All language subtitles for The.Waltons.S07E09.The.Illusion.WEBRip.x264-ION10

Verdie, Esther, wait!

You left your groceries.

I don't think I'll ever show my
face in Ike Godsey's store again

after what was just said.

You didn't say it. I did.

You're my daughter.

I'm my own person, Mama.

I'm the only one accountable
for what I say or do!

A mother never stops feeling
responsible.

I don't recall inviting you
to meddle, Mrs. Walton.

Your mother's so proud of you.

Mama's been lying
to herself about me.

Now the truth has come home and
everybody has to live with it,

like it or not!

JOHN-BOY: In my family, one of
the earliest truths we learned

was the inevitability
of change.

We saw this in the march
of the seasons across the land,

and in the sometimes
bewildering growth

of our brothers and sisters.

As World War II
edged closer to us all,

the patterns of change
accelerated,

carrying some of us
far from home,

bringing others back
to the mountain

with painful consequences.

-You need some new shirts.
-I got a new shirt.

You ought to have a clean shirt
for every day you're away.

Why don't you come along with me
then, and do my laundry?

(CHUCKLING)
Now there's a romantic proposal.

Well, we could do other things
besides laundry.

You need a new suitcase, too.

Liv, I like my new work but
I'm not interested in remodeling

John Walton to suit
the newest fad.

And I do wish you'd come along
with me more often.

Once in a while, fine.

But mostly, I know I'd just
be in the way.

Besides, there's plenty here
to keep me busy.

I'll be back
next Thursday or Friday,

and I'll call you in between.

I still say
you need a new suitcase.

(LAUGHS)

MARY ELLEN: ...after you finish
your cereal.

Why does he have to have
cereal first?

- Because it's good for him.
- Peaches are good for him.

Just stay out of this.

JOHN: Gotta get going.
MARY ELLEN: Come on.

Aren't you gonna have breakfast?

I'm off to win the war.

BOTH:
The war hasn't even started yet.

-That's the time to win it. Bye.
-Goodbye, Daddy.

-I'll get your suitcase, Daddy.
-Come on.

John Curtis, you take care
of everybody, alright?

Goodbye, honey.

-MARY ELLEN: Bye, Daddy.
-Erin, I hope you get that job.

-Bye, Daddy.
-Bye-bye, Daddy.

-What job is he talking about?
-At Pickett's.

Pickett Fork and Hoe? I though
they'd been closed for years.

No, Jefferson Davis Pickett, Jr.
has taken

his daddy's old factory and
turned it into a defense plant.

It's hiring everybody
and anybody.

So maybe, just maybe,
Erin might get a job.

-ERIN: Thanks, Elizabeth.
-I better get started.

These days I have to rush
just to stay behind.

-Good morning, Mama.
-MARY ELLEN: Open wide.

You know, Mary Ellen,
you remind me of a dentist.

Painless Willard,
"Open up, it won't hurt a bit."

Jim-Bob, I would smack you
if I didn't think

it would be setting a bad
example for John Curtis.

Why is it that I always forget

that teenagers
are still seven parts children?

At least, it looks like they've
finished their breakfast.

Yeah, everyone except
for John Curtis.

I don't think he ever will
finish this cereal.

Of course, he will.

He will for me.
Won't you, John Curtis?

(CAR HORN HONKING)

That's Jason.
Are you ready to go, Mary Ellen?

Mama, don't feel like you have
to entertain him every minute.

We entertain each other.

-Bye-bye.
-Bye-bye.

Come on, sweetheart.

(DOOR OPENING)

-Hi, Verdie.
-Oh, Olivia.

I followed the mail truck over.

I'm due a letter from Esther,

and Mr. Godsey's
sorting the mail now.

I'll wait with you.

Corabeth is having one of her
Ladies' Aid Society meetings.

We're gonna roll some bandages.
I said I'd help out.

Oh. You've got
mighty fine company.

My! How that boy is growing!

