Yeah, tell me. Tell me more!
- You're a pathetic limp-dick loser.
- That's it. That's the spirit.
- I hope you fucking die in your sleep!
- That's a bit harsh, don't you think?
I hope the cops shoot your Black ass
in the back, you fucking nigger!
I'm so sorry.
I didn't mean that.
Fuck...
I didn't mean that, I'm so sorry.
A nigger?
A fucking nigger?
You called me a nigger.
- I didn't mean it.
- Yes, you did!
- I didn't... No, I didn't.
- Yes, you did!
- Get out!
- Fuck!
Get the fuck out!
Fuck!
The aftermath of puberty.
The sting of my first shave.
Getting drunk on alcohol.
Losing my virginity.
It's as if the true version of myself
had always been running...
..but is now finally helping me
to rediscover my existence.
In the park,
I watch a stranger stare into space.
He is mummified.
Gazing into emptiness for hours.
He has no appearance of stress,
of fear.
I wonder what it must be like to be white.
I often play cards all by myself.
I can foresee the moment when the
four spaces bring me up against kings...
and failure.
No sooner does the game appear lost
than I scoop up all the cards
and deal them out for another attempt.
I cheat sometimes.
A little.
Increasingly rarely.
For what would winning
mean to me, anyway?
But I play more and more often.
For longer and longer.
This game fascinates me.
I protect.
I destroy.
I construct.
I concoct one plan after another.
An impotent exercise.
A danger that entails
no risk of punishment.
I can control this game...
..but I cannot control
what happens to me in this life.
The days...
the weeks...
the seasons slip by.
I detach myself from everything.
I let myself slip and go under,
searching for emptiness,
running from it.
I rarely succeed.
It's as if this solitary, silent strategy
were my only way forward.
As if it had become
my reason for being.
It's dark.
I close my eyes.
Who the hell are you?
I am you.
- I want to play a little game.
- I don't want to play a game!
You don't have a choice.
First question.
How long have you been a sleeping Negro?
I've never been a sleeping Negro.
Wrong.
Next question.
Will white people
ever save the Black race?
No.
That was an easy one.
The next one will be much harder.
Do you hate yourself?
No.
- I don't play this game.
- Oh, I think you do.
You're weak, pathetic,
but a creature.
Your entire life,
you've been told to play by the rules.
What has all of that gotten you?
Nothing but heartache.
Leave me alone.
I have nothing left.
I am a part of you.
I don't hate niggers, man...
Your ancestors
who were whipped day-in and day-out
until the meat fell off their backs.
Your ancestors who would get raped,
have their kids stolen from them
and put into cages.
Your ancestors who had to walk
on eggshells around white people...
or they would be lynched
had nothing left.
You, you have rage.
I am your rage.
I will spend the rest of your life
raging against them.
Against all the systems they have created
to keep you enslaved.
Your ancestors thought the idea of freedom
would remain a distant nightmare
that would taunt them in their sleep.
They never thought freedom would come,
but that didn't stop them
from fighting for it.
Your ancestors existed
so your Black ass could have freedom.
Do you want to keep going
through this life
letting the white man control you
or do you want
to take control of your life?
I want to take control of my life.
You have to crucify yourself...
and be re-born...
for the renewal of your own fucking mind.
So, tell me...
- do you really want to change?
- Yes.
Liar!
You have three questions left.
Stop, please.
Do you still want to play by their rules?
- No.
- Next question.
Why are you still a slave to the system
that the white man has created?
I don't know.
Only one question left.
This will be
the most important question of your life.
But first, lay down.
Now point the gun at your heart
and close your eyes.
Do you want to be free?
Free from the PTSD
of living in this world as a Black man?
Do you want to be free from the racism
that is the foundation for every system
the white man has created?
I read in my history books
that the nigger man, the nigger race,
was an inferior race.
And that was the history
that was taught me when I was in school.
Do you want to be free
from hating your Black skin?
Do you want to be free from the fear
of bringing more Black babies
into this world
only to see them
get snuffed out as kids?
- Do you want to be free from it all?
- Yes.
- I can't hear you.
- Yes!
- Louder.
- I want to be free from it all.
Now, put some rage behind it.
I want to be motherfucking
free from it all!
Good.
Now...pull the trigger.
The monsters have invaded my life.
Moving like robots.
I am a stranger in my own country.
I have met many others like me.
My body is not my own.
It is detained by you.
Pawed by you.
Beaten with your bigoted truth.
The rest of you are even worse.
The smug...
the smart-alecks...
the self-satisfied...
the fat men...
and the skinny men.
The forever-young and the forever-old.
The delivery men and the decorated.
The pleasure-seekers on a binge.
The filthy rich.
The stinking poor.
The monsters with families.
The thousands of monsters
caught at the traffic lights.
Monsters tipped out by the busload
in front of the hideous monuments.
The monsters in their Sunday best.
The monster crowd.
I drift around, unprotected.
I search,
I wait.
I have raged
and the world has not changed.
Time, which sees to everything,
has not provided the solution.
I have gone mad.
There's a curse hanging over me.
There are trials and tribulations
in store for me.
Everyone condemns me...
..and I have only committed
the offense of being Black.
Hello?
How was meeting
your future in-laws last night?
It was fine.
Good.
Let's talk about
what I need from you today.
The Pasadena eviction is ready to go.
Make sure it's without incident.
- Will I have a sheriff deputy with me?
- You will.
Okay.
I'll get it done.
That's what I like to hear.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
What happened to the eye?
