Mississippi Burning (1988) - full transcript
Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his former Sheriff partner.
♪ Precious Lord ♪
♪ Take my hand ♪
♪ Lead me on ♪
♪ Let me stand ♪
♪ I am tired ♪
♪ I am weak ♪
♪ I am worn ♪
♪ Through the storm ♪
♪ Through the night ♪
♪ Lead me on ♪
♪ Through the night ♪
♪ Take my hand ♪
♪ Precious Lord ♪
♪ And lead ♪
♪ Me home ♪
♪ Take my hand ♪
♪ Precious Lord ♪
♪ And lead ♪
♪ Me home ♪
Oh.
What is it?
- What do they want?
- I don't know.
Just pass me.
Pass me.
- Is it a cop?
- I can't see.
What the fuck are these
jokers playing at?
Oh, they ain't playing.
You better believe it.
- What are we gonna do?
- I don't know.
Okay. Hold on, you guys.
There's a truck too.
Shit, it is a cop.
You better stop.
Okay, sit tight, you guys. Don't
say anything. Let me talk.
All right. We'll be all right.
Just relax.
You all think you can drive any
speed you want around here?
You had us scared to death, man.
Don't you call me "man," Jew-boy.
No, sir. What should I call you?
You don't call me
nothing, nigger-loving
Jew-boy. You just listen.
Yes, sir.
Hell, you even starting to
smell like a nigger, Jew-boy.
Take it easy. We'll be all right.
Sure you will, nigger-lover.
He's seen your face.
That ain't good.
You don't want him
seeing your face.
Oh, it don't make no
difference no more.
Oh, shit. We into it now, boys.
You only left me a nigger,
but at least I shot me a nigger.
Yes, indeed.
♪ Now listen, you communists
and niggers and Jews ♪
♪ Tell all your buddies
to spread the news ♪
♪ Your day of judgement
will soon be nigh ♪
♪ As the Lord in his wisdom
looks down from on high ♪
♪ Will his battle be lost
by mixing the races? ♪
♪ We want beautiful babies
not ones with brown faces ♪
♪ Never, never, never I say ♪
♪ For the Ku Klux Klan
is here to stay ♪
♪ Never, never, never I say ♪
♪ Because the Ku Klux
Klan is here to stay ♪
These Ku Kluxers are better with
lynchings than they
are with lyrics.
Just read the file, Mr Anderson.
I can do without the cabaret.
You don't like me
much, do you, boss?
Sure I like you.
I just don't share
your sense of humour.
Sometimes that's all you got left.
How long you been in the bureau?
Three years.
Right out of college, huh?
No. From the Justice Department.
Kennedy boy. Now I see.
No, I don't think you do see.
Let's get this thing straight.
I haven't had a pimple in
years. I shave every morning.
I even go to the
bathroom by myself.
So you can quit this "boss" stuff.
They put me in charge because
I've been through this before.
- Birmingham? Montgomery?
- Oxford.
I was with Meredith at Ole Miss.
Got hit in the head
with a brick, so
they gave you a promotion, right?
No. Shot in the shoulder.
Well, at least you
lived. That's important.
No, Meredith lived.
That's what's important.
What's got four
eyes and can't see?
- What?
- Mississippi.
♪ Never, never, never I say ♪
♪ Because the Ku Klux
Klan is here to ♪
- Big building for a small town.
- Yeah.
Howdy.
Good morning.
My name's Alan Ward.
I'm with the FBI.
Federal Bureau of Integration?
In that get-up, you ain't exactly
undercover, are you, now?
We're here to see Sheriff Stuckey.
Sheriff's right busy now.
You'll have to wait or
come back some other time.
We'll wait.
Listen to me, you backwoods
shit-ass, you...
You got about two seconds to
get the sheriff out here,
or I'm gonna kick the
goddamned door in, okay?
Well, hell, looks like
we got some company.
Some Hoover boys
come down to visit.
- How you doing?
- Good.
I'm Sheriff Stuckey.
Rupert Anderson.
Rupert? We been expecting you.
I assume you met my
deputy, Mr Pell?
Sure did.
You down here to help us
solve our nigger problems?
No. It's just a
missing-person case.
Well, come on.
Say, you gonna want
your boy in on this?
Sheriff, I'm Special Agent Ward.
I'm in charge of this case.
We think it might be a little more
serious than missing persons.
I don't think so, boy.
In fact, you know what I think
it is, it's a publicity stunt
cooked up by that Martin
Luther King fella.
Come on.
At around 3:00 p.m.,
Deputy Pell says he
arrested the three
boys for speeding.
He held them in jail until 10:00
p.m., and then released them.
They drove off.
He says he followed them
as far as the county line
and never saw them again.
Why didn't they make a phone call?
Why should they?
Mr Anderson, these boys
were trained activists.
They're taught to
check in every hour,
and if they're
arrested, the moment
they're released from custody.
The hotel's two minutes
from the jail.
They could have phoned
from the lobby.
It just doesn't follow.
Maybe they went for a beer.
Not these boys.
The civil rights office
in Rossville started
making calls as soon as
they didn't check in.
The sheriff's office
here said they
had no idea where the boys were.
First lie.
By who? The sheriff's office
or the civil rights office?
Who would you believe?
Mr Ward, I don't know
if you knew it or not,
but I was a sheriff in a little
Mississippi town just like this.
Yes, I'm aware of
that, Mr Anderson.
Well, lying just
don't come into it.
We were right on the border,
10 miles from Memphis,
and a million miles from
the rest of the world.
Now, if a sheriff in a little town
like this says that's
what happened,
then that's what happened.
Let's go eat.
We're full up right now, honey.
You all wanna wait a while?
Is the wait worth it?
We're not full for
nothing, sugar. You all
want to look at a
menu while you wait?
- Sure.
- Thank you.
Well, what you all gonna
do, wait or leave?
We're gonna wait because
we want to be near you.
There's some empty
seats down there.
Mr Ward.
That's the coloured down there.
Don't even think about it.
There's some people over here
getting ready to leave right now.
Aren't you hungry, Mr Anderson?
Good afternoon. Looks good.
Do you mind if I ask
you a few questions?
I'm looking for some information.
I ain't got nothing
to say to you, sir.
Just a few questions.
I ain't got nothing
to say to you, sir.
The civil rights boys came here
to propose setting up a
voter registration clinic.
Before the locals got a chance to
say yes, the Klan
burned them down.
Give a man a vote, but
don't let him use it.
That's the way it works.
What'd their office in
Rossville have to say?
They confirmed that
the boys came back
here to apologise to
the congregation.
Sorry you folks
didn't get to vote.
I suppose most of you never
knew you even had one.
Now you got no place
to go on Sunday.
Apparently, after
they came back here,
they talked to some
locals down the road.
I think that's where
we should start.
Well, you can talk to them,
but they won't talk to you.
These people have
to live here long
after we're packed up and gone.
They'd rather bite their
tongue off than talk to us.
Bureau procedure, Mr Anderson.
The church caught fire and you
ran home, is that correct?
Yes, sir.
And then the four white
men stopped you?
Yes, sir.
And these four white men
attacked your husband?
Yes, sir.
But you can't identify them?
No, sir.
Did you report this to the police?
No, sir.
But you told the civil
rights boys what happened?
Yes, sir.
Ma'am, did they tell you where
they were going after that?
No, sir.
Nothing?
No, sir.
All right. Thank you, ma'am.
You're welcome.
Come on, boy.
Open up.
Your brother Hollis here, Fennis?
Yes, sir.
Well, wake his ass up.
We want to see him.
- Why?
- Just wake him up, boy.
Why? What's the matter?
There you are.
Come here, boy.
Hollis. Hollis.
Get your ass back here,
you fucking nigger.
Hollis. Hollis.
Shit.
We better not catch you
talking to the FBI.
Or you'll be dead, boy. Real dead.
You admire these kids, don't you?
Don't you?
I think they're being used.
I think they're sent down here in
their Volkswagens
and their trainers,
just to get their
heads cracked open.
Did it ever occur
to you that maybe
they believed in what
they were doing?
Did it ever occur to them
they were gonna end up dead?
Maybe.
In Washington they sure as
hell knew, didn't they?
Some things are worth dying for.
Well, down here they see
things a little differently.
People down here feel some
things are worth killing for.
Where does it come
from, all this hatred?
You know, when I was a little boy,
there was an old
Negro farmer lived
down the road from
us, name of Monroe.
And he was...
Well, I guess he was just a
little luckier than my daddy was.
He bought himself a mule.
That was a big deal
around that town.
My daddy hated that mule.
His friends always
kidded him that they saw
Monroe ploughing
with his new mule.
And Monroe was gonna rent another
field now that he had a mule.
One morning that mule
just showed up dead.
They poisoned the water.
After that, there was
never any mention
about that mule around my daddy.
Just never came up.
One time we were
driving past Monroe's
place and we saw it was empty.
He'd just packed up and left.
Gone up north or something.
I looked over at my daddy's face
and I knew he'd done it.
He saw that I knew.
He was ashamed.
I guess he was ashamed.
He looked at me and he said,
"If you ain't better than a nigger
son, who are you better than?"
Do you think that's an excuse?
No, it's not an excuse. It's
just a story about my daddy.
Where does that leave you?
With an old man who
was so full of hate
that he didn't know being poor
was what was killing him.
Get the light. Get the light.
You all right?
I guess they know we're here.
Now you know what
you're getting into.
I'm going to call Washington.
I need more agents.
Would it make any
difference if I say
that's exactly the
wrong thing to do?
No.
The whole place for $75 a month.
It's private. It's
central. It's perfect.
There's room for 100
more agents. 200, maybe.
More on the balcony.
We're just trying to find the
three boys, Mr Anderson.
I'll take all the help I can get.
When's the show start?
Who's the big shot?
That's the Klan.
No pointy hats, but
plenty of pointy heads.
Let me run a check on the plates.
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
Anderson.
Say hello to our
mayor, Mr Tilman here.
How do you do, Anderson?
Mr Mayor, Mr Barber.
Well, this looks like
the place to be.
Even for me.
Yep. Nothing like a barber shop
for jawing your socks off.
Where you from, Anderson?
Thornton, Mississippi, sir.
Just a spit from Tennessee.
Well, then you must know
how we all feel down here.
We don't take to outsiders telling
us how to live our lives.
And I'm here to tell
ya, our nigras were
happy, till those
beatnik college kids
came down here stirring
things up. Before
that, there wasn't
anybody complaining.
Nobody dared.
We got a real peaceful
community down here, Anderson.
Course, they're just
like any other folks,
I reckon, when you
push them too far.
The way I figure it, it's like
three sticks of old dynamite.
You shake it up, and we'll be
scraping bodies off the street.
I'm just here to
investigate the missing
three kids, ask questions.
If this all boiled
down to gravy, there
wouldn't be enough to cover
a chicken-fried steak.
Them kids you're looking for?
I'll bet you a shiny new dime
they're sitting in Chicago now,
drinking a cold beer
and having a big laugh
about all the commotion
they stirred up here.
Well, I sure hope so.
You can tell your bosses
people got the wrong
idea about the South.
You know what I'm talking about.
Everybody running around
ragged, backwards, illiterate,
eating sow-belly and corn
pone three times a day.
Simple fact is, Anderson, we
got two cultures down here.
White culture, and the
coloured culture.
That's the way it always has been.
That's the way it always will be.
The rest of America
don't see it that way.
The rest of America
don't mean jack shit.
You in Mississippi now.
Oh, that's for sure.
What's the score, Mr Barber?
St. Louis on top, five to nothing.
What inning is it?
Bottom of the seventh.
You like baseball, Anderson?
Yeah, I do. You know,
it's the only time a black man
can wave a stick at a white man
and not start a riot.
Sir?
We checked on the plate,
sir. Clayton Townley.
Townley. Grand Wizard of the White
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
That's him. And we have
a lead on the car.
A Choctaw on the reservation
thinks he knows where it is.
I'm waiting for a call.
Good.
You have your appointment
for next Tuesday, right?
See you then. Bye-bye.
You gonna go to...
Afternoon, ladies.
Can I help you?
Well, yes, you can. I tell you, I
hate the way I look. You know?
