Her name was Odessa Cotter.
I called her Dessie.
As best as anyone knows, she was the first woman
to rock me to sleep.
There wasn't anything extraordinary about her,
but I guess there's always something
extraordinary about someone who changes and then
changes those around her.
That's me.
Good morning, Mary Catherine.
I was only seven years old.
Excuse me, Odessa.
I didn't mean to run you down.
Is that a car or a boat?
It's a piece of sausage.
You tell her, sweetness.
Odessa, we're having a cocktail party tonight,
so I'm sending you to Oak Park with Mary Catherine
just as soon as Claudia gets here.
Yes, ma'am.
Honey.
Look what you did.
Boop.
Gotcha.
Has anyone seen my racket?
- I know where it is. - Bye-bye.
Bye.
My clubs.
I want to cut something.
Not today, young lady.
Your hands are sticky.
She's been beside herself for weeks.
That's because you never discipline her.
Where are you going?
One guess, Sherlock.
Trey and I are playing at the club.
Well.
I want to see Trey's car.
Here are my clubs, honey.
If you can just get 'em to the pro shop.
Honey, I'm giving a party tonight.
Catch Sara. She's on her way to the club--
Honey, I can't play with the grips like that.
Thank you, sweetie.
I'll see you at 6:00?
See you at 6:00.
Odessa, just have 'em waiting out here at 3:00.
I should be back from the beauty parlor and Junior League
by then. - Yes, ma'am.
And you be good, Mary Catherine.
I will.
Bye.
Feel a tickling coming.
Go on.
Y'all come on now.
It's time to eat.
Hey!
What you doing here?
Can't you hear me, nigger?
What are you doing in this park?
Just taking care of Mrs.Thompson's--
Don't give me any of that mealy-mouthed crap!
Now, this park is whites only.
And that means niggers like you best answer with, "Yes, sir"
when you're spoken to here.
I don't care who you're taking care of!
You don't understand nothing, do you?
Go on.
Get your stuff together and get on out of here!
Come on, Mary Catherine. Get your friends.
We've got to go.
I've never heard such nonsense in all my life.
We'll just see about this.
Hello, could I speak to Commissioner Sellers, please?
Mrs. Norman Thompson.
Well, would you tell Clyde Sellers
that one of his policemen threw my 9-year-old daughter out
of Oak Park?
He knows who I am.
I really appreciate you coming by this afternoon.
not at all, ma'am.
I'm just sorry about the misunderstanding.
Thank you.
Mrs. Cotter, I would like to apologize on behalf of myself,
the police department, and the city of Montgomery
for what happened today in Oak Park.
I hope y'all will come back to the park someday soon.
And I hope I didn't cause you too
much trouble, Mrs. Thompson.
I'm sorry if I embarrassed your maid in front of the children.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome, ma'am.
I regret that this happened in the first place.
Well, send the commissioner my best.
I will, ma'am.
Shh.
Y'all come on inside.
Alabama's got a small line, but they're agile.
My God.
Aw, how's my little Boo-Boo?
Tunker's here.
Tunker.
Tunker, welcome.
Hello, Norman.
I'm glad you could make it.
Yeah, it's a nice-looking party here.
Yeah, we try. We do.
Hi, Tunker.
Hello, Miriam.
Is that a bartender?
Yeah.
Does I has to tip him?
Well, be-- beings your my baby brother,
why don't we just say that the drinks are two bucks,
all inclusive.
Thanks, thanks.
Hey, y'all are lucky to get a bartender at all.
The niggers are all moving to Philadelphia.
Why is that?
Because they hear there ain't no work in Philadelphia.
I don't get it.
Honey, you never get jokes.
What?
Tunker, don't be so loud this close to the bar.
He didn't hear me.
Yeah, well, you better be careful.
She'll have you out there apologizing to him.
Well, what's this?
Nothing.
It was just something stupid, that's all.
I'd like to know.
Go on, tell him.
Some young policeman threw our maid out of Oak Park.
Mary Catherine and her friends were right there,
and he was extremely rude.
So I called up Clyde Sellers and he
had him come out and apologize.
Well, what were you doing sending your maid
into that park anyway?
Tunker, she was taking care of the children.
But you shouldn't have the poor fellow come out
and apologize to a nigger, Miriam.
That's plain old wrong.
Tunker, it's not like she was parading
her own children around the park, for heaven's sakes.
And you know, I did grow up with a maid,
and I've had them all my life, and I know what's right,
and I know what's wrong.
And I will not have my judgment impugned
by some wet-behind-the-ears patrolman or by you.
Excuse me.
Hi, Liz.
How are you?
She's a hellcat, Norman.
I always thought so.
MARY CATHERINE My world
was a bubble when I was seven.
Wars could have been going on outside our front door,
and I would have been all the happier.
Thank you, darling.
MARY CATHERINE In a way,
a war was about to start in Montgomery,
a war of wills in the cradle of the Confederacy.
It began on a crisp December day.
Hey!
Give it back!
Give it back.
Give it back!
No!
Mama, where you at?
No!
What you coming in here screaming like a banshee about?
A lady gave these out to everybody after school,
and I'll read it to you.
"This is for Monday--"
Boy, you can't read.
We're gonna die of consumption waiting for you.
Can so.
Give it back!
Franklin, give him the paper and let him read it.
Watch it.
"Another Negro woman has been arrested and thrown in jail
because she refused to get up out of her seat
on the bus for a white person to sit down.