Someone forgot to yell "fore"
on the golf course.
Can you believe that shit? Yeah.
What's up with the beard?
It's No-Shave November.
It's for cancer.
Is anyone home?
I'm not sure.
You good?
Boss riding your ass this week?
Yeah, I wouldn't know
where to start, man. Shoot.
But I'm...I'm fine.
Let's not waste any more time.
Let's get this going.
Morning, ma'am,
I'm with the sheriff's department.
Good morning, Sheriff.
Did something happen with my nephew?
Ma'am, we're here to serve you
a court-ordered eviction.
My doctor changed my meds,
and my head gets really cloudy
in the morning.
You're going to have to
vacate the property, ma'am.
It's just too early for me.
Why would I do that?
Why would I do that?
Does your nephew live here, ma'am?
Yes, my nephew lives here,
but he's not here right now.
He went to the store
to get eggs and bacon, but he'll be back.
- He's a nice young man.
- I'm sure he is, ma'am.
Do you have any weapons on your person
or inside the home?
No. I hate guns.
They've been killing our people.
I think they're evil.
Is there anyone else inside with you?
I said my nephew lives here,
but he went to the store.
Anyone else live here with you
besides your nephew?
God, you keep asking me
the same question over and over,
and I don't like this oxygen tank!
It's just not good.
Well, maybe you should
stop smoking, ma'am.
What?
What did you say?
Good morning, ma'am.
I work for the Titan Real Estate Group,
and I am sorry to say that
the bank has foreclosed on your property.
They now own it.
You look like a good-hearted person.
Ma'am, I need you
to vacate the property today...
okay?
No...
No. This is my home.
I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong
with y'all, but you boys have a good day.
Ma'am,
you can't walk away from me, okay?
Now, if you have a stay
signed by the judge
and have posted bond,
you're more than welcome to stay.
But I need proof of that.
What have I done to you?
My office offered you
a cash-for-keys settlement of $5,000
in exchange to leave, but you refused.
This is a signed court order
judgment by the judge,
dated today, saying that
you have to vacate your property.
I'm sorry, ma'am.
No, I'm not going anywhere.
You just tell that judge...
You tell that judge...
whatever or whoever you have to tell...
Look, I know this is difficult, ma'am.
Ma'am, listen.
You have to vacate today, okay?
The bank owns your property.
You're trespassing right now,
and I need you to know
that you are breaking the law.
- What's going on here?
- Tell this man!
You live here?
Yeah, I do.
- Tell him, nephew.
- Can I just...?
Just... I just want
to talk to you real quick.
- Tell him, Nephew.
- I will.
There's been some mistake.
Look, when I went to the court,
the affidavit of publication
hadn't been filed yet,
and then it magically was
when I was in front of the judge.
I think something's going on here.
- I'm sorry.
- She doesn't know about this, all right?
- I can't help that.
- The judge said that I have 30 days
to file an appeal.
She doesn't know
that she's not paying her mortgage?
- Can we just talk about this...?
- What? I'm not behind.
Tell him, nephew.
I give you my disability check
every month to cover the mortgage.
You tell him!
Tell him!
Yeah, tell me, Nephew.
Tell him.
I haven't been paying the mortgage.
Oh, God.
How could you...?
What have you done?
What the hell did you do?!
Oh, God. This is going to kill me.
I can't leave my home.
I'm sick.
I have my medicine.
He said that he gave you
a $5,000 offer for my keys.
Did he?
Yes.
Well, I'm so sorry, sir.
I apologize.
I didn't know
he wasn't paying my mortgage.
Okay, um...
I just need a couple days,
and then I will...
I will get your money,
and you tell the bank I will fix it.
- I'm sorry.
- I will fix it.
Ma'am, I'm sorry. I'm going to
need you to step out of the home.
Come on, now.
Black folks shouldn't be
treating each other like this.
- Ma'am, I'm asking you kindly to comply.
- No, we still have 24 hours.
- We just...
- Sir...
- We ain't leaving...
- You need to comply.
I'm telling you to comply.
Just...
- I just need 24 hours.
- Sir, I'm telling you to comply.
This is not happening today.
- Yes, it very much is.
- No, no, it is not happening today!
Sir, there are two ways
this is going to go down -
the easy way
where you do what I'm telling you to do
or the hard way
where I take you and your aunt to jail.
Now, do you want you and your aunt to go
to jail or do you want the two minutes...
I beg of you, please.
This can't happen.
Look, it's above me now.
You better do what he's telling you.
Can you just show a little bit of grace?!
I forgot who said it,
but it's not the strongest
or the most intelligent who will survive,
but those who can best manage change.
Go inside and make sure
they get their essentials.
How do you sleep at night
doing shit like this to people, huh?
Look, I can't help that
you took your aunt's disability checks
and didn't pay her mortgage.
Fuck you!
Fuck you!
Sir.
Where's your moving crew?
They're on their way,
they're stuck in traffic.
It's cool. I'm going to wait here
till they get here.
Thanks so much for your help.
- Any time.
- Yeah.
Shame on you!
Uncle Tom working for the white man!
Shame on you!
- What the fuck are you doing?!
- Hey, hey...
Look, y'all can come with me,
stay with me till you
figure your shit out. Come on.
Damn it.
Come on, let's go.
I'll make it right. Come on.
Here you go...
I got it.
Just get in the passenger seat.
Come on, get her tank in there.
Get her in there.
Fuck!
Get in over there, go ahead.
Come on, now.
It is on a day like today...
that everything starts again.
