All language subtitles for The.Rosa.Parks.Story.2002.1080p.WEBRip.x265-RARBG_2_English

-Wait now. She's coming.
She's coming.

-Oh,
the newspapers, Rosie...

-Rosa, they're waiting.

-The editor
of "Look" magazine is here

with his photographer.

-Everybody's with you.

-Rosie, you can do this.

-It's time.
-Rosie,

you should just do it.

-Rosie, you don't have
to do this...

if you don't want to.

-I know.

-We're behind you
on this, Rosa.

- We believe
in you. Go out there.

- You can do this.

-Clear the way, folks.
Clear the way.

-Rosa,
what were you thinking

when you refused
to give up your seat?

-Was it a setup?

-Please, back up.
Please, back up.

-Rosa,
why did you do it?

-Take us around the park.

-Miss Parks,
give us a smile.

-Yeah, okay.

-All right.

-We'll set up for another one.

-Mrs. Parks? All right.

Mrs. Parks?

Rosa?

Rosa? Rosa?

-Rosie?

Rosie? Oh,
look at the girls here.

I wish I was going here.

-Rosie? Rosie.

Rosie, come on now, baby.

Careful stepping off
the trolley.

-...to see
the elephants, elephants,
elephants

jump over the fence,
fence, fence...

-Rosie,

you be sure
and behave yourself now

and pay attention.

-Yes, ma'am.
-Miss White's school
costs money.

-Yes, ma'am.

-Speak only when
you're spoken to.

Teacher asks a question,

you know the answer,
open your mouth.

Don't be shy.

Let her know
what a smart little girl

her new student is,
right, baby?

-Yes, ma'am.
-Go on, they're expecting you.

-It'll be so fun.

-...cents,
cents, cents, to see
the elephants, elephants...

-Good morning,
Miss White.

-Good morning, girls.

We have a new pupil
joining us today,

Rosa McCauley.

-You can sit right back there.

-Thank you, Miss White.

-I need
to see everyone's eyes

up front, please.

Thank you.

-You're from
the country, aren't you?

-Pine Level.

-I've heard of that.

I don't know where it is,
but I heard of it.

I'm Rebecca Daniels.
You can call me Johnnie.

So, what do you think about
Miss White's School so far?

-It's a lot different
from what I'm used to.

-Bet this is the first time
you was ever in a schoolroom

with desk to write on
and glass in the windows?

And you never seen
a chalkboard before

or had a white teacher?

-How do you know all of this?

-Only country girls eat
tomato sandwiches.

-Please pass
your tests forward.

Rowena, did you not
do well on your test?

-I never do well, Miss Barton.
I'm too stupid.

-Rowena, you are not stupid.

-I don't know
why we're bothering

with all this reading
and arithmetic

when all we gonna
end up doing for jobs is

washing somebody's
clothes and wiping

their baby's snotty noses.

-Does anybody want
to answer Rowena's question?

-Rosa, why do we bother?

-We bother so we can be equal
to everybody else.

-We're not equal
to everybody else.

We're not equal to white folks.

-I was raised to believe
if I put my mind to it,

I can do whatever
I want in this world.

I was taught
no one's better than me,

no man, no woman,
black or white.

No one.

-If white folks say--
-No one.

A person can take everything
from you, even your life,

but they can't take
your dignity.

Can't nobody take that
from you, but you.

That's what
my grandpappy told me,

and I believe him.

-If you learn nothing else
at Mrs. White's School,

may the Blessed Lord
help you remember

what Rosa just taught you.

-Amen, girl.
Forget Tuskegee

and you can keep
Birmingham, too.

-But you ain't been
nowhere else, Rosie.

-That's all right.

Because I love living
in Montgomery.

-Rosa? Rosa?

-Oh, yes, ma'am?

-How is your mother?

-She's doing fair.

-I'm coming over to see her
real soon, hear.

-Yes, ma'am.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

-"We wear the mask

"that grins and lies.

It hides our cheeks
and shades our eyes."

-Mm-hmm.

-"This debt we pay
to human guile,

with torn and bleeding hearts
we smile."

-Parks,

don't let me have to take
that straight razor

out your hands.

-What?

-Those are the words
of Paul Laurence Dunbar.

-Who?

-A great Negro poet.

-Must be one
of them...

-Oh no!

-We're working against time

to get the
Scottsboro boys freed.

-Oh, at least
they're off death row.

-The overseas newspapers

are starting to make
a ruckus about it.

-Isn't the NAACP trying--

-The NAACP is just a bunch
of scared old men

who blow hot and cold.

It's gonna take money
to help those boys.

A lot of it,

so I'm working with a group
here in Montgomery

trying to raise it.

-That's dangerous
business, Parks.

-Yeah, maybe.
-Oh, what he's doing now?

-Parks' trying
to rob the cradle.

Those are high school girls.

-What about the one
in the purple sweater?

I never seen her before.

-Maybe she's new.

-From where I stand, brother,

she looks better than new.

-Uh-huh.

-Oh, hello, hello.

-Hello, there,
ladies. Yeah.

-Hello, Parks.

-No need to stand
out in the rain.

-All right.

-It'd be a crying shame to get
that pretty sweater all wet.

-It's just water.

It'll dry.

-Under that bright
and sunny smile,

I'm sure it will.

There's some newspapers.

Take home what you like.

Negro newspapers
may be hard to come by,

but not in this shop.

We got the "Crises"--
-Isn't he cute?

-Who?
-Parks, girl.

Raymond Parks.

-"The Chicago Defender."

-He too light skinned
for my taste.

