Original subtitles

Last on Roots:

"We are pleased to offer you the position of director of agriculture...

...with the academic rank of professor.

Advise us of your availability at your earliest convenience."

You got it!

There's one thing poor people have in common, no matter who they are.

They have no education. Education is the key. lt's the--

lt's the way up, the way out.

That's why you must do well in school, Alex...

...not only for yourself, but to help others as well.

Most people live their whole lives...

...without ever having anything important to do.

So when you've got something that's important like your daddy has...

...you can't let anything stand in your way. Not anything.

You just gotta see it through.

Bertha.

What are we ever gonna do without you?

You got to remember...

...and go on.

And then one day...

...you'll tell the story...

...of this family...

...to your family.

Oh, Grandma.

All right, a dollar a day.

Be here tomorrow at 6:00 in the morning and work till 5.

Thank you, sir.

-That name again? -Haley. Alex Haley.

By the way, you bring your own grub.

We furnish the water.

Tomorrow we'll check out Frank's project...

...and yours, Dewey.

Dad?

Alex?

What in the world are you doing here?

Dad, this is something l've been thinking about for a long time now, and l--

Wait, l'll bet l know.

That special report down in Alabama with Petty John, the county agent.

They sent you home to do the research.

-How long are you going to be with us? -That's up to me and you.

Well, you're here, and we've all been missing you.

George and Julius are going to be fit to be tied.

Your mother too.

My mama died seven years ago.

Zeona thinks the world of you, Alex.

You treat her with respect.

Yes, sir.

You know l'll always do that.

Hey, how you doing?

What is all that racket?

Who's buzzing in my house?

Ain't a woman got a right to no peace?

Grandma, Alex is here. He came home.

Aleck? What you talk? That man dead and gone 20 year or more.

No, no, not Daddy Aleck, Mama. My son, Alex.

Your grandson, been away to college.

Alex?

l do remember.

Now, you two hush.

Look at you, mocking your grandma.

l'll see to it that you won't be grinning for a week.

ln 90 years, she's forgotten more than you'll ever know.

You look good, Grandma.

Oh, l don't get around so spry. That worries me.

They come after me, their torches flickering...

...l won't be able to run.

And the men and their dogs, they catch me at last.

You don't have to worry. l'm here.

Nobody's gonna hurt you while l'm here, Grandma.

Zeona, set another place. Our college boy's home.

Well, Alex, isn't this the nicest surprise.

Hello.

-Now, give your mother a kiss. -Oh, don't embarrass him, Simon.

He's probably saving his kisses for all those pretty, young girls.

They gave him leave to research that paper on my fieldwork in Alabama.

Alex, you look tired. You've probably been working too hard.

-Why don't l help you unpack-- -That's all right. lt's full of dirty clothes.

Alex, l sleep in your room now. You gonna have to sleep in the rollaway.

-You play football at Alcorn, Alex? -No.

They play baseball in the spring, dummy.

Why so troubled?

Because, Simon, that boy is hurting.

Oh, Alex? No, he's doing fine.

Better even than l'd expected.

l don't know, if he wasn't almost 1 7 and trying so hard to be a man...

...what he'd like to do is bury his face in his mother's apron...

...and just have a good cry, but she's gone.

l know my son. He's just tired and hungry.

One good meal from you, and he'll be cocky as ever.

Well.

Come put the extra board in the table.

Getting dark.

That's when it all run together, when the light go.

Can't make out the line between the dream and the other.

l've got everything in my files that you'll need for your report, Alex.

Newspaper clippings, pictures.

Can't it wait till morning, Simon? The boy is tired.

The sooner we get started, the sooner he gets back to school.

Alex, l'll bring your cake in here.

You don't have to bother.

And a glass of milk.

Now, first you'll want to establish the conditions l found...

...when l went to Alabama.

Dad, listen. Now, l'm not home to do a special paper on your work.

l'm home because l quit school.

-You did what? -l quit Alcorn.

l dropped all my classes.

l can't believe this.

-l have a job working on the road. -Your job is at school.

You'll stay on that job until it is completed to my satisfaction, till you graduate.

l'm not going back.

Sit down.

The point is you are competent to do that work.

lt's a question of self-reliance and responsibility.

We chose very carefully.

Alcorn is one of the finest schools in the South.

-Your mama and l always said-- -l miss Mama.

We all do, Alex.

You can't use that as an excuse for not doing your job.

l just can't study, Dad. l can't.

l sit there, and l stare at the books.

You are my oldest son.

You are Alexander Murray Palmer Haley.

You didn't get all that name by accident.

Now, Aleck, that was my father's name.

A patient man, facing up to all the meanness in life and never flinching.

Now, Murray, that ties you to your Grandma Cynthia and all her family.

Big Tom the blacksmith, Chicken George, Kizzy and the African.

And Palmer, that's your Grandpa Will...

...coming up from working on the railroad tracks to owning a fine lumberyard.

And Haley is what l'm trying to pass on to you.

Son, you've got to be what all these people were and more.

-You're asking too much of me. -l'm asking what l know you can do.

Well, l can't.

l got two C's at midterm, an incomplete and an F.

l will not allow that.

l will not allow that! Summer school, tutors, whatever it takes.

And l'll talk to Dean Roberts--

-No, Dad! l am not going back! -You can't speak to your father like that.

Don't you tell me! You're not my mama!

-Boy, don't you talk to her that way! -Stop it! Both of you stop shouting.

-Stay out of this, Zeona! -What are you saying, l should stay out?

Am l not a part of this family? Never was, never going to be?

Alex's been treating me like that for years. Now you're doing it.

Then l am not your wife, and l am not a mother.

Good Lord, what am l? What am l?

Zeona.

You are not working on a road gang, and that's final.

Now...

...go to bed.

l was trying to protect you.

Simon, l came into this marriage with my eyes wide open.

