Original subtitles

Hey, landlord.

Landlady.

Little baby landlord.

Hey, Joey.

Where's my rent?

I see that phrase is replaced, "Hello," for you.

Yeah. I'm sorry, Joey. You're right.

Hello. Where's my rent?

I'm waiting for my new checks to come from the bank, Roc.

What are you talking about? You don't even have a bank account.

May be that's why it's taking so long.

See, Eleanor. If he keeps this up, his next address

is going to be 1973, Polyester Pants Wearin' Avenue.

Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Emerson.

Ah, is it okay if I have a friend over

to study this afternoon?

Well, yes. But you're gonna have to be very quiet.

Because the baby's sleeping.

Alright, look. I got a good idea.

Sheila, you and your friend can study upstairs in your room.

- Just keep the door closed. - Yeah. That'd be okay.

Come on in.

- This is Terence. - Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Emerson.

Oh, hello, Terence.

Uh, Sheila, Sheila.

On second thought

the light is much better in the kitchen.

♪ There's a man ♪

♪ With no future so it seems ♪

♪ Can't live out his dreams ♪

♪ Now he's trapped into thinking ♪

♪ He won't succeed ♪

♪ And he can't believe ♪

♪ Live your life today ♪

♪ Oh yeah ♪ Not for tomorrow ♪

♪ Not for tomorrow ♪

♪ Oh ohh ohh oh ohh ♪

♪ Live your life today ♪

Eleanor, I don't care how sweet he looks.

Sheila is too young to have a boyfriend.

Oh, Roc. He's not a boyfriend.

He's just a friend, who happens to be a boy.

Hey, what's going on?

I'll tell you, pop. Pop, in the kitchen

sits the beginning of lots of trouble for all of us.

Uh, alright, son.

I'll admit it.

I threw away a bread heel.

Ohh, daddy, Roc's just being over protective

because Sheila bought home a friend

who happens to be a boy.

Eleanor, I know how 12 year old boys think.

I used to be one, you know.

Yeah, he had a crush on this girl, Teresa.

Every day, she'd walk by the house

he lean out of the window to try to catch her eye.

The one day he leaned out so far, he fell.

He landed on the sidewalk on his head.

He just jumped right back up, ran back into the house

sat down at the dinner table like nothing ever happened.

That was the day, we started calling him Roc.

- Oh... - Alright, pop.

Yeah, well, those were simpler times, pop. You know.

Today, these kids grow up too fast.

I'll say, with everything these kids are exposed to now

if you take a 12 year old today, put him back in my time

he'd be 47.

Well, I'm just saying, pop, you know, before we leave

Sheila alone with a boy, we should get to know him first.

So, I'm gonna go get to know him.

- Ohh, then I'm coming with you. - Why?

To give him a ride home when he beg to get out of here.

Fine...

And, um, Jupiter has 14 moons, and...

Come on, you're not paying attention. What is that?

Here you are, Sheila.

A nice cold bottle of juice.

There you go. Drink up. It'll cool you off.

- Thanks, Mr. Emerson. - Mm-hmm. Okay, Terence.

So, how did you and Sheila meet?

We met in class. Health and hygiene.

I see, mm-hmm.

That boys and girls take that together now, huh.

You see how they spendin' our tax dollars?

Oh, Roc.

I was on a report. Sheila asked a lot of questions.

Ohh yeah? So, what was this report on?

How teenagers should be more responsible.

It was called, "The safest sex is no sex."

Well, that's certainly the safest choice for you.

Believe me.

So, Terence, what did you say your last name was?

- Lambert. - Lambert.

I knew a garbage man named Terence Lambert.

- Mm-hmm. - He's my grandfather.

Ohh, will you look at that. It's a small world.

Terence Lambert is your grandfather?

Whoa ho-ho. We used to call him eagle eye Lambert.

He could spot a good perk miles away.

Just from the balls of the bag.

Perk. That's what he calls them too.

Nothing in this house is new, it's mad cool.

Ohh, man. You like perks?

Well, then I'll show you perks.

Let me tell you about this table you kids are working on.

- Oh, here we go. - Oh-hoo, yeah, yeah.

It was two years ago, Valentine's day.

Snow up to my chest. I had to dig it out of a snow bag.

It was touch and go for a while. Five of the guys...

♪ Ooh ooh ohh ♪

I swear, Mr. Emerson is the cheapest man alive.

He makes me rinse out paper towels.