It seems every time
I turn around,

he's an inch taller
and a pound heavier.

Well, hello, everybody.

Now, I got something
for everybody.

John Curtis, look what I got.
Yeah.

And I got a letter here
for you, Olivia.

And Verdie, it looks like
this one's for you.

It's from John-Boy.

He sure is faithful.
He writes no matter where he is.

It's from the north of England.

IKE: It makes sorting mail
much more interesting.

I get to see
those foreign postmarks

from all over the world.

Mr. Godsey, I don't understand.
I wrote this letter to Esther

last week and now
it comes back to me.

Oh. Well, don't you see? It says
"Moved, no forwarding address."

But my daughter wouldn't move,
not without letting me know.

Post office must have
made a mistake.

Verdie, you say the word,
we'll send it through again.

No, no, I'll take it along,
maybe add more to it.

Why don't you telephone,
set your mind at ease?

I don't have a number for her.

(OLIVIA COOING)

Oh, did you ladies
see the new honor roll?

I had it special-made
in Charleston.

It certainly is colorful.

Yes, sir. Every time one of our
boys goes into the service,

his name goes right up there.

You see, Verdie, we got your
son's name right there.

Right there with
the rest of them.

I see.

CORABETH: Oh, Olivia!

I was just saying, it's not like
Olivia Walton to be tardy.

I'm sure Mr. Godsey
has been detaining you.

Now, Corabeth, let's not
start that again.

Sometimes I think Mr. Godsey
was born to be a bottleneck.

Alright, Mrs. Godsey,
I will remove myself.

Mrs. Foster.

Do come in, Olivia.
The other ladies are underway.

I hate to leave you, Verdie.

Oh.

Well, Mrs. Foster, um,

perhaps you could
form another branch

of the auxiliary
with your own friends.

My friends and I are already
doing our part.

Bye, Verdie.

Bye.

Well, I was just trying
to make her feel a part.

You do understand?

I understand.

(DOG BARKING)

(CROWD CHATTERING)

-Sure is a lot of people here.
-Yeah.

ERIN: Hmm.

-Can you see J.D.?
-Nope.

-Wonder what kind of work
they're doing.
-I have no idea.

Hey, Jason, Erin!
Am I glad to see you.

Ain't this something?

These folks are spilling
out of the hills,

all going to get rich working
for J.D. Pickett, Jr., that is.

Nobody ever got rich
working for my daddy.

-Then you are hiring?
-You bet I am.

We get rolling, gonna be working
three shifts a day,

seven days a week.

What are you making?

(WHISPERING) Top secret,
but I'll tell you.

Mess kits and canteens.

Doesn't sound like much, now,
does it?

But you should see the contract
the Defense Department gave me.

Didn't know there was that many
zeroes.

What do you pay?

Start you off
at 60 cents an hour.

Forty hours a week. Overtime,
you can easy make yourself

$30, $35 a week.

Who else is offering that
in this old tater patch?

-Oh, I'd like to apply, J.D.
-J.D.: You got yourself a job.

How about you, Jase?

I'm tied up right now,
maybe later.

Do I fill out an application?

What for? I know you,
you know me.

-What kind of work will I be
doing?
-J.D.: Easy as pie.

The only other jobs I've had
were at the switchboard and...

Relax. No problem.

Well, what shift
will I be working?

Um, come in tomorrow at 7:00.
We'll get you going.

I have to deal with some
of these other folks now.

Anybody else in your family
wants a job,

tell them to come talk to J.D.

-Congratulations.
-I guess.

(CAR APPROACHING)

JASON: Can we give you a lift?

Esther?

Erin?

Is that you, Erin Walton?

Yes! I thought
I recognized you. Get in.

-You got room?
-We'll make room.

I'll put this in back.

-What have you got in here? Gold
bullion?
-It's mostly the baby's things.

Oh, come here.

-Oh, it's so good to see you.
-You too.

Oh, come in.

ESTHER: Can you hold her for a
minute?
ERIN: Oh, sure.

