"(musicplaying)" "( kids shouting )" "(musiccontinues)" " Lunch is almost up, honey." " Okay." "(doo-wopplaying)" "( grunts )" "(waterrunning)" "( spits )" "( chuckles ) Yes?" " Thought it wasn't a date." " It wasn't and it isn't." "Thought you said he was just another smooth-talking brother." "You'regoingto  anawfullotoftroublefor justanothersmooth-talker." "Mom, you know I try to look my best no matter where I go or who I'm going with." "It's fun to look pretty." " He's a colleague." " Okay, if you say so." "(phoneringing)" " Hello?" " Woman:" "Hi, Bar." "Aren'tyousupposedtobe onyourdate?" "I've got a few minutes before I need to leave." "You're not checking up on me now, are you, too?" "Well,maybeIam,  butit'sagrandmother's God-givenright." "Youhaveabad habit ofbeinglate." "Andifyou'relate tothefirstdate," "Icanpromiseyou  therewon'tbe asecond." "I won't be late." "But I appreciate it." "How's Gramps?" ""How'sGramps?" He'sGramps!" "(laughs) He'sgothisbridgegame  onTuesdaysandThursdays, golfontheweekends, butwhenhe 'shomeand bored, well,whatcan Isay,Bar?" " He drives me up the wall." " ( chuckles )" " Well, thank you, baby." " Of course." "So, where you going looking so raggedy?" "Girl's got herself a date." " Oh." " It's not a date, Daddy." "He's a summer associate I told y'all about, the one from Harvard Law." "I mentioned I worked legal aid and he invited me to a community event at the Gardens." " Huh." " Yeah." "Because it doesn't get more romantic than broken plumbing and underfunded schools." "Woman:" "Tellmetheyounglady 's nameagain." "Michelle Robinson." "She's my advisor at the firm, remember?" "Andtellme again whatshelookslike." " Well, she's tall." " Uh-huh." "What else?" " What else would you like to know?" " Well, where's she from?" " Chicago." " Uh-huh." " Which part?" " The side that's predominantly black." " Okay, so she's...?" " ( chuckles ) Yes, Toot." "Her skin is of the darker persuasion." "Good." "Solong asyou'rehappy,Bar ." "That'sall thatreallymatters." "Thanks, Toot." "Now, I gotta go or I will be late." " Okay." "Love you." " I love you, too." "Mr. Robinson:" "So,what'sthisboy 'sname?" "Barack Obama." " Barack-a what-a?" " He's half white." "Ugh." "His father's from Kenya and his mother's white." "So, why isn't this a date?" "We work together." "It's inappropriate." "Mm, maybe, but you are spending the day with him." "Yeah." "The meeting sounded interesting." "Mr. Robinson:" "Well,evenif  it'snotadate, the least thing you could've done is run a brush through your hair." "( both laughing )" "You look real nice, Meesh." "Thank you, Daddy." "( engine starts )" "DJ:" "Thisheat,thisheat, thisheat!" "Hey,womenwearing thefreezehairdo, y'alldoingthattokeep cool  duringthesummer?" "Soundslikeaplantome ." "Whatareyoudoing tokeepcool?" "Whatareyoudoing tobeatthisheat?" "Speakingof hot,hot,hot," "Janet'sbringingtheheat withthenumber-onesingle inthecountry." "Imissit so much whenI don'thearit." "Iknowyoudo, too ." "SoI 'mplayingit  formeandfor you ." "(musicplaying)" "¶Hoo!" "¶" "¶Shot¶" "¶Likean arrow goingthroughmy heart¶" "¶That'sthepainIfeel¶" "¶I feelwhenever we'reapart¶" "¶Notto saythat I'minlovewithyou¶" "¶Butwho'stosay thatI 'mnot?" "¶" "¶I justknow thatitfeelswrong¶" "¶WhenI'maway toolong¶" "¶Itmakesmybody hot¶" "¶Soletmetell ya, baby¶" "¶I 'lltellyourmama, I'lltellyourfriends¶" "¶I 'lltellanyone whoseheartcancomprehend¶" "¶Sendit in aletter,baby , tellyouon thephone¶" "¶I 'mnotthekindofgirl wholikesto be alone¶" " ¶ I miss you much ¶  - ¶ Boy, oh, I miss you much ¶" " ¶ I really miss you much ¶  - ¶ M-I-S-S you much ¶" " ¶ I miss you much, baby ¶  - ¶ Boy, oh, I miss you much ¶" " ¶ I really miss you much ¶  - ¶ M-I-S-S you much ¶" "¶I 'mrushinghome¶" "¶Justas soon asI can,uh !" "¶" "¶I 'mrushinghome toseeyoursmilingface ¶" "¶Andfeel yourwarmembrace¶" "¶Itmakesmefeel  sog-g-ggood¶" "¶So,I'lltellya, baby¶" "¶I 'lltellyourmama, I'lltellyourfriends¶" "¶I 'lltellanyonewhoseheart cancomprehend,baby¶" "¶Sendit in aletter,baby , tellyouon thephone¶" "¶I 'mnotthekindofgirl wholikesto be alone¶" " ¶ I miss you much ¶  - ¶ Boy, oh, I miss you much ¶" " ¶ I really miss you much ¶  - ¶ M-I-S... ¶" " ¶ I miss you much ¶  - ¶ M-I-S-S you much ¶" " ¶ I miss you much ¶  - ¶ Boy, oh, I miss you much ¶" " ¶ I really miss you much... ¶  - ( engine turns off )" " ( chiming ) - ¶ I broke your heart ¶" "¶AndImadeyoublue...¶" "(dooropens,closes)" "Hi." "Hello." "( sighs )" "You're late." " ( sighs ) I was hoping you wouldn't notice." " It's okay." "I expected it." "You were late for your first day of work." "( chuckles ) You noticed that, too?" "Yeah." "I'm your advisor." "I'm supposed to notice." "Huh." " Do you live here alone?" " No. ( chuckles )" "No, this is my family's house." "My parents still live here and, apparently, so do I." " Huh." " Should we?" "Oh, uh, yeah." "Car's down this way." "( sniffing )" " ( sighs ) - ( door opens )" " All set?" " Mm-hmm." "(enginestarts)" "¶I cantellyou  howI feelaboutyou  nightandday¶" "¶I cantellyou  howI feelaboutyou ...¶" " You're on that account, right?" " Which account?" "Bottle cap." " Yeah." " Everything cool?" "Why?" "What did you hear?" "Some of the juniors said you weren't happy with the work." " They're wrong." " They weren't disparaging you." "They were impressed that an associate stood up for herself the way you did." "It's not the work." "I mean, it is the work." "It's tedious, but that's to be expected." "Second-year associates get the grunt work." "I can live with that." "I'll complain about it, but I can live with it." "It's the trademark suit that's got me fuming." "I take it you did not agree with the judge's decision?" "I completely agreed with the judge's decision." "And I told Thompson six months ago that we would lose if we tried it like a trademark dispute." "I was basically silenced for voicing a dissenting opinion." "Hmm, there's no real contribution at our level." "There's only the