-Well,
he just right for mine.

-They say he's working
with the Scottsboro boys

legal defense fund.

-Really?
-Life...

is about facing danger,
my friends,

about taking risks.

We have to stand up
for what's right

even if we have
to put our lives

on the line.
-Mm-hmm.

-The way I see it,
every Negro in this town

should be behind supporting
those Scottsboro boys.

They need money
for their legal defense fund.

-Mm-hmm.

-And I have the address
right here

where you can make
your contribution.

-Oh, that's
the shop owner.

Let's go.

-I'm just gonna go
home and do my schoolwork.

-Maybe we should leave.

We don't have any business
being in here.

We already...

-"We wear the mask

"that hides our cheeks

"and shades our eyes.

"Beneath our feet
and long the mile,

but let the world
dream otherwise."

-Mm-hmm.

-"We wear the mask."

Paul Laurence Dunbar.

-I'd better be getting home.

I'll see y'all Monday.

-Wait, Rosie.

-Wait, Rosie.

-Hey.

-I'm Raymond Parks.

Everybody calls me Parks.

I wish you would, too.

-I-I-I've got to go.

-What's your name?

-You're getting wet.

-Then you'd better hurry up

and tell me your name

before I drown.

-I-I really do have
to go home.

-Said, I fell in love
with a gal,

I thought was kind.

She made me lose my money...

and almost lose my mind.

-Man.

- Where did he go?
- Parks,

you're gonna make me
late for work.

-What's her name?

-Fanny? What's her name, girl?

-I shouldn't tell you.

-Well, sure you should

or you wouldn't be
Sweet Fanny.

-Rosa.

Our cousin's name is
Rosa Louise McCauley.

-Thank you, Fanny.

Tell your cousin
I'll be seeing her.

-I'm paying for
a shave here, fancy-man.

-What you're paying for
is my first date

with Rosa Louise McCauley.

-Scottsboro?

It's right up there
near Tennessee.

-Mm-hmm. Right up
near the border.

-Colored folks
are plenty mad over this.

-Of course they're mad, brother.

Everybody knows
them boys didn't rape

those white girls
in that train.

-There's even talk
about the NAACP

coming down from New York.

-Oh, they're just gonna
make it worse

for everybody.

-They've been sentenced
to die, Mama.

How much worse can it get?

-Who can that be?

-Hmm?

-Who can that be?

-Can't be nobody we know,
not with a car.

-That,
that's not just a car.

That's, that's a Studebaker,
a red Studebaker

with a colored man getting out.

-Hey, man.
-How you doing?

-How you doing?
-All right.

-Wow.

A real Studebaker.

Oh my!
-What?

-Oh my, it's him.

-Him, who?
-Um, uh,

th-th-th-the barber, Mama.

Uh... Parks.
-What?

-Raymond Parks, I think that's
what he said his name was.

-How'd you get
to meet a barber?

-I, I didn't meet him.
He met me.

-Motion picture
cameras, something like that.

Go on, I won it
in a poker game.

-But I can't see.

-Mama,
go out there and tell him

I'm not at home.

-Hey, Sylvester. How you doing?
-Hey, man. How you doing?

-Listen, I'm looking
for Rosa. Is she home?

-Ooh. Rosa?

She's not, man. I'll tell her
you came by, though.

-Yeah, all right. Give
her these for me, all right?

-I'll do that. I still wanna
learn how to drive that.

-Put in
a good word for me.

-I'll do that.
I'll do that.

I'll do that.

-Rosa, that man here again.

Hey, man. How you doing?

-I'm all right.
Is your sister...

-She can't come
to the door right now, man.
-Yeah.

-I'll tell her
you came by, though.

-Yeah,
I know you will.

-Get used to it.
-Yeah.

-He's here again?

-Rosie...

I am just fresh out
of patience with you now.

I don't know why
he keeps coming back.

-Come on in,
Mr. Parks.

-What'd he say, Mama?

-He said...

it's a good thing
gladiolus grow year round.

Come on, I want
to show you something.

-Oh, if I'd have
known about this,

I'd have brought
my bathing suit.

-Oh. It's a little muddy
for swimming,

but it's great
for fishing.

-Oh.

My grandpapa taught me
how to fish.

I sure do miss him,

even after all these years.

He was born
not too far from here.

He spent close to half
his life as a slave.

-He ever talk about it?

-Not to me.

-Uh-huh.

I used to bait
my grandpapa's hook

when his eyesight
got too bad.

Oh, we'd sit for hours

and talk about anything
and everything.

Sometimes, we'd say
nothing at all.

Mama, she used to tease.

She'd say, "I learned to fish
before I could even walk."

-I don't know about that,

but, oh, I sure do love it.

Did you fish much?

-No.

-Y-y-your daddy
never taught you how?

-My daddy never taught me
much of anything...

except maybe how many
different ways I could hate him.

-Oh. I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to...

-No, that's all right.

Pops was a carpenter.

He was also white
or close enough to pass for it

most of the time.

That was his problem,

was those times
he couldn't pass that...

ate away at him.

Took it out on my mother...

and me.

When he finally took off,
we had ourselves...

a little party.

When we heard he died
falling off a roof...

I had myself
an even bigger party.

A real big party.

-Oh.
-It's the police.

-This is all I need.

Damn.

Don't worry,
it'll be all right.

-Mm, mm, mm.

Woo!

Whose car is this?

-Mine.

-You wouldn't be lying
to me now, would you, boy?

-I-I can vouch
that this car is his.

-Is that right?

-I got the ownership papers
right here.