What do you think? A permanent
wave, maybe? Or a bleach job?
That looks good. Was
it done in here?
No. Jackson.
A wig's your only hope, hon.
You won't be able to do
much with that cue ball.
Thank you.
If you wanna ask
us some questions,
this is where you'll hear it all.
Well, matter of fact, I do.
I was wondering who that gentleman
was that just drove in over there?
I know that isn't
President Johnson.
His name's Townley.
Clayton Townley.
Are you one of them FBI gentlemen?
Yes, ma'am, I am.
Well, I think it's a shame
if those two kids are dead,
but I hope you find them.
Thank you. Actually,
it's three kids
missing. There's a
coloured kid also.
Do you honestly think
your people'd be down
here if it weren't
for the white boys?
- Maybe not, Miss...
- Mrs
Pell. Her old man's
Ray Stuckey's deputy.
But I'm single.
Look out. Here they come.
Hollis?
Get back. Move out of the way.
Move over, boy. We'll take care
of this. It's a local problem.
We'll handle it. We don't
need your damn help.
It ain't right
having blood on Main
Street. How'd that
look on the TV news?
- Okay, easy.
- Get up.
Ok, I got him. I got him.
Get out of the way, now.
He's the kid from the diner.
Think twice before you talk to
coloured kids with an audience.
They're sending a message from the
boss in Tupelo, and you know it.
I know it, yes. Clayton
Townley, chief pointy head.
Yeah, that's right.
How did you know?
Bureau procedure, Mr
Ward. Try it sometime.
We did.
We found the car the
kids were driving.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Two beer cans, a Coca Cola
bottle, a green plastic bottle,
a badly burned wristwatch
stopped at 12:45, set of keys.
No bodies.
I want the entire area searched.
Every inch.
Yes, sir.
It's a big swamp.
Every inch, Mr Bird.
I guess they never
left Mississippi.
Yeah, they're dead. They're dead.
Mr Bird?
Yes, sir?
There's a telephone
at the truck stop.
Get to it, get on it and get me
100 more men here by morning.
- 100?
- 100.
Bureau people, sir?
I don't care if it's the army.
I want this entire swamp searched.
Yes, sir.
Don't do it, Mr Ward.
You'll just start a war.
It was a war long
before we got here.
You too.
Wake up. Come on.
Get the fuck out of
here, nigger. Go on.
Sir?
The sheriff's alibi is
solid. He was playing
poker with his wife's
brother and cousins.
The whole time?
No, for three hours.
He lost $11.38.
Another thing, sir.
We're having a little trouble
with the motel manager.
What kind of trouble?
He wants us out.
He says we're bad for business.
Buy it.
Sorry, sir?
Buy it.
The motel.
How high can I go?
Whatever it takes.
Today in Jessup
County, Mississippi,
amidst the violence of
this week, the eyes of the
the nation are fixed on the search
for the missing civil
rights workers.
I think it's all a big hoax.
But if they are in that swamp,
then they asked for it.
Naval reserves are in to
join scores of FBI agents
in their search for
the missing men.
They planned the whole thing.
They're in New York laughing
at us Mississippi folks.
- You think it's a hoax?
- Yeah, I think so.
I think it's a big hoax. They
ain't gonna find nothing.
Civil rights leaders
are optimistic
as to the young men's
whereabouts, but privately,
there is mounting concern they
will ever be found alive.
They came looking for
trouble and found it.
This is Marek Barlbobi, Network
News. Jessup County, Mississippi.
Sheriff Stuckey?
Tell you what I
think they ought to
be looking up in
Canada for them boys
instead of our swamps around here.
I'll tell you something else. I
think it's a publicity stunt
dreamed up by these NAACP people.
NAACP people?
Yeah, NAACP.
It stands for niggers, alligators,
apes, coons and possums.
Tell you what you got.
You got your NAACP,
you got your SNCC,
you got your COFO...
You know what all that mess is?
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T. You got it?
Sheriff, will this
be a federal case?
There'll be a time when
we don't gotta say,
"Good morning, sir, Mr Sheriff."
Maybe there'll be a time when we
won't have to say, "Mr Stuckey."
One day there'll be a time when we
just say "Stuckey" or "Sheriff."
And one day there'll be
a time when the sheriff
won't even be a white man.
Hello.
I wonder if I could ask
you a few questions?
I don't suppose you know what
kind of flower these are?
I been seeing them
all over the place.
I never saw such a
darn pretty plant.
They're trumpet pitchers.
Trumpet pitchers.
They're beautiful.
They really are.
They don't smell so good,
but they're pretty.
It's nice talking to you.
Sorry about interrupting
your meeting,
but we can't get
anybody to talk to us.
They "zip up," like
my mama used to say.
People don't wanna
talk to you because
they're afraid it'll
get back to the law.
We are the law.
Not around here you ain't.
We were sent to find out what
happened to those three boys.
They were here to help you.
It ain't coloured folks
you should talk to.
Who should we be talking to?
Come on, Aaron.
You should start with
the sheriff's office.
Why ain't you afraid?
How come you ain't?
Aaron.
Aaron? Come on, son.
Here's the pitch. Swing and
a line-drive base hit.
Another runner's home.
On to the next pitch by the
ruffled Bob Gibson. He is upset.
Ron Hunt singled to centre.
Hickman passed third
and scored the Mets' second run.
Hunt holds on at first.
Mets now lead 2 to 1.
The next one up will
be Joe Christopher
who struck out and
popped out to Boyer.
He's 0 for 2, and
hitting a mere .252...
Good evening, Mrs Pell. I'm Agent
Ward. He's Agent Anderson.
We're with the FBI.
Is your husband home?
We'd like to have a word with him.
You all come in, then.
It's the FBI gentlemen,
Clinton. They
want to ask you some
more questions.
You want me to put your
dinner in the oven?
Leave us alone.
Mind if I take a seat?
What's so goddamn important
you got to bother me at home?
Well, I just wanted to
run through, once again,
your movements on June 21st.
June which?
June 21st.
Now, deputy, we both know
what day we're talking about.
Let's be civilised and the sooner
you can get back to your ball game
and we can return
to Washington DC.
Please, don't let
me interrupt you.
It's just when you've
heard a question
asked a dozen times,
it gets kinda boring.
Yeah, I guess so.
You don't eat together?
He works funny hours.
You think that's odd?
No.
I work funny hours myself.
I eat when I'm hungry,
he eats when he can.
- Can I get you something?
- No, no thanks.
This is a nice house. How
long have you lived here?
I was born here.
But my father lost the house in
a poker game a long time ago.
We've been paying rent ever since.
It's a wicked game.
Poker.
Wicked.
Mr Anderson?
It was nice talking to
you. Guess I gotta go.
Them pork chops still any
good, honey? Bring me a beer.
Good night.
Let you get back to your baseball.
You know what they say?
The only game a black
man can wave a stick...
I already heard that one.
Fifty minutes of his alibi
hinges on his wife.
You talked to her.
What's she like?
She's a nice lady.
Tell me, Mr Anderson. How does
a woman like that end up...
With Shithead in there?
You know what these
small towns are like.
A girl spends all her
time in high school
looking for a guy to
marry, then spends
her whole life figuring out why.
Something's wrong.
He's too confident.
Did you see the
wedding photograph?
His three usher pals hooked
their thumbs in their belts
with three fingers pointing down.
So, what is that? Some
sort of Masonic thing?
No. KKK.
I know you ain't
drunk. I won't argue.
I'm not drunk.
I'll take you where
you can sleep it off.
All right. Hold up.
- Who's driving?
- Watch your head.
Hi.
There was a couple things I
needed to check with you.
My husband's not here.
Actually, it was you I
wanted to talk to you.
Me?
Well, you better come in, then.
Just take a minute.
My boss, he's kind of
a pain. College kid.
He has to dot all the
I's, cross all the T's.
What do you want to ask me about?
It's a time thing.
A few things we're
not clear about...
Should I put your flowers in
some water while you're here?
Yeah. Actually, they're for you.
They're beautiful.
They are pretty, aren't they?
They don't smell so nice,
but they're pretty.
Would you like anything? Some tea?
Yeah, I would. Thanks.
Oh, don't you look at that.
It's a terrible photo.
Oh, I don't know about that.
Is this recent?
No. I wish.
Well, this sure
looks recent to me.
We were married 14 years ago.
Are you kidding me?
No, that... Come on.
You take sugar?
Sure do.
You know, I grew up
in a town like this.
You were smart enough to leave.
Why didn't you?
"For better or for worse."
How about you? Are you married?
Two.
Well, I was, as I remember.
It didn't last very
long. I was never home.
I guess she got fed up with
phone calls from Miami
and postcards from Des Moines.
There was always a guy around.
Any guy that could spare the
time for a movie or a beer
or a quarter for the jukebox.
She left.
How about you?
Oh, you know the
South, Mr Anderson.
You leave high
school and marry the
first boy that makes you laugh.
Hey, your husband's quite a guy.
You know, my boss has
this thing about an hour,
50 minutes to be exact, that your
husband says that he was with you.
And I guess he was.
Guess he was.
Well, that's a pity.
That means I don't have an excuse
for hanging around here any more.
Well...
Thank you for the iced tea.
Thank you for the flowers.
Sure.
Do you know what kind they are?
I heard they're called
trumpet pitchers.
Oh, that's right.
My daddy used to call them ladies
from hell because they're car...
Carnivorous.
- That's the word?
- Yeah.
See, that pretty
colour's the bait.
Insects just home in there
and wham, they're dead
even before they got
their shoes off.
Maybe I should've picked
something something else.
Maybe.
♪ Sing the wondrous
love of Jesus ♪
♪ Sing his mercy and his grace ♪
♪ In the mansions,
bright and blessed ♪
♪ He'll prepare for us a place ♪
♪ Day of rejoicing that will be ♪
♪ That will be ♪
♪ When we all see Jesus ♪
♪ We'll sing and
shout the victory ♪
May the peace and the
joy in the Holy Ghost
abide with you for now
and forever. Amen.
He sure did preach a
good sermon today.
♪ When we all ♪
♪ Get to heaven ♪
♪ What a day of rejoicing ♪
♪ That will be ♪
♪ When we all ♪
♪ See Jesus, Jesus ♪
♪ We'll sing and shout ♪
♪ The victory ♪
You already been
told once, nigger.
We don't want to tell you again.
You make any more trouble
by flapping them
bootlips off to any
of them federal men,
we'll sure as hell put
you in the ground, boy.
And that's without a pine box.
You understand me?
How are Negroes treated
in Mississippi?
They're treated about fair. About
as good as they ought to be.
If you ask me, niggers
around here have
been treated awful
bad for a long time.
I think Martin Luther
King's one of the leaders.
I mean, J. Edgar Hoover
said he was a Communist.
They had proof to that effect,
but I don't know that for sure.
I hadn't seen it myself,
but that's what they say.
Hey, you really wanna
find that nigger?
They say we've got
to eat together and
use the same bathrooms
as the niggers.
That's awful hard for some
Mississippi folks to do.
They're not like us. They
don't take baths. They stink.
They... They're nasty.
They just not like white folks.
What do you think has
happened to the three boys?
Dead.
Just as dead as they can be.
It feels so good.
- Is she asleep? Is she?
- Yeah.
Oh, my Lord. I'm
sorry I woke you up.
Bye, hon. I'll be a couple hours.
All right.
Well, Mary, is that
your Betsy's kid?
Yeah, she's growing up
real quick, isn't she?
Come on.
Tuesday will be just
fine on those, Mary.
Funny.
Their kids are so cute.
- Here we go.
- Is that back on me again?
If the entire Secret
Service couldn't
protect the president
of the United States,
how the hell are we supposed
to protect a few nigras?
It ain't nothing but a
bunch of low-life white
trash drinking too
much cheap alcohol.
More like paint thinner
and snake juice,
because this state's
as dry as a Martini
and we got the
alcoholics to prove it.
Give me a little room here.
Excuse me. Excuse me, Bob.
- Is this okay?
- Your name, please?
Clayton Townley,
local businessman.
Are you, sir, a spokesman for
the White Knights of the KKK?
I told you. I'm a businessman.
I'm also a Mississippian
and an American.