I can no longer talk
like a man with a dream.
My dreams are no longer accessible.
My dreams have been co-opted
by the white man.
They have turned
into my nightmares, of which...
..I'm afraid.
I have 29 teeth,
ten shirts,
ten pairs of pants,
five pairs of shoes,
24 socks
and $6,000 a month to live on.
Something is broken.
My notion of belonging to the world
is starting to slip away from me.
My past...
my present...
and my future merge into one.
I have no true identity.
I am viewed as a monkey...
a freak...
and always...
always viewed as a threat.
I am tired of not being able
to live in my truth.
Hey, good to see you.
Happy birthday.
You're always on time.
That's what I like about you.
Come on in. Have a seat.
How are things?
- Very good, sir.
- What happened to your eye?
Uh, recreational basketball.
It's nothing.
I see.
I hate to call you in on your day off...
..but it's not without good reason.
I have a birthday gift for you.
Whoa!
Thank you.
What?!
James Baldwin's signature.
Are you serious?
Took me a while to find that.
It's a rare copy.
- I hope you like it.
- No, I do. I do.
It's... It's the best gift
that anyone's ever given me.
Thank you, sir.
Listen,
the gift is not why I called you in.
I know we've talked about giving you
more responsibilities
in the company as we grow
and I think the time has come
for that to happen.
Great!
Soon, you'll be joining
my family in marriage.
By the way,
my cousin's lucky to have you.
Oh, I'm lucky to have her, sir.
It's time for you
to reach your earning potential.
I'm going to give you an opportunity
that anybody would kill to have.
There's a property in Pasadena
where the owner's
fighting their eviction in court.
If he wins, we lose the property,
which can't happen, because I have
a developer with cash, ready to bulldoze
the place and build something much nicer.
Someone along the way forgot
to file an affidavit of publication.
I need you to take this paper to my notary
so he can backdate it and notarize it.
Then I need you to file it
with the court clerk.
Today.
Is there a problem?
You're asking me to forge a document?
No, it's a document
someone screwed up on
and forgot to file.
We're just fixing a small mistake.
This is fraud.
I'm giving you a chance
to help me in a huge deal,
which I will pay you handsomely for.
Listen, most folk would kill
to be in your shoes.
When I hired you, how many job interviews
had you gone on?
- 30.
- Exactly.
You sat in that very chair
and begged me for a job.
Said that you would prove
your self-worth to me over time.
- Sir...
- This is just taking advantage
of an already broken system, so that I...
we, can get ahead.
I'm giving you a great opportunity here.
You have to trust me on this.
It's for the betterment of your future.
Well, I would hate
for my uncle and his wife
to hear about what you did
during the last company party.
I'm not sure my cousin,
your fiance, would like it either.
Thank you.
Seems like the decision's
already made up for me.
I forgot who said it,
but it is not the strongest
or the most intelligent
who will survive...
but those who can best manage change.
Enjoy your day.
Have a nice day.
- Motherfucker!
- No, no, no. Please, don't shoot.
I don't speak Spanish, sir.
I'm an American.
Please, help.
I just want to see my family again.
How did you get here?
I... I was kidnapped.
Attention, dispatch, this is 317.
I got a potential USC in custody. Copy.
Copy, 317. Do you need back-up?
Negative on the back-up.
I'm currently 10-13. Copy.
Copy that.
You scared me.
I think you're fucking crazy.
..Klux Klan is not
100% pure American.
I don't hate niggers, man.
I don't...
I don't associate with niggers.
On the other hand, I don't associate with
common white trash or Jews or Catholics.
I think the nigger has rights
in this country.
He should have equal rights,
but separate rights.
It's worked for 100 years in the South
and I think it will work now.
But if he was the nicest fellow
in the world
and Lyndon Johnson said
I had to associate with you every day,
I'd tell Lyndon Johnson
to go straight to Hell
'cause I would not associate with you.
I read in my history books
that the nigger man, the nigger race,
was an inferior race.
And that was the history
that was taught me when I was in school.
That hasn't been too long ago.
Well, how the hell you find me?
Get your ass on in here, man.
It's great to see you.
You know, social media can be
- a blessing and a curse sometimes.
- Oh, man.
- What a surprise. It's been five years.
- Good to see you.
- You too, brother.
- Yeah, man.
Have a seat, have a seat.
- Can I get you something to drink?
- Um...
- Would you like whiskey?
- Water.
Water.
- Really?
- Yeah.
I thought scotch only flowed
through your veins, brother.
I gave up drinking for my girl.
Good for you.
Yeah, she said that
I turned into a monster
whenever that brown liquid
flowed through my veins.
So, it was either the liquor or her,
and...I chose her.
- You're a better man than I.
- Mm...
I would not say all that, man.
No, I'm...
Smoke?
I gave up cigarettes as well.
Next thing you're going to say
is you're a born-again Christian
or something like that.
What the fuck?
I thought you were an atheist.
You got a real nice place here, man.
Oh, uh, Mom told me
that you got married.
I'd love to meet her, man.
Why did she tell you that, bro?
My wife is dead.
She's dead, man.
You still got the same
sick sense of humor, man.
I'm serious, though.
I'd really love to meet her sometime.
I found her in the bathtub
with her wrist slit.
Blood was everywhere.
She told me
she was going to be real quick,
I didn't know she was going to be
real quick in ending her life, man.
She didn't even leave me a suicide note.
I've been fucked-up about this
for the past two years.
I love my mom, but she shouldn't be
telling my business, man.
