Original subtitles

- I hear music. - What is it?

"A House Is Not a Home."

Ladies, your eaves are dropping.

You look great.

You know, Whitley hasn't come out of her room, so, uh-

Uh, we were just-

You were just busted. Come out from over there.

Okay, tell us the truth, are she and Dwayne in splitsville?

Now as Resident Assistant, I'm officially changing this subject.

No, we have a very important dorm dedication ceremony

- coming up, and- - Wait a minute, yo,

I heard she gave Dwayne the ring back.

- What? - You know, I heard she swallowed it.

You are so cold!

Hello, my sisters.

Whitley, you look� great.

How else would I look?

Haven't you ever seen fashions from the motherland before?

Not on you.

I intend to put the chic back into dashiki.

We were discussing the, uh, dorm dedication ceremony.

And what a ceremony it's gonna be.

Kim, you're in charge of the auditions.

I'm gonna do the art exhibit.

Come on, people, let's get busy.

Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo!

Whitley!

- Are you okay? - Never been better.

Take cover, she's gonna blow.

? I know my parents loved me ?

? Stand behind me, come what may ?

? I know now that I'm ready, yeah ?

? For I finally heard them say ?

? It's a different world ?

? Than where you come from ?

? Yes, it is now, yeah ?

? Here's our chance to make it ?

? And if we focus on our goal ?

? You can dish it, we can take it ?

? Hey, just remember That you've been told ?

? It's a different world ?

? It's a different world ?

? It's a different world ?

- ? It's a different world ? - ? Than where you come from ?

? Ooh ?

? Than where you come from ?

? Oh, when the saints ?

? Go marching in ?

? I said, when the saints go marching in ?

? Oh, when the saints go marching in ?

? Right on in ?

? Not out but in ?

- Thank you, next. Whitley!

She's cold.

I would like to perform a selection from

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf.

Thank you. That was lovely.

That's just the title.

- Make it snappy, Winifred. - Take your time, Winifred.

Thank you.

"I can't hear anything but maddening screams�

�and the soft strains of death�

�and you promised me, you promised me�

Somebody� Anybody�

Sing a Black girl's song."

Well, now we know why colored girls consider suicide.

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Remember, remember, she's in pain, okay?

Whitley, I thought you were in charge of the exhibit

and I was in charge of the audition.

I'm sorry, Kimberly, I was just trying to bring out the best in my sisters.

Whitley, are you okay?

Why do you keep asking me that?

First, because you're dressed like a disco babe from Botswana.

And second, you haven't said a word about Dwayne.

Kimberly, why do women feel they have to define themselves in terms of men?

From now on, sisterhood is my solace.

Maya Angelou. Leontyne Price.

Marian Anderson. Angela Davis.

We must use these women as examples to keep us strong.

Whoa!

Whitley?

What is this?

Mammy.

She's part of my exhibit.

From Mammy to modern times.

Oh, my�

About how African-American women have struggled to survive.

She's a part of who we are.

She's a part of me? I don't think so. No way.

She's a powerful symbol of our struggle, Lena.

She's right, my sisters.

Did you just agree with me?

Disturbing, isn't it?

Lena, have you ever read a real, live slave journal?

You know, I's been meaning to.

Why don't you carry your ignorant behind to the Gilbert archives?

You could learn something about slavery and The Civil War,

and my fantastic family.

I'm not gonna learn anything about myself by looking at this.

That's right.

Kimmie, in order to neutralize a stereotype,

we have to reclaim it.

Yeah, she's right, it's called,

"reappropriating the symbols of our oppressors."

- Thank you, my sister. - Don't push it.

Just because they put her face on a pancake box,

that doesn't mean that's who she really was.

Freddie, Mammy is a racist stereotype, period.

That smile is not laughter, it's fear.

Well, now, if it wasn't for Mammy, you wouldn't be here.

Thank you, Mr. Gaines.

- All Mammy did was cook up the vittles. - Well, that's all I do for you.

You know, some Black people forget their folklore.

Now, that's what makes us strong.

Even if it's demeaning?

Please, honey, I don't look like that, y'all don't look like that.

I say get a mirror and get a sense of humor.

We don't think it's funny, Gina.

I know, honey, all of us have our crosses to bear.

Personally, I've often been told I look just like Lena Horne.