Ah, here comes Damon and his troop.

Looks like that jacket's wearing you down.

I think I need to take it off your head.

Step off, Damon, I'm not giving you this jacket.

What are you guys doing here anyways?

You don't even go to this school.

Come on, punk. Just give me what I came for.

Forget it, Damon. You took my shoes

and you took my sweatshirt the week before that.

This time you're not gettin' anything.

I see, made your little speech in front of your girl

but I still want that jacket.

Damon, stop. Come on, Terence. Let's go.

I'll be waiting here until I get it.

Yeah. Oh, no, no, man. You gotta come.

No. Hey, hey. You know that idea we had about the fundraiser.

Check this out. Okay. Check this out.

I was thinkin' we could start a music school.

Yeah. Keep the kids off the street.

Ahh, you like that, huh. Yeah.

Well, yeah, yeah. So, come by, we'll get some people together

and then we'll kick that deal, now, huh? Yeah, wh-wait.

Wait a second.

Hey, look, I gotta go, man. Yeah, the help just arrived.

Okay. Bye, later.

- Joey. - What?

Where's my rent?

Ahh... there you go.

Oh, so this is gonna be the routine, huh?

After I ask for the 20th time before I get it.

Well, I can't give it to you the first time you ask, Roc.

I-I'd feel so cheap. I wouldn't respect myself.

Yeah, that's very funny. You just better make sure you know

you owing time with the rent next month.

No. Excuse me. Next week.

Look, if you're gonna hang around here, Roc

why don't you do something useful, okay? Draw me a bear.

Hey.

Hey, Amy, how you doing?

Yeah, yeah. We're gonna get some people together tonight

and talk about that fundraiser idea.

- 9 o'clock. Great. - Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

- Okay, okay, I'll see you... - No, no, no, no, no.

You-you havin' people over here? No, no. No parties.

Roc, this is not a party.

Joey, I know you. It's gonna turn into a party.

And whenever you have a party, somehow, someway

it ends up costing me money.

Roc, this is my place. Now, you can't, you can't stop me

from bringing people over here.

Okay, okay, I can't stop you, but if you're not going to

respect my wishes, then do me just one favor, huh.

Don't invite me.

I had no intentions of inviting you.

The only people coming over here tonight are musicians.

And banging on trash cans does not make you one.

That's all I got to say about this.

Hey, Joey, you like using my, like, old TV here?

- Yeah. - Mm-hmm...

You like having heat up in this apartment?

- Mm-hmm... - Mm-hmm...

Well, then, you better start treating me nice.

I'd rather pay twice as much rent.

Mm-hmm. Well, you just have.

Ohh, you...

Hey, hey, Roc. I'm calling police.

♪ Ooh ooh ooh ♪

Oh, they're still here. Let's just go the other way, alright.

No, Sheila, I can't keep runnin' away.

Let's make this easy on everybody.

So, just give me the damn jacket.

- Just leave me alone. - I'm gonna bust you up!

Damon, stop!

Man, I'm warnin' you, leave me alone.

What you gonna do?

Back off.

You all hear me? Back off.

Oh, so, you wanna play that game?

Well, it's on now.

- It worked. - Are you out of your mind?

Put that thing back in your bag.

Sheila, I had to do somethin'.

But you don't pull a gun on a guy like that.

He's not just gonna take that from you.

Well, it's over now. Come on, let's get out of here.

Oh, my God!

'Hey, Eleanor. Look who's here.'

Sheila and my main man, Terence.

We don't have time to hang, Mr. Emerson.

We're just going into the kitchen to do our homework.

Oh, you got plenty of time in fact.

Come on, have a seat. Let's talk. In turns.

I'd tell you about the time how I got that television.

Oh, man. You know, your grandfather was with me--

Oh, hey, kids.

- How you guys doing, huh? - Okay.

And how did you do on that science test?

What's wrong?

Nothing. It was just a really hard test.

Oh, you're both smart kids. I'm sure you did fine.

What is wrong with you two?

What's in this, what's in this bag?

Oh, my God!

What are you doing with this? Whose is this?

- M-mine. - Where did you get it?

I bought it from this guy who hangs out in the park.

Well, what do you need a gun for? It's crazy.

A kid like you havin' a gun?

That's what I told.

There's this kid in school, Damon.

Who's pressing up on me all the time.

He took my shoes and now he wants my jacket.

No way was I gonna let him have it.

