1989: The Year That Made Us (2019): Season 1, Episode 2 - Bring the Noise - full transcript

(glass shattering)

Narrator: In 1989,
resentment over racial
injustice in the us reached

A new breaking point,

And a powerful
movement gained a voice
through popular culture.

Man: Why it gotta
be about africa!

Narrator: Calling
for change on screen.

Reporter (over tv):
Spike lee's new film do the
right thing is controversial.

Danielle: This movie
hit you in the face!

Narrator: Taking the power
of music to a new level...

Chuck d: It was a
revelation to the white
communities that it noticed

It was taking place.



Narrator: And forging
a connection with an entire
nation through late-night tv.

Arsenio: If hip-hop is
the news of the ghetto,

My show was cnn's
headquarters in atlanta.

Narrator: It was
also a year american
history would be made.

Reporter (over tv): A
grandson of slaves was
sworn in today as the nation's

First elected black governor.

Arsenio: 1989, it
was indicative of all
the black communities,

Having a consciousness,

That (bleep) had to change.

(theme music plays)

Bush: I believe in
a society that is free from
discrimination and bigotry of

Any kind, and I will work
to knock down the barriers
left by past discrimination.

Narrator: In 1989,
there were no black senators,
and there had never been

An elected black governor
in american history.



As for representation
in popular american culture,
hollywood's portrayal of the

Black experience was lacking.

African americans were
often represented as wholesome
sit-com characters

Or 'street-wise' anti-hero's.

Neither a true reflection of
their complex challenges.

Chuck d: I come from long
island, I come from a square
mile black town that was

Besieged with crack in the
middle of the 1980's and it
had taken on a devastating,

Torrid path of destruction.

Smith: Primetime tv
presents a distorted picture
of blacks and other minorities,

And it makes racial
tensions seem invisible,

Although it is
commonplace in the real world.

Futrell: Our society
is changing rapidly, it is
becoming much more diverse

Racially, culturally,
ethnically.

But the shows do
not reflect that.

The picture which is
painted is much too rosy.

Chuck d: The value of
black culture, other than
the mainstream "americana"

Culture, was overlooked.

Danielle: The communities
were not being listened to.

Black people were not
being listened to.

(chanting inaudibly)

Reagan: I'm
trying to tell you!

Woman: Continue!

Danielle: There was
this frustration that we
were supposed to have been

To the mountaintop, as
martin luther king said.

And there was this
struggle about what is a
way to raise your voice.

Narrator: America in the
late 80's was 25 years removed
from the March on washington,

And 35 years from brown
versus board of education.

But even in its most
progressive cities, how far
had the country really come?

Rather: Arrests were made
today in the new york city
version of a racial lynching,

A mob of whites attacking
three black men.

Narrator: Howard
beach queens, 1986.

A racially motivated
attack on three black
men led to the death of

23-year-old
michael griffith.

The incident
raised racial tensions
in the city, and inspired

A young director to
make a movie with a message.

Reporter (over tv): Spike
lee's new film do the right
thing is controversial.

Some critics have gone
as far as saying it
could incite violence.

Reporter 2 (over tv):
Do the right thing

Is drawing strong
pointed reviews, some praise,

And arousing
heated controversy.

Danielle: Do the right thing
came out in the summer of
1989.

We have all this racial
tension that's happening
in the country.

Mookie: Hey!
Woman: Hi mookie.

Danielle: The story is
essentially an italian family
running a pizzeria in a

Neighborhood that's changed
from being an italian
neighborhood, and now it's a

Black neighborhood, and so
there's all that tension
of these business owners.

Man: Turn that jungle music
off, we ain't in africa!

Man 2: Why it gotta
be about jungle music!

Why it gotta be about africa!

Danielle: And they get into
some basic arguments that
then turn into a riot...

Instead of shying away
from the racial tensions that
were happening at the moment

In the country, this
movie hit you in the face.

Lee: Well what we're trying
to do is to have people
start discussing and start

Dialoguing about race
relations in this country
to provoke thought.

Dego, wop, ginny,
garlic breath, pizza slinger.

(inaudible)

Man: Fried chicken
and biscut eatin' monkey.

Ape, baboon, big thigh...

Danielle: I
had a roommate who cried
through the entire movie.

It touched off such an
emotional response in her
because she had grown up in

What she described as an
extremely racist environment.

The movie is a way for
americans of all different
races to really confront what

Is a racist nightmare.

Ebert: Spike lee's
do the right thing,

It was a strong,
courageous film,

One of the few american
films in recent years
that uncompromisingly tried

To say something serious about
race relations in our country.