You are sick. You are sick.

Dwayne, would you stop thinking about Whitley?

Listen, listen carefully.

Your mother is so Black, when she wears orange lipstick,

she looks like a cheeseburger.

Come on, Dwayne. Snap out of it. Come back to me.

Your mother is so fat�

She jumped in the air and got stuck.

Yeah!

Your mother is so Black,

when they pour water in her head, coffee comes out her mouth.

Your mama's hair is so nappy, when she braids it,

it looks like stitches.

It's not funny!

- What's wrong with her? - We were doing the dozens.

Well, just listen to yourselves. "She's Black, she's fat, she's nappy."

If you really knew where the dozens come from,

you wouldn't wanna be laughing about it.

Listen to this.

The expression "dozens" comes from slave auctions.

If they didn't think you were prime quality,

you were sold by the dozen.

Well, I know I wouldn't be in that group.

Hey, has anyone seen Kim?

- Uh-uh. - No.

Now listen to this.

"Old master told the slave children,

'The stork brought the white babies to their mothers,

but you were all hatched out of a buzzard's eggs.'"

Oh, no, they didn't.

Oh, them good old days on the plantation.

- Oh, Kim? - Hey, what's up, Kim?

You should really check this stuff out.

Slave journals from the Gilbert Archives? Some real heavy stuff.

- No, thanks. - Kim?

Listen, I just wanted to apologize for what happened this afternoon.

- I� I didn't mean- - Let's drop it, okay?

Kimberly?

I need to talk to you about the performance at the ceremony.

- Hey, Whitley, I need a favor. - Yeah?

Don't put these mammies on display.

Why?

I really don't want to get into it right now.

Kimberly, you're not listening to me.

We have to embrace our history.

How else can we deal with it?

You're doing this to get your mind off your personal life.

- I'm asking you- - That is an ugly untruth!

Well, so is this!

You do the show, I quit.

Well, Mr. Gaines, I have learned to keep on keeping on.

Yeah, you and Gladys.

- Hi. - Hello.

- How are you? - Okay.

- And you? - I'm okay too.

Nice tie.

You chose it.

I know.

Oh, is this a bad time?

Not at all, Miss Lena. Excuse us.

I went to the Gilbert Archives like you suggested,

and found out a lot of interesting things, especially about your family.

Yes, I'm very fortunate to have come

from such a rich and diversified African-American family.

Now, diversified is right.

I mean, imagine coming from an African-American family

that owned over 100 slaves.

Are�

are you saying that my family owned slaves?

Black slaves?

Back in the early 1800s, you had a relative named Jeremiah-

Great-great-great-granddaddy Jeremiah?

He was a freed slave.

He� he got rich from making cotton gins.

And part of his wealth went into buying slaves.

There must be some mistake.

No, this doesn't look like a mistake.

That's a reproduction of a bill of sale.

Your great-great-granddaddy had just bought ten new slaves.

He was a free man of color, but he was also a Black master.

But, Lena�

I didn't know that Black people owned other Black people.

Only a few did.

Now we know why you're so bossy.

It's DNA,

them no-good ancestors.

Lena! Lena, wait a minute.

Little muckraker, you.

Let's just keep this our little secret.

So in other words, keep my mouth shut.

That's such an ugly yet accurate way of putting it.

- And here's a little something for you. - Whitley, Whitley, Whitley�

That's not even my style.

- Put that down, Mr. Gaines! - What?

Never again will I let a brother get dishpan hands on my account.

Well, I wear rubber gloves.

Yeah, good night, Greg.

Kimberly Reese, you've been acting tetched all week.

Mr. Gaines, I'm pre-med.

I know the difference between median behavior and psychosis.

Mm-hm, well, I'm a short order cook,

and I know the difference between ketchup and hot sauce.

- I'm sorry, Mr. Gaines. - Hm.

It's this dorm dedication ceremony tomorrow night.

Whitley put me in charge of the entertainment,

- and I can't handle it right now. - Well, Dr. Reese,

for your particular ailment, may I prescribe to you

a couple of my pecan praline cookies?

I just lost my appetite, Mr. Gaines.

Kimberly Reese, what's wrong with you?

I hate these things!

You know what I want to say to Whitley?

"It's easy for you.

Who does this look like, me or you?"

Is this what you think you look like?