-You're moving too fast, boy.

-Calling
all cars. Calling all cars.

-Get your ass off the road.

-All cars
in the area. Calling all cars.

-Damned negro's car's
better than mine.

-You did the right thing, Parks.

-I didn't do anything.

-Sometimes,
that's the right thing.

-Sometimes, it ain't.

-I know that too.

-Klan most likely lynched
these boys.

They aren't gonna stand
for any local colored group

working on that
Scottsboro case.

You ready?

-Barber shop.
-Mr. Jeeter?

-Yeah.

-This is Rosa McCauley.

-Well, hello, Rosa.

-I'm looking for Parks.

-Parks?
-Is he there?

-Ain't seen Parks in--

not since he went on
down there to Scottsboro.

Now, I told him not to go on
down there by himself

with all them people with him.

You know what he's like.

He just gets to talkin' and go.
-Thank you.

-Rosa--

-Next week, I'll teach you
how to throw a curveball.

Come on, have a drink

-Colored?

-Brother, do you
think the water's sweeter?

-Only one way to find out.

-They catch you,you gonna get us all in trouble.

-Not if I
switch the signs first.

-Oh, don't you put
your lips on that water.

-I think it tastes
a little worse,

like rusty pipes.

-Get on back now.

-Get on back now. Get.

-I bet
they just can't tell
the difference themselves.

-Oh.

-Aren't we gonna
change the signs back?

Rosa? Rosa?

-Strength of the soul...

-Help us,
our Father, to realize

how far we ourselves
are responsible...

-Mama.
-...sickness...

-Mama.

-Help us to know--

How did you--

I thought that
you were dead.

-I know.

I'm so sorry.

-How did you get--
your car's not outside,

where's your-- oh.

-I'm all right. I'm all right.

-What happened to your face?

-I sold the car.

-Why?

-Long as I have you,
I don't need anything else.

-May God bless you
and keep you.

I now pronounce you
husband and wife.

Mr. Parks, you may
now salute Mrs. Parks.

-Rosie, kiss him.

-My turn
to kiss the bride.

-Thank you.
-Throw that, girl.

-That's right.

-Throw that thing.

-You can kiss now.
You can kiss now.

-Here it comes.

-Okay.

-All right, ma'am.

-Excuse me.

-Hey.

What do you think
you're doing?

-You gonna get it now.

She's going to get
so much shit again.

-I said what do you think
you're doing?

-I'm going to Cleveland Avenue.

-Well, if you're going on
this bus, you gonna get off

and come back on
in the back.

-Get off for what?

I'm already on.
Besides, it's raining.

-I don't care
if the sky is falling.

If you are gonna ride
with my bus,

you're gonna get off

and come back on
round the back.

Do you hear me?

-Do not...

put your hands on me.

-All right. Get.
Let's go.

-Come on. Get up.

-Come on!

-Just get up.

-Oh!

I'm not sitting next to her.

-Get off the bus.

Thank you.

-Maybe you
can get out of it.

-It's a conscription letter,
Mama.

You don't get out
of being drafted.

-Well, there must be
somebody to write to.

-And tell him what?

"I think there's been
a terrible mistake,

"Mr. Roosevelt,

"but my mama don't think
I should be off

fighting in nobody's war."

-Well, what's wrong with that?

It's the truth.

-Oh, Raymond.

-Instead of trying to make

the world safe
for democracy,

this damn country
ought to be trying

to make Alabama safe
for the Negro.

-Well, now, that's true.
-Well, there's Rosa.

My God.

-What happened?

-Rosa?

-I... walked home.

-Walked?
That's over five miles.

-Did you miss the bus, baby?

-No.

-What happened?

-I was put off.

-Thrown off the bus, why?

-What difference does it make?

-I'm gonna get some coffee.

Get out them wet clothes.

-My God, you're soaked.

-"...faith that
some fair morning,

all we count good
and beautiful will come true."

-Did he put his hands on you?

-No.

But he wanted to.

-And why did he put you
off the bus?

-'Cause I did not want
to pay my fare,

get off, and get back on
in the back.

-All right.

Go on, lay back.

Go on, lay back,
lay back, lay back.

That's right.

-You know, it's been like that
ever since there was trolleys.

-Well, does that
make it right?

-I didn't say it was right.

I said that's the way
it's always been.

-The last time I checked,

the dime I pay for the token
to ride those buses

is the same color as the dime
the white folks use.

We are paying
to be humiliated.

And it does not make sense.

-Since when did these
peckerwoods ever make sense?

-I will tell you this,

I will never...

forget the driver's face.

-All right.

-Rosie,

Rosie, didn't you go to school
with a girl named Johnnie?

She's here in the paper.

Rosie, Rosie,
didn't you go to school

with a girl named,
named Johnnie?

Ro--

-So when we gonna start
this voter registration drive?

-After
the Double V campaign.

-Can we help you?

-I-I'm sorry for interrupting.

I'm here to see someone.

-Rosie?

Oh, girl!

-Oh, Johnnie.

-It's so good to see you.
-Oh.

-Now, what you doing here?

-Well, I saw
your picture in the paper.

-We've got a meeting here.
-I'm sorry.

-Oh, I'm sorry.

No, no, we'll talk later.

-No, come on. Uh-uh.
-No, no, no. I--

Oh no--
-Stay here.

This is important.

This is my best friend,
everybody.

Now, Arvie, would you let her
have this chair please?

Okay, Rosa, stay right here.

-Thank you so much. I'm sorry.

-Sit right there.

-Wait a minute.
Hold on now.