illusion of contribution." "( exhales ) Get ready, buster." "You're on deck." "(musicplaying onradio)" "Are you sure it's the firm you're frustrated with?" "Shouldn't we be getting to the meeting?" "Ah, we have some time." "It's not for another few hours." " What?" " I thought we'd swing by the art center." "There's an Afro-centric exhibit that's supposed to be" "Wait." "What is this?" "( chuckles ) "What is this?" I don't know." "I mean, taken at face value, that's a pretty existential question, Michelle." "What happened to the meeting?" "It doesn't start till 4:00, so I thought we'd see some paintings, maybe grab a bite to eat." " ( scoffs )" " We don't have to." "Barack, you seem like a really sweet guy, but how many times do I have to tell you we're not going out together?" "Mm, well, Michelle, thank you for saying that." "You seem like a real sweet girl." "But I have to correct you." "We are in fact out and we are in fact together." "But not on a date." " This is not a date." " It doesn't have to be." "Barack, I don't want it to be." "You know, usually, women I meet are willing to look past my hideous appearance and get to know the real me." "If I thought you were hideous," "I wouldn't have set you up with Gina." "Gina's very attractive." "Now, that's true." "Gina is very attractive." "This is not a date." "That's okay." "I'll" " I'll go at your pace." "Barack, there's no pace to go at because there's no anything to speak of." "I am your advisor at our law firm." " It would be tacky." " You keep saying that." " And you keep ignoring it." " For good reason." "You're my advisor insomuch as you introduce me around at the beginning of the month and you show me how to use the coffee machine, which, by the way, I still can't figure out, so some advisor." "Secondly, it's not our law firm." "It's your law firm." "I'm just here for the summer." "And while you're here, it's inappropriate." "So, you think I'm attractive enough" " to set up with your prettiest friend?" " You think she's that pretty?" "You and I share a lot of the same interests." "I don't know that that's true." " We both love Chicago." " I get it." "You think we have a lot in common." "And maybe we do." "Maybe we can be friends." "But if you can't understand this, then you can't understand me." "It's hard enough being a woman at a giant corporate law firm." "For all the talk of equality that goes around and all those filled quotas," "I'm still surrounded by mostly men." "So, I gotta work just a little bit harder to earn everyone's respect." "I gotta work a little bit harder to be taken seriously." "Now add on that I'm black." "All that extra work I put in to compensate for being a woman?" "Being black erases that and brings me back down to zero." "So, now I'm working double-time just to be seen for who I am and what I'm capable of." "Now, how's it gonna look to a guy like Thompson if I swoop in and start dating the first cute black guy who walks through the firm's doors?" "The liberal-minded people will think it's precious and the closed-minded people will think it's pathetic." "You think I'm cute?" "I didn't say that." " Some of the secretaries described you that way." " Nice dodge." "Listen, listen, we're a few blocks away." "Why don't we go in and check out the exhibit?" "I'd still like us to go to the meeting a little later." "It would mean a lot to me." "Okay, it's-- it's not a date." " Fine." " Until you say it is." "( quiet chatter )" "( gasps ) That's Ernie Barnes." "You read that in the brochure?" "No, no." "I can spot a Barnes a mile away." "You know, Barnes is a real interesting brother." " Did you watch "Good Times"?" " Not a family staple." "Really?" "There was a black family in Chicago that didn't watch "Good Times"?" "We were more of a "Brady Bunch, "Dick Van Dyke" kind of family." "Those kids on Euclid Avenue, man, I'm telling you they had it good." ""Dy-no-mite!"" " ( chuckles ) Do you remember that?" " Yes, I remember the line." "The character's name was J.J." "Right." "He was kind of a screwup." "He would steal here and there, couldn't read or write, talked jive." "You know, just a bad TV stereotype, right?" "Mm-hmm." "But, see, as the show progressed," "J.J. developed this interest in painting." "As it turned out, he actually had a lot of talent." "But he didn't take it seriously." "Not until his dad, who was this tough, blue-collar guy, encouraged him to keep painting." "He saw it as his son's only way out of the projects." "What did he paint?" "Black ghetto life." "They were crisp, exaggerated, very colorful." "His style was a lot like these." "That's because Ernie Barnes did all the paintings for the show." "Hmm." "Michelle:" "Mybrotherwouldlovethis ." " Barack:" "Craig, right?" " Yeah." "How did you know?" "Imayhaveoverheardyou talkingabouthim attheoffice." " Stalker." " ( chuckles )" "Yeah, but who's the bigger Looney Tune?" "The stalker or the victim who willingly goes to a museum with a stalker?" "Willingly?" "I'm more inclined to describe this as a hostage situation." "I'm that bad, huh?" "Oh, hush." "Craig shoot hoops?" "He's decent." "Pick-up games?" "Office league?" "He's an assistant coach at Illinois Tech." "No kidding?" "I assume he played ball at school?" "Yeah, at Princeton, then for a couple of years in the BBL." "He actually got drafted by the Sixers, but they never played him." " ( chuckles )" " What?" "I'd say "decent ballplayer" is a gross understatement." "He was decent." "Great is NBA." "Uh, no." "Good is college." "Great is your brother." "Superhuman is the NBA." "I think I came to my realization when I missed varsity my junior year of high school." "Cut class for a week after that." " Why?" " I was hapa." "So, in everyone's eyes I shouldn't have just made the team," "I should've been the best." " What's hapa?" " Hawaiian or mixed." "Hmm." "Maybe they didn't expect you to be the best." "Maybe you put that expectation on yourself." "It makes me think of