Mr. Gaines�

- When I was a little girl� - Mm.

�Halloween used to be my favorite holiday.

Yeah.

One year, I wore gold earrings,

a beautiful scarf, and a flowing skirt�

I was a Nubian princess.

And there was this costume contest in my grade school.

- Mm-hm. - And I really wanted to win.

And I did.

And I was so proud when they called my name.

And I went up on stage.

And as they were handing me a silver dollar�

�the principal announced,

"First prize to Kimberly Reese as Aunt Jemima."

You know, the worst part is, Mr. Gaines,

I just took the silver dollar and smiled.

I guess that's how people see me.

- Well, how do you see yourself? - I don't know!

I look in the mirror and I see Kimberly Reese,

always getting straight A's, always polite, always smiling,

but that's not me.

It's a mask.

Do you know why Mammy is smiling, huh?

Because she knows the treasure that she's got inside.

My great-great-grandmother was a mammy.

Strong, full of love. Kept the family together.

Now, that's nothing to be ashamed of. You should be proud.

You know what I see when I look at you?

I see a beautiful Nubian princess from Columbus, Ohio.

Oh.

Is�

Yes, is this the Green residence

in Culpepper, Mississippi?

Hi, Mrs. Green. This is Whitley Gilbert.

You don't know me, but-

There's someone at my door. Just hold one skinny little moment.

Oh, oh, okay. Thank you.

Whitley, um� I- Well-

I'm sorry, Dwayne. I'm on a long-distance call.

Well, um, things have been really awkward between us.

Mm-hm.

- We haven't spoken in over a week. - Be with you in a moment, Miss Green!

Spit it out, Dwayne.

I was just hoping that we could be friends.

Yeah. Like buddies?

Like pals? Like homeboys?

Oh!

I'm sorry, Miss Green. Um�

This is Whitley Gilbert, and I just have a personal question for you.

It may seem a little strange,

but I think my family might have owned your family in 1835,

and I just feel so bad. Um�

Do you know what your ancestors were doing in 18-

Hello?

Whitley, the ceremony's about to start. Come on!

- Is that you, Freddie? - Come on.

At first, we all had a problem with Mammy,

but thanks to our Dorm Director, we've learned a lot of interesting things.

So we would like to dedicate this performance to Miss Whitley Gilbert.

Ms. Gilbert, where are you going? This performance is dedicated to you.

I� I can't stay, Mr. Gaines, I don't really belong here.

I'm not one of the� the sisters.

What are you talking about?

I found out that my great-granddaddy used to own slaves,

and I don't know how any Black person can justify the enslavement of Black people.

Well, I've heard of rich Black men who bought back their wives and children,

but that's your ancestors, not you.

I'm sick of this all this talk about this color and that color

and who did what to who when.

Now, just look at the people in this room.

It's a rainbow of color.

And the entire rainbow is pretty. Now just look.

"We wear the mask that grins and lies

that hides our cheeks and shades our eyes.

This debt we pay to human guile,

with torn and bleeding hearts we smile."

? Oh, I wish I were in a land of cotton ?

? Old times they are not forgotten ?

? Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land ?

? Oh, I wish I were in Dixie Away, away! ?

? In Dixie Land I'll take my stand To live and die in Dixie ?

? Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah ?

? Someone's in the kitchen, I know ?

? Yowser, yowser, yowser ?

? I don't know nothing about Birthin' no babies ?

? Oh, Mammy ?

? Yowser, yowser, yowser ?

"I was born in the Congo.

I walked the fertile crescents and built the Sphinx.

I designed a pyramid so tough

that a star that glows every 103 years falls center,

giving divine perfect light.

I am bad.

I'm a gazelle, so swift.

So swift, you can't catch me.

For a birthday present, when he was three,

I gave my son Hannibal an elephant,

and he gave me Rome for Mother's Day.

My son Noah built a new ark,

and I turned myself into myself,

and was Jesus.

I am so hip, even my errors are correct.

I mean, I can fly

like a bird in the sky!"

Where did you get that idea?

Nikki Giovanni's poem�

Mr. Gaines�

And you.

Oh, yeah.

That was wonderful, my sister.

Thank you, my sister.

Kim?

- Your mama- - Don't talk about my mama, Ron.

Your mama's daughter is so beautiful�

Ron Johnson is speechless.

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