Second wife, stepmother to three boys. l have tried to be a mother to those boys.

But l am not Bertha.

And l will never be to them what she was.

But you know l care. ln my own way, l care.

l know, l know.

The boy is just stubborn.

-l'll talk to him. lt'll be fine. -No.

No, we sent him off to college too young. He was only 1 5.

That's when l should have spoken up. But no, l knew he was resenting me...

...taking his mother's place.

Sending him off to Alcorn made it easy for us...

...but very hard for him.

Well, all l know is he quit school.

But not to spite you, Simon. He had a reason.

Because it was hard work?

-Because he just couldn't buckle down? -Simon. Simon...

...not everybody has your strength. Not everybody can be like you.

Alex can. Alex will.

You cannot lead his life.

"Raise up a child," that's what the Bible says.

A father has to show his son the right path.

Simon, listen to him. Let him find his way.

Zeona.

l love you. l love the child we're going to have.

And you love Alex.

Of course.

Well, tell him.

He knows.

Oh, Simon.

l don't have time for games.

What l hear?

-Oh, they coming with the dogs! -Grandma!

l got to keep running. Them hounds are--

lt's all right, Grandma. lt's all right.

-Look, it's only the neighbor's dog. -l has to get ahead of them. l can do it.

They can't run this girl to the ground. l too fast!

Nobody is after you, Grandma.

You're safe here.

You Alex?

Oh, the running dream took me.

Don't often come in the daytime.

-lt was the barking. -Yeah, the barking.

Grandma, those men with the dogs...

...if they had caught you, what would have happened?

They had ropes.

They would have hanged me and then burned me.

Just because that white store lady lied and said that you sassed her?

l ran for my life that night, 1 5 miles...

...to a place where everybody was colored, and l was safe.

That's a good feeling, you know, to be safe.

lt's all right, Grandma. Sometimes l dream l'm running.

You do? For a fact?

-Who's chasing you? -Nobody. You see, it's different.

lt's what's ahead.

There's this place that l got to get to, and time just keeps going and--

Well, l keep stumbling around in the dark, making mistakes.

Don't you fret yourself.

lt may take you a long, long time to get where you're going.

You may think you just can't go on, can't take one more step...

...but you do. You just--

You do what you bound to do.

These past two days, l've been asking myself, "What's wrong?

Why is Alex failing? How can l help?"

Now, Zeona gave me the answer. She tells me l've been...

...trying to put a man's load on a boy's shoulders.

We sent you off before you were ready.

You mean, l don't have to go back?

That's correct.

We should consider your leaving school temporarily.

Not quitting blindly, but taking time out...

...with a definite plan in mind. You see the difference?

Dad, maybe l can do something for you at the college?

Well, l considered that possibility...

...but l decided that your being at home is not the answer.

Dad, l promise that l won't upset you or Zeona.

Now, that isn't the problem, son. l was--

Well, l was thinking, you need a chance to grow...

...to put your life in order, to learn to face challenges.

l think a hitch in the military would be the making of you.

Military?

You mean, you want to put me in the Army?

Well, the Army is where l served.

As you know, l enlisted right out of college, during the Great War.

l know, Dad, but there isn't a war now...

...and l just got home.

Everybody in the Army is older than me. l don't know anybody there.

You'll make friends, good friends.

Like Doxey Walker.

l never would have met a man like him except in the Army.

What do you think, Alex?

After all, are you ready to go back to Alcorn?

No.

l mean--

lt's a jim-dandy step in the right direction, isn't it?

Well, l guess.

l mean, if l got to go away somewhere....

-But the Army? -Two, three years...

...you'll come out of the Army a grown man.

You'll have some money saved and go back to college...

...have a degree by the time you're 22, perfect for graduate school.

You'll become a college professor, a dean...

...president of a Negro college.

Dad, it doesn't have to be the Army, does it?

Well....

No, but....

l'd seen some sailors in town.

Some Navy, some Coast Guard.

l think that they are based in Norfolk.

l like those uniforms.

Alex, you're not going into the service to swagger around in a uniform.

No, sir.

Your orders?

Okay, follow me.

-Where's Scotty? -l don't know.

-New boot? -Yeah.

He can wait here for Scotty.

Sit right there. lt won't be long.

Now, hear this. Now, hear this.

Mr. Gilbert, your presence is requested on the bridge.

New boot?

Yeah.

Where they find you boys?

Looks like they done fished down to the bottom of the barrel.

Now they're scraping the underside.

Well, l'll put it as plain as l can so you can understand.

Now...

...there's God almighty up in the sky.

There's the captain up on the bridge.

But down here, there is me.

l'm the boss, the steward in charge.

Steward first class, Percival T. Scott.

You got that through your thick head, boot?

You ever done this kind of work before?

lt figures.

Where you from?

What the hell you doing, spitting all over my clean floor?

Clean it! Every damn bit.

l ain't never seen anything like it.

Aboard five minutes, and you way up on my list.

You bound to make Portsmouth brig by suppertime.

Now, l asked you before, where are you from?

Elizabeth City.

What you do there? Chop cotton?

l been going to college.

-You been doing what? -Been going to college, sir.

College!

Hell, they done sent old Scotty a college boy!

Moses and Aaron on a sharp stick.

What they learn you at that there college, boy?

-Well-- -l bet you a dirty skipper's shirt...

...against a year's pay they ain't teach you nothing that count for a hill of beans.

Now, you watch and you listen, and l just might pound enough sense...

...into that thick head to get you through from Monday to Tuesday.

Now, what are you doing out of uniform?

l'm sorry, sir, l don't have a uniform.

Then get your shiny tail up to the ship store and draw you a set of dungarees.

lt will be a month of Sundays before you need dress whites.

When you get back, then we start with shining shoes...

...move on to bed making, polishing silver.