Gwendolyn Brooks." "Barack:" ""ThePoolPlayers." "Seven at the Golden Shovel."" ""We real cool." "Weleftschool." "Welurklate." "Westrikestraight." "We sing sin." "We thin gin." "WejazzJune." "Both:" "We die soon."" "Barack:" ""RoomFullA'Sistahs."" "Whatdoyoulike aboutthisone?" "I guess it reminds me of our house on Sundays." "Theboyswouldbeupstairs watchingfootball andthegirls wouldbedownstairs singingaroundthepiano." " Do you sing?" " I play." " Any good?" " I'm not bad." "My Aunt Robbie was a piano teacher, so I started young." " How old?" " Four." "That's young." "Not for my mom." "She started us early on everything-- reading," "French lessons." " You speak French?" " Mm." " Are you fluent?" " I know a few words." "I never would've taken you for a Frenchie." " ( chuckles )" " I mean, any other languagebutFrench." "It's just so sentimental." "( speaking French )" "What does that mean?" "It means "Things are not always as they appear."" "(musicplaying)" "( both laughing )" "(birdschirping)" "(childbabbling)" "Turkey on rye coming right up." "Thanks." "Here." "( chuckles ) It's on me." "Okay, okay." "And now for the grand finale." "What, no good?" "That was sweet of you, but I don't like pie." "No, you're mistaken." "This is not a slice of pie." "This is a slice of heaven." "Mm." "Who doesn't like pie?" " I'm an ice cream kind of girl." " ( chuckles )" "Oh, yeah?" "Which flavor?" "Chocolate." " Ugh." " What, you don't like chocolate ice cream?" "I don't like ice cream, period." "Now, that's weirder than not liking pie." "Not when you spend a summer in high school working at Baskin-Robbins, it's not." "I overdid it." "They have Baskin-Robbins in Hawaii?" "You do know Hawaii is part of these here United States, don't you?" "It just seems so foreign." "Honolulu's pretty normal." "Played hoops all day." "Went to a good school." "Then again, there's a lot about my high school years" "I do not remember." "Why?" "Let's just say a lot of it got lost in a cloudy haze." "Oh." " Because you smoked a lot of marijuana?" " ( chuckles )" "Yes, because I smoked a lot of marijuana." "I had a lot of growing up to do." "One time, when I was nine years old," "I go to this girl's birthday party and I show up, and it's me and 20 girls." "I'm the only boy there." "When I asked them why, they all just started laughing at me." "I remember running all the way home." "I was mortified." "What made you think of that?" "I don't know." "It just popped in my head." "Could never figure it out." "Hey, you're a smart lady." "Why were they laughing at me?" "They probably had crushes on you." "I mean, everything's backwards when you're little." "When a boy likes you, he pulls your hair." "When you like a boy, you kick him in the shins." "You do any shin kicking back in the day?" "If you were on the playground and you were brown and cute, watch out." "You, uh, doing any shin kicking these days?" "Are you inquiring about my personal life?" "I might be." " Well, the answer is no." " Hmm." "Tell me more about your grade school Casanova years." "( laughs ) No." "No, no." "I couldn't have been less popular." "The kids in Indonesia used to throw me in the swamp and call me Blackberry." "Indonesia?" "Yeah, I lived in Jakarta for a few years." "I'm not kidding." "We had crocodiles in the backyard." "But-- but-- but why were you living there?" "I mean, how did you end up there?" "Lolo, my mother's ex-husband, was from there and went back for work." "We went with him." "But where was your dad?" "( exhales ) He was back in Kenya." "And you didn't wanna live with him?" "It wasn't an option." "Anyway, I didn't have to suffer at the hands of my Indonesian tormentors for long." "I moved back to Hawaii when I was 10." "My mother wanted me to get a better education." "Well?" "Did you?" "I don't know." "How would you rate my level of education?" "You're like that jive-talking stereotype from "Good Times."" "So, what about you?" "What about me?" "Well, you're Ivy League through and through." "Craig got the natural smarts." "I just worked my butt off." "I'm sure your mother made sure of that." "She never had to." "Education was always priority number one." "My dad would stand for nothing less, and there was no way Craig and I were gonna disappoint him." "What's he like?" "He's the greatest man in the world." "He told us from day one education was the key to our happiness and he didn't let us forget it." "What's he do for a living?" "Operations engineer for the water department." "Basically, he fixes the boilers." "He's been there since '68." "That must be where you get your work ethic." "( chuckles ) You don't know the half of it." "Well, tell me, then." "You're asking a lot of questions." "( sighs ) You don't have to answer them, Michelle." "Can you keep what's said outside the office outside the office?" "Michelle, I've been trying to get you outside the office for a month now." "I'm serious." "Yes." "Absolutely." "My dad has MS." "That why you live at home?" "It's better to be there and to help out." "He's on crutches now." "Still gets himself to work every day." "You know, they are lucky to have a daughter like you." "I'm lucky to have parents like them." "Is your mother still alive?" "Hmm, oh, yeah." "Still in Jakarta." "She's a wonderful lady." " But you don't see her much?" " Nah, she has her own life." "But she's brilliant, warm." "Truly wonderful." " And she's white?" " ( chuckles ) Snow white." "Born in Wichita, Kansas." " You were born in '60?" " '61." "Hmm." "A white woman and a black man getting married and having a kid back then." "They were ahead of their time." "You want the God's honest truth about my folks?" " Sure." " Okay." "My mother thought Harry Belafonte was the most handsome man on the face of the planet." " Yeah, I'd say chocolate was her favorite flavor, too." " ( both laughing )" "No, really, I think their attraction was that simple." "My father looked like Nat King Cole and my mother