Are you a member?

-A member?

-Of the NAACP.

That's us, the people
you just interrupted.

-Oh, well... no.

-No,
you sit right here.

-Well, you are hereby
a member in good standing.

Dues are collected
at the end of the month.

We're beginning
a membership drive.

-And you'll be
an even better... member

if you take good notes.

-I guess I can.

-The loud one,
that's E.D. Nixon,
the president.

He's a Pullman Porter
on his regular job.

He's noisy, but harmless.

We've got a big campaign.
-You ladies need
a ride anywhere?

-No, no.
We're gonna have lunch.

Take my friend to--
-Oh.

Oh, excuse me.
Um, Mr. Nixon, I...

I, I do not mind
being secretary,

but I hope that
you do not think

that that is all
that I can do.

-Well, what else can you do?

-Well, you tell me
what you need,

and, uh, I will tell you
if I can do it.

Same old Rosa.

-We got this group called
the Youth Council.

School-age kids in need
of, of an adult advisor

for things like counseling,
uh, bible study,

teaching self-esteem.

-I'd love to--
-Now, hold on now.

They also need
a little juice,

a little protest spirit,

something too many of them
ain't getting at home.

-She can do it,
Mr. Nixon.

You got the right one,
she can do it.

-All right.

-Now, you have a nice day.

So, what have you
been doing with yourself?

-I've been working as
a seamstress across the street

at Montgomery Fair
Department Store.

Alterations, dresses.

-Any children?

-No.

We've been hoping.

I guess the Lord has
other ideas

on how he wants us
to spend our time.

Would you like
something to drink?

-Hey, wait now. Uh-uh.

Now, you come all the way
down here to find me

and then get yourself
put to work,

the least I can do is
buy you a soda water.

Let me see here.

Oh, that's my
voter registration card.

-I always wanted to vote
for Mr. Roosevelt.

-Really?

-Eleanor, his wife,
she made it possible

for Marian Anderson
to sing on the steps

of the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington, DC.

-Mm.

You registered?

-Not yet.
-Lord, don't tell
Mr. Nixon that

or he'll have you tuned up
for a lecture.

"Colored folks who don't vote

deserve the treatment
they get."

-Two soda waters?

You can call me Johnnie.
And since you're new

and don't have any friends,
I'll be your best friend.

Miss White, Miss Barton,

and all the teachers
are from the North.

-They seem strict.
-They are.

They're something
called Quaker.

It's a religion that believes
all people are the same

and should be treated right.

-That's a good religion.

-My mother thinks
Miss White is a saint,

for putting up
with what she does
to keep the school open.

-Like what?

-Lots of people don't want her
teaching colored girls.

Even burned the school twice
to try to stop her.

And each time, Miss White
and the other teachers

just build it back up
and keep on teaching.

-Secretary?
-Mm-hmm.

The meetings are just
once a month.

-Secretaries do a lot more work
than just go to meetings.

Well, I'm only volunteering,

so I'll do as much
as I can or I want to.

-That's what scares me.

You'll do all you're asked
to do and then some.

-Are you afraid that I
won't be home as often?

-I'm afraid you
can't run fast enough.

And then you won't be
home at all.

You know, the police watch
those meetings, Rosa.

I don't have to tell you
what can happen.

-I won't be one
of the leaders, Parks.

-Oh, you think a stick
of dynamite cares

if you're just a secretary?

-I wanna do this.

-You don't need my permission.

-I did not ask
for your permission,

but your approval
would be nice.

-Oh, you want my approval
to stick your neck out

with a bunch of cowards
down at the NAACP.
-Parks.

-No, I can't do that.
-They're all we have.

-And Scottsboro was
ten years ago.

-That's right, ten years and
those boys are still in prison.

Ten years with the all-mighty

National Association
of Colored People
wringing its hands

like a bunch of old ladies

shouting for justice
with a whisper.

You know, Jews and Communists
did more to help them boys.

-Now, they did.

Now, you gonna do
what you wanna do.

Rosie.
-Mm-hmm.

-Mm-hmm.

Ooh! Apple pie too?

-Mm-hmm.
-The way to my heart.

-The heart I already have.

It's the mind I'm working on.

-Mm-hmm.

-Parks...

I really need you
to understand

that for the first time
in my life,

I feel like I can help.

Like, maybe I can do
something important

for our people.

-I understand
that passion, Rosa.

And I was there
once, remember?

-I know.
That's why I was hoping--

-Yeah, but I'm afraid
of that passion too.

Afraid for all the things
that can happen.

-And what if I promise
to be very, very careful?

-But you can't.

Don't you see?

You can't be careful

and be effective.

Black people
have been trying.

For 300 years.

-"Though he will not rise
and give him

"because he is his friend,

"yet because
of his persistence,

"he will rise

and give him as many
as he needs."

All right.

Who can tell me
what persistence means?

Yes?

Hello.

I came here to register.

-You live in Montgomery County?

-Yes.

-How many states are there?

-Forty-eight.

-How many Senators
from each state?

-Two from each state,

96 in the whole country.

-Answer the questions
completely and legibly,

front and back.

Next.

Morning, Mr. Lester.

You finally made it in
to register.

-Yeah, the boys been
on me to get it done,

so I figured
I might as well do it.

-How's Emma
and the kids?

-They're good.

-You tell her

that Janet from down
at the county says hi.

-Mm-hmm.

-That'll be
a dollar-fifty.

-That wasn't nearly
as hard as I figured.

-You tell Hank hello for me.

-Oh, I will.
-I'll see you in church Sunday.