And if you turn out to be smarter than you look...

...maybe in nine or 1 0 years, you'll be up to waiting tables.

Why did you join this bathtub Navy, kid?

l saw a Coast Guard booklet, all about chasing smugglers, rescues at sea...

-...lifeboats in the surf. -That hero stuff is for white boys.

You and me are going to be mess men, stewards or maybe ship's cooks.

That's all there is for colored, Coast Guard or Navy.

You know what it say on the Coast Guard flag?

-"Semper Paratus." -"Always ready."

That's right.

As long as you're in that uniform, you better always be ready...

...to be house nigger to these white officers.

Coming up to sling a cat?

You seasick?

No, sir.

What's the matter?

l don't know.

lf you ain't seasick, why you on deck in the middle of the night?

When l woke up down below, felt the ship moving...

...saw the men sleeping all around me, one was moaning.

A feeling come over me.

l just had to come up on deck, see the sky, breathe the air.

You ever been at sea before?

No, sir.

That was the strange part. l felt like l had.

You get used to it. We got a month of sea duty ahead.

A whole month?

Norfolk's gonna look mighty good when we get our liberty.

You go home on liberty?

Home?

This old tub's my home.

College boy. You don't even know what a man does on liberty, do you?

Well, you stick with me, boy.

Scotty teach you what liberty's all about.

Haley, why you drag me in here?

A church. What the hell kind of liberty you got in here?

Scotty, that's no kind of language to be using in a church.

-That's why l'm getting the hell out. -Good evening, brothers.

Welcome.

lt sure is the Lord's blessing to have you boys come back from the sea...

...to the bosom of the church. lt sure is kindly of you, brother...

...to guide this young boy to wholesome and Christian recreation.

You'll find refreshments at the table.

Please, make yourselves at home.

Haley, come back here.

-l'll get you some cookies and lemonade. -Lemonade?

Well, you said you wanted something to drink.

Lemonade ain't to drink. lt been drunk.

Hey, you said we'd find some pretty girls. Well, here they are.

The girls l want to see are waiting at Miss Lila's.

l want a liberty, son, not the First Baptist Bible Class.

-l'm getting out of here. -You go ahead.

l see a girl l want to dance with.

Well, when you're ready for some action...

...you find your way over to Miss Lila's.

That's on Spring Street.

Excuse me.

-Would you care to dance? -All right.

My name is Alex, Alex Haley.

l'd like to know your name.

Nan.

Nan.

That's a pretty name.

Everything about you is pretty.

Why you shake your head? l'm telling the truth.

My papa warned me about sailors. Told me not to believe them.

l'm different.

Now, what's the joke?

My papa told me every sailor is going to say, "l'm different."

Seems your papa did a good job teaching you how to take care of yourself.

The trouble is, l am different.

Can't we have this dance too?

We're supposed to mingle, not dance two in a row with the same man.

How about some lemonade?

Well, l guess that would be all right.

Thank you.

What's your last name?

Branch.

Do you live near here?

Where do you live?

Papa told you not to give a sailor your address?

l'd like to see you again. Somewhere else, somewhere we can talk.

-What's the matter with the lights? -They're telling us the dance is over.

But it can't be over. lt's only 9:00.

You've got to go home early on a Saturday night...

...so you can be in church early on Sunday morning.

But l will see you again.

You always come to these church socials?

lt depends.

You shouldn't tease a poor sailor man like this. lt's unpatriotic.

Wouldn't you like to see me again?

l wouldn't mind.

Nan, wait for me.

lt certainly is nice seeing you this evening.

l want you to come back again, do you hear? Soon.

Bring your friends.

No, thanks.

Your friend is mighty quiet.

He done waste his youth drinking lemonade.

Playing "don't touch the merchandise" at church socials.

A college boy.

So you bring him to Lila's for his graduation, huh?

Well, we gonna give him his diploma.

Fix him up with Ruby or Daisy.

The rest of them wildcats would scare him to death.

Hey, you girls in there!

Get the lead out!

Customers waiting.

Scotty!

You old sea gull!

Where you been hiding?

We figured the salt water done shriveled you up to nothing at all.

Honey, l'm still one salty dog.

Good luck, boy.

What's the matter with that child?

-He too young for his life to be over. -Over, hell, his life's just beginning.

Hey, sailor.

Lila says it's you and me.

You're cute, honey. Quiet, but cute.

But you ain't here for conversation, are you? Come on.

Oh, l'm Daisy.

Mama called all us girls after flowers.

There was Lily and Rose...

...ended up with a whole damn garden.

Come on.

Well, ain't you at least gonna take your hat off?

Oh, my God.

l got the kindergarten class again. Look, honey, you got to take your shoes off...

...because l got me a new quilt.

Go on!

-Here, honey, let Daisy help. -That's all right. l don't need any help.

A girl wears herself out bailing these sailor pants with the 1 3 buttons in front.

The buttons represent the 1 3 original states of the Union.

Honey, l know that.

Let's start with Delaware...

...move on to Pennsylvania...

...and work our way right down to little Rhode lsland.

Yesterday...

...December 7, 1941...

...a date which will live in infamy.

The United States of America...

...was suddenly and deliberately attacked...

...by naval and air forces of the empire of Japan.

With confidence in our armed forces...

...with the unbounding determination...

...of our people...

...we will gain the inevitable triumph.

So help us God.

Well, men, we got ourselves a war.

Now, you know what that means to you.

You gotta do your duty.

So get yourselves down to the galley...

...and polish them pots.

We got captain's inspection at 0900.

Alex.

Nan, couldn't we--?

l haven't asked the question.

Well, you ask me the same question every time.

"Can we go somewhere else?" The answer's got to be the same.

-Nothing's changed. -Everything's changed.

Don't start on me about the war.

Nan, l can't shut my eyes and pretend that there's not a war.