It is the second time since the Colvin case
that a Negro woman has been arrested for the same thing.
This has to be stopped."
"We are therefore asking every Negro
to stay off the buses Monday in protest
of the arrest and trial.
Don't ride the buses to work, to town, to school, or anywhere
on Monday.
You can afford to stay out of school for one day
if you have no other way to go except by bus.
You can also afford to stay out of town for one day.
If you work, take a cab or walk.
But please--"
I heard about that last night.
That woman was Miss Parks.
Rosa Parks?
Yep, they had to bail her out of jail for sitting on the bus.
See, the problem is--
I'll tell you what the problem is,
and I have never seen people get so worked up
over a piece of paper.
I think it's dumb.
I think you dumb.
Shut up, Franklin.
I bet nobody rides the bus.
Franklin, sit up.
Well, if that don't get all.
Here we are without a car and somebody
telling us not to ride the bus.
Theodore and Franklin ready to follow along like lap dogs.
If that ain't cutting your nose off to spite your face.
She's mad 'cause she ride the bus
out to Newtown on Saturday to see
that boy she think like her.
Shut up.
I'm tired of hanging my head in the shadow of crackers.
I want to ride the front of the bus.
Lord, we thank you for this food we're about to receive.
Watch over our souls tonight and help
us live your word tomorrow.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
All right, right around the fence.
That bus is as empty as my grave.
If it starts to rain, people will get on that bus.
No, they won't.
Not unless they stupid as you are.
Mama.
If we can't ride the bus, do we have to go school?
Boy, you ain't never took the bus in your life.
Now, get in there and help me clean off that table.
Hello, Ms. Thompson.
This is Odessa.
Ms. Thompson, I think I'm gonna be awfully late to work today.
Odessa, this is Monday.
You know how badly I need you on Monday.
Yes, I know Ms.
Thompson, but as I said, I--
Well, this wouldn't have anything to do with the boycott
business, would it?
Well, Ms. Thompson,
the buses usually come past my house pretty near full.
But today, there ain't a soul on 'em except the driver,
and this last one had a police car following it.
So ma'am, I ain't likely to ride the bus today.
Well, I was going to Curb Market this morning anyway.
You live down on Cobb Street, don't you?
Yes, ma'am.
Well then, I'll meet you at the corner of Court and Mildred
in about an hour.
Thank you, ma'am.
OK, bye-bye.
Odessa, I'm not gonna be able to carry you home.
Mama needs help with Shelly's dinner,
so I'm gonna have to go on over later.
Yes, ma'am.
Go ahead and show your mama how you're helping.
That's sweet.
Good evening, ma'am.
Whose turn is it to do the dishes?
Theo--
No, it ain't mine.
Well, who did them last night?
I did 'em.
It's Theodore's and Franklin's turn.
You got a choice, clean the dishes or clean the outhouse.
Mama's home!
Good, she can do the dishes.
After you called, we waited for you to come home, Mama.
We just ate while we waited.
He's been waiting all night to say that.
- Mama-- - Can I fetch you some supper?
Theodore and Franklin keep making fun of my cooking
and daddy won't get them to stop.
You still coming to that mass meeting?
It's in 15 minutes.
Selma, get your coat.
What?
And listen to a bunch of preachers
talking about us plain folks wearing out our shoes
today while they drove around in their cars?
No thank you.
I put in my time at church on Sunday morning, not Monday
night.
Can I go, and Selma watch Franklin?
I want to go, too.
Theodore gets to have all the fun.
I think she cut up the cleanest parts and fried it.
Shut up, fool.
Mama, I'm sorry about supper.
I think it got worse as it got cold.
Just let me get my shoes off.
I'll be ready in a minute.
I got to give that girl some cooking lessons.
Mama, your feet.
Just got to get me some shoes that fit.
That's all.
I'll get up and change my dress, and I'll be ready in a minute.
Don't want to be late.
Might not get a seat.
You quit that horsing around in my-- get off my bed!
Get in there.
Daddy, you can't let
her walk down to the church.
Don't worry about it.
It'll make her feel better to go.
It really will.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: The only weapon
that we have in our hands this evening
is the weapon of protest.
And we are not wrong.
We are not wrong in what we are doing.
If we are wrong, the Supreme court of this nation is wrong.
If we are wrong, the Constitution
of the United States is wrong.
If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong.
And we are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight
until justice runs down like water and righteousness
like a mighty stream.
Well, now, ain't you all full of the day.
I haven't felt this good in a long time.
Of course, when I got up this morning, I'd like to die.
Once I started moving around, I felt pretty good.
You walked all of that way across town?
Yes, ma'am.
Ooh, that's a long walk, woman.
Yes, indeedy.
You know, you come into town and go to one of the mass meetings,
you feel like you could walk forever too.
I got me a ride to work, and I sleep
through it most of the time.
I don't need no inspiration.
Odessa.
Now, I hear that getting up early
and moving around does a soul good in the morning.
I just wonder what it does for them in the afternoon.
Pass me not, gentle savior.
Hear my humble cry.
While on others though art calling, do not pass me by.
Savior, savior, hear my humble cry.
While on others though art calling, do not pass me by.
Savior, savior, hear my humble cry.
While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.
I think I'm going to have to ask Ms. Thompson for some days
off.
You be careful.
A lot of folks losing their jobs.
Christmas next week.
Mrs. Thompson ain't as bad as some.
She called that policeman out for me.
I ain't never seen a white woman do nothing like that before.