(BABY CRYING)

ERIN: Oh.

(ERIN LAUGHS)

You remember my brother Jason,
don't you?

-JASON: Are you Verdie's
daughter?
-That's me, Esther.

-I think you've made a friend.
-She's beautiful.

Better beautiful than smart.

Remember how I used to tag along

when you were delivering
laundry for your mama?

I made you think you were
tagging along.

All the time I was
getting you to help.

You always were way ahead
of the rest of us.

Your mama told us how well
you've been doing up north.

Mama's favorite subject,
and so boring.

Oh, not to me.

I'd like to have a business
career like you.

But I don't know
if I have enough courage

to do it like you, all alone.

Maybe it looks like
courage to you.

I'd say it was being
too dumb to know better.

Nobody would ever
take you for dumb,

not with that college degree
and those honors.

Some of the dumbest people
I know have college degrees.

(BABY COOING)

(DOOR CLOSING)

OLIVIA: Hi.

What are you doing?

ELIZABETH: Reading Favorite
Short Stories,
and Ancient History.

Both at once?

Well, the short story is keeping
me from falling asleep

while I read
the ancient history.

-Oh.
-How did the meeting go?

Well, mostly, we tried
to keep this young man

from unrolling the bandages
we just finished rolling.

He gets into everything.

After a whole afternoon at that,
one of us is ready for a nap.

How about a little cooperation,
John Curtis?

You're not making things
easy for your grandma.

Here, let me take him upstairs.

Thank you, Elizabeth.

-Oops.
-There you go.

-Come on.
-Take this, too.

-Got it.
-I'll go start supper.

Esther!

ESTHER: Hello, Mama.

(VERDIE LAUGHING)

Oh.

Josh, it's Esther!
I can't believe it.

Hello, Erin.

-Jason.
-Hi, Verdie.

Oh.

-And this must be Harriet.
-Yes.

-Say hi to your grandma.
-Yes, it's alright, darling.

(BABY CRYING)

Yes, yes.

Oh, look this side.

You got to get to know
your Uncle Josh.

-Hi...
-Hi, Josh.

-Hi.
-Where's Clint?

Clint's gone, Mama, for good.

Gone?

We just couldn't
work things out.

He claimed he was worn out

trying to live up to me
and my education. And I...

Well it's... It's just over.

Oh, honey, I'm sorry.

Oh, but it's so good
to have you home for a visit.

Home, period, Mama.

Home to stay.

(DOOR OPENING)

-There you are, Mama.
-Thanks, son.

I'll chop more kindling
after school.

You better run along now
or you'll be late.

Won't miss much.

Reading the same old stories.
I know them by heart.

Reciting the nine times tables
and the ten times tables.

They are important to know.

At the white kids' school
they study science.

What makes things grow,
how the stars move in the sky,

what they're called.

Well, you'll get
all that by and by.

They figure you're black,
you don't need to know much.

-Colored.
-Esther says black.

That's New York talk.

Black, colored,
still don't give us new books.

That's enough of that
kind of talk.

You be glad you're learning
what you're learning now,

instead of having to wait until
you're grown up, the way I did.

Run along now, son.

-Bye, Ma.
-Bye, son.

(BOXES CLATTERING)

Ow!

(ERIN GRUNTS IN EXASPERATION)

This is so nice, watching you
fix breakfast,

like I was a child again,

like I had never been away.

You...

You've been talking to Josh,
haven't you?

He was a little late
getting started this morning.

Mama, Josh has a head
on his shoulders.

I said what I said because
I care about him.

Honey,

Walton's Mountain and Rockfish,

they are not New York City.

I guess I'll have to learn
to watch my northern ways.

Well,

what do you want to do today?

Anything, nothing,
I don't really care.

I noticed.

-Esther...
-Now, Mama.

Give me a little room
to breathe.

For a little while,
let me just be happy being here.

Alright.

And 10 cents' worth
of marshmallows.

