Black Boy-8

INT. OPTICAL FACTORY

Elevator doors open. Richard exits and walks through to the
factory. He passes several people sitting at their desks.

Richard approaches the desk of MR. FALK, a Jewish man, about
45. He wears glasses, has an intelligent look. To the side
of his paper work two leather-bound books are on his desk.

RICHARD
Mr. Falk, you got a minute?

Falk glances up. He speaks with no accent.

MR. FALK
What is it, Richard?

RICHARD
There are a few books I need from
the library. I wonder if you'd
let me use your card?

MR. FALK
(suspiciously)
My card is full most of the time.

RICHARD
Oh.

MR. FALK
You're not trying to get me into
trouble are you, boy?

RICHARD
No sir.

MR. FALK
What book do you want?

RICHARD
Something by H.L. Mencken.

Falk is surprised.

MR. FALK
I guess you know Mencken isn't
real popular in these parts.

RICHARD
Yes, sir. I know.

Falk examines Richard a moment.

MR. FALK
Even if you had a card, they still
won't let you borrow a book for
yourself, will they?

Richard pauses.

RICHARD
No, sir. I'll have to tell them
it's for a white man... you.

Falk's face may show some sympathy.

MR. FALK
I've got another card in my wife's
name. You can use mine.

Falk pulls out his wallet, finds the card, hands it over.

RICHARD
Thank you, sir.

MR. FALK
(quiet; serious)
Richard, don't mention this to the
other men around here.

Richard nods and moves off.



INT. RICHARD'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Richard sits at a small table carefully crafting a note. He
is writing:

DEAR MADAM, WILL YOU PLEASE LET THIS



INT. MAIN LIBRARY - DAY

INSERT:

DEAR MADAM, WILL YOU PLEASE LET THIS

NIGGER BOY HAVE SOME BOOKS BY H.L. MENCKEN?

The LIBRARIAN folds the note and hands it back to Richard.
She holds Falk's library card.

LIBRARIAN
(suspicious)
Mr. Falk gave you this card?

RICHARD
Yes, ma'am.

LIBRARIAN
What books by Mencken does he want?

RICHARD
I don't know, ma'am.

LIBRARIAN
Where is he?

RICHARD
He's at work.

LIBRARIAN
You're not using these books, are
you?

RICHARD
Oh, no ma'am. I can't read.

This satisfies her. She moves for the stacks.

LIBRARIAN (leaving)
(under her breath)
I don't know what he wants by
Mencken...

Richard looks about the place. It is clean, quiet. White
people are reading, students are studying. A black woman is
pushing a cart of books.

The Librarian returns with two books in hand.

LIBRARIAN
I'm sending him two books. But
you tell Mr. Falk to come in next
time, or send the names of the
books he wants. I don't know what
he wants to read.

RICHARD
Yes, ma'am.



EXT. PARK - DAY

It is a beautiful day; sunny, birds are chirping, the green
trees and grass seem to glow. Richard sits on a bench
reading one of the books.

A professionally-lettered sign nailed to the side of the
bench says:

NEGROES



EXT. TRAIN STATION - NIGHT

Richard watches a train slow to a stop as he walks toward the
rear. Blacks begin to disembark. Her back to him, a female
lugs two bags from the train. She turns.

Richard walks to his mother. He hugs her, takes her bags.
They begin to walk. She is smiling, seeming healthy.

RICHARD
How are you Mama?

ELLA
I'm doing good now, son.



INT. OPTICAL FACTORY - DAY

Machines grind away. Richard is at an industrial sink
washing one of a pile of newly-ground eyeglasses.

Olin strolls up, observes Richard for a moment.

OLIN
You doing good work there, Richard.

RICHARD
Thank you, sir.

Olin pauses a moment.

OLIN
Listen, we like you here, Richard,
and we don't want to see you get
in any trouble.

Richard goes on edge.

RICHARD
Did I do something wrong?

OLIN
No, hell no. Just somethin' you
should know. The boy that works
at the eyeglass shop across the
street, name of Harrison, you know
him?

RICHARD
Yes, sir. I know him some, not
real well.

OLIN
Well, be careful. He's after you.

Richard pauses.

RICHARD
After me? For what?

OLIN
That boy's got a big grudge
against you. What have you done
to him?

Richard sets the glasses down and turns to Olin.

RICHARD
I haven't done anything to
Harrison.

OLIN
Well, you best watch out. A
little while ago I went down to
get me a coke and Harrison was
waiting by the door with a knife.