I'm... I'm sorry.
I had... I had no idea.
My sincerest condolences.
And I pray that...
..God will give you peace and comfort.
I'm just fucking with you, dude.
- She ain't dead, man.
- Oh, come on.
We got divorced two years ago.
Look, I... She caught me cheating.
I was an asshole, I deserved it.
I have a new fiance now.
That's messed up, bro.
You should have seen
the look on your face.
"I pray that God will give you, uh...
"peace and comfort."
Man, get the fuck out of here
with all that bullshit.
Hey, if you need to get that,
go ahead.
Nah, it's cool. It's just my sister.
- Oh, I didn't know you had a sister.
- Yeah, she's a lawyer.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
So, what brings you to LA?
I've been out here for three years.
I'm an actor now.
- Really? No shit.
- Yeah.
- How's your girl feel about that?
- She's really supportive.
Hmm.
What kind of law?
Your sister.
What kind of law is she studying?
- Criminal defense.
- Oh, she's... She's a smart one.
I got the better grades in high school,
though, so...
What have you been in?
Have I seen you in commercials
- or anything like that?
- No, nothing yet.
Nothing yet.
I'm... I'm still working on it.
What law school did your sister go to?
- Harvard.
- Oh, it just keeps getting better.
- That's outstanding.
- Yeah.
At 29, she's making $200,000 a year
while I'm just standing on the corner
selling sandwich boards
and giving out star maps in Hollywood.
- She's probably the better person.
- I'm the best person there is.
She probably slept her way
through the law firm.
Oh, well,
at least you're not pissed about it.
Of course I'm not pissed about it.
- I wish her the best.
- Hmm.
29? Partner?
- Tesla?
- Yep, that's...that's it.
And she's got a four-bedroom house.
She's not even married.
She's got a maid, she's got a gardener.
Can we just...?
Can we just talk about something else?
I mean,
you keep bringing her up, man.
You mind if I, um...?
Woah, woah.
I thought you were a Christian.
- Aren't we all just works in progress?
- Okay.
Whatever you need to tell yourself
to justify your sin, go ahead.
- No, I'm good.
- All right.
Oh.
- It's cute, right?
- I like that. It's not bad.
So, um...
What about you?
Mom tells me you're in real estate.
Why are you here?
What happened to your face?
I had a political conversation
with a Trump supporter.
- Take a difference of opinion?
- Just a little bit.
How's his face?
Well,
he's going to need
all his front teeth replaced.
- Jesus.
- I think I have some of his teeth
embedded in my boot in the closet,
- if you want to see...
- No, I'm good, man.
I don't need to see it, I'm fine.
- Did that bother you?
- What?
Me telling you
I got into a fight with a Trump supporter.
I mean, you...
you squirmed a little bit when I...
- No, I didn't.
- Yeah, you did.
No, I just think that we should
respect each other's
differences of opinion, that's all.
- Oh, my God.
- What?
You Black, Trump-supporting motherfucker.
I don't want to get into politics
with you, man.
Okay, wait.
So, you stopped drinking?
- Yeah.
- You don't smoke cigarettes,
but you still smoke weed,
which I don't understand.
You became a born-again Christian.
You probably think, what, that all
liberals will be owned by God when we die
and wake up
in a lake of fire and brimstone.
- They will.
- Why are you here?
So, what? That's it?
You don't want to catch up any more?
I haven't seen you in years, and...
Look, I wanted to take you out tonight,
for your birthday.
No.
Come on, man.
It'll be like old times.
Okay. All right.
Say we went out.
What would we do, since you don't drink?
We could go to a movie or, like, go...
- ..play volleyball on the beach..
- No, no, I'm...
I'm good.
I'm good.
Look, I wanted to come here
to surprise you
'cause I haven't seen you in years,
it's your birthday, I wanted...
to take you out,
and I wanted to make amends
for how things ended between us.
- Oh, you remember that?
- Yeah.
And I prayed for forgiveness,
and God forgave me.
- Oh, did he now?
- Yeah, he did.
I was excited to see you until I realized
you were a Bible-thumping Republican.
What's that got to do with anything?
Because if you support
the Republican Party...
and their cronies,
then you're a racist.
- You're racist against your own people.
- Stop right there, that's...
I hate when Black people
try to bring race into any situation.
You can't be worried about
what happened to you 400 years ago.
What the white man
did to your ancestors. It...
That doesn't involve you, just like
it doesn't involve the white man now.
You got to let that get above you.
That can't be the reason
why you're depressed.
What are you going to do?
Swoop down and save the Black man
with your intellect?
Who says the Black man needs saving?
We need a revolution.
We need to understand
that we have strength in numbers.
You had a Black president,
where'd that get you?
You probably one of them niggas
that think we live
- in a post-racial society.
- We do!
We... We can live wherever we want,
we can go wherever we please,
worship whoever we like.
Last I checked, Jim Crow didn't exist.
Fuck you, nigga.
Jim Crow is alive and well.
Enlighten me.
Let's take the prison system, for example.
- What about it?
- Modern-day slavery.
- I'm leaving.
- Yeah, go ahead and leave, snowflake.
People like you can't stand a little heat.
I can take it.
What else you want to school me on?
We need to have Black people
step up and become leaders.
Oh, no, brother.
We need Black people
to stop feeling sorry for themselves,
- stop being lazy...
- Lazy?
..and pull themselves up
by their own bootstraps.
"Bootstraps"? Nigga, we ain't never had
bootstraps to begin with.
I'm sorry that you think that.