-Okay. Bye now.

-Good day.

-You didn't pass.

-What?

-You failed the test.

It's a requirement
to satisfactorily complete

the civic test
to register to vote.

-I-I would like
the test back please.

-I'm afraid that's
against our policy.

-Well, how will I know
what questions I got wrong?

-I will never,
never forget that driver's face.

-She wouldn't even tell you

what questions
you got wrong?

-No.
Give me another one.

-The Judicial
and Legislative Branches...

-Makes and enforces laws.

Next.

-The US Supreme Court--

Rosa, you know
all of this mess,

probably better
than most lawyers.

How many lawyers do you think
they'd turn away

down at that courthouse?

-White or colored?

-That... is my point.

As a US citizen,
I have a right to vote,

and no person
who does not know,

or who cannot tell me
what I got wrong,

can keep me from that right.

How many
United States Representatives

are in Congress?

-Four hundred and thirty-five.

Next.

-There you are.

Just sign right there.

Thank you.

What's this?

-Oh, I'm sorry.

That one is my copy.

This is the third time
I've taken this test.

-What is it?

-Oh, the questions
from the test.

I wrote them down,
along with my answers.

If you tell me that
I failed again, I want a lawyer

to tell me
what I'm doing wrong.

-We don't want any trouble.

Give it to her.

-That'll be twelve dollars,

a dollar-fifty for each year
past the age of 21,

the first year
you should have registered.

-My registration card please?

-You'll get it in the mail.

-Thank you.

-And of all the Jim Crowlaws, those segregating buses
are the most complex and--

-The whims of
individual drivers

make it even more confusing.

Some bus drivers
are meaner than others,

and some are meaner
than rattlesnakes.

-They're affronting
and they speed off

leaving you with a face
full of insults.

Women are fed up.

-We don't have much time.
I mean, what else do we do?

Damnit. First, a Negro soldier
gets shot on the bus, now this.

-No, we have to force this city

to treat Negro riders
on its buses as human beings.

-I agree.

-Good evening, I'm Rosa Parks.

-Oh, I'm sorry,

Clifford, Virginia Durr.
Rosa Parks.

-Pleasure.
-It's nice to meet you.

-Very nice
to meet you, Rosa.
-And you.

-Jo Ann Robinson,
Women's Political Council.

-We have to go.
-Pleasure.

-Mr. Nixon, call me tomorrow
if you change your mind.

-Very good.
-Good night.

-Good night, everybody.
-Good night.

What happened?

-Colored girl got arrested
on the bus.

Claudette Colvin.

-For not giving up her seat
to a white man.

-We need
to find someone

who will swell up the people,

like a revival's going on.

-Claudette is 15,
she's just a child.

-Claudette's not the one?
-Uh-uh.

-Well, I'm going home.
-Well, you can give me a ride.

-All right.
-Good night.

-Oh, and Rosa.

-Yes?

-Don't stay too late

'cause I don't want your husband
getting mad at me.

-Parks understands
that I enjoy my work.

-But Lord knows a woman
don't need to be

nowhere but home
and in the kitchen.

-Then I cannot be here
typing all your letters
on this Underwood

or organizing
your lecture calendar

or answering all your mail
without pay.

-Well, I, I need a secretary.

And you're a good one.

-Thank you.

-Good night.
-Good night.

-Uh, Jo Ann,
you coming with me?

-Give me the bus cases.

-Oh.

It's always the buses.

-Hello? May I help you?

-I'm looking for Mr. Nixon.

-Oh, I'm afraid
he's gone for the day.

Is there something
I can do for you?

-It's my boy.

Elijah.

He needs help.

-All right. All right.

You just take your time.

-Didn't know
what we was doing.

Been going on
since last summer.

Ever since I started delivering
things to Sarah's house.

Since we was kids,
we played together.

-So, you were in her house?

-Yes'm.

A neighbor peeked
in the bedroom window.

Sarah said I bust in
and forced myself on her,

but I didn't do what they said,
Miss Parks, ma'am.

-I believe you, Elijah.

I believe you.

-They say they're gonna
give me electric chair.

-No.

Not if we can help it.

-But you can't help it.

Ain't nothing
nobody can do to help me.

-You got
to have faith, Elijah.

-I expect I done cried
all my faith away, ma'am.

The police be in here
all the time

talking about how
they gonna watch me fry.

They say it just like that...

"You gonna fry, nigger."

-That young man
did not rape that girl.

-Maybe not, but you going down
to that jail didn't help him.

-Well, somebody had
to do something.

-And what is it that you did,
besides give him false hope.

-I could not even do that.

I never...

felt so helpless.

I never...

-These graveyards are filled
with innocent black boys, Rosa.

There's also quite a few
innocent black girls

and men and women.

-Well, I never sat across
from any of the others

or saw the fear and
the helplessness in their eyes.

I do not know them.

-And you don't know this one.

Rosa, baby, this boy
was caught in bed

with a white girl.

His mama ought to give thanks
that the police got to him

before the Klan did.

-So is it better to fry
than to be lynched?

-You know what I'm saying.

-What if he were
our son, Parks?

How thankful would we be then?

-If he was my son,
what went on

between him and that girl

never would have happened.

-You don't know that, Parks.
-Oh, but I do.

Because I'd have made
damn sure that he knew

how the South worked.

-Remember,
whatever happens,

you do not become
angry or rude.

Just do what
we came here to do.

-Thank you, Jill,
and Merry Christmas.

-Merry Christmas.

-I'd like to check out
a book please.