Odessa, don't you go fooling yourself
about that white woman.
She don't know us, and she don't want to know us.
She may have a heart of gold, but she
the one who sent you to that park,
and you ain't have no say in it.
That policeman was apologizing to her, not you.
Well, still and all, I cannot keep coming
home too tired to do the cooking and too
late to do the cleaning.
You can always take the bus.
What?
What did you say?
I guess it's like the preachers say, there's
an easy answer for everything.
Nobody said it was going to be easy.
Mary Catherine, will you stop messing with that silverware
and sit down in that seat?
Just playing.
I'm sorry I yelled at you.
Odessa's got a lot of work to do.
Odessa, I'm going to the Junior League,
so you'll have Mary Catherine.
Yes, ma'am.
Is that all the silver you've done?
I've been feeling a little poorly today.
Well, you've been feeling poorly all week.
And next week is Christmas.
Yes, ma'am.
Now, I know you can't ride the bus.
And I'm not a taxi service.
But I can't have you come in here in the morning
and dragging around all day, Odessa,
not this close to Christmas.
I go to Curb Market early on Tuesdays and Fridays.
So I can pick you up between 7:30 and 8:00
on those mornings, until you can start riding the bus.
And the other days, you're just going to have
to get here on your own.
Mary Catherine?
Mary Catherine!
I don't want you to go telling daddy I've
been carrying Odessa to work.
Now, I've got a good reason for this, OK?
Yes, ma'am.
No slips.
Santa might get unhappy.
Understood?
OK.
Bye-bye.
MARY CATHERINE Of course,
what I cared about that Christmas
were the little things--
the presents I'd asked for and the way I
thought my older sister owned the world.
Mommy!
They're here!
Hi, honey!
Hi, Mom.
Father says you never wrote a Christmas list.
I did mine a month ago.
Jeepers, Boo-Boo.
I'm not Boo-Boo.
Yes, you are, Boo-Boo.
Let me get these bags to Sara's room,
and then I want to take you all out for a surprise.
You mean after dinner.
- No, I mean now. - Honey--
It'll be a lot of fun, honey.
I know Sara's hungry.
And I just made her favorite, chicken tetrazzini.
Ew.
Mother, I stopped eating chicken tetrazzini
when I was nine years old.
Besides, I had my heart set on eating at the Elite.
She made me promise at the airport.
Honey, I've been cooking all day long.
I promise I will eat cold chicken tetrazzini all week.
This is the new subdivision.
It's 41 lots.
Well, I wasn't going to bring you out here till Christmas.
But they put up these, these street markers,
and I was just sure that somehow you were going to find out.
Look.
Is that named after me?
It sure is.
And honey, over there--
that's Mary Lane.
And it runs into Catherine Court.
So you have two streets named after you.
Really? Two streets?
Yes, indeed.
And way back there, you can't see it,
but that's Miriam Street.
So now all the women in my life have
something named after them.
And years and years from now, you
can look back and know that people lived their lives
on your street, and whenever they said where they lived,
they used your name.
Merry Christmas.
This just in.
The Air Force has spotted an unidentified object on radar
coming south over Alaska.
Fighters were launched from bases in Alaska
to confirm the sighting.
They say it appears to be a small sleigh flying in the air.
Could it be Saint Nick?
They've run the same Christmas Eve story for centuries.
You'd think this entire city would die of boredom.
What's wrong with it?
I mean, who do they think they're kidding?
Nobody who really believes in Santa Claus is listening.
You don't still believe in Santa Claus, do you?
No.
Good.
If there was a Santa Claus, he would have surely swooped down
and replaced that old thing.
Well, I wouldn't hold my breath
waiting for that to happen.
I know.
I'm back in Montgomery again.
Harness the mule.
Time to go down the the well and draw some water.
Miriam.
Shh.
I'm right here.
Shh.
Honey, you're going to have to which pile to put these in.
Relax, honey, it'll be fine.
I like the layout.
Well, let's see.
Mary Catherine.
Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, honey.
Now, wave.
Wave to the camera.
Good.
OK.
Sara?
Yeah.
Merry Christmas.
Sweetness?
Mary Catherine.
Woo.
Hold on. Hold on.
Look at the presents.
Come on, Mary Catherine.
Merry Christmas, Odessa.
Miriam!
The Eighth Army has arrived.
Good morning, Odessa.
The turkey and the ham are in the fridge.
They're thawed.
And the turkey is ready to be stuffed and cooked.
Now, the casseroles still need to be cooked--
375.
But not until 1:00.
We can't have cold casserole.
You could get started on the deviled eggs, though.
And when Claudia gets here, one of you has to vacuum.
Now, don't forget to put out the milk punch.
Last year, we were halfway through the day,
and nobody thought to put out the milk punch.
I know I must be forgetting something.
Merry Christmas, Odessa.
Merry Christmas, Mrs. Thompson.
Mother, do I have to wear this stupid dress?
Sara, I ordered these dresses
specially for all of us.
Now, they're cute.
Mother!
I don't care--
Dessie, look what I got!
Isn't she pretty?
She's got three whole outfits, with shoes
and socks and everything!
Three whole outfits!
Look at her bonnet, and her dress,
and the ribbons, and the shoes!
She's beautiful.
Wait until you see what else I got!
He'd come running down the stairs.
He'd be so excited.
He'd fly right on and hit his grand kiester,
land on the road.
Does he still do that?
Now, let's see-- let's see if Tunker
wants some of these limas.