Richard stares at the white man, disbelieving.

OLIN
(continuing)
He said you called him a dirty
name.
(beat)
Now we don't want any bloodshed on
the job.

RICHARD
I better talk to him.

OLIN
No, you'd better not. You let
some of us white boys talk to him.

RICHARD
I should see him.

OLIN
Hey, now. That niggra just told
me he was going to cut you and
teach you a lesson.

Olin reaches out and pats Richard's shoulder.

OLIN
(continuing)
Let me handle this, Richard.

Olin turns and walks away.

Richard walks to a nearby cabinet, opens a drawer and
rummages through the contents. He comes out with a long
utility knife, a shiv.



EXT. CITY STREET OUTSIDE OPTICAL FACTORY - EVENING

Richard is tucked into an alcove. He is leaning close to the
wall, watching the building across the street. Richard
stiffens.

A young black man, HARRISON, about Richard's age, though
taller and thicker, exits the building. Richard waits until
Harrison moves off, then he follows.



EXT. BLACK SECTION - NIGHT

In an unlit street, Harrison is nearing what could be his
tenement building. Richard is coming up behind him. He is
about ten feet behind.

RICHARD
Hey! Harrison!

Harrison wheels around, panic shows on his face, his hand
goes to a pocket, Richard quickly reaches behind to his belt
and the two men go to a stance with knives drawn.

HARRISON
Keep away from me, man! I'll cut
you!

Richard has his knife forward, but he holds his other hand up
in what could be a halting motion.

RICHARD
What is it with you, man?! What
the hell you after me for?!

Harrison looks ready to strike or defend. He appears scared
or angry. He just looks at Richard.

RICHARD
(continuing)
I haven't done anything to you.

HARRISON
And I ain't done nothin' to you.
(beat)
I don't bother nobody.

Richard thinks.

RICHARD
Mr. Olin, said you came over to
the factory looking for me with a
blade.

Harrison eases, somewhat.

HARRISON
I ain't. I ain't been over there
in a month.

Richard thinks, relaxes his stance.

RICHARD
Then what the hell... He said you
were out for me.

HARRISON
Shit, man. I thought you was out
for me.

Both men now stand normal, the blades not away, but dropped
to their sides.

HARRISON
(continuing)
Mr. Olin and my Boss man, Mr.
Jacoby told me you was goin' to
kill me 'cause you said I insulted
you.

Richard takes this in.

RICHARD
You ain't mad?

HARRISON
Man, I ain't mad at nobody!

Richard reaches behind and re-sheaths the knife.

RICHARD
Look here, don't believe what Olin
says.

Harrison pockets his knife.

HARRISON
I get it. Mr. Olin and Mr. Jacoby
is playing a dirty trick. They
trying to make us kill each other
for nothin'.

The two men look at each other. Together, they seem to share
an expression of shame. Richard turns to leave.

RICHARD
I have nothing against you,
Harrison.

Richard starts off. To his back, Harrison speaks.

HARRISON
I got nothing against you.



INT. OPTICAL FACTORY - DAY

Richard is working when Olin approaches him.

OLIN
You see Harrison, Richard?

Richard thinks before answering.

RICHARD
No, sir.

Olin watches Richard a moment.

OLIN
Well, he still has it in for you.

Richard, his face to his work, away from Olin, shows
suppressed rage.

OLIN
(continuing)
You got yourself a pistol?

RICHARD
No, sir.

OLIN
Do you want to use mine?

RICHARD
No, sir. I'm not afraid.

OLIN
Nigger, you're a fool! I thought
you had some sense! His boss gave
him a pistol to use against you!

Richard seems to wish the man would just go away.

Olin reaches for a pocket and comes out with a shabby looking
derringer. He throws it to the counter in front of Richard.
Richard, startled, just looks at it.

OLIN
(continuing)
You want to get shot in the head?
Take this here gun and stop acting
crazy.

Richard's hand goes to the gun. His finger curls around the
trigger. He turns to Olin. For a long moment, it seems that
Richard might shoot the man.

Olin watches Richard put the gun in his jacket pocket.

OLIN
(continuing)
Now you're acting like a boy with
some sense.

Olin leaves.



EXT. OPTICAL FACTORY BUILDING - EVENING

Richard is about a half-block away from the building, a book
under his arm. Harrison is running up behind him. He calls
out.

HARRISON
Hey, Richard!

Richard turns.

RICHARD
Yeah?

HARRISON
My boss talk to me today. He say
you all want to settle our grudge
with a boxing match.