I'm sick and tired of the way
many of us Mississippians
are having our views distorted
by your newspapers and on TV.
So let's get this straight.
We do not accept Jews
because they reject Christ.
Their control of the
international banking
cartels are at the
root of Communism.
We do not accept papists because
bow to a Roman dictator.
We don't accept Turks, Mongols,
Tartars, Orientals or Negroes.
We're here to protect Anglo-Saxon
democracy and the American way.
Thank you, sir.
Lester, you are living proof
that cousins shouldn't fuck.
What I was trying to say...
there's this coloured boy.
He wants to play football for
Bear Bryant over at Alabama.
So Bear says, "I'm gonna
give you a try-out."
What colour was he?
What's he gonna run
with? A watermelon?
And he'll keep on running too.
"Ok, boy" he says. "You get
down there on one goal line."
He puts a whole team on
the other goal line.
He throws the boy the
ball and says...
Are you open?
You gotta be a member
to drink here.
Member?
A member of what?
A member of the social club.
I thought you'd
just buy me a beer.
Give him a beer, Frank.
Nice to be back in a
dry county again.
When I was sheriff,
half my take-home pay
was from collecting taxes
on illegal jukes like this.
Probably works the same here.
I would think you
haul in a tidy penny
here, winking at the bootleggers.
I wouldn't know
nothing about that.
Yeah.
A tidy penny.
Got anything stronger
than this, deputy?
No, we ain't.
Oh. In Thornton,
Mississippi, there's
a joy juice still in every yard.
All you need is corn, sugar,
and a pot to boil it in.
I was trying to fingerprint
this old boy once.
He had his hands in a
mash barrel all his life.
There was no skin at all
on there. No prints.
We ain't interested in your good
old Mississippi boy stories.
You ain't from here no more.
Why'd you leave, anyway?
Well, I just wanted a
change of scenery.
The grits started leaving
a bad taste in my mouth.
Well, if that's how you feel
about it, Mr FBI Man...
why don't you get
back to your commie,
nigger-loving bosses up North?
You must not know
my boss, Mr Hoover.
He's not too fond of Commies.
He'd be on your side.
I don't give two shits whose
side your Mr Hoover's on, boy.
All I know is we got
5,000 niggers in this
county who ain't
registered to vote yet.
And, as far as I'm
concerned, they never will.
So tell your stiff suits
up in Washington,
DC, they ain't gonna
change us one bit.
Unless it's over my dead body.
Or a lot of dead niggers.
You'd kill, Frank? Is
that what you're saying?
I wouldn't give it no more thought
than wringing a cat's neck.
And there ain't a
court in Mississippi
that'd convict me for it.
How about you, Deputy?
How are you with
wringing necks, huh?
Just keep pushing me, Hoover boy.
You get this straight,
you cornhole fucker.
Tell your queer-ass
bosses they'll never
find them civil
rightsters down here.
So you might as
well pack your bags
and head up North
where you belong.
You get this straight, shitkicker.
Don't you go mistaking me
for some whole other body.
Your brain's in your dick if you
think we'll just fade away.
We're gonna be here till
this thing's finished.
How about you, Deputy?
Is that gun just for show?
Or do you get to shoot
people once in a while?
Thanks for the beer.
Ask them if they wanna
help save this country
from the onslaught of integration.
You know the system:
They want to throw
white children and
coloured children
into the melting
pot of integration
out of which will
come a conglomerated
mulato, mongrel class of people.
Both races will be destroyed
in such a movement.
I, for one, under God will die
before I'll yield one inch
to that kind of a
movement in America.
Do you know how much
trouble you've caused.
They've been on the radio all day,
talking about FBI intimidation.
We're not thugs, Mr Anderson.
We'll do this my way.
I know, bureau procedure.
Why were you at the
beauty parlour?
If that was Bureau
business, I wanna
know about it. If not,
I won't allow it.
- Do you understand me?
- Get in here.
You know your problem?
You don't know
when to speak and when to shut up.
That makes you a fool.
Mrs Pell won't say anything her
husband doesn't want her to.
And I'm not gonna
choke it out of her.
This can of worms only
opens from the inside.
I know that.
Freedom. Freedom.
White nigger.
White nigger.
Hurry up. Hurry up.
Freedom. Freedom. Freedom.
20 cents?
Freedom. Freedom. Freedom.
♪ Bring him ♪
♪ Your burdens ♪
♪ Seek not his favour ♪
♪ Tell tell him your sorrows ♪
- Hi.
- Hey, now.
Just passing by and saying hello.
You're not out
watching the parade?
How come you don't
ask me questions?
Everybody's been
talked to except me.
Why don't you send some of them
good-looking FBI
boys to talk to me?
Sorry about the intrusión. I was
at the hardware store and...
- Pecan?
- I'm sick of pecans.
Freedom. Freedom.
Are you willing to
stand and fight?
Yes. Yes.
Freedom. Freedom.
Equality. Equality.
How'd you find out about this?
Bureau procedure, Mr Ward.
Sheriff Stuckey.
He got his phone call.
Wonder who else was called.
Where're you going, boy?
Go on. Go on, get out of here.
Here they come.
Come on. Let's go.
We'll wait until
they go back inside.
Get him.
Get him into the goddamn truck.
Get inside, you sons of bitches.
Let's go.
Wait until they're back inside.
Come on, Ward. Let's go. Come on.
Go on.
- Turn left.
- How do you know?
Don't know, just turn left.
There's the truck.
Go up that little road there.
Stop. Stop right here.
What's wrong with these people?
Mrs Walker, I know this is
difficult, but I need your help.
If you could just persuade
your son to press charges
then we could pick up the
deputy at least, right away.
He won't talk to no one.
And it won't do no good anyway.
I promise it will.
Leave him alone.
Maybe then, they'll let us alone.
If this is a pattern,
I guess at least we know
what happened on June 21st.
Pell stopped the three
boys for speeding at 3:00.
He held them in jail until the
Klan could get organised.
He released them at 10:30.
By that time, his buddies
were ready and waiting.
No. Pell went with 'em that
night. I'm sure of it.
Do you think he'll crack?
Down here they say rattlesnakes
don't commit suicide.
Did you release the three
civil rights workers...
into the hands of the Klan
on the night of June 21st?
No.
Are you a member of
the Ku Klux Klan?
No.
- Have you ever been a member?
- No.
Are you familiar with
the term Grand Cyclops?
I've heard of it.
Were you in fact the Grand Cyclops
of the East Mississippi Klavern...
of the White Knights
of the Ku Klux
Klan for the past three years?
Objection. My client's
already told you,
he's not even a
member of the Klan.
Objection? This is just
an interview, sir.
There's really no
need to be so formal.
Well, if this is just
an interview, I guess I
don't have to stay here.
I got work to do.
I guess you do too, don't you?
Yes, sir. You can be
sure that we'll do it.
Good luck.
You all get enough to indict
me, you know where to find me.
- How'd it go?
- Fine. Just fine.
Don't you worry about
a goddamn thing.
Are you about to be indicted?
Does the FBI have evidence
against the sheriff's office?
Are you cooperating with them?
We're cooperating.
We have all along.
There's not one iota of proof.
Could you not do that, please?
Sir, do not do that, please.
You've already been told once.
Get the fuck outta here.
Do we have to tell you 2,000
times? Go back where you belong.
Get outta my face.
Get on outta here and leave
us alone. Leave us alone.
Go on home where you belong,
boy. You're gonna get hurt.
Mr Ward, this is getting to be
about as much as we can take.
I cannot register a
stronger complaint.
Not now, sir.
Now, just a minute. I
resent your public
pursuit of my
sheriff's department.
You have made every
effort to implicate
them in these disappearances.
Your slimy innuendoes
are not evidence
that they were connected
with any crime.
We're trying to get to the
truth. We're frustrated too.
Any jackass can point a finger,
but that ain't evidence.
Us old cotton-choppers are still
stupid enough to
believe in democracy.
We know our rights under the law.
You know something, all right.
I'd bet a cotton-chopping
dollar on that.
You're getting so
far up my nose...
I'm beginning to feel
your boots on my chin.
And I'm telling you one
more time, Mr Apple Red.
A couple of crazies
in bedsheets dancing
round the countryside
scaring Negroes...
is not the fault of the
entire state of Mississippi.
There are three dead
kids and a lot of
scared people because
of your sheriff.
So get used to having us around.
Get used to my boots
on your chin too.
And you people better back off.
Goddamn FBI. Who do
they think they are,
coming to my part
of the country...
Do you have a statement, Mr Mayor?
Goddamn right I have.
For a moment there, Mr Anderson...
it sounded like we were
both on the same side.
- Are you all right, honey?
- Yeah, I'm fine.
Let me know if you need anything.
Thanks. I will.
Momma. Come quick.
There's no sign of him,
sir. He's long gone.
His mother lives
across the street.
She won't even answer the door.
I want the whole area covered.
Someone must have seen something.
- They won't talk to us.
- Get going, Mr Bird.
If they won't talk to us,
shake it out of 'em.
Let's go. Every house. Come on.
What?
All these white guys
chasing around with
their notebooks will
get you nowhere.
Ok. What would you do?
It's ok to be afraid.
Go on, Willie. Tell
'em what you saw.
The defendants will rise.
In this country a man's
home is his castle.
That is one of the principles by
which this community survives.
You men have done violence
to that principle.
But I want you to know that
the court understands...
that the crimes you have committed
have been, to some
extent at least...
brought about by...
outside influences.
Outsiders have come
into Jessup County...
and they've been people
of low morality...
and unhygienic.
And their presence here has
provoked a lot of people.
So the court understands...
without condoning
them, mind you...
that the crimes to which you
men have plead guilty...
were, to some extent at least,
provoked by these
outside influences.
So, with all this, I'm gonna
make your punishment light.
I'm gonna sentence you each
to five years' imprisonment.
But I'm gonna suspend
these sentences.
You can't go in there, sir.
FBI. Let us through.
I'm sorry, sir. You
can't go in there.
Sheriff?
You all really started
something this time.
Move these cars. I wanna
go in and talk to them.
You've gone as far
as you're gonna go.
We can handle this.
Just some crazy coloureds
tearing up their own assholes.
Local problem.
Look at those flames,
Mr Ward. That's
why they sent you
down here, wasn't it?
It would've happened
anyway and you know it.
If I was a Negro, I'd probably
think the same way they do.
If you were a Negro, nobody'd
give a damn what you thought.
Aaron. Take your momma, grandmomma
and the children
out the back door.
When you hit the road, keep going.
You understand? Keep going, son.
Nathan. Come on, Nathan. Get up.
Get up, Nathan, now. Come
on. Get out of the bed.
- What's happening?
- Momma. Come on, Momma.
Come on, you all.
Come on, Grandma. Let's go.
♪ All ye who labour ♪
Who's there? If you're in
there, come on out. You hear?
I ain't taking this shit no more.
♪ Bring him your burdens ♪
♪ Seek not his favour ♪
♪ Tell... tell him your sorrows ♪
♪ In... him... confide ♪
♪ He satisfies ♪
♪ He satisfies ♪
Everything's ok, Papa.
Momma and the girls are fine.
They just cracked your head some.
You just keep on breathing.
Don't you go dying on me now.
You hear me?
You gonna be just fine.
You know, cows won't
run away. No one
knows why. They're
just stupid, I guess.
They just stand there until their
bellies swell up and they pop.
They have relatives in Detroit.
- Are they gonna go?
- I didn't give 'em any choice.
At least we know who did this.
- We did.
- Well, don't fret. It's progress.
20 years ago they'd have strung
'em up for stealing a watermelon.
I don't understand you,
Mr Anderson. Not at all.
Let's get something
straight, all right?
This thing was fucked
up the moment we
turned it into a show
for the newsmen.
The moment those three kids
disappeared, it was news.
The moment the three civil rights
workers disappeared, it was news.
To me they're just kids.
They're still missing.
What's missing...
is the 50 minutes
Pell said he was with his wife.
Ok.
I love Mississippi.
They...
They hate Mississippi.
They hate us because we
present a shining example...
of successful segregation.
These Northern
students, with their
atheist, communist bosses...
that have come into
our community this
summer with the wish
to destroy it...
this week have taken
a terrible blow.