Every time we had a black leader,
they killed him.
- Who is this "they"?
- The Feds, the white man.
No, those people
were killed by crazy folk.
- The US government didn't kill them.
- Okay.
If you want to stay asleep,
you go ahead and stay asleep,
but I ain't staying asleep no more.
- I'm not asleep, my friend.
- You are.
And you need to wake up and realize
that we're freer than we've ever been.
We ain't got no freedom, nigga.
We have the perception of freedom
which keeps us from pursuing true freedom.
Man, you're crazy, man.
Look, I was once like you, too.
I thought in order to get ahead
and play alongside the white man,
I had to study what they studied,
go to their institutions.
I went to Columbia University thinking
that was my ticket out of poverty.
- You know how much that decision cost me?
- No, I don't.
170,000 fucking dollars.
And then in 2008,
the market crashed...
and I couldn't quit my bar-tending job
because everyone and their mother
wanted my bar-tending job.
So, I decided to go to grad school,
get a master's degree,
get a better-paying job
after I get that master's degree.
But guess what happened?
- You didn't get a better-paying job?
- Yeah, bingo.
Then my dumb ass decided
to get a second master's.
- And what?
- I don't want to talk about it.
I got $400,000 in student loans,
and you know what the real kicker is?
I'm in the same socio-economic position
I was to begin with.
I'm just more aware
as to how fucked-up the system is.
The white man
will allow me to get educated,
but he won't allow me
to get a good-paying job,
and if I happen to get one,
he won't allow me to keep it.
Man, what the fuck is that?
That sounds like poor decision-making
on your part.
Man, fuck you, nigga.
I wish you could wake up
and see the mental prison system
that you and every other Black person
that thinks like you currently inhabits.
And I currently don't agree with you.
Why is it that white people
don't have to hyphenate?
What, they get to be American,
the rest of us get to be sub-American?
You know, Malcolm X said that
you can't have capitalism without racism.
He was right.
You want to know the truth?
About what?
- Well, you asked me why I came here.
- And?
I wanted to apologize to you
for cutting you out of my life
when...when you needed me the most.
I owed you $500, and I only needed
two more weeks to pay you back.
You walked out on our friendship
over 500 fucking dollars.
I know.
And I'm sorry about that.
And I'm a changed person.
Truth be told, I...
..I'm in a bit of a financial bind,
and I could use some money myself.
Maybe if you weren't a black Republican,
I would help your ass.
- You know what you are?
- What?
You're a lost soul.
You're a lost soul
that needs to open up
and let Jesus live in his heart.
Man, fuck that shit.
You know what you are?
Sleeping Negro.
I'm in control of my own destiny.
Not some random act
that happened over 400 years ago.
Fuck you, nigga.
You Uncle Tom, coon motherfucker.
Get the fuck out of my house.
Bitch-ass nigga.
I don't want to interact with anyone.
Or talk...
think...
or move.
Every day I get up...
I shit...
I wash...
I sometimes shave.
I get dressed and roam around this city
feeling like an alien.
The smoke from my last cigarette
abandoned in the ashtray
rises in an almost straight line.
I listen to the sounds of the street.
I gaze into my mirror.
I close my eyes,
and allow my nightmare to wash over me.
I forgot my key again.
- How you doing?
- What happened to your eye?
- Ah, jujitsu practice.
- Oh.
What is all this?
Uh, well, I went shopping,
um, cause we're going to meet my parents
for the first time tonight...
and, you know,
I just want you to look presentable.
"Presentable"?
- You know what I mean.
- What does...?
Try this on.
- Can you finish...?
- Yeah.
So, what do you think?
- No...
- I don't want to wear this shirt.
- You look fucking hot.
- I hate wearing shirts like this.
- Why? It looks so snazzy.
- How much was it?
- It doesn't matter.
- How much was it?
- How much?
- It was 200.
Jesus. I told you to stop
spending money like this.
If your parents can't accept me
for who I am,
you know they'll never accept me.
My parents are going to love you.
Look, they are super-hip and liberal.
- They voted for Obama.
- Oh, God.
I thought that, like,
we were past all this.
Look, I'm Black, okay?
And my fiance is white.
Have you not seen Get Out?
Stop!
- Sorry, I had to.
- Such an asshole.
My parents
are nothing like those white people, okay?
Also, can you do me a favour?
Can you, just for one day,
not point out the color of your skin?
Just one day, please.
Also, technically, you are brown,
not Black.
It doesn't matter.
I'm still seen as a threat.
Oh, my God.
Seriously, I can't with you today.
Why are you so stuck on the color
of your skin?
It's 2020.
You've had a Black president.
- What?
- I'm kidding.
You want to fuck?
No, I don't want to fuck.
I'm not even sure
if I'm ready to meet your parents.
Oh, my God.
Just don't worry about my parents.
You haven't touched me in,
like, two weeks.
You're starting to get cold feet,
aren't you?
- No... No, I'm not.
- About marrying me.
- Yeah, you are. I can feel it.
- I'm not.
I'm not. I still want to marry you.
If I was a Black girl,
you wouldn't feel this way.
Look, I apologize for that.
Okay, I was drunk, and I apologize.
And clearly my apology
was not good enough for you.
Can we stop?
Seriously, can we just not argue
- and just have a nice afternoon...
- Okay.
..and just focus on meeting my parents?
All right, yes.
I'm not wearing this shirt.
How do you see me?
Can we please talk about something else?
How do you see me?
I see you as an extremely sexy,
intelligent, Black man.