Josh likes them
melted over yams.

(CHUCKLES) Yeah.

Esther, you gonna be staying
here with us for a while?

I haven't decided yet.

It must be kind of quiet
being around here,

after all those years
you were in New York.

I was in New York once.

Three days and two nights,
and I saw everything.

-Verdie.
-Olivia.

Esther, I heard you were back.

-Esther, you remember Mrs.
Walton?
-Of course. Hello.

We need some more sacks,
Mr. Godsey.

And, oh, Olivia,
please go on in.

Excuse me.

Good afternoon, Mrs. Foster.
This must be your daughter.

I'm sure you're relieved to have
her safely back home again.

Those stories about New York
City, particularly Harlem.

All the squalor
and overcrowding.

I didn't know you'd ever been
to Harlem, Corabeth.

Well, Olivia, one reads.
One knows.

I just don't understand
why you prefer to live

in such hideous conditions.

We might have gone up there
to try to improve ourselves.

Oh, but you'd be so much
better off here.

Where we care, we understand.

Esther, come and help me
pick out something for the baby.

You're so right, Mrs. Godsey.

How much happier everybody
would be if we forgot

about improving ourselves,
stayed in our places.

Oh, but don't misunderstand.

I am all for education.

But don't overdo it.
That can be dangerous.

And I'm the living proof.

-Esther.
-I mean, look at me.

An over-educated negro.

College degree. Magna cum laude.

Not only black but female,
a double waste.

Absolutely no utilitarian value,
bizarre and an oddity.

Like training a jackass
to sing Mozart.

How can that help the dumb beast
bear his burden?

Now, Esther, wait a second.
Corabeth didn't mean all that.

Esther, please, let's go.

You see, it's the dreams,

the false hopes, the illusions
that cause pain.

Telling ourselves being black
makes no difference,

makes all the difference.

The smart people know that.

Like you ladies
rolling bandages.

White bandages for white
soldiers. Right?

Same as with the blood.

You give white blood,
it goes into white bodies,

black blood into black bodies.

Now, Mama, you should
be rolling black bandages

for all the black boys
gonna get themselves shot

to hell defending this
glorious country.

Esther, let's go.

ESTHER:
Oh, wait a minute.
Now, what do we have here?

Honor roll of our boys
in service.

And sure enough,
it is segregated.

White boys up there,
black boys down there.

War, peace,
a place for everybody.

And everybody in his place!

I'm sorry.

(DOOR CLOSING)

J.D.: What's the problem
at the table?

Hey, Erin, got to get
moving, girl.

This table isn't
meeting its quota.

I'm sorry, J.D., but I just
can't 'cause there's smoke,

and it's crowded...
I can't do it!

You just have to try harder,
that's all.

Isn't there some other job
I could try?

Look, this here's a factory.
You do the job you're set to do.

Well, I can't!

You'll get the hang of it.

Oh, please, just let me try
something else.

-You're staying right here!
-No, I'm not!

I can't do it. I quit!

Yeah, but you can't quit!

What about the defense effort?

What about Hitler?

Esther!

Esther!

Alright.

I don't argue with a word you
said, but it was how you did it.

I have to live here, you know?

I'm sorry, Mama.

Now, things have got to change,
and they will,

but not the way
you're going about it.

I'm really sorry, I'll go back
and say the same to Mrs. Godsey.

Mrs. Godsey can wait.

I want to know
what's going on with you.

You move from New York,
you leave no forwarding address,

you walk in here and tell me
you are home to stay,

you've got nothing to say that
isn't mean-mouthed and bitter...

Why are you
carrying on like this?

The years you spent
to get where you are.

And what are you doing?
Throwing it all away?

Is that because your husband
walked out on you?

No, Mama.

(SHOUTING) Then why?

I've got some stake
in this, too, you know.

All those years you scrimped,
saved, denied yourself.

For what?

To give you a college education.

Thanks to you, I got it,
and it means nothing, Mama.