This week their cause
has been crippled.
This week all of these
federal policemen
you see out here prying
into our lives...
violating our civil liberties...
have learned that they are
powerless against us...
if every single
Anglo-Saxon Christian
one of us stands together.
This week...
- Ward?
- We have company, sir.
Why are you here? This
is a political meeting.
Doesn't smell that
way to me, Deputy.
It's a political
meeting, Hoover boy.
Oh, it looks like a
political meeting
but smells more like Klan to me...
with or without the
Halloween costumes.
Gentlemen.
In the courts of Mississippi,
they have been reminded...
that they cannot by force
turn our communities...
into replicas of
their communities.
Communities in which Negroes run
riot, unrestrained
and unpunished...
as they do this summer
in the streets of
Harlem, or in the
streets of Oakland...
or in the streets of Chicago.
Can I come in?
It's not good for you to be here.
- Why?
- It's ugly.
This whole thing is so ugly.
Have you any idea what it's
like to live with all this?
People look at us... and
only see bigots and racists.
Hatred isn't something
you're born with.
It gets taught.
At school they said segregation
is what it said in the Bible.
Genesis 9, verse 27.
At seven years of
age, you get told
it enough times, you believe it.
You believe the hatred.
You live it. You breathe it.
You marry it.
My husband drove one of
the cars that night.
That's what you wanna
hear, isn't it?
The bodies are buried on the
Roberts farm, in an earthen dam.
Sir.
Take a break, Mr Bird.
Put some handkerchiefs
around your face.
Bring that here.
The bodies of the three civil
rights workers were found today...
at an undisclosed grave.
Neither the FBI nor the sheriff's
department will
comment on the case.
The bodies were brought to
Jessup County Hospital.
Officials here also
refused comment.
There is speculation
that an autopsy
will be performed later tonight.
Ok, keep it open.
We're coming through.
Come on, open it up.
Hold it back.
Clinton, you got problems
at home to tend to.
What do you mean?
I mean pull your head out
of your ass and get home.
"I, Vincent Thompson, am the
cheddar-cheese champion
of the worid."
"In international
competition with 42 other
entries, my cheddar
won first prize...
based on flavour, texture,
appearance and colour."
Hey, Clinton. I didn't
expect you home so early.
Hi, Frank.
No, don't. I'm sorry.
Sir.
Say again?
I'll be right there.
- Mr Bird.
- Yes, sir?
Get five men and meet me outside.
- Where's Anderson?
- He's at the motel, sir.
You two take the front
door. If anyone
tries to get past
you, break 'em down.
You two take the door on
the corridor. Mr Bird?
Ok. Go get Anderson.
Bring him here.
Don't tell him why. Don't tell
him anything. Just get him here.
Mr Anderson. Stop.
- Mr Anderson.
- Go to hell.
I'm telling you to stop and I
mean it. We're not killers.
It's the difference
between them and us.
No, between them and you.
You're no more like
them than I am.
Wrong.
What do you care what
I do to a bastard
hiding behind a sheriff's badge?
You have the whole
worid to change.
And I'm changing it.
You're as arrogant
as you are stupid.
You're changing it too.
I'll make some changes right now.
Don't mess this up
just because you
like fooling around
with witnesses.
A gun don't mean shit
unless you use it.
I'll kill you now if you
don't listen to me.
Fuck you.
Let me go. Let me go.
We'll go after all
of 'em, together.
You wouldn't know how.
- You'll teach me.
- You don't have the guts.
Not only do I have the guts,
I have the authority.
What is that supposed to mean?
New rules. We nail 'em any
way we can. Even your way.
Is this you talking or some
guy pulling your strings?
Both.
- We do it my way.
- Your way.
- With my people.
- Whatever it takes.
Ok.
Gimme a minute.
- You think he would've shot me?
- Oh, yes, sir.
He's a ballsy little
bastard, isn't he?
They want me to say
"Let us not forget...
that two white boys also died
helping Negroes help themselves."
They want me to say
"We mourn with the
mothers of these two white boys."
But the state of Mississippi won't
even allow these white boys...
to be buried in the same
cemetery as this Negro boy.
I say I have no more love to give.
I have only anger in
my heart today...
and I want you to
be angry with me.
Now, I am sick and I am tired...
and I want you to be
sick and tired with me.
I am sick and tired of
going to the funerals...
of black men who have been
murdered by white men.
I am sick and tired of the
people of this country...
who continue to allow
these things to happen.
What is an "inalienable
right" if you are a Negro?
What does it mean, "equal
treatment under the law"?
What does it mean, "liberty
and justice for all"?
Now I say to these people:
Look at the face of
this young man and
you will see the
face of a black man.
But, if you look at the bloodshed,
it is red. It is like yours.
It is just like yours.
You...
I'm gonna tell you a story.
A young kid named
Homer Wilkes lives
about 30 miles north of here.
He'd just taken his
girlfriend home and
was walking back along the road...
when a car pulled up.
Three white boys
took him for a ride.
Now...
he hadn't done anything...
except...
be a Negro.
And they took him to a shack.
A shack like... like this one.
And they took out a razor blade...
a regular old razor
blade, like this one...
and they pulled down his pants...
and they spread his legs...
and they sliced off his scrotum.
Put it in a coffee cup.
And do you know how much you bleed
when somebody cuts off your balls?
Huh?
When they found Homer,
he looked like he'd
been dipped in blood
up to his waist.
He was barely alive when they
got him to the hospital.
He can hardly walk now.
Mayor, we know you know...
who was there when those three
civil rights boys was murdered.
We know you know who
pulled the trigger.
Is there something
you wanna say to me?
Ok.
- Is he with the Bureau?
- Yeah. He's kind of a specialist.
You're sure the mayor won't talk?
No, they'd kill him.
All right. What do you have?
There were three
cars and seven men.
Pell and Bailey did the killing.
- Sheriff Stuckey?
- He was too smart to be there.
So Pell pulled the
trigger for him.
And Townley?
It was his idea. Grand Dragons,
they don't get their hands dirty.
The whole thing, huh?
Bullet by bullet.
I don't suppose you're
interested in words
like "coerción" or
"hearsay" or "duress".
This is no good in court.
We're not in court, Mr Ward. We'll
never get 'em on murder anyway.
That's a state charge. These
hayseeds will never prosecute.
I know that.
We've got to get 'em
in federal court.
Violation of civil rights.
Remember whose rights
you're violating.
Don't put me on your
perch, Mr Ward.
Don't drag me into your gutter.
These people crawled out
of a sewer, Mr Ward.
And maybe the gutter's
where we should be.
Thank you.
This better be important.
Who the hell called this meeting?
- We thought you did.
- Of this group? Are you stupid?
You didn't call this? Shit.
If you didn't call this,
who the fuck did?
Shut up.
Is this some kind
of bullshit setup?
Ray, are you sure you
didn't call this?
Cos I got a note
from my wife and it
said it was from you and Clinton.
Lester, shut up.
Now, we're all gonna walk
straight outta here...
and say nothing.
That means nothing, Lester.
First one who opens
his mouth is dead.
Shut up.
Hey, Clinton.
Clinton.
Looks like the rattlesnakes are
starting to commit suicide.
Hi, Lester.
We'll give you that ride home.
What?
Well, I know you said 4.30 but
we're running a little late, so...
- I'll meet you in the car.
- You're cracked.
Do you have change of a 20?
Sure.
Get in the car, Lester.
Or you'll have a hard
time picking your
nose once I've closed this drawer.
Lester, you could make
it a lot easier on
yourself by going on
the record right now.
I ain't got nothing to say. You
barking up the wrong tree, mister.
Lester, I gotta tell you
something. We got you cold.
Your buddies have already talked.
You're lying.
You're in a lot of
trouble. We know you
drove the second vehicle,
the green truck.
And your buddy says... Refresh
my memory here, Mr Bird.
"Lester Cowens kicked
the Negro twice
in the face and then shot him."
That's a goddamn lie.
No, it's true. What else, Mr Bird?
"Lester Cowens said
'They only left me a
nigger, but at least I
shot me a nigger."'
I didn't kill him. I
shot him in the ass.
We know that.
He was already dead
by the time you shot
him. But your buddy
sees it differently.
Your buddy tells it that
you killed the kid.
You either go on the
record right now...
or it's gonna be your
ass we're talking
about, not just a black kid's.
Think about it, Lester.
Come on out of there.
Come on out.
This is tricky.
They make it look so
easy, don't they?
I got a question for you, Clinton.
You don't mind if I call
you Clinton, do you?
I feel like I know you so well.
The way we have it, on the
night of the murders...
you made a short speech as the
bulldozer buried the
kids in the dam.
How does Lester tell it?
"Mississippi will be proud of you.
You've struck a blow
for the white man."
Is that what you said, Clinton?
Is that what you said?
It must've been you...
because Clayton Townley and Ray
Stuckey were too
smart to be there.
And you was too stupid to think
anybody'd remember what you said.
But old Lester, he
got a good memory.
I'm sorry. I haven't done
this for a long time.
Did you make a speech
the night that
you beat up your
wife, Clinton? Huh?
Did ya?
Did you strike a blow for
the white man that night?
You got a stupid smile.
You know that, Pell?
Can you see it? Huh? Good.
Did you smile when
the bulldozer ran
over the black kid's body? Did ya?
Did you smile when the bodies
were covered over? Did ya?
Get up here. Come on. Get up.
Did you smile that same
stupid smile, huh?
Did ya? You...
Did ya smile, Pell? Did ya smile?
Huh? Did ya?
Make no mistake about it, Deputy.
I'll cut your fucking
head off and not give
a shit how it reads
in the report sheet.
One more bite. One more bite.
One more bite, darling.
One more bite.
Shit, Lester. What the
fuck is going on?
Shut up.
Get in the bedroom
and lock the door.
And stay away from the windows.
Shit.
Please. Please. I
didn't say a thing.
I swear. It's a
setup. I didn't say
nothing. I didn't say nothing.
Nothing. I didn't say nothing.
I didn't say nothing.
I didn't say nothing.
You're lucky we've been
watching your ass, Lester.
If you go on the
record, Mr Cowens,
we'll give you
protection. If not...
If not, they're gonna
kill you anyway.
Oh. You need a toilet, Lester.
We really had him going, huh?
We'll take care of the
check, Mr Swilley.
Well, I suppose I'll...
be back for supper.
Button up, Wesley.
Why did he do it?
He wasn't even in on
it. Wasn't even Klan.
Mr Bird, he was guilty.
Anyone's guilty who watches this
happen and pretends it isn't.
No. He was guilty all right.
Just as guilty as the fanatics
who pulled the trigger.
Maybe we all are.
Hello.
Yeah.
I just missed you at the hospital.
They said you'd gone home.
What's left of it.
- I'm real sorry.
- So am I.
- What are you gonna do?
- I don't know.
Where will you go?
I'm not going anywhere.
I'm staying.
This is my home. Born here.
Probably die here.
If I wanted to leave, I would've
done it a long time ago.
Things'll work out.
There's enough good people around
here know what I did was right.
And enough ladies like the
way I fix their hair.
Hey.
If you're ever in Des Moines...
don't send me a postcard.
Ok.
♪ We cannot see ♪
♪ In the future ♪
♪ No, no, no, no, no ♪
♪ And it's hard ♪
♪ To smile ♪
♪ Through trials ♪
♪ No, we cannot see ♪
♪ Every pitfall ♪
♪ But we must walk on ♪
♪ By faith ♪
♪ Each day ♪
♪ Oh, Lord ♪
♪ Whoa, on Monday ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ And on Tuesday ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Whoa, let Jesus ♪
♪ Let Jesus be ♪
♪ Let him be your ♪
♪ Your guide ♪
♪ Whoo-oo-oo ♪
♪ He's able ♪
♪ He could carry your load ♪
♪ And he could see
way down the road ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
You wanna drive, Rupert?
Yeah.