Hey, did you see that thing in the paper this morning?
I think Grover Hall has lost his mind.
What are you talking about, what thing?
Didn't you read the paper this morning, Norman?
He's talking about the ad that Grover
let the coloreds put in the paper,
demanding that we give in to them.
Well, it's stupid.
It's about one of the stupidest things that
ever happened to this city.
Because who really cares about the buses?
You don't understand.
This is just a test.
In the paper this morning, they said they
want all the bus drivers' jobs.
Now, wouldn't that be great?
Now, it seems to me that the way to handle this thing
is to play it down.
The Supreme Court's just itching to force this whole issue.
Let them sit where they want.
It just won't work that way.
I, for one, won't stand for the niggers in Montgomery
runnin' around yapping about how they won.
And don't you think this won't have consequences.
Norman, don't you understand?
If they get by with this bus thing,
now, why, in a few years, you won't even
be able to have this Christmas dinner 'cause
you'll have to have the maid sitting right beside you.
Communism is what it is.
It's a bunch of Communists.
All of them.
None of them are from Montgomery, either.
That Martin Luther King, he hadn't even lived here a year.
These niggers just want too much,
and they're not willing to work for it.
Rolls, Mrs. Thompson?
No, thank you.
Well, that's the way I feel.
I don't care who hears me.
Thank you, Odessa.
Thanks, Dessie.
Thank you.
Claudia.
Claudia, Odessa.
That was a magnificent meal.
It really was.
Here's a little something for you.
Merry Christmas. - Thank you.
Merry Christmas, Odessa.
We, we were just talking about the bus boycott.
Now, Claudia, I know--
I know you-- you get a ride with your husband.
Yes, sir.
But Odessa, you're here five days a week.
How do you get to work?
Today, I walked.
I-- I mean on a normal day.
Well, I can't take the bus, Mr. Thompson.
So I-- I just will find me a ride where I can.
But if it was safe to ride the bus,
you'd still rather walk than sit in the back?
Yes, sir, I would have to say I would.
That's a long walk.
Yes, sir.
Mighty long.
It was-- it was a delicious meal.
It really was.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Thompson.
Well
Well, I see your point.
But I can't blame her because I don't think she's a problem.
Well, the hell she's not.
Why don't you get a new maid?
Get a white maid?
She's been with us for nine years.
She's a problem.
She's not uppity, like some--
not to your face.
But slowly, they all start asking for more, doing less.
Norm, you got a good family, good community here.
When was the last time you locked your door at night?
Never.
If you give in, what do you think is
going to happen to this city?
What do you think is going to happen to your family?
No, you gotta hold the line.
We all do.
If she'd rather walk, bleed out the soles of her feet
till she begs to ride that bus.
Ooh, Mr. Thompson had a look in his eyes
when he asked you about getting to work.
Girl, I can't believe what you said.
One thing I learned in this life is
when you got your hand in the lion's mouth,
it's better just to pat him on the head.
Mr. Thompson's all right.
He didn't mean nothing by that.
But I tell you, Mrs. Thompson's mother
almost got a plate of rolls busted upside her head.
Ooh, an on Christmas day.
Lord, spare that woman's soul.
Well, I know you've got to work here.
But if she said that to me, I'd have thrown those rolls down
and given her my apron, told her the next time
I serve her is the day after she walks to my house
and cooks my Christmas dinner.
Go ahead, girl.
I tell you, see, I'll sit up there and let her call me
a lazy nigger, and I'll walk.
I'll walk till I got no legs left
if I thought it was going to give my children
a better shot in the world.
You work so hard.
Have some woman say what that woman
said make you wonder who's going to be sitting
in the backseat in heaven.
And on Christmas day.
See you tomorrow, girl.
OK.
I ain't taking that.
Listen, I gotta go. All right.
Bye.
Merry Christmas.
Y'all ain't going to make me late for Christmas service.
You ain't going nowhere without Theodore.
Besides, you don't look like you dressed yet.
What are you talking about?
Mama, you just don't look ready.
Theodore, see if you can find something in there
for your mom to wear.
Has everybody gone crazy?
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas, Mama.
Merry Christmas, Mom.
Open it.
I don't know how you did this.
I don't know how I did it either.
Well, you know ain't--
they ain't gonna wait for us over at the church now.
Come on, y'all. Here.
Well, come on.
Mama's gonna find out she's been hogging
that phone and tan her hide.
The weekend?
I gotta go in the shed.
Get them lights straight before I get back here.
Hold on.
Well, yeah, I could get there if I wanted to.
Yeah, why not?
Stop!
Get away, stupid.
Sorry.
Excuse me.
All right, hold on.
I'm gonna leave right now.
Yeah, I can get there.
I got a way.
I'm hanging up the phone, all right?
All right?
OK, bye.
Shoot, everybody's lost their minds.
Where's Selma?
She went down to Leticia's for some hot chocolate.
Did Leticia call?
What you got behind your back?
Nothing.
What is it?
- It's just something. - Let's see.
About worth a shit.
Open your hand before I break it.
Did Selma give you that quarter?
Can't say.
You hurt my arm.
Damn!
I don't want no trouble.
I'm just riding the bus, sir.
I ain't caused no trouble.
I don't want any trouble.
You understand?
Yes, sir.
OK.
Selma.
Damn!
I don't care if God himself comes down and asks.
You don't tell nobody that Selma and I left!
I can't wait to get home, see what my dad thinks.
I know.