So, you bought a gun to school to stop someone

from taking your jacket.

Does your parents know about this?

No, and please don't tell 'em.

Oh, well, I'm sorry. They're gonna have to know.

Sheila, you come with me. I'm calling Terence's mom.

Terence, Terence. What are you doin'?

I though you were a smart kid.

Solving a problem like this with a gun is stupid.

You know what, there are other ways to deal with it.

Mr. Emerson, it's not like when you were a kid.

I can't just duke it out with this guy on the playground.

If you want to stand up for yourself, you gotta be strapped.

Son... do you know what you're getting yourself into here?

All I know was that Damon is always picking on me.

When I flashed my piece, he was afraid of me for the first time.

- It felt good. - Well, it felt good, huh?

Well, let me tell you something, Terence.

I'm gonna give you the straight up truth about carryin' a gun.

Once you have it, and you flash it

and you see the fear in the other guy's eyes

I mean, that taste of power, can seem very sweet

but it can't last because the answer to a gun is a bigger gun.

And this guy, Damon is going to be coming after you.

Does he run around with a gang?

- Sort of. - Sort of?

Well, now, his gang is your problem too.

What am I supposed to do?

Well, you gotta give up the jacket.

It ain't worth dying for.

I mean, what's going on with you kids is insane.

Terence, your father wants to talk to you.

Wait a minute. Hold on here.

You know this kid, Damon's last name and where he lives?

Yeah, Evers. He live on Smallworth Street.

Eleanor.

I'm gonna go by this kid, Damon's house and talk

to his parents and also gonna talk to the principal

of that school, and everybody's gonna sit down together

and try to figure somethin' out.

You now, 'cause I promise you

these other kids have guns too, you know.

And we better get them out of their hands

before somebody gets shot.

Don't you worry, sweetheart. We're gonna take care of this.

- Hey, sweetheart. - Ohh, hey, baby.

So, how did it go over there at that Damon's house?

Mmm, ohh, I talked to his mother, you know.

I mean, that poor woman's got her hands full, you know.

There's no father in the house, you know.

And she's got four other kids she's trying to feed

and keep straight, you know.

She hasn't seen Damon in two days.

Oh, Roc, that figures.

There's so many single mothers out there

with this very same problem.

Eleanor, I don't know how they do it.

I mean, it's hard enough living in this world with two parents.

Mmm, mm, mmm. Ohh, by the way Joey called down.

He said, "You can come up and have a bite. You're welcome."

Mmm-mm, I cannot go up there and have a good time, you know.

Knowing that somehow, his little gathering is costing me money.

Oh, Roc, you don't know that.

Whenever Joey has a good time, it costs me money.

Think about it. Whenever he's at a track,

he's happy, it costs me money.

Whenever he eats my food, he's happy. It costs me money.

Even in his sleep, he's costing me money.

'Cause he's dreamin' of a way to spend my money.

Roc, you're right. Don't go over to Joey's place.

You go see a doctor.

Well, I better go over there and you know and tell him

to keep it down before things get out of hand, you know.

'Cause, see, if he got a whole lot of people together

and he start wrecking things, I mean, that'll cost me

a whole lot of money.

Roc, please remember that those people are Joey's guests.

Just don't embarrass him and pass that hat around

like you tried to do at our weddin'.

Ohh, okay.

Hey, hey, hey. Hold it. Hold it. Hold up, everybody.

Okay. Now look, we got, we all got lot of good ideas

about how to raise money to build this music school, right?

Well, we can't all talk at the same time.

Come on, y'all, let's focus on one thing.

Hey, Joey. Hey, Joey, look. Ya'll gotta keep it down.

- It's too loud in here. - Alright. Alright. Alright.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hold up, everybody, okay.

Now, please, let's decide on some, alright.

I think the bet idea we've had so far is

organizing this benefit concert.

Wait a minute, I know we all want to build a music school

to get the kids off the street, but I'm not sure a concert

is the best way to raise money.

He's right. Maybe we should start with

something smaller and easier to do.

Well, you see that, that's why nothin' ever really gets done.

You know, I mean, I'm all for your music school.

Anything that keeps kids out of trouble is great.

But if you start off talking about how hard it is

and all the reasons it won't work, you're gonna talk

to yourselves out of doing anything that's good.

Who invited him?

Oh, hey, listen, listen now. Come on, now. You gotta admit.

My brother's got a good point.