♪ On Monday ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ And on Tuesday ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Let Jesus be ♪
♪ Let him be your ♪
♪ Your guide ♪
♪ He's able ♪
♪ To carry your load ♪
♪ To carry your load ♪
♪ And he can see way
down the road ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Take my hand ♪
♪ Lead me on ♪
♪ Let me stand ♪
♪ I am tired ♪
♪ I am weak ♪
♪ I am worn ♪
♪ Through the storm ♪
♪ Through the night ♪
♪ Lead me on ♪
♪ Through the night ♪
♪ Take my hand ♪
♪ Precious Lord ♪
♪ And lead ♪
♪ Me home ♪
♪ Take my hand ♪
♪ Precious Lord ♪
♪ And lead ♪
♪ Me home ♪
Oh.
What is it?
- What do they want?
- I don't know.
Just pass me.
Pass me.
- Is it a cop?
- I can't see.
What the fuck are these
jokers playing at?
Oh, they ain't playing.
You better believe it.
- What are we gonna do?
- I don't know.
Okay. Hold on, you guys.
There's a truck too.
Shit, it is a cop.
You better stop.
Okay, sit tight, you guys. Don't
say anything. Let me talk.
All right. We'll be all right.
Just relax.
You all think you can drive any
speed you want around here?
You had us scared to death, man.
Don't you call me "man," Jew-boy.
No, sir. What should I call you?
You don't call me
nothing, nigger-loving
Jew-boy. You just listen.
Yes, sir.
Hell, you even starting to
smell like a nigger, Jew-boy.
Take it easy. We'll be all right.
Sure you will, nigger-lover.
He's seen your face.
That ain't good.
You don't want him
seeing your face.
Oh, it don't make no
difference no more.
Oh, shit. We into it now, boys.
You only left me a nigger,
but at least I shot me a nigger.
Yes, indeed.
♪ Now listen, you communists
and niggers and Jews ♪
♪ Tell all your buddies
to spread the news ♪
♪ Your day of judgement
will soon be nigh ♪
♪ As the Lord in his wisdom
looks down from on high ♪
♪ Will his battle be lost
by mixing the races? ♪
♪ We want beautiful babies
not ones with brown faces ♪
♪ Never, never, never I say ♪
♪ For the Ku Klux Klan
is here to stay ♪
♪ Never, never, never I say ♪
♪ Because the Ku Klux
Klan is here to stay ♪
These Ku Kluxers are better with
lynchings than they
are with lyrics.
Just read the file, Mr Anderson.
I can do without the cabaret.
You don't like me
much, do you, boss?
Sure I like you.
I just don't share
your sense of humour.
Sometimes that's all you got left.
How long you been in the bureau?
Three years.
Right out of college, huh?
No. From the Justice Department.
Kennedy boy. Now I see.
No, I don't think you do see.
Let's get this thing straight.
I haven't had a pimple in
years. I shave every morning.
I even go to the
bathroom by myself.
So you can quit this "boss" stuff.
They put me in charge because
I've been through this before.
- Birmingham? Montgomery?
- Oxford.
I was with Meredith at Ole Miss.
Got hit in the head
with a brick, so
they gave you a promotion, right?
No. Shot in the shoulder.
Well, at least you
lived. That's important.
No, Meredith lived.
That's what's important.
What's got four
eyes and can't see?
- What?
- Mississippi.
♪ Never, never, never I say ♪
♪ Because the Ku Klux
Klan is here to ♪
- Big building for a small town.
- Yeah.
Howdy.
Good morning.
My name's Alan Ward.
I'm with the FBI.
Federal Bureau of Integration?
In that get-up, you ain't exactly
undercover, are you, now?
We're here to see Sheriff Stuckey.
Sheriff's right busy now.
You'll have to wait or
come back some other time.
We'll wait.
Listen to me, you backwoods
shit-ass, you...
You got about two seconds to
get the sheriff out here,
or I'm gonna kick the
goddamned door in, okay?
Well, hell, looks like
we got some company.
Some Hoover boys
come down to visit.
- How you doing?
- Good.
I'm Sheriff Stuckey.
Rupert Anderson.
Rupert? We been expecting you.
I assume you met my
deputy, Mr Pell?
Sure did.
You down here to help us
solve our nigger problems?
No. It's just a
missing-person case.
Well, come on.
Say, you gonna want
your boy in on this?
Sheriff, I'm Special Agent Ward.
I'm in charge of this case.
We think it might be a little more
serious than missing persons.
I don't think so, boy.
In fact, you know what I think
it is, it's a publicity stunt
cooked up by that Martin
Luther King fella.
Come on.
At around 3:00 p.m.,
Deputy Pell says he
arrested the three
boys for speeding.
He held them in jail until 10:00
p.m., and then released them.
They drove off.
He says he followed them
as far as the county line
and never saw them again.
Why didn't they make a phone call?
Why should they?
Mr Anderson, these boys
were trained activists.
They're taught to
check in every hour,
and if they're
arrested, the moment
they're released from custody.
The hotel's two minutes
from the jail.
They could have phoned
from the lobby.
It just doesn't follow.
Maybe they went for a beer.
Not these boys.
The civil rights office
in Rossville started
making calls as soon as
they didn't check in.
The sheriff's office
here said they
had no idea where the boys were.
First lie.
By who? The sheriff's office
or the civil rights office?
Who would you believe?
Mr Ward, I don't know
if you knew it or not,
but I was a sheriff in a little
Mississippi town just like this.
Yes, I'm aware of
that, Mr Anderson.
Well, lying just
don't come into it.
We were right on the border,
10 miles from Memphis,
and a million miles from
the rest of the world.
Now, if a sheriff in a little town
like this says that's
what happened,
then that's what happened.
Let's go eat.
We're full up right now, honey.
You all wanna wait a while?
Is the wait worth it?
We're not full for
nothing, sugar. You all
want to look at a
menu while you wait?
- Sure.
- Thank you.
Well, what you all gonna
do, wait or leave?
We're gonna wait because
we want to be near you.
There's some empty
seats down there.
Mr Ward.
That's the coloured down there.
Don't even think about it.
There's some people over here
getting ready to leave right now.
Aren't you hungry, Mr Anderson?
Good afternoon. Looks good.
Do you mind if I ask
you a few questions?
I'm looking for some information.
I ain't got nothing
to say to you, sir.
Just a few questions.
I ain't got nothing
to say to you, sir.
The civil rights boys came here
to propose setting up a
voter registration clinic.
Before the locals got a chance to
say yes, the Klan
burned them down.
Give a man a vote, but
don't let him use it.
That's the way it works.
What'd their office in
Rossville have to say?
They confirmed that
the boys came back
here to apologise to
the congregation.
Sorry you folks
didn't get to vote.
I suppose most of you never
knew you even had one.
Now you got no place
to go on Sunday.
Apparently, after
they came back here,
they talked to some
locals down the road.
I think that's where
we should start.
Well, you can talk to them,
but they won't talk to you.
These people have
to live here long
after we're packed up and gone.
They'd rather bite their
tongue off than talk to us.
Bureau procedure, Mr Anderson.
The church caught fire and you
ran home, is that correct?
Yes, sir.
And then the four white
men stopped you?
Yes, sir.
And these four white men
attacked your husband?
Yes, sir.
But you can't identify them?
No, sir.
Did you report this to the police?
No, sir.
But you told the civil
rights boys what happened?
Yes, sir.
Ma'am, did they tell you where
they were going after that?
No, sir.
Nothing?
No, sir.
All right. Thank you, ma'am.
You're welcome.
Come on, boy.
Open up.
Your brother Hollis here, Fennis?
Yes, sir.
Well, wake his ass up.
We want to see him.
- Why?
- Just wake him up, boy.
Why? What's the matter?
There you are.
Come here, boy.
Hollis. Hollis.
Get your ass back here,
you fucking nigger.
Hollis. Hollis.
Shit.
We better not catch you
talking to the FBI.
Or you'll be dead, boy. Real dead.
You admire these kids, don't you?
Don't you?
I think they're being used.
I think they're sent down here in
their Volkswagens
and their trainers,
just to get their
heads cracked open.
Did it ever occur
to you that maybe
they believed in what
they were doing?
Did it ever occur to them
they were gonna end up dead?
Maybe.
In Washington they sure as
hell knew, didn't they?
Some things are worth dying for.
Well, down here they see
things a little differently.
People down here feel some
things are worth killing for.
Where does it come
from, all this hatred?
You know, when I was a little boy,
there was an old
Negro farmer lived
down the road from
us, name of Monroe.
And he was...
Well, I guess he was just a
little luckier than my daddy was.
He bought himself a mule.
That was a big deal
around that town.
My daddy hated that mule.
His friends always
kidded him that they saw
Monroe ploughing
with his new mule.
And Monroe was gonna rent another
field now that he had a mule.
One morning that mule
just showed up dead.
They poisoned the water.
After that, there was
never any mention
about that mule around my daddy.
Just never came up.
One time we were
driving past Monroe's
place and we saw it was empty.
He'd just packed up and left.
Gone up north or something.
I looked over at my daddy's face
and I knew he'd done it.
He saw that I knew.
He was ashamed.
I guess he was ashamed.
He looked at me and he said,
"If you ain't better than a nigger
son, who are you better than?"
Do you think that's an excuse?
No, it's not an excuse. It's
just a story about my daddy.
Where does that leave you?
With an old man who
was so full of hate
that he didn't know being poor
was what was killing him.
Get the light. Get the light.
You all right?
I guess they know we're here.
Now you know what
you're getting into.
I'm going to call Washington.
I need more agents.
Would it make any
difference if I say
that's exactly the
wrong thing to do?
No.
The whole place for $75 a month.
It's private. It's
central. It's perfect.
There's room for 100
more agents. 200, maybe.
More on the balcony.
We're just trying to find the
three boys, Mr Anderson.
I'll take all the help I can get.
When's the show start?
Who's the big shot?
That's the Klan.
No pointy hats, but
plenty of pointy heads.
Let me run a check on the plates.
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
Anderson.
Say hello to our
mayor, Mr Tilman here.
How do you do, Anderson?
Mr Mayor, Mr Barber.
Well, this looks like
the place to be.
Even for me.
Yep. Nothing like a barber shop
for jawing your socks off.
Where you from, Anderson?
Thornton, Mississippi, sir.
Just a spit from Tennessee.
Well, then you must know
how we all feel down here.
We don't take to outsiders telling
us how to live our lives.
And I'm here to tell
ya, our nigras were
happy, till those
beatnik college kids
came down here stirring
things up. Before
that, there wasn't
anybody complaining.
Nobody dared.
We got a real peaceful
community down here, Anderson.
Course, they're just
like any other folks,
I reckon, when you
push them too far.
The way I figure it, it's like
three sticks of old dynamite.
You shake it up, and we'll be
scraping bodies off the street.
I'm just here to
investigate the missing
three kids, ask questions.
If this all boiled
down to gravy, there
wouldn't be enough to cover
a chicken-fried steak.
Them kids you're looking for?
I'll bet you a shiny new dime
they're sitting in Chicago now,
drinking a cold beer
and having a big laugh
about all the commotion
they stirred up here.
Well, I sure hope so.
You can tell your bosses
people got the wrong
idea about the South.
You know what I'm talking about.
Everybody running around
ragged, backwards, illiterate,
eating sow-belly and corn
pone three times a day.
Simple fact is, Anderson, we
got two cultures down here.
White culture, and the
coloured culture.
That's the way it always has been.
That's the way it always will be.
The rest of America
don't see it that way.
The rest of America
don't mean jack shit.
You in Mississippi now.
Oh, that's for sure.
What's the score, Mr Barber?
St. Louis on top, five to nothing.
What inning is it?
Bottom of the seventh.
You like baseball, Anderson?
Yeah, I do. You know,
it's the only time a black man
can wave a stick at a white man
and not start a riot.
Sir?
We checked on the plate,
sir. Clayton Townley.
Townley. Grand Wizard of the White
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
That's him. And we have
a lead on the car.
A Choctaw on the reservation
thinks he knows where it is.
I'm waiting for a call.
Good.
You have your appointment
for next Tuesday, right?
See you then. Bye-bye.
You gonna go to...
Afternoon, ladies.
Can I help you?
Well, yes, you can. I tell you, I
hate the way I look. You know?
What do you think? A permanent
wave, maybe? Or a bleach job?
That looks good. Was
it done in here?