You're just telling me
what I want to hear?
I have been supporting you since day one.
I am a Democrat,
I am a feminist,
I think that you should love
whoever you want to love.
And, look, I don't...
I don't fetishize over you
in any way, so...
like, what do you want from me?
How many Black men
have you been with before me?
- What does that have to do with anything?
- How many?
None.
Okay, so, why is that?
I don't know,
it just never happened.
So, what was it about me that made you
change your mind about Black men?
The size of your cock.
- Come on, be serious.
- I am being serious.
Look, you're not going to get out
of this conversation.
No, look.
It is a big day. Can we just...
Can we just not talk about
this heavy stuff, okay? Come on.
Listen, you're not going to
get out of this conversation
by trying to have sex with me, okay?
Look, I'm trying to have
a real, honest conversation with you...
and all you do,
and all you want, is to have...
- All you want to do is have sex.
- You... You don't want to have sex?
- No, I don't.
- You're looking at me right now
- and you don't wanna have sex with me?
- I don't wanna have sex with you.
- Look, I...
- Jesus.
..need to know if you care
about my feelings.
Of course I care about your feelings.
Why would you even think that?
Because I thought about the fact that
no matter what we go through,
there will always be
a huge relational gap between us
because you will never understand
what it feels like to be Black.
- Okay, Stop.
- What?
Please tell me
that we are not going to have
another conversation
about white privilege.
Now that you brought it up, yes,
let's have another conversation about it.
- Can we not?
- What are you afraid of?
I'm afraid that we're going to have
another argument like we did last week.
And I'm afraid you're going
to fuck things up for tonight.
Well, I can't believe
you don't think white privilege exists.
Because it doesn't.
I was born poor.
Like, how did that help me?
You know it has more to do than, like,
just being able to get a job.
You really wanna have this conversation?
- You want to go down this road?
- Yes, I do.
Fine.
Look, please explain to me why
you think white privilege is not an issue.
Just because I was born white
doesn't mean my life was easy.
I had to work hard to get good grades,
to get a good scholarship, to get...
Stop looking at everything
through your white frame.
- There's no such thing as white frame.
- Yes, there is.
You believe that the system
favors you as a default.
- No, I don't.
- Yes, you do.
- No, I don't.
- Yes, you do.
No, I don't!
Sorry.
I don't think we should
be together any more.
What?
You do have a sick sense of humor.
No, I'm serious.
I'm realizing that today out of all days,
I've been asleep.
I'm full of rage, and I've been
suppressing that rage my entire life.
No, you haven't.
I see anger in you all the time.
Any time...
someone bumps into you at the store
or cuts you off in traffic.
I mean, you're not, like,
yelling and screaming, but I can feel it.
You don't know how I really feel.
I mean, how could you?
You're always wrapped up
in your own little world.
I have been your ride-or-die bitch
since day one.
Don't talk like that.
- Sorry.
- No, seriously, don't ever say that shit.
Okay, I won't.
- Where are you going?
- I got to disappear.
How long have we been together?
A year and a half.
Okay, so,
why all of a sudden
are you treating me like I've hurt you?
You have, you just don't realize it.
How?
By being white.
Fuck you!
That was really mean!
I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel.
- You're not sorry. You meant it.
- You're right, I did.
I can't help the fact
that I was born white.
Just like I can't help the fact
that the last eight months
I have been in love with a man
who clearly doesn't love me back.
I never said I didn't love you.
A man who spins everything
to make me feel like I'm the crazy one.
I'm sick and tired of being
your little token Black boyfriend
for your little white girlfriends
to fantasize over.
My girlfriends don't fantasize over you!
- They don't?
- No!
What do you call this?
How many girlfriends
send their best friend's fiance
a picture of them masturbating
with the caption
"I want your big, Black, chocolate
Mandingo dick to slap me in the face"?
She had to get that word from you
in one of your girl-talk sessions.
- Bullshit!
- Tell me the truth.
Girls talk, okay?
I can't do this any more.
Come on.
This was supposed to be our big day.
We were supposed
to meet my parents, and...
I just wanted everything to be perfect.
I am tired.
I am tired of walking around
on eggshells around you,
trying not to hurt your feelings.
- So, what are you saying?
- What do you think I'm saying?
I don't know,
that's why I'm asking you.
I can't do this any more.
I'm done.
- Please don't do this to me.
- Why?
Because of how it would make you look like
in front of your family?
Yes!
Do you know how hard it was
to get my parents to want to meet you,
and now you're just going
to fuck that whole thing up?
- Yes! I'm going to fuck it all up.
- Come on. Just, please, I'm begging you.
- Just take a second and think about it.
- No, I'm sorry. I'm done.
Fuck you!
Of all the days to do this to me.
Fuck you!
See, that's your problem.
The world does not revolve around you.
Yeah, and it doesn't
revolve around you either.
I bought you clothes.
You were nothing when I met you.
Yeah, that's right. Go on, tell me.
You weren't cultured
in music or fashion or cuisine.
- Yes.
- So, who did your resume
and made you get,
like, a really good, high-paying job?
Oh, that was me!
- Yeah.
- I did that for you!
Yeah, with a cousin who makes me
do his low-level dirty work for him.
- You owe me!
- I owe you nothing!
You can't reject me. You have
nothing without me, you piece of shit!
That's right.
Yeah, tell me. Tell me more!
- You're a pathetic limp-dick loser.
- That's it. That's the spirit.
- I hope you fucking die in your sleep!
- That's a bit harsh, don't you think?