-Oh, the procedure is that
you go to the colored branch

in your neighborhood.

Check out the book there.

-I went,

but they didn't have
what I need.

They hardly ever have
what I need.

-That may be, but you can't
check books out here.

-Why not?
They just checked out books.

You must put in a request
at your own branch

to have the book sent to you.

-That takes too long.

By the time you send it,

I won't need it anymore.

-Well, I can't help that.

-Your procedure is unjust

and insulting to anyone
who knows right from wrong.

-I'd like to check out
a book please.

Thank you, Jesus.

Oh.

It's, it's tonight.

-I know.

-They gonna kill
my boy, Mrs. Parks.

-The Lord... is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

He makes me lie down
in green pastures,

-Rosa and Woman: He leads me
beside still water.

-He restores my soul.

-He restores my soul.

-What will my
lady be wearing this Christmas?

-Montgomery Fair's
winter collection.

-Everything
that sparkles and shines.

-We usually shop
in New York or Atlanta.

I come here
because of you, Rosa.

You are the best in this town.

-Why, thank you, Mrs. Rymer,

I enjoy my work.

-Rosa, hey, can you come in
early tomorrow morning?

Christmas has us swamped.

-Y-yes, Mr. Bradley.
I can use the hours.

-Good. Be here at 8:00?
-Yes, sir.

-Hey, there.
Is this your shoe size

on this piece of paper?

-I wanna try on shoes too.

-My favorite color,
they're green.

-I wanna try on shoes.

-We'll find you
a handsome pair of shoes.
-Mama.

-Oh, hush, baby,
you know you can't try on shoes.

-Why not?
-That's why
we trace your foot at home.

-Can I help you?

-So what did you have
for lunch today?

-She's getting new shoes today.

-Why is she making
a copy of her feet?

-You ain't never had
no new shoes before?

Colored folks can't try on
things at the stores.

-All right. Let me see
what I can do.

-Let me have
those front seats.

Y'all better
make it light on yourselves

and let me have those seats.

-Are you gonna move?

-No.

-If you don't give me that seat,
I'm gonna have you arrested.

-You may do that.

-Stop. Come on.

-Montgomery City line.

-Dispatch. Driver James Blake.

Listen, I got a,
I got a colored woman on my bus

in violation of the law.

-Did you warn her, Jim?

-Yes, sir, I warned her.

-Well, then you just do it.

You got to exercise
your powers and put her off.

-All right. Yeah,
I'm gonna need police backup.

-Just get up.

-What are you
trying to do?

-Grandpappy,
I think I hate white people.

-Only thing you need to remember

is that you're as good
as anybody else,

white, black,
or green with stripes.

Don't ever be afraid
of what could happen to you

if you're fighting
for what's right.

As long as you
keep that with you,

then hate will be a word
for other people.

-Let's just go.

Let's go.

-Well, she's sitting
in the colored section.

-I needed that seat,
and she wouldn't move.

I want her arrested.

-Why won't you stand up?

-Why do you want
to push us around?

-Will you listen to that?

-The law's the law.

Lady, you're under arrest.

-I would like to make
a telephone call please.

-Remove the glasses.

Look straight ahead.

-Rosa Parks,
follow me.

-I need to use the telephone.

Oh, well ain't you
the fancy one.

You just come from church?

-Hello.

Good evening.

-Hey, can we get
some cigarettes?

You're listening to WCOB,

Montgomery's
number one gospel station.

-Miss Leona.
-Yes, you're Mr. Nixon.

-How are you doing
this evening?

-Just in time for a fine batch

of Christmas cookies,

-just out the oven.
-No, no, I couldn't.

Thank you.
Thank you very much.

-Well, how about coffee?
-No, no, really.

-What?
-Rosa's been arrested.

-No.
-It's gonna be all right.

Just calm down, just be calm.
-What happened?

-Word's all over town.

Rosa's been arrested.
She's in jail.

-Did they beat her?

-We don't know
anything yet.

-Oh, Lord have mercy.
-Just--

Parks.

-Montgomery Police,
give me the desk sergeant.

Get her out.

-Oh.

-Yes, this is Ed Nixon,

president, Montgomery NAACP.

We understand you've got
one of our members down--

-Son of a bitch.

-Hello?

Yes, Mr. Nixon.

Clifford.

It's Mr. Nixon.

The police have arrested
Rosa Parks

and they won't give him
any information.

-What happened?

When?

Okay, I'll try,
then I'm on my way.

-This is Clifford Durr.

Attorney Clifford Durr,
sergeant.

-We pray tonight
with confidence, amen.

-Okay, ladies.
Let's break it up in there.

Rosa Parks,

let's go.
-Everything
will be all right.

Parks.
-Oh, Rosa.

It's gonna be all right.

-Thanks for everything.

-It'll be all right.

Don't worry now.

-We can't afford
no big fine.

-Whatever it is, we'll just have
to find a way to pay it.

Rosie's not going back to jail.

-When's the court date?
-Monday.

And don't worry,
there's no way in hell

we're gonna let Rosa
go back to jail.

-No, she shouldn't have been
in there in the first place.

-Parks.

-I'm sorry, Rosa,

but I'm not hiding
how I feel.

You and that group of yours
are just as responsible

for her being arrested.

-I think
we should be going.

-If you need--
-Hello.

-Miss Leona, this is Johnnie.

Rosa's arrest has upset all
the colored folks in Montgomery.

Now, you remember
Jo Ann Robinson?

Well, she has a group
of her students

printing leaflets right now.

They wanna boycott the buses.