No. Jackson.
A wig's your only hope, hon.
You won't be able to do
much with that cue ball.
Thank you.
If you wanna ask
us some questions,
this is where you'll hear it all.
Well, matter of fact, I do.
I was wondering who that gentleman
was that just drove in over there?
I know that isn't
President Johnson.
His name's Townley.
Clayton Townley.
Are you one of them FBI gentlemen?
Yes, ma'am, I am.
Well, I think it's a shame
if those two kids are dead,
but I hope you find them.
Thank you. Actually,
it's three kids
missing. There's a
coloured kid also.
Do you honestly think
your people'd be down
here if it weren't
for the white boys?
- Maybe not, Miss...
- Mrs
Pell. Her old man's
Ray Stuckey's deputy.
But I'm single.
Look out. Here they come.
Hollis?
Get back. Move out of the way.
Move over, boy. We'll take care
of this. It's a local problem.
We'll handle it. We don't
need your damn help.
It ain't right
having blood on Main
Street. How'd that
look on the TV news?
- Okay, easy.
- Get up.
Ok, I got him. I got him.
Get out of the way, now.
He's the kid from the diner.
Think twice before you talk to
coloured kids with an audience.
They're sending a message from the
boss in Tupelo, and you know it.
I know it, yes. Clayton
Townley, chief pointy head.
Yeah, that's right.
How did you know?
Bureau procedure, Mr
Ward. Try it sometime.
We did.
We found the car the
kids were driving.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Two beer cans, a Coca Cola
bottle, a green plastic bottle,
a badly burned wristwatch
stopped at 12:45, set of keys.
No bodies.
I want the entire area searched.
Every inch.
Yes, sir.
It's a big swamp.
Every inch, Mr Bird.
I guess they never
left Mississippi.
Yeah, they're dead. They're dead.
Mr Bird?
Yes, sir?
There's a telephone
at the truck stop.
Get to it, get on it and get me
100 more men here by morning.
- 100?
- 100.
Bureau people, sir?
I don't care if it's the army.
I want this entire swamp searched.
Yes, sir.
Don't do it, Mr Ward.
You'll just start a war.
It was a war long
before we got here.
You too.
Wake up. Come on.
Get the fuck out of
here, nigger. Go on.
Sir?
The sheriff's alibi is
solid. He was playing
poker with his wife's
brother and cousins.
The whole time?
No, for three hours.
He lost $11.38.
Another thing, sir.
We're having a little trouble
with the motel manager.
What kind of trouble?
He wants us out.
He says we're bad for business.
Buy it.
Sorry, sir?
Buy it.
The motel.
How high can I go?
Whatever it takes.
Today in Jessup
County, Mississippi,
amidst the violence of
this week, the eyes of the
the nation are fixed on the search
for the missing civil
rights workers.
I think it's all a big hoax.
But if they are in that swamp,
then they asked for it.
Naval reserves are in to
join scores of FBI agents
in their search for
the missing men.
They planned the whole thing.
They're in New York laughing
at us Mississippi folks.
- You think it's a hoax?
- Yeah, I think so.
I think it's a big hoax. They
ain't gonna find nothing.
Civil rights leaders
are optimistic
as to the young men's
whereabouts, but privately,
there is mounting concern they
will ever be found alive.
They came looking for
trouble and found it.
This is Marek Barlbobi, Network
News. Jessup County, Mississippi.
Sheriff Stuckey?
Tell you what I
think they ought to
be looking up in
Canada for them boys
instead of our swamps around here.
I'll tell you something else. I
think it's a publicity stunt
dreamed up by these NAACP people.
NAACP people?
Yeah, NAACP.
It stands for niggers, alligators,
apes, coons and possums.
Tell you what you got.
You got your NAACP,
you got your SNCC,
you got your COFO...
You know what all that mess is?
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T. You got it?
Sheriff, will this
be a federal case?
There'll be a time when
we don't gotta say,
"Good morning, sir, Mr Sheriff."
Maybe there'll be a time when we
won't have to say, "Mr Stuckey."
One day there'll be a time when we
just say "Stuckey" or "Sheriff."
And one day there'll be
a time when the sheriff
won't even be a white man.
Hello.
I wonder if I could ask
you a few questions?
I don't suppose you know what
kind of flower these are?
I been seeing them
all over the place.
I never saw such a
darn pretty plant.
They're trumpet pitchers.
Trumpet pitchers.
They're beautiful.
They really are.
They don't smell so good,
but they're pretty.
It's nice talking to you.
Sorry about interrupting
your meeting,
but we can't get
anybody to talk to us.
They "zip up," like
my mama used to say.
People don't wanna
talk to you because
they're afraid it'll
get back to the law.
We are the law.
Not around here you ain't.
We were sent to find out what
happened to those three boys.
They were here to help you.
It ain't coloured folks
you should talk to.
Who should we be talking to?
Come on, Aaron.
You should start with
the sheriff's office.
Why ain't you afraid?
How come you ain't?
Aaron.
Aaron? Come on, son.
Here's the pitch. Swing and
a line-drive base hit.
Another runner's home.
On to the next pitch by the
ruffled Bob Gibson. He is upset.
Ron Hunt singled to centre.
Hickman passed third
and scored the Mets' second run.
Hunt holds on at first.
Mets now lead 2 to 1.
The next one up will
be Joe Christopher
who struck out and
popped out to Boyer.
He's 0 for 2, and
hitting a mere .252...
Good evening, Mrs Pell. I'm Agent
Ward. He's Agent Anderson.
We're with the FBI.
Is your husband home?
We'd like to have a word with him.
You all come in, then.
It's the FBI gentlemen,
Clinton. They
want to ask you some
more questions.
You want me to put your
dinner in the oven?
Leave us alone.
Mind if I take a seat?
What's so goddamn important
you got to bother me at home?
Well, I just wanted to
run through, once again,
your movements on June 21st.
June which?
June 21st.
Now, deputy, we both know
what day we're talking about.
Let's be civilised and the sooner
you can get back to your ball game
and we can return
to Washington DC.
Please, don't let
me interrupt you.
It's just when you've
heard a question
asked a dozen times,
it gets kinda boring.
Yeah, I guess so.
You don't eat together?
He works funny hours.
You think that's odd?
No.
I work funny hours myself.
I eat when I'm hungry,
he eats when he can.
- Can I get you something?
- No, no thanks.
This is a nice house. How
long have you lived here?
I was born here.
But my father lost the house in
a poker game a long time ago.
We've been paying rent ever since.
It's a wicked game.
Poker.
Wicked.
Mr Anderson?
It was nice talking to
you. Guess I gotta go.
Them pork chops still any
good, honey? Bring me a beer.
Good night.
Let you get back to your baseball.
You know what they say?
The only game a black
man can wave a stick...
I already heard that one.
Fifty minutes of his alibi
hinges on his wife.
You talked to her.
What's she like?
She's a nice lady.
Tell me, Mr Anderson. How does
a woman like that end up...
With Shithead in there?
You know what these
small towns are like.
A girl spends all her
time in high school
looking for a guy to
marry, then spends
her whole life figuring out why.
Something's wrong.
He's too confident.
Did you see the
wedding photograph?
His three usher pals hooked
their thumbs in their belts
with three fingers pointing down.
So, what is that? Some
sort of Masonic thing?
No. KKK.
I know you ain't
drunk. I won't argue.
I'm not drunk.
I'll take you where
you can sleep it off.
All right. Hold up.
- Who's driving?
- Watch your head.
Hi.
There was a couple things I
needed to check with you.
My husband's not here.
Actually, it was you I
wanted to talk to you.
Me?
Well, you better come in, then.
Just take a minute.
My boss, he's kind of
a pain. College kid.
He has to dot all the
I's, cross all the T's.
What do you want to ask me about?
It's a time thing.
A few things we're
not clear about...
Should I put your flowers in
some water while you're here?
Yeah. Actually, they're for you.
They're beautiful.
They are pretty, aren't they?
They don't smell so nice,
but they're pretty.
Would you like anything? Some tea?
Yeah, I would. Thanks.
Oh, don't you look at that.
It's a terrible photo.
Oh, I don't know about that.
Is this recent?
No. I wish.
Well, this sure
looks recent to me.
We were married 14 years ago.
Are you kidding me?
No, that... Come on.
You take sugar?
Sure do.
You know, I grew up
in a town like this.
You were smart enough to leave.
Why didn't you?
"For better or for worse."
How about you? Are you married?
Two.
Well, I was, as I remember.
It didn't last very
long. I was never home.
I guess she got fed up with
phone calls from Miami
and postcards from Des Moines.
There was always a guy around.
Any guy that could spare the
time for a movie or a beer
or a quarter for the jukebox.
She left.
How about you?
Oh, you know the
South, Mr Anderson.
You leave high
school and marry the
first boy that makes you laugh.
Hey, your husband's quite a guy.
You know, my boss has
this thing about an hour,
50 minutes to be exact, that your
husband says that he was with you.
And I guess he was.
Guess he was.
Well, that's a pity.
That means I don't have an excuse
for hanging around here any more.
Well...
Thank you for the iced tea.
Thank you for the flowers.
Sure.
Do you know what kind they are?
I heard they're called
trumpet pitchers.
Oh, that's right.
My daddy used to call them ladies
from hell because they're car...
Carnivorous.
- That's the word?
- Yeah.
See, that pretty
colour's the bait.
Insects just home in there
and wham, they're dead
even before they got
their shoes off.
Maybe I should've picked
something something else.
Maybe.
♪ Sing the wondrous
love of Jesus ♪
♪ Sing his mercy and his grace ♪
♪ In the mansions,
bright and blessed ♪
♪ He'll prepare for us a place ♪
♪ Day of rejoicing that will be ♪
♪ That will be ♪
♪ When we all see Jesus ♪
♪ We'll sing and
shout the victory ♪
May the peace and the
joy in the Holy Ghost
abide with you for now
and forever. Amen.
He sure did preach a
good sermon today.
♪ When we all ♪
♪ Get to heaven ♪
♪ What a day of rejoicing ♪
♪ That will be ♪
♪ When we all ♪
♪ See Jesus, Jesus ♪
♪ We'll sing and shout ♪
♪ The victory ♪
You already been
told once, nigger.
We don't want to tell you again.
You make any more trouble
by flapping them
bootlips off to any
of them federal men,
we'll sure as hell put
you in the ground, boy.
And that's without a pine box.
You understand me?
How are Negroes treated
in Mississippi?
They're treated about fair. About
as good as they ought to be.
If you ask me, niggers
around here have
been treated awful
bad for a long time.
I think Martin Luther
King's one of the leaders.
I mean, J. Edgar Hoover
said he was a Communist.
They had proof to that effect,
but I don't know that for sure.
I hadn't seen it myself,
but that's what they say.
Hey, you really wanna
find that nigger?
They say we've got
to eat together and
use the same bathrooms
as the niggers.
That's awful hard for some
Mississippi folks to do.
They're not like us. They
don't take baths. They stink.
They... They're nasty.
They just not like white folks.
What do you think has
happened to the three boys?
Dead.
Just as dead as they can be.
It feels so good.
- Is she asleep? Is she?
- Yeah.
Oh, my Lord. I'm
sorry I woke you up.
Bye, hon. I'll be a couple hours.
All right.
Well, Mary, is that
your Betsy's kid?
Yeah, she's growing up
real quick, isn't she?
Come on.
Tuesday will be just
fine on those, Mary.
Funny.
Their kids are so cute.
- Here we go.
- Is that back on me again?
If the entire Secret
Service couldn't
protect the president
of the United States,
how the hell are we supposed
to protect a few nigras?
It ain't nothing but a
bunch of low-life white
trash drinking too
much cheap alcohol.
More like paint thinner
and snake juice,
because this state's
as dry as a Martini
and we got the
alcoholics to prove it.
Give me a little room here.
Excuse me. Excuse me, Bob.
- Is this okay?
- Your name, please?
Clayton Townley,
local businessman.
Are you, sir, a spokesman for
the White Knights of the KKK?
I told you. I'm a businessman.
I'm also a Mississippian
and an American.
I'm sick and tired of the way
many of us Mississippians
are having our views distorted
by your newspapers and on TV.