Siskel: It's an absolutely
wonderful film, it's the
best film of 1989, clearly.

Lee: One of the
reasons why some people might
have some problems with this

Film is that it's not a
typical hollywood film.

I do not provide an answer
at the end of the movie, for
us to solve this problem.

Interviewer:
For us, all of us?

Lee: Yes, for all of us.

I don't have the answer;
I don't have the solution.

Narrator: But teaming
up with a hip hop group
known for its politically

Charged lyrics
furthered the cause.

Since 1986, public enemy
had used music to voice
the concerns of

African american communities,

But it was the
groundbreaking theme for

Do the right thing

That brought their
socially conscious
message to the mainstream.

♪ public enemy:
1989 a number ♪

♪ another summer
get down
sound of a funky drummer ♪♪

What spike lee wanted
from us as music makers,
he wanted an anthem.

Spike wanted to
nail this racial
unrest that was going on.

Yes, there is a problem
in the united states
of america, in 1989.

So we came up with,
'fight the power.'

♪ fight the power
fight the power ♪

♪ fight the power
fight the power ♪♪

Narrator: With
just three words,

Public enemy had
expressed the
frustrations of millions,

And created
a timeless anthem.

♪ chuck d: We gotta fight
the powers that be ♪♪

Danielle: You can listen to
'fight the power' and hear
them talking about young

People wanting to
stand up for their beliefs,

Young people
wanting to have a voice
for their community

When no one
else will listen to them.

And about the injustice
that they see is happening
in their communities.

That music was being accepted
as a form of political speech.

Chuck d: Check this out
man, we rolling this way.

That March in 1963, that
was a bit of nonsense.

We ain't rolling
like that no more.

Matter-of-fact the
young black america, we
rolling up with seminars,

Press conferences and
straight up rallies.

Am I right?

Narrator: In the late 80's,
public enemy wasn't the only
group with provocative lyrics,

But back then, most rap music
had a less lofty agenda.

♪ smith: There's no
need to argue, parents
just don't understand! ♪♪

Adler: Hip hop was
mostly party music.

♪ humpty: Do the
humpty hump, come on
and do the humpty hump! ♪

♪ check it out ya'll and
do the humpty hump ♪♪

Adler: And then public
enemy changed the game
in hip-hop, dramatically.

By 89' public enemy
were the standard bearers,
they were the pioneers in

This medium which
hadn't been political before.

It had this immediate impact
inspiring other groups.

♪ man: Walk the roads
my forefathers walked. ♪

♪ climb the trees my
forefathers hung from. ♪

♪ latifa: U-n-I-t-y.
You gotta let em know. ♪

♪ u-n-I-t-y.
Come on here we go ♪♪

♪ 2pac: Brenda's gotta
make her own way ♪

♪ can't go to a family
that won't let her stay ♪♪

Chuck d: It was a
renaissance period where
there were a whole bunch of

Creators in music and film,

And these voices were
issuing their complaints
and went head on against

Some of the racial
attitudes that were colliding
at that particular time.

Arsenio: You were
getting the message, but
it was still moving you.

You know, it
still was groovin.'

You know you could
hear the funky drummer,

But at the same time
when the song was over,
you were better for it.

Adler: Hip hop
transformed popular music,
it transformed music video,

It transformed movies, in the
person of spike lee.

And then, a little
while later, it starts to
transform television in the

Form of arsenio hall.

Arsenio: If hip hop is
the news of the ghetto,

My show was cnn's
headquarters in atlanta.

To main street u.S.A.

Sales last year reached
an estimated $5 billion.

♪ woman: Cause I'm a definite
lady with a lotta pizazz. ♪

♪ I like r&b, disco,
hip-hop and jazz. ♪♪

Narrator: By 1989,
hip-hop's popularity had
reached a tipping point.

♪ kool: Somebody say ho! ♪♪

Narrator: But in the
early 80's, before rap
broke into the mainstream,

The musical landscape of
america looked much different.

Adler: America's musical taste
had become weirdly segregated.

You had white kids listening
to rock and roll on rock
radio stations, and black kids

Listening to whatever they
could on black radio stations,
and rap turned it around!

♪ man: Hit it! ♪♪

Fab 5 freddy:
Yo! Yo fab 5 freddy,
welcome to

Yo! Mtv raps!

Adler: Mtv starts
yo! Mtv raps.

Fab 5 freddy: Hanging
out with easy-e, nwa,
we're at the compton.

Adler: It became
the most highly rated
show on the network.

Fab 5 freddy: Fab 5 freddy
with one of the stars
of the movie, tupac...

Chuck d: Yo! Mtv raps

Really pushed rap videos
and hip hop videos out to
americana like never before.