Richard stares at the man.

RICHARD
Harrison, we don't have a grudge.

HARRISON
Oh, yeah, I know. But they tell
you, they willing to pay us?

RICHARD
Get some sense.

Richard turns to leave, but Harrison grabs him by the arm.

HARRISON
Fifteen dollars each! I ain't
make that in two weeks!

Richard pulls his arm free and walks. Harrison follows.

HARRISON
(continuing)
Fifteen dollars!

RICHARD
I don't need money that bad.

HARRISON
You're a fool!

Richard turns on the larger man. Harrison gets out a quick
smile. For several seconds they stare at each other.

HARRISON
(continuing)
I need that money.

RICHARD
Nothing doing.

Richard walks off. Harrison stands and watches him leave.



INT. RICHARD'S NEW APARTMENT - NIGHT

Richard opens the front door and enters the kitchen of a
three-room unit. Ella looks up from a small stove where a
couple of pots steam away.

ELLA
Evening, son.

RICHARD
Hello, Mama.

Richard leans to his mother and kisses her on the cheek.

He walks on into his room, immediately adjacent the kitchen.

ELLA (O.S.)
Was work alright today?

RICHARD
Oh, yeah. Work is always alright.

Richard empties his pockets on a bureau. A meager amount of
cash is among the contents. He goes to his bed, reaches far
under the mattress and comes out with an old envelope.
Returning to the bureau, he empties the envelope. A too
small amount of money sits there. Unhappily, he stares at it.

Ella now stands just behind him.

ELLA
It's hard, isn't it, son?

RICHARD
(sighs)
I just can't get ahead.

ELLA
I know. Tomorrow I'm going to
look for work.

RICHARD
No. You can't do that.

ELLA
Why sure I can.

RICHARD
Mama, you're just now getting
better. I'm not going to have you
get sick again slaving for some
fat white lady.

ELLA
Son...

RICHARD
No, Mama. I'll make it somehow.
(pause)
I'll make it. Then we'll leave
and never come back.



EXT. OPTICAL FACTORY BUILDING - MORNING

Richard is nearing the building. Harrison runs across the
street.

HARRISON
Richard!

Richard turns to face Harrison.

HARRISON
(continuing)
My boss talked to me again. He
raise the stake to twenty dollars!

Richard stares at him.

HARRISON
(continuing)
Come on, fight! Make some money!

Richard is silent.

HARRISON
(continuing)
I could buy me a bunch of new
clothes with that money.

Richard just looks at Harrison.

HARRISON
(continuing)
I got it figured. What we do is,
we just pretend. We don't hurt
each other.

Richard stares.

HARRISON
(continuing)
What do we got to lose?

Richard thinks long. Then he answers.

RICHARD
I suppose we don't have anything
to lose.



INT. FACTORY BASEMENT - NIGHT

The room runs from bright, where lights have been rigged to
illuminate a makeshift boxing ring, to dark. The
subterranean room seems to have no walls.

The room is filled with perhaps 75 rowdy white men. They
smoke, drink, laugh, yell and argue.

At the edge of the ring, Olin stands next to Harrison's Boss,
JACOBY, a fat man in an ill-fitting suit. The two take cash
from the yelling mob and scribble bets.

Beyond and beneath the crowd, sitting in their respective
corners, Richard and Harrison face each other. Stripped to
their waists, they wear only trousers and shoddy gloves.
Their expressions are tense.

Just behind them at each of their corners, men parody
handlers; laughing, offering inane strategies.

All bets are taken. Olin and Jacoby move to either corner.

Olin turns, nods to a small, inbred-looking man at ringside.

The crowd goes quiet as the LITTLE MAN swigs at a bottle,
grins stupidly, brings up a lead pipe and strikes a cowbell.

CROWD VOICES howl.

Richard and Harrison stand and move halfheartedly into the
ring.

A man acts like a REFEREE with dramatic, meaningless hand
gestures.

Richard and Olin begin a weak sparring match. They are flat-
footed, blows are light and to the mid-section.

The Crowd goes quiet, then yells its disappointment.

CROWD VOICES
Come on, hit that nigger, nigger!
Hit 'em! Fight damn you! Hit 'im
you black bastard! Bust his nuts!

Richard and Harrison show fear; not of each other, but of the
crowd. They try harder, throwing a few blows. Harrison
lands a fairly solid jab to Richard's gut and he stumbles
back.

Half the crowd, those with bets on Harrison, shout.