So let's get this straight.
We do not accept Jews
because they reject Christ.
Their control of the
international banking
cartels are at the
root of Communism.
We do not accept papists because
bow to a Roman dictator.
We don't accept Turks, Mongols,
Tartars, Orientals or Negroes.
We're here to protect Anglo-Saxon
democracy and the American way.
Thank you, sir.
Lester, you are living proof
that cousins shouldn't fuck.
What I was trying to say...
there's this coloured boy.
He wants to play football for
Bear Bryant over at Alabama.
So Bear says, "I'm gonna
give you a try-out."
What colour was he?
What's he gonna run
with? A watermelon?
And he'll keep on running too.
"Ok, boy" he says. "You get
down there on one goal line."
He puts a whole team on
the other goal line.
He throws the boy the
ball and says...
Are you open?
You gotta be a member
to drink here.
Member?
A member of what?
A member of the social club.
I thought you'd
just buy me a beer.
Give him a beer, Frank.
Nice to be back in a
dry county again.
When I was sheriff,
half my take-home pay
was from collecting taxes
on illegal jukes like this.
Probably works the same here.
I would think you
haul in a tidy penny
here, winking at the bootleggers.
I wouldn't know
nothing about that.
Yeah.
A tidy penny.
Got anything stronger
than this, deputy?
No, we ain't.
Oh. In Thornton,
Mississippi, there's
a joy juice still in every yard.
All you need is corn, sugar,
and a pot to boil it in.
I was trying to fingerprint
this old boy once.
He had his hands in a
mash barrel all his life.
There was no skin at all
on there. No prints.
We ain't interested in your good
old Mississippi boy stories.
You ain't from here no more.
Why'd you leave, anyway?
Well, I just wanted a
change of scenery.
The grits started leaving
a bad taste in my mouth.
Well, if that's how you feel
about it, Mr FBI Man...
why don't you get
back to your commie,
nigger-loving bosses up North?
You must not know
my boss, Mr Hoover.
He's not too fond of Commies.
He'd be on your side.
I don't give two shits whose
side your Mr Hoover's on, boy.
All I know is we got
5,000 niggers in this
county who ain't
registered to vote yet.
And, as far as I'm
concerned, they never will.
So tell your stiff suits
up in Washington,
DC, they ain't gonna
change us one bit.
Unless it's over my dead body.
Or a lot of dead niggers.
You'd kill, Frank? Is
that what you're saying?
I wouldn't give it no more thought
than wringing a cat's neck.
And there ain't a
court in Mississippi
that'd convict me for it.
How about you, Deputy?
How are you with
wringing necks, huh?
Just keep pushing me, Hoover boy.
You get this straight,
you cornhole fucker.
Tell your queer-ass
bosses they'll never
find them civil
rightsters down here.
So you might as
well pack your bags
and head up North
where you belong.
You get this straight, shitkicker.
Don't you go mistaking me
for some whole other body.
Your brain's in your dick if you
think we'll just fade away.
We're gonna be here till
this thing's finished.
How about you, Deputy?
Is that gun just for show?
Or do you get to shoot
people once in a while?
Thanks for the beer.
Ask them if they wanna
help save this country
from the onslaught of integration.
You know the system:
They want to throw
white children and
coloured children
into the melting
pot of integration
out of which will
come a conglomerated
mulato, mongrel class of people.
Both races will be destroyed
in such a movement.
I, for one, under God will die
before I'll yield one inch
to that kind of a
movement in America.
Do you know how much
trouble you've caused.
They've been on the radio all day,
talking about FBI intimidation.
We're not thugs, Mr Anderson.
We'll do this my way.
I know, bureau procedure.
Why were you at the
beauty parlour?
If that was Bureau
business, I wanna
know about it. If not,
I won't allow it.
- Do you understand me?
- Get in here.
You know your problem?
You don't know
when to speak and when to shut up.
That makes you a fool.
Mrs Pell won't say anything her
husband doesn't want her to.
And I'm not gonna
choke it out of her.
This can of worms only
opens from the inside.
I know that.
Freedom. Freedom.
White nigger.
White nigger.
Hurry up. Hurry up.
Freedom. Freedom. Freedom.
20 cents?
Freedom. Freedom. Freedom.
♪ Bring him ♪
♪ Your burdens ♪
♪ Seek not his favour ♪
♪ Tell tell him your sorrows ♪
- Hi.
- Hey, now.
Just passing by and saying hello.
You're not out
watching the parade?
How come you don't
ask me questions?
Everybody's been
talked to except me.
Why don't you send some of them
good-looking FBI
boys to talk to me?
Sorry about the intrusión. I was
at the hardware store and...
- Pecan?
- I'm sick of pecans.
Freedom. Freedom.
Are you willing to
stand and fight?
Yes. Yes.
Freedom. Freedom.
Equality. Equality.
How'd you find out about this?
Bureau procedure, Mr Ward.
Sheriff Stuckey.
He got his phone call.
Wonder who else was called.
Where're you going, boy?
Go on. Go on, get out of here.
Here they come.
Come on. Let's go.
We'll wait until
they go back inside.
Get him.
Get him into the goddamn truck.
Get inside, you sons of bitches.
Let's go.
Wait until they're back inside.
Come on, Ward. Let's go. Come on.
Go on.
- Turn left.
- How do you know?
Don't know, just turn left.
There's the truck.
Go up that little road there.
Stop. Stop right here.
What's wrong with these people?
Mrs Walker, I know this is
difficult, but I need your help.
If you could just persuade
your son to press charges
then we could pick up the
deputy at least, right away.
He won't talk to no one.
And it won't do no good anyway.
I promise it will.
Leave him alone.
Maybe then, they'll let us alone.
If this is a pattern,
I guess at least we know
what happened on June 21st.
Pell stopped the three
boys for speeding at 3:00.
He held them in jail until the
Klan could get organised.
He released them at 10:30.
By that time, his buddies
were ready and waiting.
No. Pell went with 'em that
night. I'm sure of it.
Do you think he'll crack?
Down here they say rattlesnakes
don't commit suicide.
Did you release the three
civil rights workers...
into the hands of the Klan
on the night of June 21st?
No.
Are you a member of
the Ku Klux Klan?
No.
- Have you ever been a member?
- No.
Are you familiar with
the term Grand Cyclops?
I've heard of it.
Were you in fact the Grand Cyclops
of the East Mississippi Klavern...
of the White Knights
of the Ku Klux
Klan for the past three years?
Objection. My client's
already told you,
he's not even a
member of the Klan.
Objection? This is just
an interview, sir.
There's really no
need to be so formal.
Well, if this is just
an interview, I guess I
don't have to stay here.
I got work to do.
I guess you do too, don't you?
Yes, sir. You can be
sure that we'll do it.
Good luck.
You all get enough to indict
me, you know where to find me.
- How'd it go?
- Fine. Just fine.
Don't you worry about
a goddamn thing.
Are you about to be indicted?
Does the FBI have evidence
against the sheriff's office?
Are you cooperating with them?
We're cooperating.
We have all along.
There's not one iota of proof.
Could you not do that, please?
Sir, do not do that, please.
You've already been told once.
Get the fuck outta here.
Do we have to tell you 2,000
times? Go back where you belong.
Get outta my face.
Get on outta here and leave
us alone. Leave us alone.
Go on home where you belong,
boy. You're gonna get hurt.
Mr Ward, this is getting to be
about as much as we can take.
I cannot register a
stronger complaint.
Not now, sir.
Now, just a minute. I
resent your public
pursuit of my
sheriff's department.
You have made every
effort to implicate
them in these disappearances.
Your slimy innuendoes
are not evidence
that they were connected
with any crime.
We're trying to get to the
truth. We're frustrated too.
Any jackass can point a finger,
but that ain't evidence.
Us old cotton-choppers are still
stupid enough to
believe in democracy.
We know our rights under the law.
You know something, all right.
I'd bet a cotton-chopping
dollar on that.
You're getting so
far up my nose...
I'm beginning to feel
your boots on my chin.
And I'm telling you one
more time, Mr Apple Red.
A couple of crazies
in bedsheets dancing
round the countryside
scaring Negroes...
is not the fault of the
entire state of Mississippi.
There are three dead
kids and a lot of
scared people because
of your sheriff.
So get used to having us around.
Get used to my boots
on your chin too.
And you people better back off.
Goddamn FBI. Who do
they think they are,
coming to my part
of the country...
Do you have a statement, Mr Mayor?
Goddamn right I have.
For a moment there, Mr Anderson...
it sounded like we were
both on the same side.
- Are you all right, honey?
- Yeah, I'm fine.
Let me know if you need anything.
Thanks. I will.
Momma. Come quick.
There's no sign of him,
sir. He's long gone.
His mother lives
across the street.
She won't even answer the door.
I want the whole area covered.
Someone must have seen something.
- They won't talk to us.
- Get going, Mr Bird.
If they won't talk to us,
shake it out of 'em.
Let's go. Every house. Come on.
What?
All these white guys
chasing around with
their notebooks will
get you nowhere.
Ok. What would you do?
It's ok to be afraid.
Go on, Willie. Tell
'em what you saw.
The defendants will rise.
In this country a man's
home is his castle.
That is one of the principles by
which this community survives.
You men have done violence
to that principle.
But I want you to know that
the court understands...
that the crimes you have committed
have been, to some
extent at least...
brought about by...
outside influences.
Outsiders have come
into Jessup County...
and they've been people
of low morality...
and unhygienic.
And their presence here has
provoked a lot of people.
So the court understands...
without condoning
them, mind you...
that the crimes to which you
men have plead guilty...
were, to some extent at least,
provoked by these
outside influences.
So, with all this, I'm gonna
make your punishment light.
I'm gonna sentence you each
to five years' imprisonment.
But I'm gonna suspend
these sentences.
You can't go in there, sir.
FBI. Let us through.
I'm sorry, sir. You
can't go in there.
Sheriff?
You all really started
something this time.
Move these cars. I wanna
go in and talk to them.
You've gone as far
as you're gonna go.
We can handle this.
Just some crazy coloureds
tearing up their own assholes.
Local problem.
Look at those flames,
Mr Ward. That's
why they sent you
down here, wasn't it?
It would've happened
anyway and you know it.
If I was a Negro, I'd probably
think the same way they do.
If you were a Negro, nobody'd
give a damn what you thought.
Aaron. Take your momma, grandmomma
and the children
out the back door.
When you hit the road, keep going.
You understand? Keep going, son.
Nathan. Come on, Nathan. Get up.
Get up, Nathan, now. Come
on. Get out of the bed.
- What's happening?
- Momma. Come on, Momma.
Come on, you all.
Come on, Grandma. Let's go.
♪ All ye who labour ♪
Who's there? If you're in
there, come on out. You hear?
I ain't taking this shit no more.
♪ Bring him your burdens ♪
♪ Seek not his favour ♪
♪ Tell... tell him your sorrows ♪
♪ In... him... confide ♪
♪ He satisfies ♪
♪ He satisfies ♪
Everything's ok, Papa.
Momma and the girls are fine.
They just cracked your head some.
You just keep on breathing.
Don't you go dying on me now.
You hear me?
You gonna be just fine.
You know, cows won't
run away. No one
knows why. They're
just stupid, I guess.
They just stand there until their
bellies swell up and they pop.
They have relatives in Detroit.
- Are they gonna go?
- I didn't give 'em any choice.
At least we know who did this.
- We did.
- Well, don't fret. It's progress.
20 years ago they'd have strung
'em up for stealing a watermelon.
I don't understand you,
Mr Anderson. Not at all.
Let's get something
straight, all right?
This thing was fucked
up the moment we
turned it into a show
for the newsmen.
The moment those three kids
disappeared, it was news.
The moment the three civil rights
workers disappeared, it was news.
To me they're just kids.
They're still missing.
What's missing...
is the 50 minutes
Pell said he was with his wife.
Ok.
I love Mississippi.
They...
They hate Mississippi.
They hate us because we
present a shining example...
of successful segregation.
These Northern
students, with their
atheist, communist bosses...
that have come into
our community this
summer with the wish
to destroy it...
this week have taken
a terrible blow.
This week their cause
has been crippled.