looked like Patsy Cline." "( drums playing )" "Okay." "Man:" "Hey!" "( people whooping )" " ( drumming ends )  - ( people cheer )" "(Baracklaughing)" "Notbadat all, MissRobinson." " Those drummers were incredible." " Yeah, they were." " I wonder if they were African." " Why?" "Well, it can be a ritual." "I was part of one while visiting my family's village in Kenya." " What were the rituals for?" " Eh, prayer, mostly." "Do you believe in God?" "You like to go straight for the jugular, don't you?" " You have a real nice jugular." "Real defined, real sexy." " Watch it, now." "Growing up, we went to church on Sundays, but I don't know." "I believe in some sort of guiding spirit." "But I also think God helps those who help themselves." " I think I saw that on a bumper sticker somewhere." " That's how you know it's good." "Ah." "And your religious proclivities?" "Let's just say I'm still evolving." " What were you raised?" " Nothing, really." "My mom didn't associate with any one religion." "And your father?" "Was he like you?" "About the only thing my father and I had in common was that we both went to Harvard." "The only difference is he got kicked out." " You still got two years." " ( chuckles )" "Think that's enough time for me to develop a drinking problem and burn through all my student loans?" "You don't like talking about him." " Well, there isn't much to say, unfortunately." " That can't be true." "It is true." " His life is incomplete..." " ( gentle splash ) ...in every imaginable way." "He married my mother, they had me, he left." "Went to Harvard, got kicked out, never got his PhD." "Got a job with the Kenyan government, got fired, never found a stable job again." "Had a few too many drinks at a bar one night, got behind the wheel, never made it home." "He died when he was 46." "His life was incomplete." "Even his tombstone is blank." " No one bothered to have it engraved." " No one bothered?" "All that family over there?" "No one had the money." "(gentlesplashing)" "You'll do it." "When you have the money, you'll go back there and have his name engraved." "You think you know me well enough to make that prediction?" "No." "But I am a pretty hopeful person, so I'll just say I hope you do it." "Barack:" "Weshouldprobably gettothemeeting." "(engineroaring)" "¶Hey,youngworld¶" " ¶ The world is yours ¶  - ¶ Hey, young world ¶" " ¶ The world is yours ¶  - ¶ Young world, young world ¶" " ¶ The world is yours ¶  - ¶ Young world ¶" "¶Thisraphere¶" " ¶ It may cause concern,it's...¶ - ( static buzzing )" "( stations changing )" "DJ:" "...Denbyof "NewYorkMagazine"" "thinksSpikeLee's newpicture'sgonnacause themblackfolktoriot , butChicago'snativeson , RogerEbert,callsit amasterpiece." "Haveyouseenit?" "Who'sseenit ?" "What'sthegoodword?" "Youwritingyet?" "Hitthephones andletme know." "Andifyouhaven't checkeditoutyet ," ""DotheRightThing" andseeit now!" "Dying to see this movie." "Sounds interesting enough." "Blick, Thompson, and Cohen were talking about it in the office." "AndThompsonsaid thefilmmightberacist towardswhitepeople." "No, he didn't." "He didn't mean anything by it." "He's a little out of touch, that's all." "I'm just tired of being two different people." "I played that game at Princeton and I played it again at Harvard." "There were white kids at school who would talk to me in class, but if I saw them out on the quad and they were with their other friends, they would walk right past me without so much as a nod." "Now,obviously, thefirmis notlikethat , but sometimes when I'm leaving Southside in the morning, headed for the Loop, I feel like" "I'm leaving Planet Black and landing on Planet White." "Come on." "You got wooed just like me." "You got wined and dined." "You saw the corporate culture, the racial culture." "You knew the score and you still said yes." "Areyousureit'sthefirm you'refrustratedwith?" "That's the second time you asked me that question." "It's the second time you haven't answered it." "What are you suggesting?" "Takethebottlecap case asanexample." "Once you made your point, why bother pressing further?" "To try and get through to Thompson." "Comeon, youknewyouwouldn't." "Likeyousaid, you'rea second-year associate." "Thompson wants you doing research, interfacing with the clients, preparing his arguments-  the grunt work, right?" " Right." "But if I don't speak up, what's the alternative?" "Shut my mouth and sit there looking pretty?" "First of all, you always sit there looking pretty." "Secondofall, I'mnotsuggesting yousilenceyourself." "I'm just wondering why you chose to work at a corporate firm where you knew your silence would be expected." "And, really, what I'm wondering is why you're wasting the fight you have inside you on battles you can't win and issues you don't care about." "Excuse me?" "You think because we spend one afternoon together and you tried to buy me a sandwich, you're entitled to pass judgment on the choices I made in my life?" " ( sighs )" " You think I'm wasting my life." "Now,I neverused thosewords." "You didn't have to use those words." "Youusedotherones, andtheystungjustasmuch." "Why?" "If you really loved what you were doing, would you be bothered by what I said?" "No." "( scoffs ) You'd tell me to go screw myself and you'd go on your merry way making tons of cash and doing trademark law for the rest of your life." "And how do you know that's not exactly what I plan to do?" "Becauseyouspent twoyearsof lawschool inGannettHouse workingprobonocases forpoorsinglemoms." "Andmyguess isthatit killsyou  to know you can't put the same passion and intelligence towards cases that actually mean something." "You're more than welcome to pass judgment on your own father." "You know what?" "You're more than welcome to pass judgment on me." "But quite frankly, it sounds like you know me about as little as you knew him." " Michelle" " And the biggest offense isthisis  comingfromaguy  whoquit communityorganizing forHarvardLaw