CROWD VOICES
(continuing)
That's it!! Now hit 'im in the
head!! Hit 'im nigger!

Richard and Harrison move around each other some more. The
crowd grumbles.

Olin nods at the Little Man and he rings the bell. Richard
and Olin walk to their corners.

Olin leans into Richard's face. He is angry.

OLIN
What the hell you think this is?!
You think you goin' to put one
over?! You want to keep a job,
you best fight you black sum-bitch!

Richard looks at the floor.

In Harrison's corner, Jacoby is in the black man's face.

JACOBY
Listen here, I got money on you,
you damn buck! You get in there
and hit that nigger good or you
best start lookin' for a new job!

Harrison looks with trepidation at his boss.

The bell rings.

Harrison moves faster into the ring than Richard. Richard
looks as if he might even climb out of the ring. He doesn't
have his guard up.

Harrison comes at him, rears back and lashes out with a hard
roundhouse. The blow lands solid on Richard's jaw and he is
slammed to the cement floor.

The crowd howls; half with pleasure at the hit, half with
jeers for Richard.

Richard is sprawled on the floor, blood oozing from his
mouth. His eyes are rolling, his face showing pain, shock,
surprise.

The Ref, with excessive flourish, is gesturing to the now
dancing Harrison to back up. But the Ref offers no count as
Richard struggles to get off the floor.

CROWD VOICES
Get up! Get up nigger! Get up!

Olin nods to the Little Man. The bell is rung. The crowd
howls.

Two men go to Richard, haul him up and back to his corner.

Richard's head is down.

OLIN
You see, damn you! That nigger
wants to kill you!

Richard stares at the floor, trying to clear his vision.

Olin gives gives Richard a vicious slap.

OLIN
(continuing)
Goddamn, you, nigger! You is
gonna fight, you hear me!

Richard jerks his gaze to the man and his eyes focus. There
is no hiding his surging rage.

OLIN
(continuing)
You gonna fight him, or you is
gonna fight us!

Richard turns to the men who surround him. They glare.

In Harrison's corner, Jacoby is now pleased and excited.

JACOBY
That's it! That's it, boy! Now
finish 'im! If you finish him
before that damn Olin gets the
bell rung again I'll give you an
extra two dollars!

Harrison looks to his boss, his eyes now showing a spark. He
nods enthusiastically, bumps his gloves together.

The bell rings. Harrison springs to his feet. Richard looks
like he may not get up.

CROWD VOICES
Get in there! Get up nigger!

The two men who hauled Richard from the ring now grab his
arms and throw him back in. Richard stumbles forward.

Harrison is closing in.

Richard's POV:

-- Harrison is bearing down fast.

Harrison lets go with another sloppy roundhouse, but Richard
cuts left and the punch goes wide. The Crowd howls.

Harrison throws another, but Richard cuts right. The Crowd
howls.

Harrison throws a jab and catches Richard pretty good in the
mid-section.

Encouraged, Harrison goes for another full-power roundhouse.
Richard moves fast, the missed punch carries Harrison forward
and off balance. Richard steps to the side and in. He
hammers Harrison with about six fast blows to the man's
kidneys. Harrison stumbles forward, in pain, bewildered.
The Crowd howls.

Richard steps back as if to let Harrison recover.

Harrison turns with rage showing on his face. He comes at
Richard.

CROWD VOICES
(continuing)
Kill 'im! Kill 'im! Kill that
nigger!

Harrison swings and misses. Richard is trying to keep away
from the bull-like man. Harrison swings and misses... swings
and misses... swings and makes hard Contact with Richard's
face.

Richard stumbles back, an eye already swelling. The crowd
howls.

Harrison, plainly looking to finish Richard, comes on again.

Richard backs up, trying to take stock, and sees Harrison
closing.

Harrison jabs, Richard steps to the side, moves close and
hammers a low-blow to Harrison's groin. Harrison doubles-
over and the Crowd howls.

Richard moves in before Harrison can recover. He slams him
in the gut; again... and again... and again... Richard is
moving the bigger man back across the ring.

Like he is again the wild boy in the street fighting the
gang, Richard is in a rage. He hammers an upper-cut into
Harrison's jaw standing the man upright. Again he slams the
man's head... again... again...

Harrison head has turned to pulp. He is oblivious.

Finally Richard backs off. Harrison falls, dead weight, hard
to the cement floor.

Sweat pours from Richard. His adrenaline and inhalation is
at an unnatural level.

The Crowd goes completely quiet for a long moment. Then the
mob howls. Some men shout their victory, others curse.