Even though, he expressed in his usual

pushy, butting in obnoxious way.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

Now, listen y'all.

If we're gonna make any kind of difference, y'all

we gotta aim high.

Well, if we wanna, if we wanna stage a benefit

that's gonna raise that kind of money

the only place that's big enough is

well, the armory.

And regarding with the armory, it isn't going to be cheap.

Well, then, so what?

You just go out there and you raise the money

and you rent the armory.

You're right, but the fund raising has to start

right here with the people in this room.

We should give till it hurts. Okay?

Joey, put me down for, uh, say now, this is gonna hurt.

Uhh, a hundred bucks.

Hey! Alright, Jim...

Well, on second thought, I think Paula should be the treasurer.

Put me in for a hundred too.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, Roc, Roc.

How much can we put you in for?

I'm a little short right now.

How can you be short? I just gave you rent money.

Ohh, ohh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, I forgot about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Put me down for seven dollars.

Oh, I was only playin'.

Ha ha, I was only kiddin', ya'll gonna give me a headache.

Um, uh, okay, okay, I'll tell you what.

Put me down for, pu-put me down for a $100.

Well, Jack, you were right, this party did end up

costin' you some money.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

No, it didn't.

Hey, hey, hey, lock the door. Lock the door.

Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Emerson.

Terence is outside. There's something he want to say to you.

May he come in?

- Well, of course he can. - Yeah, why not?

Come on in.

- Hello, Terence. - Hello.

I didn't know whether I was welcome after what happened.

Well, you're always welcome in this house, son.

What do you have to say?

I'm sorry about bringing that gun in to your home.

It was real stupid.

Stupid? No, tracking dirt into the house is stupid.

Bringing a gun is madness.

I don't know what you kids today think you're doing.

Well, I'm not doing it anymore.

Thought about what you said and you were right.

Oh, it's good that you recognized that now, son.

Yeah, and thank God, you got to the principal

and those other boy's parents and got them involved.

Maybe now, we can cool this situation out.

Enough to make that school a little bit safer.

Well, I'm not messing with guns anymore.

Well, that's the wisest choice.

Now, if it's okay with you, we're gonna go into the kitchen

and do our history homework.

But first I was gonna run down to the corner

and get us some ice cream.

Oh, that sounds like a good idea, and to show you that

there's no hard feelings, the ice cream on Roc.

Here's a dollar. Bring back my change.

Ohh, Roc, the boy's gonna need more than a dollar.

Ohh, well, you know, not if you get one scoop

and you bring your own cone.

In fact, I think we got some cones in the cupboard.

Roc, give that boy more than a dollar.

Ohh, alright...

Here's another dollar.

Here...

Bring the change back...

Thanks. Don't worry, I'll get you a good deal.

Ha-ha-ha, okay.

Ahh, I guess he's basically a good kid.

All those kids are good kids. They need a little guidance.

- Terence! Terence is out. - Get down, get down.

'Oh, pop. Pop!'

Get an ambulance. Get an ambulance.

Sheila, uh...

I'm sorry, but he-he didn't make it.

He wasn't my friend.

I know. I know.

Roc.

What is happening in this city?

I don't know, baby.

I don't know.

How many kids have to kill each other before we see?

There have already been thousands.

Thousands of beautiful, gifted kids, whose lives

are over.

There will be no future for them. No tomorrow.

All their great potential is wasted forever.

These are our own kids, killing each other.

Our own kids are doing

what 300 years of slavery couldn't do.

What the Ku Klux Klan couldn't do.

And what all the ugly racism we've faced for generations

couldn't do.

They're threatening our spirit.

Breaking our hearts and destroying us from within.

Now, Martin Luther King didn't die for that.

Not to see our own children threatening the survival

of our people. Malcom X didn't die... for that.

I know how hard it is out there.

I know how hopeless it feels, the epidemic of drugs

the lack of jobs

the deprivation and killing our community.

And almost, it seems like almost nothing is being done about it.

I know that.

But killing ourselves is not the answer.

Now, parents, we must take responsibility.

You know, we have to take our children back and gain control.

It is our individual responsibility to do this.

To get our children back.

We cannot let this slaughter continue.

We got to go on together.

And we have to live.

To realize the promise

of our great struggle, for all of us.

If you or someone you love has been a victim

of a violent crime and need information

you call the National Victim Centre at...

And if you need help immediately

call the Covenant House nine line at...

Let's end the violence in our community

and among our youths.