-Less than nothing.
-Oh, how can you say that?

Oh, Mama, you and your
damn dream!

A college-educated daughter.

Someone to point to,
and brag about.

Well, what it did
was ruin my life.

You wanted it!

I wanted it, till I found out
what it would do to me.

But you wrote all those letters.

You said it opened
doors for you.

You were given opportunities no
colored woman had ever had.

I lied to you, Mama.

I couldn't bear to tell you
what was really going on.

Why?

How did it go wrong?

I took on your dream.

That was enough.

More than enough.

Then I took on the dream
of my professor.

Professor August.

He convinced me I was special.

You were special. You are.

"Esther," he said,
"you know people.

You have a gift
for working with people.

"You have a glorious future
in personnel work."

Ah! I was so intelligent,
so brilliant.

What a future ahead
for this girl.

All the leaders of industry
would be hammering at my door

the day after I graduated.

Nobody hammered at any door.

Except me.

Me!

I beat my fist bloody and no
door opened!

But you had the diploma.

You had the training.

That's supposed to open doors.

Mama,

a black woman screening
white job applicants?

A black woman telling a white
boss
how to treat his white workers?

There are colored businessmen.

(SCOFFS) Yes, they were worse.

No uppity college kid
coming into their place,

taking over their power.

Power to hire and fire,

power of life and death.

Get back to your place, girl,

get yourself a mop, and a dust
rag, and take out the garbage.

And if you're so unhappy,

climb in the can
and put on the lid.

All these years,

I've been believing a lie.

What have you been doing?

Don't ask, Mama.

Don't make it worse.

All those years in schools,

I never learned the most
important thing.

I didn't find out
till it was too late.

Nobody wants an educated
black woman, Mama.

Nobody.

Whites don't want her.

Her own people don't want her.

And even her husband
resents her.

I shouldn't have
come back here, Mama.

Now, I've taken away
what you had.

Your dream.

I'm sorry.

I don't belong here.

There is no place I do belong.

Hey, any luck with
the job hunting, Erin?

ERIN: Oh, there's
a few possibilities,

but they don't pay enough.

Too bad it didn't work out
over at Pickett's.

ERIN: Yeah.

Ben, you're taking stuff out of
there faster than I put it in.

Well, I'm sorry.

No, maybe I should've
hung on there.

But it was so terrible.

All those mess kits piling up,

and J.D. red in the face
and yelling.

I'm glad you quit.

I know that there's jobs
at that factory that I could do,

but J.D. just won't listen.

You're not the only one to quit.
He's lost a lot of people.

How did he get to be boss
anyhow? Who hired him?

The way I heard it,
the Defense Department

put him in business overnight.

But if he doesn't deliver,
he'll be out just that quick.

I'll bet Esther could help him.

ELIZABETH: Well, what could
she do?

Well, she could put the right
people in the right jobs.

-Erin, J.D. won't hire Esther.
-Why not? She has the training.

All the training in the world
isn't gonna impress J.D..

Her skin's the wrong color,
is that what you mean?

Erin, I understand
how you feel about Esther.

You've admired her
for a long time.

We all do but you've
gotta face facts.

The fact is, she's got something
that J.D. needs.

I wish I could take her
over there myself.

I'm proud that you
feel that strongly

but you'd only be letting
her in for more hurt.

From what I heard,
she can't hurt

any worse than she does now.

It's a good thing it's not a sin
to be born with red hair.

In that case, half our family
would be in trouble.

Mama?

Josh,

what in the world are you doing
out of bed this time of night?

I can't sleep.

Child your age can always sleep.

I'm scared, Mama.

Oh, now.

What's there to be scared of?

You're not happy.
That scares me.

You're not to worry, understand?

I'm gonna be just fine.

Your mama's learned a lesson.

A hard lesson.

From Esther?

That's right.

If it's true,
what Esther tells me,

I have to be careful not to do
to you what I did to her.

Make you act out my dream,

which will just make you
miserable.