I hope the cops shoot your Black ass
in the back, you fucking nigger!
I'm so sorry.
I didn't mean that.
Fuck...
I didn't mean that, I'm so sorry.
A nigger?
A fucking nigger?
You called me a nigger.
- I didn't mean it.
- Yes, you did!
- I didn't... No, I didn't.
- Yes, you did!
- Get out!
- Fuck!
Get the fuck out!
Fuck!
The aftermath of puberty.
The sting of my first shave.
Getting drunk on alcohol.
Losing my virginity.
It's as if the true version of myself
had always been running...
..but is now finally helping me
to rediscover my existence.
In the park,
I watch a stranger stare into space.
He is mummified.
Gazing into emptiness for hours.
He has no appearance of stress,
of fear.
I wonder what it must be like to be white.
I often play cards all by myself.
I can foresee the moment when the
four spaces bring me up against kings...
and failure.
No sooner does the game appear lost
than I scoop up all the cards
and deal them out for another attempt.
I cheat sometimes.
A little.
Increasingly rarely.
For what would winning
mean to me, anyway?
But I play more and more often.
For longer and longer.
This game fascinates me.
I protect.
I destroy.
I construct.
I concoct one plan after another.
An impotent exercise.
A danger that entails
no risk of punishment.
I can control this game...
..but I cannot control
what happens to me in this life.
The days...
the weeks...
the seasons slip by.
I detach myself from everything.
I let myself slip and go under,
searching for emptiness,
running from it.
I rarely succeed.
It's as if this solitary, silent strategy
were my only way forward.
As if it had become
my reason for being.
It's dark.
I close my eyes.
Who the hell are you?
I am you.
- I want to play a little game.
- I don't want to play a game!
You don't have a choice.
First question.
How long have you been a sleeping Negro?
I've never been a sleeping Negro.
Wrong.
Next question.
Will white people
ever save the Black race?
No.
That was an easy one.
The next one will be much harder.
Do you hate yourself?
No.
- I don't play this game.
- Oh, I think you do.
You're weak, pathetic,
but a creature.
Your entire life,
you've been told to play by the rules.
What has all of that gotten you?
Nothing but heartache.
Leave me alone.
I have nothing left.
I am a part of you.
I don't hate niggers, man...
Your ancestors
who were whipped day-in and day-out
until the meat fell off their backs.
Your ancestors who would get raped,
have their kids stolen from them
and put into cages.
Your ancestors who had to walk
on eggshells around white people...
or they would be lynched
had nothing left.
You, you have rage.
I am your rage.
I will spend the rest of your life
raging against them.
Against all the systems they have created
to keep you enslaved.
Your ancestors thought the idea of freedom
would remain a distant nightmare
that would taunt them in their sleep.
They never thought freedom would come,
but that didn't stop them
from fighting for it.
Your ancestors existed
so your Black ass could have freedom.
Do you want to keep going
through this life
letting the white man control you
or do you want
to take control of your life?
I want to take control of my life.
You have to crucify yourself...
and be re-born...
for the renewal of your own fucking mind.
So, tell me...
- do you really want to change?
- Yes.
Liar!
You have three questions left.
Stop, please.
Do you still want to play by their rules?
- No.
- Next question.
Why are you still a slave to the system
that the white man has created?
I don't know.
Only one question left.
This will be
the most important question of your life.
But first, lay down.
Now point the gun at your heart
and close your eyes.
Do you want to be free?
Free from the PTSD
of living in this world as a Black man?
Do you want to be free from the racism
that is the foundation for every system
the white man has created?
I read in my history books
that the nigger man, the nigger race,
was an inferior race.
And that was the history
that was taught me when I was in school.
Do you want to be free
from hating your Black skin?
Do you want to be free from the fear
of bringing more Black babies
into this world
only to see them
get snuffed out as kids?
- Do you want to be free from it all?
- Yes.
- I can't hear you.
- Yes!
- Louder.
- I want to be free from it all.
Now, put some rage behind it.
I want to be motherfucking
free from it all!
Good.
Now...pull the trigger.
The monsters have invaded my life.
Moving like robots.
I am a stranger in my own country.
I have met many others like me.
My body is not my own.
It is detained by you.
Pawed by you.
Beaten with your bigoted truth.
The rest of you are even worse.
The smug...
the smart-alecks...
the self-satisfied...
the fat men...
and the skinny men.
The forever-young and the forever-old.
The delivery men and the decorated.
The pleasure-seekers on a binge.
The filthy rich.
The stinking poor.
The monsters with families.
The thousands of monsters
caught at the traffic lights.
Monsters tipped out by the busload
in front of the hideous monuments.
The monsters in their Sunday best.
The monster crowd.
I drift around, unprotected.
I search,
I wait.
I have raged
and the world has not changed.
Time, which sees to everything,
has not provided the solution.
I have gone mad.
There's a curse hanging over me.
There are trials and tribulations
in store for me.
Everyone condemns me...
..and I have only committed
the offense of being Black.
Hello?
How was meeting
your future in-laws last night?
It was fine.
Good.
Let's talk about
what I need from you today.
The Pasadena eviction is ready to go.
Make sure it's without incident.
- Will I have a sheriff deputy with me?
- You will.
Okay.
I'll get it done.
That's what I like to hear.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
What happened to the eye?
Someone forgot to yell "fore"
on the golf course.
Can you believe that shit? Yeah.
What's up with the beard?
It's No-Shave November.
It's for cancer.
Is anyone home?