Kicking us out of class.
My dad's not going to care.
It's his fault, not ours.
I know it's his fault.
His dad won't care.
Never does.
My dad will.
Hey, we got a nigger on the bus.
She must be from out of town.
She must be.
Hey, you wanna have some fun?
Let's have some fun.
Have some fun.
She's kind of cute too, for a nigger.
Yeah.
You from out of town?
He asked you a question.
No, I'm not from out of town.
You call him sir.
Sir.
In case you hadn't heard, niggers quit
riding the bus around here.
Or ain't you a nigger, girl?
Say I'm a nigger, sir.
Say it!
Y'all are going to have to sit down back there.
This girl's sitting where I want to sit.
She's supposed to be at the back of the bus.
All right, you three get off the bus right now.
I said now.
I'll call the police and have you thrown in jail.
Do you think I won't do it?
You old fart.
Don't bring your trashy ass back on my bus again.
I'll call your daddy.
Damn fools.
I'm gonna teach you to ride our bus!
Your water's in the ditch, nigger.
Mommy.
Never mind.
Come on.
Catch that nigger!
Come on back, nigger!
What do you want?
What did I do wrong?
Why'd you run, nigger bitch?
Get away from me.
Get away!
Don't talk that way to me, nigger!
Leave my sister alone!
Why'd you push me, nigger?
Hit him!
No!
Yeah, nigger!
Hey!
If you want to hit someone, hit me!
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to get you hurt.
I'm not hurt.
Get his ass in the car.
Let me take you home before I get lynched.
I didn't want to fall.
You stood long enough.
Hello.
My god, what happened to your face?
It's my fault. I tried to ride the bus,
and Theo got beat up by some white boys 'cause of it.
You tried to ride the bus?
Is that what you're telling me?
You tried to ride the bus, and that's
why his face looks like that?
What's wrong with you?
Wash your face, Selma.
Get Theo cleaned up here.
If you own a car, but you must be at work during the day,
we have fine young men who can drive your cars,
allowing you to still contribute to the boycott.
And now the choir will sing "We're Marching to Zion."
Those of you who can help us with the carpooling,
come forward during the singing of this song.
We are marching--
Up to Zion--
Marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful city of God.
That beautiful city of God.
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
We're marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful--
City of God.
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
We're marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful--
City of God.
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
We're marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful city of God.
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
We're marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful--
Come on, children.
- City of God. - Hallelujah!
We are marching--
We're marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful city of God.
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
We're marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful--
That wonderful--
That glorious--
Victorious--
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
We're marching up to Zion to that beautiful city of God.
I'm sorry I'm late.
I just had this stuff to take care of downtown.
And I didn't see any sense in making the trip out here twice.
I've got this club luncheon, which
means I have to go to the beauty parlor as soon as I get back.
And then I have this Junior League thing this afternoon.
Now, what is he doing?
They're trying to break the boycott.
They just follow behind people and try to give them tickets.
You just drive nice and slow, Mrs. Thompson.
He'll go back to the lot.
Is that the big boycott carpool stop?
Yes, ma'am.
I believe it is.
Is that woman driving for the carpools?
Well, I don't know if she is.
But I know there's a lot of women from the Air Force Base
who do.
Let me tell you.
It was just--
So I come to find out from Odessa
that they're driving these maids around on a regular basis.
What?
There are white women driving for the carpool.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Odessa says they're from Maxwell Field.
I should have known they were Yankees.
But they had police out there,
and they were following people around.
For a while, Odessa and I thought they were following us.
Miriam, are you driving your maid to work?
No, Laura Ann.
Two days a week I go to the Curb Market,
and I just pick her up on those days.
And you were talking like you thought
those white women driving the carpools were wrong.
You're just as bad.
Robert says this whole boycott would
end tomorrow if people like you would stop
driving their maids to work.
Is that what Robert says?
Well, my maid has a car.
So I don't have to worry about it.
Well, I told Cathy that if she wanted to boycott,
that was fine.
But she'd be on her own.
She fed me all this junk about, I's not wanting to boycott.
I's just walking 'cause I can't ride with all
these police and stuff.
I told her, fine.
Just be at work on time and don't leave early.
One club.
Well, you better well believe she's sitting up
front at those church rallies.
Pass.
One spade.
Pass.
Well, I don't really care what happens to the boycott.
But I do care if I have a maid.
And if that means driving her sometimes,
well, that's what it means.
Two clubs.
40,000 local Negroes
continue to walk and ride and carpool as the city
buses roll without passengers.
An announced settlement with Negro ministers
proves to be an empty promise.
In day 49 of the Negro bus boycott,
dramatic new developments from City Hall.
Good evening, I'm Carl Stephens, WSFA News.
Mayor Gayle announced today he was calling off negotiations
in the Negro bus boycott--
Must be Tunker. I have to go.
Call for all Montgomery
to stand up against--
Honey, it's not polite to sit at the table
when we have company.
Hi.
How's my little Boo-Boo?
She doesn't like to be called Boo-Boo anymore.
They make fun of her at school.
Well, now, I will never call you that again if you just--
Give your Uncle Tunker a little--
--sugar.
Ha, ha, ha, ha.
I always liked Mary Catherine better anyway.
That's the type of name you'd expect
for a princess or a queen.
Because you are a princess.
My beautiful little princess.
We'd better be off.
Well, good luck.
Luck?
Citizens' Council don't need luck,
not with men like your daddy.