I'm sorry Esther feels so low

but I don't believe
what you wanted was bad.

I don't believe you'd ever want
anything that was bad for me.

We think we know.

We want to believe we know

what's going to be best
for our children,

what will give them happiness.

But who knows?

Who really knows?

I'm going to trust you, Mama.

Any time I'm not sure,
I'm going to trust you.

-Harriet asleep?
-Mmm-hmm.

Not a worry in the world.
I'd like to trade places.

Esther,

I've been thinking
a lot about what you said

and I'm sorry for what I did.

It hurts to say,
but I guess you're right.

I had a dream,

and I tried to use you
to make it come true.

I lied to myself saying
it was your dream

and you wanted it too.

But I believed in it, Mama.

To please me.

From now on, please yourself.

It's your life.
Whatever you want to do is fine.

You want to do nothing, nothing
at all, that's fine, too.

That's not your way, Mama.

Forget my way.
It doesn't work for you.

Find a way of your own.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Come in.

-Hello.
-Oh, hi, Erin.

-Hi, Erin.
-Come and sit.

I was just gonna
make some mint tea.

Oh, thank you, Verdie, but
I'm on my way over to see J.D..

Your boss.

Well, he was my boss,
till I quit.

And now he wants me
to come back.

He must need your help
pretty bad.

Well, he can't keep his workers.

And I thought
with your training,

there might be a job
for you over there.

If you were interested.

Well,

I'll ride along with you,
out of curiosity.

-That is, if you don't mind,
Mama.
-I don't mind.

I'll be just a minute.
I'm gonna change.

-I'll take that chair then.
-Alright.

(LAUGHS)

Let me help you
with one of these.

Thank you.

(ALL CHATTERING)

MAN: Ah, hi.

Hey, Erin!

Good to see you.
No hard feelings.

J.D., I'd like you
to meet a friend of mine.

-Esther Grant.
-I'll put you back on the same
table.

-I can't do that kind of a job.
-Anybody can do that job.

Okay, who else we got here?
I'll use you in the office.

Number three spot on D table.

J.D., would you please
talk with Esther?

Can't you see I have to deal
with all these people?

She has special training
that can help you.

I already got a good cleaning
woman and janitor.

If they need extra help,
I'll keep you in mind.

She is a college graduate!

She knows more about personnel,
hiring...

It's alright, Erin.

Actually, Mr. Pickett,

I'm not too experienced
in mopping toilets

and cleaning up
white folks' mess.

More what I had in mind
was taking over your job.

(ALL MURMURING)

She's crazy.

This negro is out of her mind.

This negro is better qualified
to run this place than you are.

I don't believe
what I'm hearing.

This is a nice little plant.

You might have made it pay off

with the right approach
to personnel.

But, Mr. Pickett,
you are sinking, going under,

just like the old Titanic.

Get out of here!

You'll lose your government
contract, Mr. Pickett.

Not because you can't make
a good mess kit,

but because you have no idea
how to find the right people,

put them in the right jobs,

and keep them happy
while they're doing it.

I'm not listening
to any more of this!

I'll bet you lose
half your workers

every week, Mr. Pickett
don't you?

And the half that stays does
lousy work. You need help.

Well, I'm going to get help.

From the sheriff, if you ain't
off my property in 30 seconds.

I'm leaving! Come on, Esther.

As you go under, Mr. Pickett,

remember a sassy black gal
tried to throw you a lifeline,

but you were too blind
and bigoted to grab it.

(ALL MURMURING)

OLIVIA: Don't take it so hard.

At least you tried
to change the way things are.

-That was very brave.
-It was very stupid.

I don't blame any of you,
if you said, "I told you so."

MARY ELLEN:
You stuck your neck out.

That's gotta mean something
to Esther.

You haven't eaten.
Can I fix you some supper?

No.

I wish I'd been there to hear

Esther tell J.D.
where to get off!

She wasn't doing too much
talking by the time we got home.