There is. l'm in it. You're in it.

lt's all so far away.

The war is right here this very minute, touching me and touching you.

-lf you really care anything about me-- -You know l do.

You say you do.

l've been here eight times, and all l get is conversation.

lf you care, let's go somewhere where we can be alone.

Alex, how am l supposed to get past my mother and the other sisters?

Any day now, l'm getting my orders, shipping me off...

...to North Africa or the South Pacific or God knows where.

And you and me won't ever have had one minute to ourselves.

Maybe we could go in the back, in the kitchen.

You know, we could--

We could wash up some glasses or some punch cups and--

Well, we'd be alone.

Sort of.

-Alex, if somebody comes in here-- -Let them.

l love you, damn it. l want to show that l do.

You shouldn't swear in church or anywhere else.

Say it.

You know.

l want to hear it out loud.

-Why is that so important? -Say it!

l love you, Alex.

Alex, you're soaking me!

Will you marry me?

Well, l--

Why does everything have to be so awful fast?

Time is running out. You want to marry me?

l'm not even sure why you want to marry me.

Because l love you. Don't you believe that l love you?

You say you do.

l've been waiting my whole life to love somebody...

...to be loved by someone...

...to touch, to hold. Please, l don't want to waste another minute.

Will you marry me?

Yes.

l knew you were waiting somewhere.

l just had to find you.

Now, just let me look at you both.

Oh, Simon, isn't your son a handsome devil in that uniform?

And a married man!

We would have liked to have had you come to Norfolk for the wedding, but--

But we had to keep it simple, and we didn't want to wait.

Nowadays, nobody wants to wait.

Young people use the war as an excuse to hurry into anything and everything.

lf you'll all excuse me a minute, l better check on the baby.

She usually doesn't nap this long.

-Nan, would you like see the baby? -Oh, yes, l would, Mrs. Haley.

Well, then come along, Mrs. Haley.

Dad.

The reason l didn't wanna tell you before the wedding is--

You knew l'd disapprove.

So you went ahead on your own...

...bring it to me as an accomplished fact.

l'm sorry you feel that way about it.

This marriage is badly timed, Alex.

-lt's impulsive and shortsighted. -l love Nan. What's wrong with that?

l put you in the Coast Guard as a chance to grow up.

lf you weren't mature enough to be a student, how can you be a husband?

Or, God help us, a father?

There are lots of married men on my ship. There's an allotment.

l'll just work harder to take care of Nan.

Earning $60 a month as a mess man?

You had no right to do that--

Dad, you quit school to join up in World War l.

l graduated first.

-And l didn't jump into a fool marriage. -Dad, don't--

Well, you woke her.

Alex. Oh, Alex, come and see the baby.

Oh, she's the cutest thing ever.

She's a sweet girl.

Simon.

Simon, please don't spoil their visit.

They're in love, and Alex will be going away soon.

l'm disappointed, that's all. l'm disappointed in my son.

Well, l want you to keep it to yourself.

l mean it, Simon.

-But if l could point out to him-- -Simon.

Darling, l know....

l know that you love that boy very much...

...but don't point out anything, don't explain anything to him.

Simon Haley, would you please-- Just hush your mouth.

Oh, Simon. Simon.

Oh, Simon.

l'm gonna be so worried about you all the time you're gone.

Hey, now, l keep telling you that this sailor is different.

Nothing's gonna happen to me.

Who loves you more than anything in the world?

You do.

And for how long?

For as long as you live and beyond.

-Smith! -Here.

Haley!

Another Haley!

Wiznowski!

-Adams! -Back here.

Haley!

Haley again!

-Dima-- Dimmer-- -Me!

-Lindstrom! -Right here.

Haley.

That's it.

Hey, Haley!

Hold it.

Yes, chief?

-How many letters did you get? -Thirty-three.

Thirty-three letters in one mail call?

That's a record for the S.S. Murziim and maybe all the ships at sea.

How do you rate all that mail?

l write a lot of letters.

l write to family, friends, acquaintances, teachers...

...even teachers who failed me. Anyone l think will write.

Yeah? Well, what do you put in a letter like that?

l don't know, anything l think of.

Funny things that happen, how l feel...

...the sunset, watching the waves shine at night, flying fish. Just things.

Hey, let me tell you something.

The last time we made port in Auckland, Orcutt and me...

...we met these two women. And mine was special.

Big woman with free and easy ways--

l know. You told us the whole story, with the gestures.

Yeah, but we don't make New Zealand for two months.

And a gal like that got a short memory.

Now, l'd like to see that woman standing on the dock...

...just waiting for old Scotty to drop his hawser.

-You follow me, Haley? -No.

You're gonna write me a letter.

You mean a love letter?

Oh, now, chief, l can't do that.

No, l can't write a love letter for somebody else.

Yes, you can, son, and you're going to.

Chief....

What's her name?

-Hey, Vernon. How did liberty go? -This here town is dead.

But they ain't got around to cover it up.

The beer is warm and the gals are cold.

But Auckland girls, now usually, they're very friendly.

The Aussie fleet's in. They've been here all week.

Every place you saw one Auckland girl, you saw two Aussie sailors.

You didn't happen to sort of bump into the chief?

Scotty? No.

l wouldn't want to cross his path. Those gals weren't making no exceptions.

Well, what did you do, Haley? Stay aboard and write letters?

Yeah.

Oh, excuse me, l gotta go.

Haley!

Where you going, sailor?

Chief, now, you can't blame me. lt isn't my fault.

Now, l try to do the best l can. lt's not fair to put me down in the grease trap...

-...just because the whole Aussie-- -Haley, shut your mouth.

l'm sorry, chief, that you struck out.

Oh, Haley, what you talking about?

Boy, that gal was waiting on the dock with a fifth of Scotch she'd paid for herself.