-Yeah, Johnnie?
-They're
organizing a meeting.

-Uh-huh.
-With the new minister.

-When?
-Tomorrow morning
at Dexter Avenue Church.

-All right.

There's a meeting scheduled

for tomorrow morning
at Dexter Avenue Church.

-For what?

-It's about you
and your stand on the bus.

Our ministers have the phones
buzzing all over town.

They want you at the meeting.

And, well,
if you can't make it,

they'll understand.

-Dexter Avenue Church.

The one with
the new minister?

-That's the one.

-Oh my...

-I better be going.

Mr. Parks, if you think
we put Rosa up to this,

you don't know
your wife real well.

If anything...

she's the one leading us.

-Raymond...

-...I'm gonna fix you
something to eat.

You must be starved.

You cannot really believe
that they asked me to do this?

-My wife was in jail--

-I did not ask
to be arrested, Parks.

All I wanted was what everybody
else on that bus wanted,

to go home.

And I do not need Nixon,

the NAACP,
or anybody else to tell me

that I have a right
to my dignity

when I'm taking
that ten-cent ride.

-Now, I wanna know is

what are we gonna do
about this here arrest?
-Mm-hmm.

-This is what
we gonna do.

I say we stop
riding their buses.
-That's right.

-They don't treat us
with respect,

they don't deserve
our business.

- That's right.
- Stop riding the buses?

Just like that?

-Just like that.
For one whole day.

-It's the moment
we've all been waiting for.

Rosa Parks here
is a good citizen.

We have got
to take a stand.

I say we stop riding
the buses Monday,

the day of Rosa's trial.

-There's no time to think.

- Is that the only way?

- If Montgomery is like
most cities in the South,

colored folk make up
the majority of the riders.

-So I say we hit them
crackers where it hurts.

-Where?
-The cash box.

- Yes.
- That's right.

- Boycott is illegal.

-Then we'll call it a protest.
Is that all right with you?

-Y'all know there's bound
to be some retaliation.

Now, let's just start off first
by sending a letter

to the bus company.
-Letters?

-We're talking about
one day off the buses.

-And one day
is all they need

to feel like they can put us
back in our place.

-Our place is not looking up
at them from our knees.

- Amen!
-Hell, even a lapdog
gets tired of being kicked.

Now, Mrs. Parks
has given us her courage,

a golden opportunity.
-Yes.

-Are we gonna be cowards
and just let it go?

-No.
-Now, you,

you don't talk to me like that.

I'm a grown man.

-Well, stand up
like one, Reverend.

-Well,
I'm standing up like one.

-Let Reverend King speak.

Let the reverend speak.
-Reverend King.

-If a protest against
the buses is gonna work,

it's critical that
we be together.

-That's right.
-That's right.

-Divisiveness is
the sure path to failure.

-And that's what
we're doing right now.

-The charge was
disorderly conduct.

-And you don't think
that's gonna be a problem?

-Mrs. Parks
was not disorderly.

She did not resist
or in any way get belligerent

with the arresting officers.

Plus, there's a law that says
that a colored person

doesn't have to give up
their seat to a white

if they're seated
in the colored section

and there's no other seats open.

-Well, I didn't know that.

-You and every other Negro
in Montgomery.

-Bottom line is
that bus was filled.

You were withinyour lawful right not get to up.
-Mm-hmm.

-Just get her off.

-Look over there
at the bus stop.

-officer: Yeah, we get
something to eat.

-It wasn't realistic
to expect everybody would walk.

-Nana.
-A lot of folks
just live too far.

-Y'all getting
on the bus or not?

-I ain't getting on
until Jim Crow gets off.

-I'll see you, brother.

-Sweet Mabel.
It's gonna be a good day.

Them buses naked
as jaybirds.

-Do you swear to tell
the truth, the whole truth,

nothing but the truth
so help you God?

-I do.

-Miss Wycliff,
where were you

approximately 7:00 p.m.

on the evening
of December 1st, 1955?

-I was riding the bus.

I got on at
the Court Square bus stop.

-And did you see
the arrest of the Parks woman?

-I saw it
as clearly as I see you.

-At the time
of her altercation

with the driver, Mr. Blake,

were there any empty seats

in the colored section
of that bus?

-There were plenty
of empty seats.

-That's a lie.

-I'll have order in my court.

-Hey, Parks.
-Hey, Johnnie.

-Are y'all ready?
-Yeah.

-Oh, Miss Leona,
look at that pretty tree.

-That's Rosie's handiwork.

-Oh, Rosa.

All the folks, well,
they, they riled up.

-Aren't y'all going?
-Going where?

-The Holt Street Church.
There's a mass meeting called.

-About what?

-The protest.

I think they gonna continue it,

and they wanna know
if you're coming.

-What they need with Rosa?
-Well, I think that--

I guess they thought
it would be good

if she was there.

-Well, good for who?

-Well, if y'all are going,
you better come on and hurry up.

Now, look,
half the colored folk

in all Montgomery
talking about this meeting.

This is an important meeting.
Come on with me, Miss Leona.

I'm telling you,
this is a-- this is it.

This is an important meeting.

Yeah, they're riled up, Rosa.

-Parks.
-They're using you, Rosa.
Can't you see it?

-Yes, I do see it,
and I don't mind.

-Well, I mind.

I mind them using my wife.

You're not Harriet Tubman,
damn it.

-No, I'm only Rosa Parks,

and I am your wife.

So, if you do not want me
to go to this meeting...

I won't.

-You go on.

Do what you wanna do.