The look in her eye was the
saddest thing I've ever seen.

That kind of anger
takes it out of you.

I've known J.D. Pickett
all of my life,

and tonight I hate him.

Unfortunately,
J.D. doesn't know any better.

Verdie is highly thought
of around here. Esther is too.

It's just that they have
a different place

in the way of things.

It's that place
that's keeping them poor,

and dependent on people
like J.D. for work.

I'm glad to see that you care.

Enough people start caring,
maybe things will change.

But by that time
it'll be too late for Esther.

-Can I give you a hand?
-That's very kind of you,
Olivia.

Grandma says you can always read
a family by its clothesline.

A pair of coveralls
means a hard-working man,

sparkling sheets,
a woman who loves her home.

I'd say there's a very active
baby in this family.

(CHUCKLING) You know, Harriet's
good and bright and happy,

the same way Esther was.

Erin feels real bad about
what happened yesterday.

It wasn't Erin's fault.

It was me who taught
Esther to think

she could step outside
of her place.

What's she going to do now?

-(SIGHS) I don't like thinking
about it.
-Have you talked to her?

Oh.

A daughter gets to be 26,
has a college degree,

a mother can't tell her
what's right and wrong anymore.

Especially since
the daughter thinks

the mother's already
ruined her life.

You did what you
thought was best.

She can't hold that against you.

I wonder.

You don't have to have
a college degree

to know the hurt of being shut
out because you're colored.

Verdie.

You're a good person, Olivia.

A good friend.

Verdie,

you forgot this.

Esther hasn't been
a mother for very long,

but give her time
and she'll understand

that we all dream of better
things for our children.

You stop packing.

Harriet and I
are heading north, Mama.

Sit down.

(SIGHS)

I said, "Sit down."

We've got some
hard truths to face, girl.

-There's no point.
-Hush.

Listen.

Now, first off,

I will not have my dream
thrown on the trash.

It was a good dream.

Just having it carried me
through many a bad times.

It's still a good dream,

seeing to it that
a smart colored girl

gets a college education.

There's nothing wrong in that.

But what does she do
when she has the education?

That's where the dream
goes sour, Mama.

Some people get knocked down
a few times, they quit.

They don't even
try to get up anymore.

They just lay there
where they've been knocked,

and they blame their mamas
and their professors,

anybody that comes to mind.

Only fools keep
getting up when they know

they're just gonna
be knocked down again.

Well, miss,

you come from a long
line of fools,

a line that stretches
from here to Africa.

No one in this family has ever
been willing to stay down.

And it shames me to think

you're setting yourself
up to be the first.

You, that's had it the easiest
of any.

Easiest?
Oh, Mama, you don't know.

I don't know all you've been
through and suffered.

But I do know
that your great-grandma

and your great-grandpa
were born into slavery,

just as their folks before them.

They came out of slavery,

and they struggled
their whole lives

to show the world
they deserved to be free.

I know your grandpa kept walking
a path he believed in,

no matter how rough it was,
so as his children

would be a little further
along than he was.

Me,

I didn't learn
how to read and write

until I was a woman
with grown children,

a daughter getting ready
to graduate from college.

But I learned.

You've got a daughter now.

What you doing for her?

I don't want her
to feel what I have felt.

To take what I have had to take.

Then do something about it.

Every generation in this family
has boosted

the next a little further along.

Nobody ever said
it was going to be easy.

Get back in the fight.

I'm tired, Mama.

Tired?

Girl, you're too young
to be tired.

Time to be tired when you're
dead and in your grave.

You've got the best tools
to work with

of anybody in this whole family.

Use them.

Mama, it is so hopeless.

-We can't win.
-Oh, yes, we can.

We get knocked down a lot,

but they can't count us out
till we stop getting up!

Esther,

please get up!

Mama,

you know, I think
you're a little crazy.

And I've tried not to be,
but I guess it's part of...

It's part of being
in this family.

What you doing here?

We heard that you were lonely,
so we came to keep you company.