-You mean she-- -Over and over.

Haley, l don't know what you wrote in that letter...

-...but you ought to bottle and sell it. -She liked the letter?

Yeah. She was ready. l mean semper paratus.

Haley...

...after l sleep this off, l want you to come to the galley...

...and l'm gonna fix you one of those officers' steaks and a fresh salad.

Thanks, chief. You know, l'm glad everything worked out.

And then we're gonna talk about what come next.

Morrison.

Morrison....

Chester.

"Girl's name: Alice. Blond, green eyes.

Body that didn't stop, beach behind limey service club."

Not quite.

"My darling Alice...

...how many empty days and lonely nights l have spent...

...since you and l strolled arm in arm on the beach to the very edge of joy.

Though some would say that hundreds of miles of ocean lie between us...

...in my mind and in my heart...

...you are alongside me every step l take.

Your sparkling green eyes are in the depths of the emerald waves.

Your soft blond hair is in the fleecy clouds floating above.

The breeze that touches me as l roam the lonely deck at night...

...is the caress of your sweet hands. Alice, my dearest, l live to see you again.

When we are next in port, l hope my Alice will take me all the way to wonderland."

Yeah.

That's the best yet.

Okay.

Copy it in your own handwriting.

Next.

Here he is.

We hear you're a daddy.

Yeah. l got a radiogram this afternoon.

-Boy or girl? -Girl.

Congratulations.

Hey, look at it this way.

ln a white world, black girls have it easier than black boys.

The captain's gonna want his coffee.

lt seems being a daddy don't make you too happy.

l'm happy.

l just wish l could have been there, that's all.

You have to be there to lay the keel...

...but you don't have to be there for the launching.

l mean, a child's being born. What's the father supposed to do?

Being the baby was a girl...

...l wanted to name her for my Grandma Cynthia.

But the wife had other ideas, huh?

She named her Lydia, after her mama.

Call the next one what you like.

And then, l remember my Grandma Cynthia told me...

...when l was born, my Grandpa Will, he took me...

...right when l was born, you understand...

...and he carried me out into the yard, and he held me up under the moon.

What the hell for?

l don't know.

lt's just something in the family from way back.

Maybe to slavery times, you know.

l know it's crazy.

Maybe, as far as l know, all the way back to Africa.

Yeah.

l was just thinking about that, that's all.

Africa.

All l know about Africa comes from watching Tarzan in the movies.

-Feels funny. -What?

l have a little girl.

You hear, you old moon? l have a daughter.

"The temperature at ground zero is estimated to have been...

...1 00 million degrees Fahrenheit...

...three times the temperature in the interior of the sun.

Ten thousand times the heat on the sun's surface."

Lord, have mercy.

lt says the estimates of the dead range...

...from 60,000 to over 1 00,000.

Where?

Hiroshima, a city in Japan.

And all our boys who'd be killed invading Japan...

...well, they're going to be saved.

Well...

...then you think the war will be over soon?

Oh, yes. Yeah.

That's what H.V. Kaltenborn said on the radio last night.

That means Alex will be coming home soon to Nan and his little girl.

Six long years out of his young life.

But he can get started again.

He can pick right up.

-l think l'm going-- -Simon.

There is nothing we have to do...

...but open our arms and welcome him back, that's all.

Well, sure, sure...

...but the opportunities that boy's going to have....

We've got to start planning right away.

What you going to do now, Haley, with the war over?

Well, the whole plan was to go back after my bachelor's...

...then go for my master's, probably in education.

-That what you want to do? -Oh, yeah.

No, not exactly.

lt was sort of the plan, my father's plan.

He figured that l'd be president of a college somewhere.

So, what do you want?

l'd like to please my father, but....

But what?

l don't know. lt's funny.

All these months and months of writing letters for the other guys....

But later...

...it got to be a challenge.

l really got a charge out of putting the words together...

...finding some new combinations to say the same old thing.

Anybody can set gals up like pins in an alley has got a gift from the Lord.

You hear?

-You keep on writing. -Yeah.

lf l thought l could make a life for myself writing--

When l hear myself say that out loud, it really sounds crazy.

-What are you gonna do? -l don't know what's ahead for me neither.

Now that the war is over, they're bound to force me to retire.

You'll have a pension.

Money. l'm not talking money.

Look.

Here on the ship, in my uniform, l'm somebody.

Chief Steward's Mate Percival T. Scott, that's who l am.

But what l want to know is, who the hell l'm gonna be out there on that beach, huh?

Not knowing where you came from, who you are.

When l enlisted, l promised myself that l was gonna grow up...

...find out who l was.

Listen to old Scotty.

You can grow up, you can grow old...

...and still not know who you are.

l just want to tell you, Scotty...

...you pounded a lot of sense in my head to get me from Monday to Tuesday.

l'll never forget it.

Yerba buena.

That means "peppermint" in Spanish.

Mentha piperita.

Bet you looked that up before you took the train.

Something l don't know, l look up.

Mother well?

She sends you her love.

Spoke on the phone to Nan and Lydia last night.

Strange feeling, hearing my daughter's voice for the first time.

And she's already talking.

George? Julius?

They're both fine.

George is finishing up his undergraduate work at Morehouse College.

Then l plan for him to go after a major university law degree.

Sounds like George is right on schedule.

l'd like to see him enrolled at one of the Southern state universities...

...be one of the first Negroes admitted.

You do plan big.

These are exciting times, Alex.

We won the war overseas, now we have to win the one here at home.

We are moving.

A federal judge in South Carolina...

...has ruled all qualified Negroes have to be enrolled to vote.

The NAACP is starting cases up through the courts.

Hey, wait a minute, Dad.

Should l be taking notes, you gonna give me a quiz?

Well, l....

l guess l do lecture a little. Occupational disease.

Well, all right, l came out here because l knew you...