I thought you were going to a business meeting.
No, Citizens' Council meeting.
Norman, could I talk to you for a minute, please?
Norman, these are the people that you said
couldn't count to 10.
You're going to go to one of their meetings?
The whole thing has just gotten out of hand.
And now the mayor, the city commission--
they've all joined.
So for me, it's either joining this group or the Klan.
Honey.
That's not true.
The mayor and the commissioner are politicians.
They'd join the circus if they thought
it'd get them re-elected.
You're beginning to let your little brother
lead you around by the nose.
Listen, I don't care whether you like Tunker or not.
But don't you tell me what to do.
I'll make up my own mind, and I'll join
any goddamn group I please.
Are you ready?
Sure.
Well, this is, not at all what I expected.
Yeah.
No white sheets, no secret oaths.
You mean I don't get to learn a coded handshake?
Is that what you're trying to tell me?
- Norm Thompson. - Yeah.
Hi.
Jeff Sewell with Avalon Brothers here in town.
- Right. - Nice to see you.
Glad you could be out tonight.
Thank you.
By the way, you know, I've just been
put on the planning commission.
Now, if you ever have a zoning problem, you give me a ring.
I can put you right.
Thanks, Jeff.
Over half of small business owners in town
are members of the council.
You mean half the white small businesses.
If you call what the niggers do business,
Commissioner Sellers.
How are you doing, Clyde?
Holding on.
Didn't think you'd be out here after that phone call I got
from your wife a while back.
She was right, though.
The police department's got to keep its nose clean.
Hope you can get the rest of that country club
crowd out to some of these meetings.
Well, if the niggers keep pushing the way they are,
we'll get them off the golf courses for you.
No, no.
What I want is to get them on a course.
Best caddy I ever had was a nigger.
Testing.
One, two, three.
Testing.
One, two, three.
I know the journey has been hard.
Yes.
Yeah.
Many of you are tired.
Yeah.
Real tired.
We've seen a city that has turned
its back on its black children.
We have seen a mayor and city commission
which has taken a stand for injustice and bigotry.
Moses.
Yes, Moses.
Fought the pharaoh long and hard for his people.
Yes.
What?
But Moses stood tall for his people.
Tall, yeah.
When the children of Israel
were led out into the wilderness,
they didn't walk for just one month or two.
They walked for 40 long years.
They just bombed Reverend King's house.
Wait.
Let us pray.
Father, I've just heard terrible news.
I've heard that a bomb was thrown
at the house of a young man's so full of spirit.
Yeah.
Father, we pray in thanks
for sparing the life of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
Yes!
Lord, be by our side.
Yeah.
These dark days, hold our hand
as we walk through the night.
Lord, don't pass Montgomery by!
Don't pass Montgomery by tonight.
Yeah.
Is there anything you need, honey?
No, no.
When is Odessa getting here?
Well she's probably going to be a little
late on count of the rain.
Isn't she usually here by now?
Not really.
You mean, she comes in late a lot?
Odessa gets here just fine every day.
Now, I've got to go.
She'll be here soon enough.
Miriam.
Yeah.
Just how does Odessa get to work?
Well, I was going over to the Curb Market today anyway.
And that's over on Madison, near where Odessa lives.
And I was just going to go ahead and pick her up.
You're going to do what?
How often do you drive her around?
Well, I go to Curb Market twice a week.
That's it.
Here I am trying to hold my head up
as a white man in this town, and you're carting a nigger maid.
It's no wonder none of them are riding the buses.
They have you to carry them around!
What should I do?
Odessa walks to work three days a week.
She can walk five.
You can just get her on the phone and call her now.
Norman--
Now, damn it!
Hello?
Yes, ma'am.
I can be to work.
I'll just be a little late.
Miriam?
Damn.
I'm sorry I got so upset before.
Can I talk to you for a minute?
Yeah.
I know you don't keep up with things.
Even I thought this boycott business was
silly when it first started.
Even if it wasn't being made into such a circus,
by the coloreds, I'd still think it was silly.
But it's not anymore.
Driving Odessa to work, it just wasn't the right thing to do.
You know that.
I think Odessa has been a wonderful maid for us.
But when she's here, that's what she is, a maid.
That's not the real Odessa.
We don't know that woman.
Can't ever know her.
It's like a dog knowing a cat.
It's a different species.
And you driving her to work is telling
her that she's just like us.
And she's not, and she never can be.
Even if I thought you didn't understand that,
and I know you do, I still couldn't
let you drive her to work.
Do you know what would happen to you
if the wrong people saw you?
You saw the pictures in Tuscaloosa when
they kicked that Negro out.
There are people here now that are ready to do those things.
Don't go off on your own.
You ask me.
I know what's best.
Mrs. Thompson?
Odessa, I didn't know if you'd make it.
I did the breakfast dishes.
Mrs. Thompson, why did you call me
and tell me you couldn't carry me to work anymore?
Well, if you won't ride the bus,
Mr. Thompson doesn't see why I should have to suffer.
I didn't ask you to suffer, Mrs. Thompson.
It wasn't me, Odessa.
It was Mr. Thompson.
He was home with a cold today, and he found out.
Let me get you something dry.
Here you are.
Thank you.
So what are you going to do?
I don't know.
I can't walk, and I can't ride the bus.
Can't you just walk until this whole mess is over?
Mrs. Thompson, you're a good woman.
But I got to find me another job.
I got to quit.
I got to be able to take care of my children.
Well, I understand.