Danielle: If you were a
white suburban kid you may
not have known very much about

Who fab 5 freddy was, right,

Or, you know who
heavy d was, or who was
yo-yo or queen latifah,

And all of the sudden
every day you could come
home from school and watch

Yo! Mtv raps,

That kind of shift in the
availability of black culture,

And especially black
culture that was considered to
be street culture.

It became the music of
the people everywhere.

Reporter: Millions
of white suburban kids
have adopted black

Urban culture as their own.

So why do these
teenagers do it?

Is it a form of rebellion?
Or just the way to be cool?

Man: I don't know how
to explain it man,
it's just different.

That's the culture that I
want to be connected to.

Woman: I mean, it's crazy.

It's white kids who like
wanna be, wanna be black kids.

Adler: There is some
pushback still, at that point.

You know the kids
themselves; I think most of
them would just shrug it off.

'you are gonna try and
box me in this way?

This happens to be speaking
to me, I feel something,
and I love it.'

Narrator: Through
yo! Mtv raps,

Black culture
entered the living rooms of
white suburbia, and it was

About to gain a
stronger foothold with
a show that would change

The television landscape.

Announcer: Crank it up!
It's arsenio hall!

Adler: Late night tv had
basically been the province
of older white guys.

Chuck d: I
loved johnny carson,

But I know johnny
carson's not there for me.

Arsenio: I would watch
the tonight show,

I was a huge
fan of johnny's,
I wanted to be johnny.

But as a young black man,
you could go a whole month
and not see al green,

Or someone who looked like you,

Someone who
was in your album collection.

The thing that I did is,
instead of going after carson,

I went after
everything he leaves over.

The people that watch johnny,
I went after their kids.

Chuck d: When
arsenio came along,

Arsenio was like 'I
know that there's a whole
new generation out there

Who culturally are somewhere
else, who want something
else speaking to them,

Who will never ever make
johnny carson's show.

I could dig that.

Arsenio: Please welcome
chuck d and flava flav,
public enemy.

I used to fight for
the guests that I wanted,
because at that time paramount,

They wanted to keep
doing the same things that
the other guys were doing and

Compete with the other guys.

I remember the first
time I pitched nwa, cause
I met ice cube and he gave

Me a cassette tape,

Which tells you how long
ago it was, and on the
cassette tape written with

An ink pen it said,

'(bleep) the police,'
and I'm like 'this is
gonna be a hard pitch.'

But I kept pushing and
kept fighting, because
I knew they didn't know.

Danielle: It was a
black show, black host,
lots of black guests,

Definitely a perspective on
music that was mostly black.

But it was served to everyone.

This was a party that
everyone was invited to.

Arsenio: My mission, is
through laughter, to try
and bring people together.

Now who does that
sound like to you?

My idol, the
martin luther king,

Of comedy is
what I would like to be.

Danielle: Arsenio hall
was a huge part of
making what was black culture

A part of just american culture.

Arsenio: My show was like a
keyhole that you could peek
through and see some stuff,

That maybe was intimidating,
but watch it because you
didn't have to fear in your

Own living room that it would
jump out and get you, and
throw a clock on your neck.

Chuck d: What he
showed and what he could
do across the united states

Of america is make
people nod their
head and respect what

Came out of black people.

It was a gigantic
step for the culture.

Narrator: While black
culture's authentic
voice was finally being heard

Around the nation, in
the south, 1989 would
culminate with another

Giant step for america...

A hard-won political
breakthrough,

That would help fuel
historic change to come.

Political history was being
made in the south.

Reporter: On a
blustery sunny day in a city
that was once the capital of

The confederacy, a grandson
of slaves was sworn in today,

As the nation's first
elected black governor.

Man: Congratulations.

Wilder: Thank
you so very much.

Man: This is a great
day for virginia.

Narrator: By a margin
of less than 7,000 votes,
douglas wilder was elected

Governor of virginia.

Wilder: When I could read that
all men were created equal,

And that they were endowed
by their creator with
certain inalienable rights,

And that among these
were life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness,

I knew it meant me!

People said, 'you gonna
vote for this guy?'

They said, 'well
we don't know, we
haven't heard from him.'

Someone said, 'well
you do know where...'

And they said 'yes,
we do know but we've
never had an opportunity

To vote for someone of color,

So how could we
know whether that's
going to be good or not?'

I think 89' was very
significant to the extent
that it was showing the

Possibilities of
what could happen.

Danielle: It showed that there
was a black politician who
was able to bring together a

Coalition of people to
vote for him, in a state
of the old confederacy.

Man: Words can't really
explain how great
of a feeling it is.