only to take a summer position at the same corporate firm he's railing against." "Now that is the height of hypocrisy." "I apologize." "I meant no offense." "(birdschirping)" "(voicesechoing)" "(chatterechoing)" "( laughing )" "(woman'slaughterechoing)" "( chatter, laughing )" "Watch it." "Hey, watch it!" "( chatter )" "Woman:" "Barack!" "( laughs )" "Ladies!" "Come in!" " Hello!" " So happy to see you guys." "Looks like we got a full house today." "Well, everyone heard you was coming, Barack." "We all wanted to get a look at our Harvard man all grown up." "Does a year and a half change a man?" "Woman:" "No,butapparently itgetsyoualady ." " Finally, a sister!" " Woman #2:" "Mm-hmm!" "How you doing, sweetie?" "My name's Bernadette." " Oh, Michelle." "Very nice to meet you." " Hey, girl." " I'm Janice." " Hi." "We was your boyfriend's ladies while he was working here in the Gardens." " Oh, we're not" " Platonic ladies, child." " Hey." " Don't go giving her any ideas." "We did everything together except the sexy stuff." "Mm." "Now this is a real man you got yourself here." " Bernadette:" "Mm-hmm..." " Just going right over there." "(chatter)" " Woman:" "Hi!" " Tommy, my man." "B.!" "( chuckles )" " Always so good to see you." " Janice:" "Yo, Rafiqa!" "This Barack's woman, Michelle." "Mm, he done well for himself." " Welcome!" " Janice, we're not together." " You saying this Barack's girl?" " No, Kyle, this Barack's woman." " Michelle." " Y'all married and shit?" "Kyle, watch your mouth." "Your ass in church." "( muttering )" " Y'all married?" " No." "We're not together at all." "Let me tell you a little something about Barack." "My son Lawan wanted to be in the navy since he was playing with toy boats in the tub." "But growing up in the Gardens, whoo!" "Little by little, the place was getting to him." "And he was starting to get the same ideas as every other young Negro around here, thinking there ain't no place for them outside these walls." "And even if there was, ain't no way out." "Well, then comes Barack, and every time he come by the house to talk business, hesetsasidealittletime totalkwithmyLawan aboutnavyboats." "Now, I don't even know how Barack knew about navy boats, and he could've been making up names, for all I know." "The USS this and the USS that." "It didn't matter." "He kept Lawan interested." "He told my boy that he could be anything if he worked hard enough." "You see, he didn't have a father to tell him that." "And you know what?" " He made it out." " ( Bernadette chuckles )" "My son is sailing across the seas on the USS Dakota." "Bernadette:" "He looking allflyandprofessional inhismilitaryuniform." "Hands off, girl." "That's my boy you're talking about." "(JaniceandBernadette chuckling)" "Tommy:" "All right, afternoon,everybody." "Afternoon." " Crowd:" "Good afternoon!" " Afternoon." "Right, right,right." "Okay, now, today, you know we're here to discuss the community center." " ( scoffs ) What community center?" " Look, I know." "I know the city's decision was a disappointment, all right?" "Lord, Tommy." "It was more than a disappointment." "It was six months of our lives down the drain." "( crowd agreeing )" "Okay, hold on." "Everybody, just hold on." "It was a disappointment." "But it wasn't all bad." "See, now, we got ourselves not one, not two, but three foundations to fund our community center programs when the time is right." " And I got that in writing." " ( crowd grousing )" "Now, how in God's name are they supposed to fund our community center programs when we ain't got no community center?" "All:" "That's right!" "Well, that's the dilemma we're here today to solve." "Now, what we have to do first is take a look at why the city council said no." "Well, what difference does it make?" "They say no to everything we ask for." "Now, now, that's just not always true, Curtis." "Now, we got that job center up and running." "We got people's apartments on hold for them while they rehabbing." "Look, all I know is this" "Senator Torrance got himself a state grant to build a church that he's gonna preach in andAldermanSayid helpedhimgetit." "Crowd:" "Tellhim,tellhim !" "Tellhim!" "Meanwhile, my little girls can't go but a mile up the road to play for all the gangs running around the Gardens, pushing they drugs, littering they garbage, shooting they guns like this is the Wild West or something." "Shoot, our kids can't even go play in they friends' house across the street at the gates." " Man:" "Nope." " The senator got himself a church." "Our kids got themselves the shaft." "All:" "That's right!" "( chattering )" "Okay, okay, okay, okay, that's a lot of-- that's a lot of issues to address," " and I know better than anyone else." " Man:" "Mm!" "Come on, now, I've devoted my life to helping this community," " but we got to stay focused." " Woman:" "That's right." "Look, we got to take our anger and channel it towards the goals we setting." " Right now, that's the community center." " Woman:" "Tell them, Tommy." "Now, you know from past experiences we got things done because we honed in on one issue, we pressed, we squeezed, and we screamed until somebody finally listened." "It's taking too long." "We tired of screaming!" " Well, then ain't nothing gonna change." " Well, maybe it can't!" " Huh?" " No way." "Well, look, I disagree." "And I'm sure our guest here disagrees, too, because I seem to recall when he was standing here inmyposition bythispodium ayearandahalf ago,  y'allgotsomethingdone." "I seem to recall with his guidance, your patience and persistence, y'all got that asbestos problem cleared up." " Woman:" "That's true." " Got them toilets fixed." "The pipes cleaned." "Now,I know whentimesweretough, this brother right here had a lot of motivational words for us, and I'm gonna ask him to come up and say a few right now, 'cause I'ma tell you something." "We might be down for the count... but we ain't out." "Brother Barack." " Why don't