I'm not sure.
You good?
Boss riding your ass this week?
Yeah, I wouldn't know
where to start, man. Shoot.
But I'm...I'm fine.
Let's not waste any more time.
Let's get this going.
Morning, ma'am,
I'm with the sheriff's department.
Good morning, Sheriff.
Did something happen with my nephew?
Ma'am, we're here to serve you
a court-ordered eviction.
My doctor changed my meds,
and my head gets really cloudy
in the morning.
You're going to have to
vacate the property, ma'am.
It's just too early for me.
Why would I do that?
Why would I do that?
Does your nephew live here, ma'am?
Yes, my nephew lives here,
but he's not here right now.
He went to the store
to get eggs and bacon, but he'll be back.
- He's a nice young man.
- I'm sure he is, ma'am.
Do you have any weapons on your person
or inside the home?
No. I hate guns.
They've been killing our people.
I think they're evil.
Is there anyone else inside with you?
I said my nephew lives here,
but he went to the store.
Anyone else live here with you
besides your nephew?
God, you keep asking me
the same question over and over,
and I don't like this oxygen tank!
It's just not good.
Well, maybe you should
stop smoking, ma'am.
What?
What did you say?
Good morning, ma'am.
I work for the Titan Real Estate Group,
and I am sorry to say that
the bank has foreclosed on your property.
They now own it.
You look like a good-hearted person.
Ma'am, I need you
to vacate the property today...
okay?
No...
No. This is my home.
I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong
with y'all, but you boys have a good day.
Ma'am,
you can't walk away from me, okay?
Now, if you have a stay
signed by the judge
and have posted bond,
you're more than welcome to stay.
But I need proof of that.
What have I done to you?
My office offered you
a cash-for-keys settlement of $5,000
in exchange to leave, but you refused.
This is a signed court order
judgment by the judge,
dated today, saying that
you have to vacate your property.
I'm sorry, ma'am.
No, I'm not going anywhere.
You just tell that judge...
You tell that judge...
whatever or whoever you have to tell...
Look, I know this is difficult, ma'am.
Ma'am, listen.
You have to vacate today, okay?
The bank owns your property.
You're trespassing right now,
and I need you to know
that you are breaking the law.
- What's going on here?
- Tell this man!
You live here?
Yeah, I do.
- Tell him, nephew.
- Can I just...?
Just... I just want
to talk to you real quick.
- Tell him, Nephew.
- I will.
There's been some mistake.
Look, when I went to the court,
the affidavit of publication
hadn't been filed yet,
and then it magically was
when I was in front of the judge.
I think something's going on here.
- I'm sorry.
- She doesn't know about this, all right?
- I can't help that.
- The judge said that I have 30 days
to file an appeal.
She doesn't know
that she's not paying her mortgage?
- Can we just talk about this...?
- What? I'm not behind.
Tell him, nephew.
I give you my disability check
every month to cover the mortgage.
You tell him!
Tell him!
Yeah, tell me, Nephew.
Tell him.
I haven't been paying the mortgage.
Oh, God.
How could you...?
What have you done?
What the hell did you do?!
Oh, God. This is going to kill me.
I can't leave my home.
I'm sick.
I have my medicine.
He said that he gave you
a $5,000 offer for my keys.
Did he?
Yes.
Well, I'm so sorry, sir.
I apologize.
I didn't know
he wasn't paying my mortgage.
Okay, um...
I just need a couple days,
and then I will...
I will get your money,
and you tell the bank I will fix it.
- I'm sorry.
- I will fix it.
Ma'am, I'm sorry. I'm going to
need you to step out of the home.
Come on, now.
Black folks shouldn't be
treating each other like this.
- Ma'am, I'm asking you kindly to comply.
- No, we still have 24 hours.
- We just...
- Sir...
- We ain't leaving...
- You need to comply.
I'm telling you to comply.
Just...
- I just need 24 hours.
- Sir, I'm telling you to comply.
This is not happening today.
- Yes, it very much is.
- No, no, it is not happening today!
Sir, there are two ways
this is going to go down -
the easy way
where you do what I'm telling you to do
or the hard way
where I take you and your aunt to jail.
Now, do you want you and your aunt to go
to jail or do you want the two minutes...
I beg of you, please.
This can't happen.
Look, it's above me now.
You better do what he's telling you.
Can you just show a little bit of grace?!
I forgot who said it,
but it's not the strongest
or the most intelligent who will survive,
but those who can best manage change.
Go inside and make sure
they get their essentials.
How do you sleep at night
doing shit like this to people, huh?
Look, I can't help that
you took your aunt's disability checks
and didn't pay her mortgage.
Fuck you!
Fuck you!
Sir.
Where's your moving crew?
They're on their way,
they're stuck in traffic.
It's cool. I'm going to wait here
till they get here.
Thanks so much for your help.
- Any time.
- Yeah.
Shame on you!
Uncle Tom working for the white man!
Shame on you!
- What the fuck are you doing?!
- Hey, hey...
Look, y'all can come with me,
stay with me till you
figure your shit out. Come on.
Damn it.
Come on, let's go.
I'll make it right. Come on.
Here you go...
I got it.
Just get in the passenger seat.
Come on, get her tank in there.
Get her in there.
Fuck!
Get in over there, go ahead.
Come on, now.
It is on a day like today...
that everything starts again.
I can no longer talk
like a man with a dream.
My dreams are no longer accessible.
My dreams have been co-opted
by the white man.
They have turned
into my nightmares, of which...
..I'm afraid.