...were anxious to get started back to school.

-l've drawn up a timetable. -Dad--

You can have your bachelor's degree in a year.

Then we move right on to your master's, your doctorate.

l've already spoken to some of my friends at Cornell, they'll make you feel welcome.

You remember the story you used to tell me about that?

You were in Henning years ago...

...and told the story over and over.

Everybody was crowded around Professor Haley, so impressed.

And you were twirling the key.

And Sister Scrap Scott...

...she came up to you, and she said, "Professor Haley, what's that?"

And you told her it was a key...

...an academic honor that only few could achieve.

And Sister Scrap, she stared at it.

Finally, she said, "A key? What do it open?"

That's right.

l've often told that story on myself, as a curb...

...to intellectual pride.

Dad, the key do open something for you.

lt opened the doors. You're a college professor, a success.

That's the point. lt's going to be so much easier for you.

You'll have the G.l. Bill to help support you.

The opportunities are going to be so much greater for black professors...

...than they were ten years ago, five years ago.

Dad, you're forgetting, l'm not a free man yet.

l'm still tied to the Coast Guard.

No problem. l've already spoken to your commanding officer here.

l explained the circumstances...

...and he's promised to consider you for early discharge, as a hardship case.

Damn it, Dad, you had no right to go to my CO!

No right?

You had no right to speak to my commanding officer...

...without consulting me first.

l'm a grown man. l'm not a wet-nose kid!

l was smoothing the path. You had to get out immediately.

Dad, l don't want out!

You have to enroll in school.

l'm not going back to school. l am staying in the Coast Guard.

That way, Nan and l will have some security while l'm looking for what l can do...

...what l want to do.

You listen to me.

Boy, you listen to me!

How dare you.

How dare you just slough off your responsibility...

...to your mama...

...to your family, to your race and to me.

Turn your back on everything you were born to be.

Hear me. You are Alexander Murray Palmer Haley.

You're one of the talented tenth Dr. Du Bois said would lead the race.

Oh, stop it, Dad! Now, l don't know if l can lead myself.

l don't know what the hell l am.

But l've got to support a wife and a child till l find out.

-l can do that in the Coast Guard. -Alex--

No.

Alex...

...you have it in you to make everybody so proud.

For God's sake, son, don't disappoint us all, living and dead.

Oh, Dad, listen. Hear me.

Now stop, and don't pile them on me, the whole family...

...you and Mama, Grandma and Grandpa...

...and all the old people...

...that they used to talk about on the porch at Henning.

Tom the blacksmith, Chicken George. l don't even remember the other names...

...but don't pile them up on me because l can't carry them!

l'm sorry if you're not proud of me, but l can't go any other way.

l've got to find some meaning in my life.

What the meaning may be, l don't know. But l know l've got to go and find it.

And Dad, l've got to find it for myself.

-What did l do to deserve that? -Just being here.

One-handed drivers don't make you nervous?

l'll risk it.

l have to tell you.

The Coast Guard had another assignment for me, but l wanted New York.

-l asked for it. -Why?

Well, l've been thinking that maybe what l want to do is be a writer.

And New York is the best place to work at that.

-That makes good sense. -Figure if l'm close to the editors...

...l have a better chance to know what they want.

And l'll be able to work on my articles on nights and weekends when l'm off duty.

You're going to have an office in our new apartment?

Some folks may call it a breakfast table.

You'll see. lt's big enough for all of us.

Home two months and the man's got me pregnant again.

Must be doing something right.

lt's going to be a boy this time, then another girl.

Then a boy.

-And then maybe twins. -Whoa, girl.

lf you're going to go through that, you should rest.

-lt'll be dark soon. -You must be tired too.

And l can't just curl up like Miss Lydia.

Well, l've seen lots of auto courts.

-Yes? -Good afternoon.

l need a room for my wife, my little girl and myself.

A double bed and cot would suit fine.

Oh, l'm so sorry, l don't have a thing left for tonight.

The sign says "vacancy."

You know, l've been so rushed, l just forgot to turn the "no" on.

-l see. -lt's early. You'll find something, l'm sure.

Thank you.

There's nothing available.

She forgot to turn on the "no vacancy" sign.

Good afternoon.

l'd like to rent a double room for the night.

Full up.

l stopped because l saw your "vacancy" sign.

Well, boy, l'm telling you that there is no vacancy here for you.

Now, would you like to dispute my word?

Would you like me to call a cop?

Can l help you?

l'm looking for the manager.

You found him. What's on your mind?

l'm under orders, driving up to New York to report to the Coast Guard district office.

Trouble is, my family and l can't seem to find a motel that will accommodate us.

ls that so?

When l saw the sign, VFW, Veterans of Foreign Wars...

...l thought for sure that this would be a place l could get some help.

l'm sorry. We don't have rooms here.

Why, l know...

...but you could suggest a place in this town...

...where a veteran and his family will be welcome.

Well, l'll tell you...

...ordinarily, we would try to arrange something...

-...but it's a very crowded time of year. -November?

Look, l'd like to help you...

...but under the circumstances, l really can't offer any suggestions.

Except, maybe, keep moving.

Thank you, sir.

l heard about it, but it never happened to me.

So l took a long look at myself in the mirror.

My medals were here, the United States eagle was here...

...and you know what l saw? Not a war hero, no, sir.

Not a veteran, not a serviceman.

l saw what they saw:

A nigger in a fancy monkey suit.

Haley, Cmdr. Munroe wants to see you.

Haley...

...in 30 years of journalistic experience...

...this may be the worst piece of news copy l've ever read.

Pen lsland release, sir?

Never use one simple word when 1 0 elegant ones will do.

Haley, our public are simple folk.

Try to lead them in a straight line from A to B.

l'll redo it right away, sir.

Just a minute.

l was just going over your record there.

You were a good mess man and steward for seven years.