you come on up?" " ( applause )" " It's all you." " Thanks, bro." "Thank you." " All right." " Thank you." " You know, it'sgoodtobeback." " ( chuckles )" "It's good to see all of you." "( sniffs, chuckles )" "I missed that musty smell up here." "( people chuckling, chattering )" "Looks like Pastor Mike hasn't gotten around to filling in that hole in the roof." "No." "Think we're gonna have to organize a meeting just to get that leak fixed." " ( chuckling )" " Woman:" "Never." "But listen." "I, um-- I feel your pain." "I do." "It's-- it's a part of me now, that pain." "Sometimes, it hits me like a heart attack hundreds of miles away in Cambridge, Massachusetts." "Now, I could be listening to a lecture in class or studying in the library or watching a movie or talking to a friend." " I think of all of you." " Woman:" "Mmm." "I may have gone on to a different life at Harvard, but you know what I realized?" " I never left the Gardens." " Crowd:" "That's right." "Now, Tommy deserves some credit here, folks." "Our fight with the city council two years ago was proof that these victories do not come easy and they don't come big." "They are few and far between." "But you gotta use them like building blocks." "You know, one by one, one on top of the other, and little by little, you got yourself a building." "And that's exactly what you need in this case is a building for your community center." "Now, I feel your disappointment." "But the truth is you're in a good position right now." " ( all arguing )" " Woman:" "That's why we ain't gotnocommunitycenter!" "All right, all right, all right." "Tommy got funding pledges." "That's real." "That's money down the line and that's hard to secure." "Now, I know it's not the whole package, but think about it." "Now all you need is a building." "You'rehalfwaythere." "The council said no to the building, but that was before you had funding pledges secured with the help of Brother Tommy here." "So, now when you remount your campaign, you have something to bring to the table." "You're contributing." "And the folks downtown who like to see us contributing, makes them feel like the money they give you is gonna be put to good use." "They just wanna know that you care." "And Tommy's right when he says we need to take a look at why they said no." "Not because it's the right decision, but because you gotta understand where they're coming from." "You've gotta understand the city's motivations, its self-interest inorderto alignthem withyourown." "We turn self-interest into mutual interest." "All right, so let's give the council members the benefit of the doubt for a moment." "Let's say they want you to have your community center." "( crowd grousing )" " Mm." " Barack:" "Okay, okay." "But let's say for a moment that we got some good folks on that council and they'd like to see your kids have a place to go after school." " Woman:" "Yeah, right." " Barack:" "Now, I believe thereprobablyareafew." "So, if we've got some good-hearted folks there... why can't they get your funding request approved?" " Getting paid to say no." " Barack:" "Okay, Curtis." "I hear you, I hear you." "Anyone else?" " Don't care enough." " All right." "Any other ideas?" "Maybe they don't think they can." "( chatter )" "That's what I'm thinking, Kyle." "I don't think they believe they can get it done even if they wanted to." "They know developers don't wanna build in the Gardens." "There'snothingin it  forthem." "Nostores, noeconomy." "These council members don't necessarily want the answer to be no." "They just believe it will be." "Curtis:" "So,whatareyou  proposing,Barack?" "That we build the damn thing ourselves?" "Almost." "Almost, Curtis." "Now, Tommy and I have been discussing this, and we both think you might wanna consider changing the goal slightly." "Refocusyoureffortson obtaininga landdesignation." "Now, if you control the land, you can cut a deal with one developer to build everything in the area on the condition that one of the buildings be the community center." "Now,that'smorejobs, more stores, and a community center for your children." "They just gonna say no like they say no to everything else!" "Now, we gotta stop thinking the word "no" is the end of the line, Curtis." ""No" is just a word." "You flip those letters around, you get an entirely different word." " "On."" " That's right." " As in carry on." "(chuckles)" " Yeah, all right." "Say it with me, now." " Carry on." " Crowd:" "Carry on." " They say "no," we say..." " Crowd: "Carry on."" " They say "no," we say..." " Crowd: "Carry on!"" " Carry on, carry on." " ( cheering, applause )" "That's it." "There you go." "You know, Harold Washington..." " Woman:" "My man." " Yeah." "Harold Washington was one of the reasons I moved to Chicago." "Woman:" "Hmm,washe ,now?" "When I first came here, every barber shop and chicken shack on the Southside had a squeaky-clean picture of him hanging up on the wall for everyone to see." " Man:" "He's right about that." " Woman:" "They all do." "Chicago's first black mayor." " He was our mayor." " Woman:" "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." " Yeah." " But even Mayor Washington disappointed in some respects." "He had to face the great truth of our country-- that it's not easy to get things done." "You know, the founders made it that way on purpose." "They made it messy... so that no one law, no one government, no one man, could decide the fate of everything and everyone." "In very simple terms, we got a heck of a lot of different people with a heck of a lot of different agendas." "But I also believe that people, most people, are basically, at their core, good people." "So, if at first we don't understand their agenda, city council, the aldermen, and the state senator... we have to try our hardest to understand who they are and what they need." "We have to let go of judgment." "That's a lesson..." "I learned today from a friend." "Nomatterwhatwethink