You know, it's funny the way people are.
This morning, Norman was acting so sick.
And then he found out I'd been driving you, and he got so mad.
He jumped out of bed.
I guess that got his blood going,
and he started feeling better and went on to work.
Norman's just always been where everything's segregated.
That's just the way he thinks.
When I was 15, my girls club went on a bus trip
across the country.
It was in the '30s, but my family had some money.
And I remember we went to Portland, Oregon.
It was the middle of the summer, and it was hot.
And the bus driver found this public pool for us.
We went swimming.
And then these two colored boys came and got in the water.
And let me tell you, you've never
seen 20 girls get out of a pool as fast in all your life.
We just-- we just didn't know any better.
But I remember watching those other kids in the water.
And they just kept right on swimming
with those colored boys.
And they didn't seem any the worse for it.
The rest of the world around you is living that way.
And so you just don't question it.
Years ago, I decided I'd live with Norman
for the rest of my life.
And part of that means living the way he lives.
But sometimes-- sometimes Norman says things,
makes me wonder if he saw as much of the world
during the war as he thought he did.
But he's a good man.
He's a good provider.
In a lot of ways, he's a better husband than I am a wife.
He's better with the children.
He can say a word and make them smile.
I can't do that.
Mrs. Thompson, he can't be a mother to them.
Odessa, you do the mothering.
I saw the way you held Mary Catherine
when she had the chicken pox.
And you hadn't even had it.
Mrs. Thompson, anybody would have done that.
I wonder, would I have done that for you daughter?
Mrs. Thompson, I don't want your children
to grow up scared of mine.
It's just that a lot of the wives are scared.
I'm a little scared.
We're all scared.
What's scaring you, Mrs. Thompson?
Who you are?
Or who Mr. Thompson wants you to be?
- Hi. - Hi.
- Here. - Thank you.
Let me take your coat.
How's your cold?
I'm miserable.
I feel like crap.
Well, that's nice, honey.
Odessa walked to work today.
You told her she had to?
In the rain.
From Cobb Street.
But she's not walking again.
No?
No.
You have your job.
And I guess you do it just fine.
My job is to run this house.
And as long as it's clean, supper's cooked,
and the laun-- the laundry gets done, I don't--
I don't think it's any of your business
how it happens.
Wait a second.
Aren't you forgetting who pays the bills around here?
Well, then, what time should I be ready tomorrow?
Ready for what?
Well, I'm going to go downtown with you in the morning
and help you with your job.
You seem so intent on helping me with mine.
If you don't like that idea, I do have a college education.
So I'll just go out and get a job of my own.
It will probably be something secretarial.
But I'm sure I'll manage.
You will have to take on a lot of the housework,
which will include finding a maid who can get out here.
But the money I earn will be my own,
and I'll do with it what I damn well please.
You're serious?
And that includes giving it all to that Reverend King
and the Montgomery Improvement Association
so they can put an end to this whole boycott mess.
I mean, do you really care if I drive Odessa to work?
We're having pork chops for supper.
And I told Mary Catherine that you'd read to her
before she went to sleep.
Did you get Mary Catherine to bed?
Yeah.
What are you doing?
Well, are you just not going to talk to me?
Honey, there's no reason to be so mad.
Norman, talk to me.
You already made up your mind.
No need to talk to me.
Honey, I'm doing what I think is right.
Where are you going?
Norman, I'm still your wife.
Yeah, that's all you are.
Odessa, come on and sit up front with me.
Odessa, how does that carpooling system work?
Well, I don't use it often, Mrs. Thompson.
But I believe that drivers come at the end of the day
to places like Cloverdale, and they pick up
the women that need the rides.
It's a little more organized than that, isn't it?
Yes.
Yes, it is.
They look for the ringleaders of the boycott.
And they pull them over and give them tickets.
If they see too many coloreds in the car,
they pull them over too.
I'll probably get lots of tickets.
Mrs. Thompson, it ain't just tickets.
Once you step over there, I don't know
that you can ever step back.
But the boycott needs the help.
Mrs. Thompson, this boycott's going
to survive without you driving.
Odessa, I want to do this.
I want to help.
There's a lot of ways you can help, Mrs. Thompson.
You could just write a check.
If I wrote you a check, it would be Norman's money.
This is something I can do.
This whole mess is just about riding the bus anyway.
That's what it is now.
But we going to win this thing, Mrs. Thompson.
When it's all said and done, people
are going to look at you, Mrs. Thompson,
and they are going to say that you were part of this.
Well, let people say what they going to say.
And what about when it isn't just the buses?
When it's the parks and the restaurants.
When it's colored teachers in white schools.
What about when we start voting, Mrs. Thompson? 'Cause we are.
And when we do, we are going to put Negroes in office.
What about when the first colored family
moves into your neighborhood?
You know, Mrs. Thompson, ain't nobody going
to think any less of you if we just turn around
and go back to the house.
I don't want all them beans, Selma!
Eat what you're going to eat, and I'll let you
have the rest for breakfast.
Mama!
Don't be a crybaby.
But it's beans!
Hush up, and let's say the blessing.
I'll say it.
I'll say the blessing tonight.
Lord, I'm going to ask you to bless this food for which we
are thankful to receive.
Watch over our souls tonight.
And help us live your word tomorrow.
And Lord, please watch over Miriam Thompson too.
In Jesus' name, we ask this.
Amen.
I got my reasons.
Amen.
Hi.
I'm with the carpool.