Why were you so hell-bent to move into an area...

...about which you know less than nothing?

l want to learn, sir.

l want to try to be a writer.

l must confess, all ambitious men make me nervous.

Ambitious black men give me stomach cramps.

Part of my Southern heritage.

Do you have any idea what the odds are against your making it as a writer?

The odds would be high, sir, but l still have to keep on.

Well...

...what have you written besides these flatulent press releases?

Magazine articles. On my own time, sir.

-They all come back? -They all come back.

Give me the story you think was best, l'll tell you why it came back.

l'd surely appreciate that, commander.

What you doing up so early?

l reached for you and you weren't there.

That's a lonely feeling.

Nan...

...l'm trying to finish this article before l go to the office.

-Come on back to bed. -Nan.

-Oh, be with me, really with me. -Oh, l--

-Just for a little while. -Nan, honey...

...you know that l've been trying to finish this article.

Let me get it out of the way first, and then we're going to have lots of time.

-You want coffee? -What is it?

-l just asked if you wanted some coffee. -Look, l know you're teed off.

Now, what's the matter?

You make me feel like a stranger.

A stranger pushing in, taking up your time.

Nan, l am working double hard, triple hard. This article--

-But why? -You know. The Reader,s Digest.

-They read unsolicited articles-- -l mean why?

Me and the kids, we're not asking you to work double hard.

-We just want you with us. -Nan, listen--

You leave before we get up in the morning.

-You come back after we're in bed. -Nan, l'm sorry.

No, let me be. Just go on back to what really matters.

Nan, l don't want it to be like this.

Now, listen.

When l get my leave, we'll go to Henning...

...see Grandma Cynthia.

Things are going to be different. l promise.

Who loves you?

You do.

For how long?

For as long as you live...

...and beyond.

Ain't that something?

Little Alex with babies of his own.

Lydia.

There ain't no end to it.

Ain't gonna be no end to it.

That's a family. Goes both ways.

Back to the beginnings and forwards.

Only God knows the end to it.

This family, we've got so much to be proud of.

That's the plain truth.

lt's been a special family ever since the first one come from Africa.

He went out of his village to chop some wood.

No, Cousin Georgia.

He went out to cut down a tree to make a drum.

Oh, well, now, ain't cutting down a tree chopping wood?

That village was on the banks of a river.

Kambi Bolongo.

And they took that man.

Name was Kunta Kinte.

And they brought him over the water to Annapolis.

That's where they sold him for a slave.

Tried to give him a slave name, Toby.

But he said, "My name Kunta Kinte."

Boy.

What you doing out here?

You asked me that before. Remember, Grandma?

Of course l remember.

You was 1 1 or 1 2 when my Bertha died.

Yeah, and l cried.

What would you think if l cried now, Grandma?

How you getting along, boy?

Same old tricks.

Coast Guard.

lt's not a bad kind of life.

Your daddy still mad at you because you didn't go back to school?

l don't know. Maybe.

l was thinking about Sister Carrie Warner tonight.

Such a wonderful teacher.

l was so careless with my spelling.

And one time, Sister Carrie, she put my name on a slate.

And--

l already told you this story a dozen times before.

What you got to do, if l start to tell you a story you heard before...

...you put your hand up, and l'll stop running my mouth.

Don't ever stop telling me your stories, Grandma.

-l'll stop sooner or later. Don't no need for-- -Grandma!

Now, now, we ain't talking about that.

Your daddy don't think so...

...but the good Lord takes care of all of his children...

...whether they got the Ph.D. or not.

Truth is, you got to be what you got to be.

You got to know where you come from.

But there ain't nobody can tell you where you be going.

You just got to trust.

The Lord has got something in mind for you.

That old tree slice, the one Grandpa had...

...l'd like to show it to Lydia.

That old tree got the carpenter's ants.

We had to haul it away to the dump 1 0 years ago.

lt was rotten, crumbling to dust.

All old things goes to dust...

...sooner or later.

Nothing left to tell the tale.

Are you all right, Grandma?

Alex...

...l'm so happy you come...

...so l could be with you...

...know your wife, see your children.

There are going to be lots of visits.

All old things goes to dust.

"We regret."

"We regret."

"We're sorry your submission does not meet our present needs."

Always the same!

l made more money writing love letters during the war.

Maybe l'm asking too much money for my stories.

Maybe l ought to just give them away!

Or maybe no one wants them, even for nothing.

Now, Daddy isn't feeling very well.

Lydia, why don't you take Billy and go look at a picture book.

Alex, maybe....

l mean, maybe you should give it up.

-Maybe it wasn't meant to be. -lt was.

Oh, honey, we already have so much.

You work at a good job. Our children are healthy, smart.

l love you. You say you love me.

Oh, for God's sakes, give us a chance.

l've got this feeling so strong.

There's something special l was born to do. l used to tell my papa that.

l don't know what it is...

...but when the time comes to do it, l've gotta be ready.

And part of being ready is being a writer.

lt's just that nobody believes that l am!

All right.

You're making a special life for yourself...

...and there's no room in it for me and the kids.

l don't want it to be like that. Don't you turn away from me.

l know l haven't been fair to you, to the kids.

Please, let me try to make it different.

One more chance.

One more.

Thanks.

Who loves you more than anything?

You do.

For how long?

For as--

For as long....

-Haley. -Evening, commander.

All the years you've been stationed in the building, l've never seen you...

-...in this watering hole. -l'm not much of a drinker, sir, ordinarily.

So the stress tonight must be extraordinary.

Join me? Fear not.

You may drink with me, so long as you continue to call me "sir."

Thank you, sir.

l'll have another.

Bourbon and water.

You know, despite the annual outpouring of Yuletide propaganda...

...many people find this period between Thanksgiving and Christmas...