Money begins to change hands.

Richard now slows his breathing, sanity returning. He looks
at Harrison. Blood pours from the fallen man's mouth and
broken nose.

Richard's face slips from rage to shock, then to what could
be either disgust or agony. He just stands.

After a while, the Crowd quiets and most head for the door.

Jacoby walks to the still flat Harrison. He throws some
bills on the man.

JACOBY
There's your money, nigger. You
gonna need it 'cause you don't
work for me no more...

Jacob turns and starts away.

JACOBY
(continuing; to
himself)
You money-losin' black bastard.

Richard still stands, watching Harrison bleed. Olin comes up
behind him.

OLIN
You done good, boy! Good fightin'.

Olin holds out some bills.

OLIN
(continuing)
Here's your money.

Richard just looks at Harrison. Olin stands a moment, then
takes Richard's hand and stuffs the money into the glove.

OLIN
(continuing)
You is one tough nigger.

Olin saunters off.

Richard doesn't move. The money drops from his glove.

The room is emptying out. Nearly alone, the two black men
are completely ignored. Harrison is beginning to push weakly
at the ground, but he can't even raise his head.

Finally, Richard walks to Harrison. He pulls off his gloves,
kneels down and reaches for the fallen man. He begins to
help Harrison to his feet.



INT. OPTICAL FACTORY FRONT OFFICE - MORNING

Richard, his face battered and bandaged, stands at the boss'
desk. The man, GERALD, talks on a phone. After a moment,
the boss hangs up and turns to Richard.

He takes a key from his watch pocket, unlocks and opens a
desk drawer. He begins to count out a few bills.

GERALD
You think you'll do any better up
there?

Richard doesn't answer immediately. His demeanor is
different; not subservient.

RICHARD
I don't know.

GERALD
You seem to have been getting
along all right down here.

RICHARD
(dry)
Yeah.

Olin hands Richard his pay.

GERALD
Now boy, don't you go up there and
fall into that lake.

Richard turns to leave as Olin and another WORKER enter the
room.

WORKER
Hey, boy, heard you makin' a run
for the north.

Richard starts for the door.

RICHARD
You heard right.

OLIN
The North's no good for you
people, boy!

Richard keeps moving.

WORKER
You'll come back here where your
friends are!

OLIN
You stay away from those Yankee
white girls, you hear! They ain't
built big enough for you boys!

The two men laugh as Richard leaves the room.

Richard approaches the elevator as the door opens. Mr. Falk
exits, sees Richard, pauses, smiles and offers his hand.
Richard looks into Mr. Falk's eyes, gives a quick smile and
accepts the handshake. Falk moves on and Richard enters the
elevator.



INT. ELEVATOR

Shorty closes the door and pulls the lever for the descent.

SHORTY
You lucky bastard.

RICHARD
What?

SHORTY
You made your money and now you're
gone.

RICHARD
My problems are just starting.

SHORTY
You'll never have any problems as
hard as the ones you had here.

Richard says nothing.

SHORTY
(continuing)
Sometimes I get so mad I want to
kill everybody.

Richard, grim, turns to the man.

RICHARD
Why?

SHORTY
Because I'll never leave this
goddamn South. I'm always saying
I am, but I won't... I'm lazy. I
like to sleep too goddamn much.
I'll die here... Or maybe they'll
kill me.

RICHARD
That's your choice.

SHORTY
What do you mean?

RICHARD
You can stay where you are, or you
can change it.

SHORTY
I'm a nigger in the South. How
can I change a damn thing?

RICHARD
By making up your mind. By just
changing.

The elevator is slowing.

SHORTY
Ain't nothing ever gonna change
for me.

The door opens. Richard gives the man a hard look. He
shakes his hand and leaves.



INT. RICHARD'S APARTMENT - AFTERNOON

Richard, still bandaged, hustles from his room carrying two
suitcases. Ella stands, dressed for travel, holding her own
two bags. Books and other odds and ends fill the apartment.

ELLA
Do we have enough money?

Richard scans the room as he heads for the door.

RICHARD
We'll be alright.

ELLA
What about all your books?

RICHARD
Leave them. I read 'em. I'll get
more books in Chicago.

ELLA
But the train doesn't leave for
two hours, yet.

Richard holds the door and Ella slowly moves to exit.

RICHARD
I know, Mama. I have to make a
stop, first.

They head out, the door closes.