Y'all going downtown?
Yes, ma'am.
Morning, ma'am.
My mother began driving
five and six days a week.
My father knew she drove Dessie.
But he didn't know she drove for the carpools.
I may be a little late.
So I'll get my own dinner.
You know, we're all going down to this thing this evening.
You coming?
Well, I was planning on it.
Yeah.
Listen, I want you to come see something with me first.
Say 6:00, 6:15?
OK.
Good.
When we started staking this place out
and taking down tag numbers, we, came up with few surprises.
That, wagon registered to you was one of them.
She's been here the last couple of nights at this time.
Driving for a few weeks, apparently.
I didn't find out until this morning.
Well, Norman, you had to know.
Not like this.
I'm sorry.
But now you can't ignore it anymore.
Well, I won't.
Norman, now, she's got Mary Catherine over there.
Don't go making a scene in front of the child.
Let me go?
This is my problem.
I can handle it.
Yeah, handle it at home in private,
not in front of the girl and a bunch of niggers.
I can get rid of them.
I'll get them out of there.
Let it wait for a few minutes till things start up,
then she'll want to leave.
Yeah, well, don't you get cute with me.
Hey.
I made plans to be here tonight a long time
before we found out about your wife, and so did you.
Christ.
Give me five minutes?
Let's go.
Good to see you.
- Good to see you. - Charlie.
Hi.
Police pulled out about 20 minutes ago.
There are a couple of folks already here.
All right.
You have a lot of women that go every day.
We're talking about Gay Meadows in the middle of the day.
We need some cars on those routes.
OK.
Now what?
Miriam?
Do you know him?
Yes.
Is he trouble?
No.
I can handle it.
Excuse us.
Miriam, you shouldn't be here.
Is that Mary Catherine over there?
You shouldn't be bringing her into a place like this.
Well, Tunker, I don't think it's any of your business.
I don't think you heard me right, boy.
I'm OK.
Miriam, don't be telling me this isn't any of my business.
Well, then don't try to run my life.
You should leave.
Tunker, there are some women--
Can I help you?
who are depending on me for a ride.
They'll be here any minute.
I'll leave then.
Yeah, you got an ashtray?
Yeah.
Maybe you can--
If you don't have any business here,
I'd appreciate it if you'd leave the lot.
If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you got
your black ass out of my face.
Miriam.
Miriam, in a few minutes, 150 men are going to shut
this lot down any way they can.
I think Norman might be interested to find
out why his little girl was smack in the middle of it.
Winston, what do you think I should
do with a nigger like this one?
Charlie!
Get off my back, nigger!
What's happening?
Come on, baby.
Charlie!
You going to hit me, black boy?
Odessa, we've gotta go.
You ain't driving your nigger maid out of here.
Get away from my car.
No, you get away from your car!
You want to act like a nigger?
Then you just get your daughter and walk
with the rest of the niggers.
What do y'all think we ought to do with Mrs.
Martin Luther Coon?
Get her out of here!
We're gonna show you what we think about niggers!
Martin!
Martin.
All right.
If she leaves, she walks with the rest of the niggers!
Miriam, you lost this one.
Let's go now.
Get her out of here!
Don't let him treat you that way!
Shut this parking lot down!
Are you a man or a mouse?
Go to hell, Tunker.
Just go to hell, you ignorant son of a bitch!
Let's get these niggers out of here!
Mommy!
Walk, nigger, walk!
Come on!
Walk, nigger, walk!
You were told, nigger, to get out of here.
And by God, I'm gonna move you!
Open up a space to let her through,
and we can get her out of here!
Why are you still standing there?
You bunch of niggers think you can come in here
and cause trouble without thinking we're
going to do anything about it?
Well, I got news for you.
We are gonna do something about it.
You hear me?
We're going to move you right out of here!
What are you looking at?
I said move!
I want you to move right now!
I said move, lady!
I don't want you staring at me!
Shining upon me from within so right.
I've bade the world and its follies adieu.
And I've started in Jesus, and I'm going through.
I'm going through.
Yes, I'm going through.
I'll pay the price, whatever others do.
I'm going through.
It would be years
before I understood what standing
in that line meant to my mother, and as I grew older, to me.
I'll take the way with the Lord's despised few.
I started in Jesus, and I'm going through.
50,000 boycotted
the buses in Montgomery.
I knew one.
Her name was Odessa Cotter.
We are marching--
Up to Zion--
We're marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful--
City of God.
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
We're marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
City of God.
I come to say to you this afternoon,
however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour,
it will not be long because truth crushed to earth
will rise again.
- Yes, sir. - How long?
Not long.
Yes, sir.
Because no lie can live forever.
Yes, sir.
How long?
Not long.
Because you shall reap what you sow.
Yes, sir.
How long?
Not long.
Because the arc of the moral universe is long,
but it bends towards justice.
- Yes, sir. - How long?
Not long!
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
We're marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful--
City of God.
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
Marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful--
City of God.
Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God.
But let all the children of our heavenly King
spread their joy abroad.
Hallelujah!
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
Marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful city of God.
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
Marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
Wonderful--
That wonderful--
Glorious--
That glorious--
Victorious--
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
Marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
The beautiful city--
Come on.
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
Marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful city of God.
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
Marching up to Zion--
To that beautiful--
That beautiful--
That wonderful--
Glorious--
That glorious--
Victorious--
We are marching--
On up to Zion--
Marching up to Zion, that beautiful city of God.