Woman: I wanted to be
a part of it and I wanted my
children to be a part of it.

Wilder: Thank you and
god bless all of you.

Narrator: Black politicians
had won elections before,

But wilder's hard-fought
win to become the nation's

First elected black governor,

Along with the 1989
election of david dinkins

As new york's first
black mayor, broke
political barriers.

The mtv generation
took note and, with rock
the vote a year later,

Black voices were
further empowered.

Loder: Rock the vote
is a youth oriented voter
registration campaign

Launched by virgin records
that's seeking to rally music
fans to fight back

At the polls.

Mix-a-lot: Yo what's up!

It's real popular in
rap music right now to
dis the establishment,

Or complain about the
establishment's faults...

What needs to be
popular is getting you
all out there to vote,

You know what I'm saying.

Narrator: The new
youth-driven, politically
astute voice of black

Entertainment was now
affecting the electorate.

This culminated in the fall
of 1992, when a presidential
candidate struggling in the

Polls chose the
arsenio hall show to help
him reach a new audience,

And stage a comeback.

Announcer: It's arsenio hall!

(heartbreak hotel plays)

Adler: Bill clinton
comes on, he's just
relaxed and charming.

Clinton: You've got millions
of people in this country
today who just don't feel

Connected to the lives the
rest of us want to live,
I mean, you tell them to

Register to vote,
get an education, go
to work and they say,

'I may not have a job,
but if I deal drugs I
can make money.'

You tell them they
ought to register to vote and

They say 'why, I'll still be
unsafe on my streets.' what
this election is about in a

Way is reconnecting more
folks to the american dream,
making them feel like they

Are a part of our community,
making them feel like tomorrow
can be better than today.

Danielle: That became a
phenomena, it really humanized
him late in the presidential

Race and made him seem
like a man of the people.

Clinton: I,
william jefferson clinton,
do solemnly swear...

Arsenio: People were
calling bill clinton the
first black president.

The coolest compliment
is he called me once,
he said to me,

'if it wasn't for you I
wouldn't have been president.'

That's the ultimate compliment.

Narrator: And in 2008,
another young, idealistic
candidate would use the

Same inclusive language of
those who came before him,

To ride a wave of hope
into the history books.

Obama: There is not a
liberal america and a
conservative america,

There is the united
states of america.

Reporter (over tv): Senator
barack obama of illinois
will be the next president

Of the united states.

Wilder: President obama
said to me that we provided
the leadership for the

Opportunities for
him to be elected.

Narrator: In 1989, politics
and pop culture collided.

Today, the bond
they share is ingrained
in artistic expression,

And echoed in the
words of our leaders.

Clarke: In the words
of a prolific, poetic
philosopher, kanye west...

Richmond: Tupac said, 'they
got the money for war, but
they can't feed the poor.'

Narrator: While america's
representatives better
reflect its demographics

Today than in 1989,
progress remains elusive.

Wilder: We have now, far
more elected officials of
color than we've ever had

In the history of the country.

But has it brought about
the kinds of change that
many of us thought it

Would have brought about?

The answer is obviously, no.

Arsenio: I remember
watching barack obama,

And you're thinking 'we're
there, we're finally there.'

And as time went on I began
to realize how naive I am.

Reporter (over tv):
New details about the tragic
shooting death of 17-year old

Trayvon martin.

Reporter 2 (over tv):
There is growing outrage
tonight after an unarmed

African american teenager
was shot and killed by police.

Reporter 3 (over tv):
A white police officer
is in custody and

Is being charged
in murder in the
shooting death of a black man

After a traffic stop.

Reporter 4 (over tv):
Protests are spreading
after an officer today shot and

Killed an african american man.

Danielle: In 1989
do the right thing

Was a touchstone
cultural moment but there is

No doubt that that kind
of racial tension, anger,
energy is something that we're

Experiencing in the
country right now.

We're at a time I
think more than any since
the civil rights movement,

Where you do see a lot of on
the ground political activity.

That kind of protest movement
is driven by culture,
is driven by art, in black

Culture and for the
black community, we're
trying to find our way.

Narrator: But unlike 1989,
today more people can find
platforms to speak out.

Arsenio: We're going to have
to make an amazing comeback,
but there are some kids that

Are seriious and they're
educating themselves

When you go to
rallies now, you don't see
jesse jackson, you see kids.

You see children saying,
'I'm afraid to go to school.'

You see kids giving speeches!

Girl: I am here today to
acknowledge and represent the
african american girls whose

Stories don't make the
front page of every
national newspaper.

Arsenio: And that makes me
believe in the future man.

Captioned by cotter
captionign services.