...terminally depressing.

l can't blame my mood on the holidays, sir.

ln fact, l can't blame it on anything or anyone except myself.

That is frustrating.

l can always find someone else to blame for anything.

Well-- No.

As long as you can't shift the blame...

...might as well submerge it.

l've been thinking about your offer, about being transferred to a ship...

...where l can be what l am, a steward.

You ready to throw in the towel and forget writing?

-Yes, sir. -You disappoint me, Haley.

-Commander, you said-- -l know, l know. l know.

One of the few pleasures left to me is contradicting myself.

lf you want consistency, look to the politicians.

Sir, l just don't know how l can go on.

And why should l?

Seems like all the people that l care about are either dead or cut off from me...

...mostly through my own doing.

They say, "Write about what you know best."

Well, l could set down the last word on failure.

Failure as a son, a father, a husband...

...writer.

You could do a pretty convincing autobiographical piece on self-pity.

l've been wanting to talk to you for several months...

...but somehow, in the office, it didn't seem appropriate.

Haley...

...the only time l've ever seen you slip outside that damn steward's mask...

...was the time you told me about that trip you made with your wife and kid...

...after the war, when...

...to paraphrase the gospel, there was no room in the motel.

Yes, sir.

l just couldn't accept the fact that it was happening to me, to us.

Yeah. Once you did face it, you were furious!

-Gloriously, uncontrollably furious. -Yes, sir! And l still am!

Yeah, you see?

Must be many stories like that.

Stories out of your own hurt, your own pain...

...your own anger...

...your own gut.

You have something very special to say, why not say it?

On the other hand...

...you're a hell of a steward.

Life's a lot easier.

See you in the office.

Good night, sir.

l think these will give you any statistics you want to quote in your article.

Statistics that Esquire readers are interested in are 38-24-38.

Any questions on the technical stuff, give me a call anytime.

Right.

Hey, l'm sorry l tied you up here Christmas Eve.

But when Gingrich gives out an assignment, you jump.

-How the hell do you do it? -What?

-Get an assignment. -Fiction? Articles?

Both.

They were rejected without regard to length, form...

-...race, creed or color. -Oh, listen.

There is this one market...

...Coronet.

They run these stinking little short shorts, 600-word, tops.

Bernie Glazer was telling me, the editor, he can't get enough of them.

-For one thing, they pay lousy. -What kind of material?

Well, you know, human-interest stuff.

Little-known facts about the famous, bizarre historical anecdotes.

-Why don't you give it a shot? -Yeah, maybe l will.

Merry Christmas.

-Hey, thanks a lot. -Merry Christmas.

Try that Coronet thing.

-What have you got to lose? -Yeah, yeah.

Merry Christmas, Mel.

Oh, yes.

And now when Daddy gets here with the tree...

...we're gonna put all these pretty trimmings and lights on.

Then we're going to church where Lydia is going be an angel...

...bringing in the good news.

Behold. l bring you good tidings of great joy.

What happened? Old man dump something on you last minute?

No. This is my stuff.

l am on my way. Closed down the switchboard--

Okay.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

ls Daddy coming home before church?

Honey...

...we'll go along to church, and when we get back, Daddy will be here...

...and Santa will have left all the presents.

l bet you Santa doesn't get here till Daddy does.

Now, we better hurry. We can't have an angel late...

...with the good tidings.

Daddy!

Daddy!

There's no one here, Mama.

Daddy didn't bring the tree. There's no presents.

Oh, now, Billy, hush, hush. Don't cry. Don't you cry.

-You promised. -Oh, darling...

...you're going to get your fire truck.

You're gonna get it, now.

-Mama, when is Daddy coming? -l don't know...

...but l'm sure he'll be home soon.

Now, why don't we....

Daddy!

Nan.

-We're going to visit Grandma Lydia. -You're not going anywhere.

You finish putting the bags in.

And you children, go and wait in the taxi.

-Wait! -Alex!

No more.

Go along!

Nan, l'm sorry. l know there's no excuse that--

-There isn't. -But l got this idea.

-A short about Scotty. -l don't want to know!

-You remember Scotty. -l don't want to know!

-Please, don't go. Nan, you can't leave me! -You left me a long time ago.

Maybe you were never with me. Maybe it was a mistake from the start.

-Maybe l was just a small-town girl-- -Don't say that. You shut up!

Nan, l love you.

Go on, finish it.

l love you, in my own way.

Well, loving your way isn't my way.

When l love somebody, he comes first...

...and l want to be first with him!

Maybe you don't need a family, but l do and your children do!

-We can work this out. -There isn't anything to work out!

You're not gonna say anything l want to hear!

lf you did, l wouldn't believe it!

Alex, l don't know what you want!

l don't know what you're looking for! l swear to God, l don't think you know.

But you're going to lose a whole lot more before you find it.

Nan, this is crazy. Nan, we can work it out.

l am sorry, Alex.

Mostly, l'm sorry for myself and the children...

...but a little bit for you.

l wish l could have helped.

l hope you find it.

And l hope it was worth all of this.

-Next on Roots. -Minister Malcolm X?

You always sit facing the door?

-Trust no one. -No one?

l trust the honorable Elijah Muhammad.

But l don't trust any white man, and l don't trust you...

...more than five percent.

-What is your name? -Odile Richards.

Odile. lt's a very nice name.

What are you afraid of, Alex?

l'm afraid of dying...

...without knowing why l really lived.

There's got to be more to my life than what l'm doing now.

There's got to be a reason for Alex Haley.

l don't mix with your kind.

And we call your race "niggers."

Peace be unto you.

Just stay away from me, man!

l hate it when you use that vocabulary.

lt is my goodbye. l'm entitled to choose the vocabulary!

"To my dad.

l no longer need his approval...

...but l will always need his love."

You old African!

l found you!

Kunta Kinte!

l found you! l found you!

l found you!

I found youI