-Up here, Sister Parks.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the heroine
of our finest hour,

Mrs. Rosa Parks.

-Mrs. Parks.
God bless her.

-There she is.

-Just the other day,

just last Thursday to be exact,

one of Montgomery's
finest citizens,

not one of the finest
Negro citizens

but one of the finest citizens
in Montgomery

was taken from a bus
and carried to jail

and arrested because
she refused to give up her seat

to a white person.
-Praise the Lord.

-And since
it had to happen,

I'm so happy it happened
to a person like Mrs. Rosa Parks

for nobody can doubt

the boundless outreach
of her integrity,

the height of her character,

or the depth
of her Christian commitment

to the teachings of Jesus.

-Yes, Lord.

-We're going to work with grim
and firm determination

to gain justice in this city.

-Amen.
-Preach.

-And we are not wrong.

If we are wrong,

the Supreme Court
of this nation is wrong.

-If we are wrong,

the Constitution
of the United States is wrong.

-If we are wrong,

God Almighty is wrong.

-If we are wrong,
justice is a lie.

And we are determined
here in Montgomery

to work and fight
until justice

runs down like water...
-Yes, Lord.

-Rosa.

-Yes, Mr. Bradley.

-Your position
has been eliminated, Rosa.

I'm sorry.

-Business is down and--
-Down?

But this is as busy
as it gets all year.

-Well, not if your boycott
continues.

Your pay through last week.

-Up there,
it's Rosa Parks.

-Get the door.

Get the door!

Kick it. Kick it!

-It's me, it's me.
-Damn it!

-I saw them out front,
so I decided

to come through the back.

It's all right.

It's okay.

Where's Mama?

-The reverend and Miss Davis
gonna look after her tonight.

We had to board up
the house for safety, Rosa.

We can't take
much more of this.

-We're supposed
to call the police

when they come like this.

-What for?

They never do anything
about it.

Hell, half of them crackers
under them hoods is police.

-We're still supposed
to call for the record.

Legally, it could help us.

-Why are you so late?

-I was out looking for work.

-You lost your job?

-They said business was down,
so they had to let me go.

-But it'll be all right,
I'll find something.

And with your job--
-My job?

Which mean the job
I used to have?

-What happened?

-Let's just say
it's no secret

who my wife is.

Hello?

-No, no, no.

-Oh, it's Granddaddy.
Come on.

-We got
some new ones just down there.

-We had a good rain.

-What time's
the next carpool?

Might as well look at your watch
and pick a number.

It's just as good
as the schedule.

-If you don't wanna wait,
you can catch the city bus.

It ought to be by directly.

-Yeah, well, I,
I just might do that.

-One of my customers
from the store, Mrs. Rymer,

says she might have
some more work for us

when this is finished.

-Well, bless Mrs. Rymer's heart

and Mr. Rymer, too,
for looking the other way.

Parks here?

-Haven't seen him
since early this morning.

-Oh, baby.

-I'm losing him, Mama.

-No, Rosie.

Raymond loves you.

-I know he does.

That is why it hurts
to see him like this.

-This is hard for everybody
these days, Rosa.

-But it's my fault.

-It's not your fault.

-Yes, it is.

I was the one
who sat on that bus.

I was the one who dared
that driver to deal with me.

-And he did, so...

here we are.

Are you trying to tell me
that you'd take it all back?

-Yes.

No.

I don't know.

-You do know.

You know.

And knowing what you do now,

you would still do
exactly the same thing

because you can't
help yourself.

You would do it because
that's who you are, Rosie.

Oh, thank God.

I thank God, Rosie,
that's who you are.

I love you, baby.

-This protest ain't doing
nothing but jiving folks.

Jiving folks into thinking
something gonna change.

Ain't nothing going to change

because Mr. Charlie
ain't no closer

with treating colored folk
riding on them buses now

than when that lady
started this mess.

-Well, somebody had
to do something.

-Yeah, well,
I'm tired of it.

-I'm tired of it, too, son.

-See that? It just ain't me.

-'Cause these feet
long wore out.

Done seen more miles

and red sand

than your'n ever will.

-Yeah, well, I done
my share of walking.

-My soul is weary, son.

Weary of being treated...

like less than a man.

-Yeah, old man. I...
I know what you mean.

-You don't know
what I mean, boy,

and you don't know
what that lady was saying

on that bus,

but I know
what she was saying.

So I'm gonna
keep on a'walking

as long as I have to.

'Cause these feet may be tired,

but my soul...

is rested.

- Another bus.

- Yeah,
I can see that.

-Hey, old man.

Here, let me help you with it.

Okay?
-Thank you, son.

-All right.

-When did you get home?

-Just got here.

-What are you doing?

-Reminding myself
just how lucky I am.

I remember when we
first started courting.

You wouldn't come
to the door.

I knew there was
something about you

worth coming back for.

I knew that first day...

outside the barber shop.

If I had known
way back then...

you're gonna turn this city,

maybe the whole South,
upside down...

-Would you have still
kept coming back?

-I don't know.

What you did on that bus
changed a lot things, Rosa.

Made a lot people think
about themselves...

about how they treat people,

about how they live
their lives.

-I never meant for it
to change us.

-I know.

But it did.

And even though it took me
a while to see it...

it was a good change.

-I really didn't do
anything, Parks.

All this to do about me
and that bus.

-For most of us alive today,

in a very real sense,
this journey began

43 years ago

when a woman named Rosa Parks
sat down on a bus in Alabama

and wouldn't get up.

She's sitting down
with the First Lady tonight,

and she may get up
or not as she chooses.