INT. TAXI CAB PARKED OUTSIDE OPTICAL BUILDING - LATER

Ella and Richard are in the back seat. Richard is watching
the front door of the building. Workers are beginning to
file out. The cabby looks in the mirror at Richard.

ELLA
What are you waiting for, son?

RICHARD
I just got to see somebody a
minute.

CABBY
Hey, boy. How long we gonna wait
here?

Richard doesn't answer right away or look at the man.

RICHARD
Your meter running?

CABBY
Hell yeah, it's runnin'.

RICHARD
Good.

The Cabby looks like he might respond, but changes his mind.

Richard, still with his eyes on the front door of the
building, suddenly sits erect. Olin has exited the building.
Richard puts a hand on the door. He wears leather gloves.

RICHARD
(continuing)
I'll be back in just a minute,
Mama.

Ella looks a little worried.

Richard gets out and starts across the street after Olin, who
is now a half-block away.



EXT. ALLEY

Olin walks from the main street and heads down this deserted
gravel alley. Richard is just a few steps behind and gaining
fast. Olin hears his footsteps and turns.

OLIN
Hey nigger, what're you doin'
here?

Richard moves in fast and slams a fist hard into Olin's face.
The man stumbles back, his hand going to a broken, bleeding
nose.

OLIN
(continuing;
disbelieving)
'ou, 'ou 'uckin' ni...

Olin goes for a swing, but Richard is ready. He blocks the
blow and hammers the man again... and again... and again...
and again. Olin goes down. The man lays flat, groaning,
sounding as if he is choking on his own blood.

Richard turns and walks from the alley.



INT. INDUSTRIAL AREA AT TRAIN TRACKS - NIGHT

The landscape is sooty, metallic, mechanized.

The locomotive powers past; a shrieking roar of metal on
metal grinding into the black night.

Very close by, near the tracks, a refinery burn stack erupts
and the scene goes to blue flame.



INT. TRAIN - SAME TIME

Ella is asleep on the seat next to Richard. He watches her
peaceful face for a moment, then turns to the window.

His reflection and the netherworld landscape beyond become a
single image on the glass. As if by time lapse, though
Richard remains in real time, the exterior scene transposed
on the glass brightens. It becomes day in an urban landscape.

NARRATOR
My first glimpse of the flat black
stretches of Chicago depressed and
dismayed me, mocked all my
fantasies. Chicago seemed an
unreal city whose mythical houses
were built of slabs of black coal
wreathed in palls of gray smoke,
houses whose foundations were
sinking slowly into the dank
prairie. Flashes of steam showed
intermittently on the wide
horizon, gleaming translucently in
the winter sun. The din of the
city entered my consciousness,
entered to remain for years to
come. The year was 1927.

SLOW DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. RURAL ROAD - DAY

This could be a third world country.

A patch of broken-down shanties seem to lean against one-
another near the side of a lonely hard-packed road. Naked
black children stand with hands in mouth, women nurse infants
and a few men sit in the shade and drink. The endless fields
around the shanties are dry dirt.

A car speeds past.



INT. SEDAN - SAME TIME

The car, built in the early forties, looks nearly new.

The driver, looking back to the sharecropper shanty town,
returns his view to the road ahead. He is a handsome black
man in his thirties. He wears expensive wire-frame glasses
and a well-cut suit.

Richard Wright drives on through the land of his birth.



EXT. FIELD - DUSK

Beyond a single rundown shack, in the middle of a desolate
field, a tall black man is stooped, facing away. He chops
weakly at the earth with a hoe. It seems a futile, meager
effort in this unpromising landscape. Sweat pours from the
man's deeply creased forehead. He pauses, stands and wipes
at his brow.

Nathaniel Wright, dressed in ragged overalls, a man stooped
and beaten by life and age, hears something; an engine
approaching.

He looks to the road which passes 50 yards in front of his
homestead. Nate watches the sedan come to him from down the
empty road, a plume of dust billowing behind.

The car slows and stops directly in front of Nate. A man, a
well-dressed man, gets out and begins to march toward him.

Nate shows concern, as if this could be the law coming for
him. Then, as the man nears, Nate's eyes go wide and his
mouth drops in amazement.

NATE
(whispers to himself)
Richard...

Richard walks to within a few feet of Nate and stands.

NATE
(continuing; amazed)
Richard... boy...

Richard looks into his father's tired eyes and, almost shyly,
he smiles.

From 50 feet away, though one is old and one is young, though
one is stooped and the other erect, the similar build of the
men is apparent.

They are dark profiles on a red clay earth. