Black-ish (2014) s07e05 Episode Script

When you take the big view
of our country's history,
America has gotten certain things right.
And one of the things
we got the most right
is the First Amendment.
It's got freedom of religion,
freedom of speech,
the right to assemble.
It's America's greatest hits
written on cool paper.
It's these freedoms that ensure
our voices are heard.
From the women's suffrage movement
that won women the right
to vote in elections
to fighting Jim Crow laws
during the Civil Rights movement
to the anti-war demonstrations
of the '70s,
Americans have a rich history
of speaking truth to power.
And we all know real activism
when we see it.
Dre, look. Junior thinks
he's a modern-day Malcolm X.
If you're paying attention,
then you probably feel
the same way I do.
It was true in the '80s,
and it's still true now.
[Bleep] the police.
And this ain't it.
You know, Pops is gonna be pissed
that Junior's wearing his T-shirt.
He's allergic to baby powder.
I-I'm sorry,
but that's the only problem
you have with that, Dre?
Look, Junior is a promising
executive in the making
at a prestigious firm.
He can't go promoting messages like that
without considering the effect
that it's gonna have on the workplace.
- This workplace?
- Yes.
Okay. The place where women
aren't allowed to say "cramps"?
- It is icky.
- Okay, look, I don't care
about what Junior has to say
on the Internet.
Nobody does.
Over more than half his followers
are sitting in this room right now.
He is no Huey P. Newton.
Wait, but you're not proud
of his activism?
So all anybody has to do
is go on an IG rant
wearing a T-shirt they can't
wear in front of their mother
and they're considered an activist?
- That's a good point.
- When I was Junior's age,
activism was taken seriously, all right?
We couldn't phone in our beef
with the establishment.
Right. You probably had to
fax in your beefs, right?
No. We had to be calculated
and intentional.
You know, that's one of the reasons
I went to a Black college.
Because I wanted to be
around like-minded people
who were down to do whatever
it took to make change.
My college was the opposite.
It was full of like-minded people
who wanted nothing to change.
See, that's what I'm up against.
Whenever I made a statement,
I didn't get likes,
I got smacked upside the head.
My ass was on the line.
Call me crazy, but it seems to me
like Junior is doing
exactly what I imagine
you and your friends did
at Black college.
Junior is just stunting for the 'gram.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And it's a Black college.
Not Black college, okay?
I've told you that a million times.
If that's the case, Dre,
why don't they play in bowl games?
Ohhhh, burn.
I know the difference between
activism and in-activism,
and I knew which one I was
gonna find when I got home.
We have to defund the police.
Then you can release
the pressure from my neck
and put some respect on my name.
Give us, us free, justice and liberty.
Junior, that was amazing.
Thanks, babe.
What the hell was that?
Oh, hey, Dad, you want
to check out the video
that we made about defunding the police?
Okay, listen,
Junior Van Peebles, all right?
Do you know how dumb you sound
saying "defund the police"
in your mom's beret?
Okay, there is nothing stupid
about getting the word out.
I'm doing the same thing
as a lot of other activists.
Mr. Johnson, this is what
getting involved looks like.
It is not just African medallions
and high top fades anymore.
And what are your goals?
And how much can you
really trust social media?
Instagram is for White women
posting their booty gains,
not for starting a revolution.
The revolution has to start somewhere.
A revolution can't start unless
you have people on your side.
"Fight the power" was a clear message.
"Defund the police,"
what does that even mean?
It means redirecting
the huge police budget
to fund school lunches,
affordable housing,
unemployment assistance.
Okay, okay.
I'll ride with all of that,
but you have to sell it to the people
in a way that doesn't scare them.
Like when fast-food restaurants
introduces salads,
they don't say they're
"defunding the hamburger."
Okay, did you just compare
police violence to hamburgers?
They both kill Black people!
Dad, you are getting
too hung up on the words.
We are trying to change things
so that people don't get shot
for running stop signs.
- Yes.
- And freeing up some of the police budget
would mean that some of the potholes
you always complain about
would get filled.
So you think your silly little rhymes
are gonna fix the streets?
Hmm?
What are you gonna fill
those potholes with?
Retweets?
Son, if you want to fight the power,
you gotta get your hands dirty.
Look, Dad, we get it.
Back in your day, you watched
a lot of Spike Lee movies
and everybody was sweaty.
You had your ways, and we have ours.
Okay. C'mon, Liv. Let's go re-do it.
My face looked a little weird
in that last one.
Let's do it in front of that bush
that looks like the background
of the Obama portrait.
- Yeah.
- Right.
Just as Junior and his beret
threatened the very sanctity
of activism,
others in the Johnson gang
seemed to have the right idea.
All right, I think this
gets my point across.
Yours looks way better than mine.
Um almost all the words
are spelled right.
Thanks. I really tried.
Mm-hmm.
Hey, a bunch of us are about to
go up by the school
and post some flyers
about the upcoming march.
- Wanna roll with us?
- Yes!
Or yeah, I think I could swing it.
All right, let's roll.
I only have four spots in my car.
Oh, cool. I mean, one, two,
three, four, so
Actually, one, two, three, four.
Oh. Uh
Well, we were just gonna put up
signs in the neighborhood,
so, uh, maybe you guys can do that.
Bye.
Next protest, we're going to need
to make having a third row of
seating mandatory.
Listen to me.
That boy could be driving a motorhome,
there still wouldn't be enough
room for two 15-year-old boys.
But we're small.
I'm fine sitting on a lap.
Okay.
Freshmen girls are playing
a different game than boys.
See, Diane's a flower, m'kay?
And right now she's in season,
she's blossoming.
You're just a sapling
that hopefully one day becomes a tree.
But no one wants to hang around
with freshman boys.
But Diane and I are twins.
You are.
But Diane's on
a different path now, baby.
Okay, Grandma.
But so you know, we were triplets,
and she chose to absorb the other one.
So, I think we're good.
Yeah. A'ight.
Hmph.
Hi, babe.
Hey, baby. Now, look
- Can you believe your son?
- Huh?
All right, he's trying to change
the police and Medicare
and potholes with social media posts.
Of course he is, Dre.
Online activism works.
It has brought attention
to police brutality
in a way that we've never seen before.
It's toppled dictators.
Ended Roseanne's career.
You should be proud of your son.
He's getting in "good trouble."
- "Good trouble"?
- Yeah.
- Bow.
- Huh?
I occupied the A building at Howard.
Junior is occupying my couch.
Dre, you sound so old right now,
and you rarely sound young.
This makes your "Drake sings
too much to be a rapper" take
look cutting-edge.
Dre, Junior has as much fire
as you had at his age.
He's just using his voice differently.
Bow, protest without some sort
of sacrifice is just words.
Ali, he lost the prime of his career.
King lost his life.
A-And what did the black squares
that everyone was posting do?
Nothing. Huh? Nothing.
You want to know why, Bow?
Because it was just a gesture.
And that's exactly what
our son is a black square.
You're proud of that, aren't you?
- Eh, a little bit.
- Yeah.
Yeah, just wish he was here for it.
Mm-hmm, of course.
I realized that Junior
wasn't going to learn
how to really make a difference
scrolling through his phone.
He needed me to set the example.
Hey, son, I want you
to look at something.
All right.
What you're about to see is what happens
when you actually get your hands dirty.
This is clear, concise, and effective.
We at Stevens & Lido
support Black business
and economic empowerment for
the Black community at large.
Together, we can be the change
we want to see in the world.
I've got Stevens & Lido
to announce a plan
to provide pro bono ad services
for Black-owned businesses.
Bam!
That's it?
What do you mean, "That's it?"
All right, we're we're gonna
teach them to create websites,
organize media buys,
build e-commerce capabilities.
Do you know how much
that's gonna help us
keep Black dollars in Black pockets?
I think you're confusing Black
capitalism with Black activism.
Ah.
I get why you can't understand
what I'm saying.
It's because I didn't say it
in 150 characters or less, huh?
No, I get what you're doing.
I just feel like
a lot of other companies
have made statements or donations.
It's not about what other companies did.
It's about me using my capital
to accomplish something concrete.
Son, I put my ass on the line at work.
This is how it gets done.
Or it's how you preserve the status quo.
Me, personally, I am more into
burning it all down
and starting all over,
but, hey, you know, I get
why you are not interested
in changing things that much.
What do you mean?
Come on, face it, Dad.
You've become "The Man".
What?
Nice try, though.
I am not "The Man".
I am not "The Man"!
You
You are a Black Square!
Damn it, that did not have
the sting I thought it would.
Okay. All right, I think I got it.
- Hey, babe.
- Hey.
- Oh.
- Mm-hmm?
You missed a place setting.
- No, I didn't.
- Yeah, you did.
Unh-unh.
Revolutionaries,
they sit at the counter.
All right, can you believe
Junior called me "The Man"?
I registered voters in Compton,
I protested the LAPD after Rodney King,
and I went to the Million Man March.
You didn't go to the Million Man March.
I-I would've went
had I not sprained my ankle.
- Aha.
- All right, but I watched
every minute of it on C-SPAN.
And this one thinks
I'm not radical enough.
I distinctly remember having
a similar conversation
with a certain young man who,
upon his return from
his freshman year at Howard,
thought that he knew every damn thing.
And still do.
You and your radical friends
thought you knew just how
to fix this country
and that people like me, who
went to the March on Washington,
weren't being progressive enough.
You didn't go to
the March on Washington!
I had a bus ticket but caught a cold.
Face it, Junior's generation
has taken the baton.
It's their time to be
on the front lines, Dre.
Okay, well, I'm not
a back-of-the-line guy, all right?
And these aren't back-of-the-line times.
Well, then, you know what, Dre?
You need to get out there
and do something.
- Yeah, you got a point.
- Mm-hmm.
I need to find a way to get
on the front lines, too.
Yes. And whatever you do,
you just make sure that you
wrap up that bad ankle.
W
You know what, young lady?!
You've just earned yourself a spot
next to Junior Luther King Jr.
I can't believe so many people
support Black Lives Matter now.
Yeah. It's like I can feel this
country getting less racist.
I mean, there was the one guy
who called us "Rush Hour Jr.,"
but I'd take that any day
over a fire hose.
How did we beat Diane back?
They were in a car.
She stopped for food. It's on her IG.
What? I gotta give her a call.
This is Diane. You know what to do.
She's ignoring you.
Oh, that's okay. She does that.
That's why we have the double call.
If I call her two times
in a row, she knows to pick up
just in case I've locked myself
in the trunk or something.
So
This is Diane. You know what to do.
Yeah, she's not ignoring you.
She's ignoring you hard.
Look, Junior, your tweet
about indigenous victims
of police brutality
has been retweeted thousands of times.
People are engaged.
We're engaging people.
That's because you're
just so charismatic.
You are.
Put your hashtags up and listen up.
All right, there is a protest
downtown, and we're going.
You can't just post on social media
or expect companies to be responsible.
We got to show up.
So
Let's go, "Black Lives Matter."
C'mon, "Say her name."
We are taking this back to 1993.
Let's do this like Brutus
'cause we ain't new to this.
Come on! Let's go! Fight the power, boy!
Would "The Man" take time from work
and head downtown to march
for the rights of others?
I don't think so.
Dre Johnson has always been
down for the cause.
Oh, hey, Pops. Whoo!
Bow, babe, I can't begin to tell you
how great it felt to be out there today.
Look, it was like the old days.
You know, I think I might perm my hair
so I can be the next Al Sharpton.
No, or do you think I should get
a press and curl like DJ Quik?
Ah, mm, mm, mm, don't worry about it.
I'll figure it out on the day.
Well, I'm really glad that
you found your passion, Dre.
Obviously your place is in the streets.
- Maybe, but hey.
- Hmm?
I got to tell you something.
The streets done changed. You know what?
Everything was going fine
until these barista-looking
White dudes showed up.
And that's when the police in riot gear
- stepped to the front
- What?
while the cops with guns
surrounded us.
Mm-hmm.
A-And then this cold-brew,
oat-milk-ass-looking White dude
threw his mountain bike
through the window!
- Oh, my God.
- Yes, babe!
It was like the last scenes
of the "Joker," all right?
And I saw this this dude
approaching a cop car
with a lit newspaper.
That's when I got the hell
up out of there.
- That sounds crazy.
- Yes, it was, babe.
And that's when I realized
I'm a daytime protestor.
Oh, my God.
Well, I'm glad you got home safely, Dre.
- Mm-hmm.
- W-Where are Junior and Olivia?
Huh?
Where's our son?
Hmm.
Okay, wait a minute.
Hold on, gimme a second.
He was standing to my left
- when the bike went through the window.
- Oh, my God.
Did you Dre!
Did you leave our son out there
in a riot?!
Oh, yeah, um, I-I-I believe, uh,
the preferred term is "uprising."
You left our baby out there?
I'm your baby, too, Bow,
- and I have diabetes!
- Oh, my God.
Do you know how much
blood sugar it takes
to say "No justice, no peace"
for two hours?!
Bow, look at it this way.
He gets to get into that "good trouble"
that you kept going on about.
"Good trouble" can eat it, Dre.
- Yeah.
- He's my favorite.
Yeah, yeah. We know.
Dre, look, the cops don't see
that as a group of people
that are fighting for change
and justice.
They see them as a threat!
Oh, my God, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait.
Hey, hey, hi, Junior!
Are you okay?
Oh, God, thank God.
Okay, I-I didn't abandon you, son!
Okay, just hurry home, okay?
I'll see you when you get home.
Okay, bye.
You are not off the hook
just because they're okay.
Don't be too hard on him, Rainbow.
Dre's been through something.
It's very difficult.
- Thank you.
- And it has shown us who he truly is.
Yes, thank you.
A coward.
You know what the
weirdest part of it is?
Being out there with those kids
today made me realize
that I don't have that fire
in me that I once had.
And And marching with them,
it didn't feel the same.
Wearing a $5,000 sweater to the protest
probably didn't help, either.
- Okay, I'm being serious, Pops.
- Mm-hmm.
All right, when I was younger,
I wanted to take down the system.
But look at this, Pops.
Look what we have, huh?
I have so much more to lose.
Damn it.
Maybe I am "The Man".
Oh, please!
A White man still signs your paycheck.
You are not "The Man".
Look, y'all.
We all know change comes slowly.
And when you've been disappointed
over and over again,
it's hard to have faith
to keep fighting.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Maybe you're right.
Junior's generation
just hasn't had the football
yanked out from under them yet.
Maybe it'll be different for them.
Who knows?
But you?
You thought you were "The Man"?
Lord.
You're not even "The Man" in this house.
Hey, do you have a charger?
I'm running out of juice.
Did you run your battery down
ignoring my phone calls and texts
while you were hanging out with Jeremy?
Man, Jeremy ended up being so lame.
I eventually had to bully him
into buying me stuff.
Oh, thank God!
I can't believe Jeremy
could be so corny.
What a waste of such good eyebrows.
I mean, he let his friend drive
so he can play "Where Is
the Love" by the B. E. P. s
on his guitar while it was
already playing on the radio.
- No way.
- Yes way.
What's worse is the only reason
there wasn't room in the car
is because he puts a seat belt
on his guitar
in the middle seat.
That guy is not a tree yet.
He's just a twig
with a driver's license.
Wow.
What?
Oh, nothing, nothing.
Hey, do you want to hang out
and watch "sMothered"?
It's like Mom and Junior
have their own TV show.
Let's do it.
All right.
Oh, it's Jason,
one of the guys that rode
with us in Jeremy's car.
Hmm.
Oh, I can't believe he
added me to the group chat!
Oh, no. What do I say?
I cannot play myself.
I have to get this right.
The wrong string of emojis
could be death by firing squad.
Ooh, okay, um
I have to focus. Uh, rain check?
Oh, don't worry.
Your time will come, little one.
Once you're a senior
and grow into those feet,
the world will be your oyster.
Come here.
Oh.
Okay, uh
You'll get there faster
if you shower more.
Yeah?
Damn.
Dad, you left way too soon!
No, son, I left right on time.
Tonight was something else.
Oh, I know.
Being in a crowd
of thousands of all ages,
of all races with different backgrounds
with one common goal,
it was so powerful.
Okay, son. You You do know
I felt that way before, too.
You know, the the truth is,
you guys are moving
a little fast for me.
But just know the work I've done
is just as important
as the work you'll do.
You know, we'll never make real progress
unless we work together.
You're right.
You know, Dad, I've been thinking
about what you want to do
with Black-owned businesses,
and I think it's a great idea.
Thank you, son.
You know, I can't take
all the credit for it.
You know, as much as I was
trying to make a difference,
I was also trying to make it easier
to get that good barbecue.
You know, Dad, not only
did you miss the real turn-up
by leaving,
you also missed some
pretty unbelievable moments.
Wow.
Wow, what you got there?
Progress.
Come on, Dad, your voice
could have a real impact.
I don't I don't know if you guys
want to hear from an old man like me.
Please, Mr. Johnson, you're our griot.
Share your knowledge.
I don't know about this.
Uh, just try it once
and see how it feels.
Action.
Howard is in D.C.
That helped me see
the government can't see me.
Now I scream about cars
and bars and wars,
standing in my drawers.
Oh, Lord, You delivered us
from the back of the bus
- Sushi's here.
- Whoo! Did you get the ponzu sauce?
I think you got it.
I know you're probably
not gonna agree with me,
but that was fire.
Post. Dang.