aboutsomeone... wenevertrulyknow whatit'sliketowalk  intheirshoes." "But we have to try." "Youknow,whether it'sa colleague, afamilymember, or a particular opponent-- well, especially our opponents." "Because where their needs align with our needs... is where things get done." "Now, that's America." "Just a bunch of different states." "Statesofland, statesofmind, statesofpeople." "And it's up to us, all of us, to keep all those different states... united." "(seagullsscreeching)" "( screeching )" "Thanks for inviting me." "It's been a while since I've had that kind of connection to real-life struggle." "Me, too." "In high school, my typing teacher gave me an A-." "( chuckles )" "I wrote her a letter every day until she changed it to an A." "I celebrated all day long." "But that night, I couldn't sleep." "I kept asking myself over and over again," ""Did I even deserve the A?"" "Sometimes, I forget why I'm fighting." "Or even that I am fighting." "I didn't know I was wrestling with myself about the firm." "I understand that." "You think you're real smooth, don't you?" "Why?" "Did you know you were speaking today?" "No!" "Well, not exactly." "I knew there was a decent chance, yeah." "Mm-hmm." "Pretty good setting to bring a girl." "Surrounded by people who adore you, people who might tell this girl heart-tugging stories about how you inspired their sons to join the navy." "And an inspirational speech that had everybody in awe, Mr. Obama." "Including you?" "It wasn't bad." "You sounded a little professorial." "( chuckles )" "But you definitely have a knack for making speeches." "Thank you." "You know, that being said, it didn't hurt to take you there on our first date." " Our first what?" " You heard me." "( chuckles ) You must have misspoken, because according to you, this isn't a date until I say so." "You know, if you don't wanna spend any more time with me today," "I'll respect it." "I won't like it, but I'll respect your wishes." "But if you wanna keep hanging, let's call it a date and move on to the next event." " Next event?" " Drinks and a movie." "You think you're real smooth." "And real cute." "I don't know about the cute part." "I mean, they did look good on Dumbo." " I'd rather be Dumbo than the Wicked Queen." " Wicked Queen?" "Now, you can't just say any old wicked queen." " From which movie?" " ( both chuckling )" " ( chatter ) - ( music playing )" "¶Whycan'tnobody loveme¶" "¶Likemy babydoes?" "¶" "¶Younggirl turnedoutto be ¶" "¶Twotimes, twicethewoman¶" "¶ThatIthought shewas...¶" "Michelle:" "Don't even comeatme withthat "Innervisions"nonsense." "Barack:" "It'sa betteralbum allaround." "Michelle: "You and I," "SunshineofMy Life," "Superstition."" " Barack:" "All great songs." " His best." "Huh, not better than "Higher Ground."" ""Talking Book" was the first album I ever heard." "And if it was the last, I'd be set for life." " That's how brilliant it is." " Mm-mm." "( chuckles ) Man." "Well, at least we can agree that Stevie is the best." " Mm." " At least we can start from there." "Okay, so what about that moment in the church before the meeting?" "Which?" "I think Bernadette said it about you finally dating a sister." "( both chuckling )" "Who knows with those two?" " They love to gossip." " Is it true?" " Is what true?" " That you never date black women?" " Not true." " But you did date white women." "I've dated a couple white women, yes." "Which do you prefer?" "( chuckles )" "Come on, buster." "Now it's your turn to ante up." "My girlfriend at Columbia was white." "Okay." "It was pretty serious." "What was her name?" "Jennifer." "How long were you with Jennifer?" "A little over two years." "( chuckles ) Mm-hmm." "Columbia was a... strange time in my life." "I was reading a lot, figuring stuff out." "I had very few friends." " Except for Jennifer." " ( chuckles ) Exactly." "She was lovely." "She really was." "She was very caring." "Kept me company when I was lonely." "We fell into that private little universe couples can fall into where you develop your own kind of language and customs, you know?" "I've never had that with anyone other than my own family." "It's nice." "Anyway, when we went to visit her family, they were incredibly gracious to me." "Very nice, open-minded people." "But I looked around at all the pictures on the walls, all the white faces, and I knew I couldn't spend any more of my life living as an outsider." "Does that answer your question?" "So, why did you come to Chicago?" "To try and make a difference." "Mm-hmm." "Thought I would, too." "Thought maybe I'd work civil cases." "Help women, empower them." "Being at that meeting today aroused some of those old dreams." "Lit some kind of fire." "But those last couple years, the corporate firms descend upon the campus like a pack of wolves." "And they're so appealing." "( chuckles )" "I wanted to be in a position to pay off my loans, pay my folks back, live a little, enjoy life." "There's nothing wrong with that." "There's nothing wrong with it until there is." "Yeah, I know what you mean." "I just feel like something else is pulling at me." "I wonder if I can write books or hold a position of influence in civil rights." " Politics?" " Maybe." "I just want to do more." "Yeah, so do I." "And maybe just wanting it is enough for now." "Hm." "Whatever I end up doing," "I take comfort in knowing I can't do much worse than my dad did." "That doesn't sound like the same guy who gave that fancy speech earlier, the one who talked about letting go of judgment." "I've noticed how you talk about your father." "That's such an angry way to live your life-- judging him, living your life against his." "You're still fighting him, but he's not here anymore." "You said earlier you felt his life was incomplete." "Every father's life is incomplete." "That's why they have sons-- to finish what they started." "You know, my grandfather was not a very generous man." "He could have helped my dad through