This week all of these
federal policemen
you see out here prying
into our lives...
violating our civil liberties...
have learned that they are
powerless against us...
if every single
Anglo-Saxon Christian
one of us stands together.
This week...
- Ward?
- We have company, sir.
Why are you here? This
is a political meeting.
Doesn't smell that
way to me, Deputy.
It's a political
meeting, Hoover boy.
Oh, it looks like a
political meeting
but smells more like Klan to me...
with or without the
Halloween costumes.
Gentlemen.
In the courts of Mississippi,
they have been reminded...
that they cannot by force
turn our communities...
into replicas of
their communities.
Communities in which Negroes run
riot, unrestrained
and unpunished...
as they do this summer
in the streets of
Harlem, or in the
streets of Oakland...
or in the streets of Chicago.
Can I come in?
It's not good for you to be here.
- Why?
- It's ugly.
This whole thing is so ugly.
Have you any idea what it's
like to live with all this?
People look at us... and
only see bigots and racists.
Hatred isn't something
you're born with.
It gets taught.
At school they said segregation
is what it said in the Bible.
Genesis 9, verse 27.
At seven years of
age, you get told
it enough times, you believe it.
You believe the hatred.
You live it. You breathe it.
You marry it.
My husband drove one of
the cars that night.
That's what you wanna
hear, isn't it?
The bodies are buried on the
Roberts farm, in an earthen dam.
Sir.
Take a break, Mr Bird.
Put some handkerchiefs
around your face.
Bring that here.
The bodies of the three civil
rights workers were found today...
at an undisclosed grave.
Neither the FBI nor the sheriff's
department will
comment on the case.
The bodies were brought to
Jessup County Hospital.
Officials here also
refused comment.
There is speculation
that an autopsy
will be performed later tonight.
Ok, keep it open.
We're coming through.
Come on, open it up.
Hold it back.
Clinton, you got problems
at home to tend to.
What do you mean?
I mean pull your head out
of your ass and get home.
"I, Vincent Thompson, am the
cheddar-cheese champion
of the worid."
"In international
competition with 42 other
entries, my cheddar
won first prize...
based on flavour, texture,
appearance and colour."
Hey, Clinton. I didn't
expect you home so early.
Hi, Frank.
No, don't. I'm sorry.
Sir.
Say again?
I'll be right there.
- Mr Bird.
- Yes, sir?
Get five men and meet me outside.
- Where's Anderson?
- He's at the motel, sir.
You two take the front
door. If anyone
tries to get past
you, break 'em down.
You two take the door on
the corridor. Mr Bird?
Ok. Go get Anderson.
Bring him here.
Don't tell him why. Don't tell
him anything. Just get him here.
Mr Anderson. Stop.
- Mr Anderson.
- Go to hell.
I'm telling you to stop and I
mean it. We're not killers.
It's the difference
between them and us.
No, between them and you.
You're no more like
them than I am.
Wrong.
What do you care what
I do to a bastard
hiding behind a sheriff's badge?
You have the whole
worid to change.
And I'm changing it.
You're as arrogant
as you are stupid.
You're changing it too.
I'll make some changes right now.
Don't mess this up
just because you
like fooling around
with witnesses.
A gun don't mean shit
unless you use it.
I'll kill you now if you
don't listen to me.
Fuck you.
Let me go. Let me go.
We'll go after all
of 'em, together.
You wouldn't know how.
- You'll teach me.
- You don't have the guts.
Not only do I have the guts,
I have the authority.
What is that supposed to mean?
New rules. We nail 'em any
way we can. Even your way.
Is this you talking or some
guy pulling your strings?
Both.
- We do it my way.
- Your way.
- With my people.
- Whatever it takes.
Ok.
Gimme a minute.
- You think he would've shot me?
- Oh, yes, sir.
He's a ballsy little
bastard, isn't he?
They want me to say
"Let us not forget...
that two white boys also died
helping Negroes help themselves."
They want me to say
"We mourn with the
mothers of these two white boys."
But the state of Mississippi won't
even allow these white boys...
to be buried in the same
cemetery as this Negro boy.
I say I have no more love to give.
I have only anger in
my heart today...
and I want you to
be angry with me.
Now, I am sick and I am tired...
and I want you to be
sick and tired with me.
I am sick and tired of
going to the funerals...
of black men who have been
murdered by white men.
I am sick and tired of the
people of this country...
who continue to allow
these things to happen.
What is an "inalienable
right" if you are a Negro?
What does it mean, "equal
treatment under the law"?
What does it mean, "liberty
and justice for all"?
Now I say to these people:
Look at the face of
this young man and
you will see the
face of a black man.
But, if you look at the bloodshed,
it is red. It is like yours.
It is just like yours.
You...
I'm gonna tell you a story.
A young kid named
Homer Wilkes lives
about 30 miles north of here.
He'd just taken his
girlfriend home and
was walking back along the road...
when a car pulled up.
Three white boys
took him for a ride.
Now...
he hadn't done anything...
except...
be a Negro.
And they took him to a shack.
A shack like... like this one.
And they took out a razor blade...
a regular old razor
blade, like this one...
and they pulled down his pants...
and they spread his legs...
and they sliced off his scrotum.
Put it in a coffee cup.
And do you know how much you bleed
when somebody cuts off your balls?
Huh?
When they found Homer,
he looked like he'd
been dipped in blood
up to his waist.
He was barely alive when they
got him to the hospital.
He can hardly walk now.
Mayor, we know you know...
who was there when those three
civil rights boys was murdered.
We know you know who
pulled the trigger.
Is there something
you wanna say to me?
Ok.
- Is he with the Bureau?
- Yeah. He's kind of a specialist.
You're sure the mayor won't talk?
No, they'd kill him.
All right. What do you have?
There were three
cars and seven men.
Pell and Bailey did the killing.
- Sheriff Stuckey?
- He was too smart to be there.
So Pell pulled the
trigger for him.
And Townley?
It was his idea. Grand Dragons,
they don't get their hands dirty.
The whole thing, huh?
Bullet by bullet.
I don't suppose you're
interested in words
like "coerción" or
"hearsay" or "duress".
This is no good in court.
We're not in court, Mr Ward. We'll
never get 'em on murder anyway.
That's a state charge. These
hayseeds will never prosecute.
I know that.
We've got to get 'em
in federal court.
Violation of civil rights.
Remember whose rights
you're violating.
Don't put me on your
perch, Mr Ward.
Don't drag me into your gutter.
These people crawled out
of a sewer, Mr Ward.
And maybe the gutter's
where we should be.
Thank you.
This better be important.
Who the hell called this meeting?
- We thought you did.
- Of this group? Are you stupid?
You didn't call this? Shit.
If you didn't call this,
who the fuck did?
Shut up.
Is this some kind
of bullshit setup?
Ray, are you sure you
didn't call this?
Cos I got a note
from my wife and it
said it was from you and Clinton.
Lester, shut up.
Now, we're all gonna walk
straight outta here...
and say nothing.
That means nothing, Lester.
First one who opens
his mouth is dead.
Shut up.
Hey, Clinton.
Clinton.
Looks like the rattlesnakes are
starting to commit suicide.
Hi, Lester.
We'll give you that ride home.
What?
Well, I know you said 4.30 but
we're running a little late, so...
- I'll meet you in the car.
- You're cracked.
Do you have change of a 20?
Sure.
Get in the car, Lester.
Or you'll have a hard
time picking your
nose once I've closed this drawer.
Lester, you could make
it a lot easier on
yourself by going on
the record right now.
I ain't got nothing to say. You
barking up the wrong tree, mister.
Lester, I gotta tell you
something. We got you cold.
Your buddies have already talked.
You're lying.
You're in a lot of
trouble. We know you
drove the second vehicle,
the green truck.
And your buddy says... Refresh
my memory here, Mr Bird.
"Lester Cowens kicked
the Negro twice
in the face and then shot him."
That's a goddamn lie.
No, it's true. What else, Mr Bird?
"Lester Cowens said
'They only left me a
nigger, but at least I
shot me a nigger."'
I didn't kill him. I
shot him in the ass.
We know that.
He was already dead
by the time you shot
him. But your buddy
sees it differently.
Your buddy tells it that
you killed the kid.
You either go on the
record right now...
or it's gonna be your
ass we're talking
about, not just a black kid's.
Think about it, Lester.
Come on out of there.
Come on out.
This is tricky.
They make it look so
easy, don't they?
I got a question for you, Clinton.
You don't mind if I call
you Clinton, do you?
I feel like I know you so well.
The way we have it, on the
night of the murders...
you made a short speech as the
bulldozer buried the
kids in the dam.
How does Lester tell it?
"Mississippi will be proud of you.
You've struck a blow
for the white man."
Is that what you said, Clinton?
Is that what you said?
It must've been you...
because Clayton Townley and Ray
Stuckey were too
smart to be there.
And you was too stupid to think
anybody'd remember what you said.
But old Lester, he
got a good memory.
I'm sorry. I haven't done
this for a long time.
Did you make a speech
the night that
you beat up your
wife, Clinton? Huh?
Did ya?
Did you strike a blow for
the white man that night?
You got a stupid smile.
You know that, Pell?
Can you see it? Huh? Good.
Did you smile when
the bulldozer ran
over the black kid's body? Did ya?
Did you smile when the bodies
were covered over? Did ya?
Get up here. Come on. Get up.
Did you smile that same
stupid smile, huh?
Did ya? You...
Did ya smile, Pell? Did ya smile?
Huh? Did ya?
Make no mistake about it, Deputy.
I'll cut your fucking
head off and not give
a shit how it reads
in the report sheet.
One more bite. One more bite.
One more bite, darling.
One more bite.
Shit, Lester. What the
fuck is going on?
Shut up.
Get in the bedroom
and lock the door.
And stay away from the windows.
Shit.
Please. Please. I
didn't say a thing.
I swear. It's a
setup. I didn't say
nothing. I didn't say nothing.
Nothing. I didn't say nothing.
I didn't say nothing.
I didn't say nothing.
You're lucky we've been
watching your ass, Lester.
If you go on the
record, Mr Cowens,
we'll give you
protection. If not...
If not, they're gonna
kill you anyway.
Oh. You need a toilet, Lester.
We really had him going, huh?
We'll take care of the
check, Mr Swilley.
Well, I suppose I'll...
be back for supper.
Button up, Wesley.
Why did he do it?
He wasn't even in on
it. Wasn't even Klan.
Mr Bird, he was guilty.
Anyone's guilty who watches this
happen and pretends it isn't.
No. He was guilty all right.
Just as guilty as the fanatics
who pulled the trigger.
Maybe we all are.
Hello.
Yeah.
I just missed you at the hospital.
They said you'd gone home.
What's left of it.
- I'm real sorry.
- So am I.
- What are you gonna do?
- I don't know.
Where will you go?
I'm not going anywhere.
I'm staying.
This is my home. Born here.
Probably die here.
If I wanted to leave, I would've
done it a long time ago.
Things'll work out.
There's enough good people around
here know what I did was right.
And enough ladies like the
way I fix their hair.
Hey.
If you're ever in Des Moines...
don't send me a postcard.
Ok.
♪ We cannot see ♪
♪ In the future ♪
♪ No, no, no, no, no ♪
♪ And it's hard ♪
♪ To smile ♪
♪ Through trials ♪
♪ No, we cannot see ♪
♪ Every pitfall ♪
♪ But we must walk on ♪
♪ By faith ♪
♪ Each day ♪
♪ Oh, Lord ♪
♪ Whoa, on Monday ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ And on Tuesday ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Whoa, let Jesus ♪
♪ Let Jesus be ♪
♪ Let him be your ♪
♪ Your guide ♪
♪ Whoo-oo-oo ♪
♪ He's able ♪
♪ He could carry your load ♪
♪ And he could see
way down the road ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
You wanna drive, Rupert?
Yeah.
♪ On Monday ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ And on Tuesday ♪
♪ Walk on ♪
♪ Let Jesus be ♪
♪ Let him be your ♪
♪ Your guide ♪
♪ He's able ♪
♪ To carry your load ♪
♪ To carry your load ♪
♪ And he can see way
down the road ♪
♪ Walk on ♪