I'm not hiring.

You're not hiring because
there's nobody left to hire.

Word is out on this place,
and the way you're running it.

I'm getting along just fine.

But you need help,
Esther's help.

Here are my credentials
and references.

No way.

You had a big opportunity here,
Mr. Pickett,

probably the chance
of your lifetime.

But it's going down the drain

because you're too
stubborn to admit

there are a few things
you don't know.

Look, I don't need advice
from any...

From you.

Do yourself a favor,
Mr. Pickett.

For one minute,
try to forget I'm black.

I'll try to forget you're white.

Look at me and see a college
trained expert in personnel.

Somebody who can screen
the job applicants,

keep the best,
and put them in the jobs

they're qualified to do.

Somebody who's trained to deal

with absenteeism,
employee morale.

One person decides who works
here and who don't. Me!

You had it that way, J.D.
Look where it's gotten you.

There'll be a government
inspector in here

to find out why you're
not meeting your quotas.

Well, he's not coming
for a couple of weeks.

You'll be worse off by then.

Mr. Pickett, if you were
bleeding to death,

and a doctor knelt down beside
you to try and save your life,

would you send him away
because he was black?

Alright, so I've been having
a little trouble

and maybe you could help.

But do you think folks around
here are gonna let some...

Someone like you
ask them personal questions,

decide whether or not
they're gonna get a job?

You'll lose some workers
if you hire me,

but do you really think
you'll be worse off

than you are this minute?

I'll make a deal with you.

Give me a chance.

Two weeks.

If I haven't
straightened things out

by the time the government
inspector comes, I'll quit.

And you won't owe me a cent.

Two weeks?

On the other hand, Mr. Pickett,

if you don't give me a chance,

I'm going over to the phone
and call the FEPC in Washington.

Call the what?

The Fair Employment
Practices Commission,

set up by President Roosevelt

to eliminate racial bias
in companies

working for the government.

You'll be a man without a
defense contract.

-You're bluffing.
-Try me.

Alright. Two weeks.

-I'm hired?
-You're hired.

But don't get the idea
you're going to walk all over me

the way you've done today.

You be careful
where you step, too,

and we're likely
to get along just fine.

Now, my first official act
as Personnel Director

of Pickett Metal Works

is to hire Erin Walton
as my assistant.

(J.D. CHUCKLING)

For you that'll be $1.15.

Well, I understand
that your daughter

is helping Mr. J.D. Pickett, Jr.
operate his defense plant.

Esther's personnel director.

My! Isn't that remarkable?

She's a remarkable woman.

Yes.

Then, I guess if it works out,
she's gonna stay on, huh?

Mmm-hmm. We found a little house
Esther can rent,

and my sister Alice will come
in and take care of the baby.

Well, the war is certainly
changing people's lives.

Some changes are long past due.

-Are you ready?
-John Curtis is raring to go.

Oh,

Mr. Godsey,

would you put my son's name

where it rightfully belongs
on this sign, under the "F's,"

or kindly remove it altogether?

Thank you.

JOHN-BOY: In those anxious days

when the rest of the world
seemed to be collapsing

under the assault
of the Axis Powers,

my family and our friends

were reassessing
the attitudes and illusions

that had sustained
us in the past.

Under stress, new insights
were revealed,

the enduring values
were reaffirmed,

and out of the emotional
crucible of the time

emerged the strength
and confidence

on which we could stand to face
the critical days ahead.

OLIVIA: I see you've come back
with the same old suitcase.

JOHN: Same old suit,
same old husband.

OLIVIA: Same old wife.
JOHN: Same old house.

OLIVIA: Same old room.

JOHN: Not quite.
OLIVIA: What's different?

JOHN: There's a new lump
on my side of the bed.

OLIVIA: (CHUCKLES)
You want to trade sides?

JOHN: How about we just
sleep in the middle?

-Goodnight, John.
-Goodnight, Liv.

(OLIVIA CHUCKLIN)