college, but he was so terrified of getting into debt, he refused to lend him any money." "So my dad had to drop out of school aftera year." "Tooka while, butheforgave mygrandfather." "Then he got his job with the city... and he has spent the rest of his life working in that boiler room, making sure not to do to his kids what his father did to him." "You have to forgive your father... soyourangerdoesn't turnyouintohim ." "Youhaveto forgivehim ... soyoucanbe betterthanhim." "That'swhathe wouldwant." "(sirenswailing)" "(policeradiochatter)" "( yelling )" "Man:" "Getoutof theway ,man !" "Cop:" "Breakitup ,breakitup!" "Getoffof him!" "Getoff,man!" "Getoutof theway !" "Man:" "Letmethrough!" "Letmethrough!" "Let me through!" "Get off me, get off me!" "Get his arm!" "Get his arm!" " Cop #2:" "Gary, that's enough." " Gary:" "Shut up." "Gary,that'senough,man !" "( man choking )" " Cop #2:" "Gary, that'senough!" " Gary:" "Shut up!" "Man:" "RadioRaheem!" "RadioRaheem!" " No!" " Radio!" "RadioRaheem!" "RadioRaheem!" "(menyelling)" "( audience cheering )" "Man in theater:" "Yeah!" "(menyelling)" "(glassshattering, objectscrashing)" "Michelle:" "What's the matter?" "Be careful!" "I feel a riot coming on." " Ugh." " ( chuckling )" " I'm gonna use the restroom." " Okay." "Woman:" "No,I don'twannasee it." "Man:" "Michelle?" "It is you." "Your height gave you away." "( Michelle laughs )" "Avery, what are you doing here?" "Uh, picking up groceries." "What do you think?" "We came to the movies." " You did?" " Yeah." "We partners do that from time to time." "And, uh-- and on occasion, we bring along our wives." "Laura, this is Michelle Robinson, one of our more tenacious associates." "Michelle, this is my wife, Laura." "So pleased to make your acquaintance." "Likewise, likewise." "I think Avery mentions you at least a dozen times a day." "Are you here alone?" "Me?" "Um, I'm... witha friend." "Actually..." "I have to go." "What did you think of the film?" "What did I think?" "I liked it." "Well, all the hoopla leading up to it," "I had to see for myself." "Oh, what did you think?" "Compelling, though the ending was puzzling andmorethan alittleinfuriating." "Ha!" "Barack!" " Avery." " Wow!" "Having a Sidley Austin reunion, here." "(nervouslaughter) Wejustcamefroma communitymeeting that we attended as colleagues and friends, and just thought it might be a good idea to stop and see the movie, since it's something everybody was talking about." "Um, thank you for that illuminating explanation." "Laura, thisisoneofour summerassociates, averytalentedyoungman," "Barack Obama." "Very pleased to make your acquaintance." "Pleasure's all mine." "So, you got around to seeing the movie, I take it." "Yes, yes, we did." "In fact, I was just explaining to Michelle how angry that ending made me." "Why would the deliveryman have thrown the trash can through his employer's window?" "Hemusthaveknown hisactionswouldcause themobto riot." "Itseemed totallyirrational." "Let me put it to you another way, Avery." "I'm all ears." "IfMookiehadn'tthrown thetrashcan, maybe the crowd would have turned on Sal and his sons." "So, instead of the store being destroyed, they might be dead." "And Mookie knew the insurance would cover the damage to the store." "He was saving Sal's life." "I never would have considered that perspective, Barack." "See, that's why we need a guy like you full-time." "( chuckles )" "Michelle, make sure to treat him real good." "We want him sticking around." "We'll see you both Monday." " Good night." " Good night." "Night." "You know I only said that to make Avery feel better." "Mookie threw that trash can because he was fucking angry." "( chuckles )" "What a coincidence seeing him here." "That's really wild." "It wasn't a coincidence." "It was cosmic justice." "I knew damn well going out with you was the wrong thing to do-- pun intended-- and don't even try to convince me otherwise, Barack, because there's nothing you can say." "Nothing?" "I can't tell you that Avery doesn't give a hoot about seeing the two of us out?" ""Make sure to treat him real good."" "That was not okay, Barack." "By any measure." "It was smarmy." "You don't think that was laced with anything?" "You don't think he meant anything by that?" "Maybe he did." "So, what?" "First thing Monday morning he's gonna spread this juicy little anecdote around the office like wildfire." "You know, none of this would have happened if you had just respected the boundaries I laid out, but you refused." "You didn't respect our working relationship." "And now that's all there's going to be." "(laughter,chatter)" "I don't want any..." "(dooropens,closes)" "It's pretty good." "( laughs ) You want some?" "Sure." "(musicplaying)" "¶Whatgoesunderneath yourarmor¶" "¶Underneathyourclothes?" "¶" "¶Doyouknow?" "¶" "¶Let'sfindout  together¶" "¶Let'sfind whatwe'relookingfor ¶" "¶We'llexplore¶" "¶Leaveyourhouse ofmirrors¶" "¶Hearme out¶" "¶Fearno consequence¶" "¶Forgetyourdoubts¶" "¶I don'tknow wheretheroadleads¶" "¶Youdon'tknow ifI 'llbreakyourheart¶" "¶Wedon'tknow howthewindswillblow ¶" "¶Andwe won'tknow¶" "¶Wewon'tgo¶" "¶Unlesswe start¶" "¶Ooh,ooh,start¶" "¶Fallintothe sea ¶" "¶Ofpossibility¶" "¶Andhope¶" "¶We'relettinggo¶" "¶Floatawaywithme¶" "¶Untilwe can'tsee  anycoast¶" "¶Thatwe know¶" "¶Holdon tight untilwebecomeone ¶" "¶Findourisland¶" "¶Underneaththesun ¶" "¶I don'tknow wheretheroadleads¶" "¶Youdon'tknow ifI 'llbreakyourheart¶" "¶Andwe don'tknow howthewindswillblow ¶" "¶Andwe won'tknow¶" "¶Wewon'tgo¶" "¶Unlesswe start¶" "¶Ooh,ooh,ooh ,ooh ¶" "¶Start,yeah¶" "¶Allthelove insideus¶" "¶Allyouwanttogive¶" "¶Onlyhappens ifweletitlive ¶" "¶AndIdon 'tknow wheretheroadleads¶" "¶Ooh,ooh,ooh ,ooh ¶" "¶Youdon'tknow ifI 'llbreakyourheart¶" "¶Wedon'tknow howthewindswillblow ¶" "¶Andwe won'tknow¶" "¶Wewon'tgo¶" "¶Unlesswe start¶" "¶Ooh,ooh,ooh , ooh,ooh,ooh¶" "¶Start,yeah¶" "¶Oh,unlesswestart¶" "¶Ooh¶" "¶Oh,let'sstart¶" "¶Yeah¶" "¶Unlesswe start.¶"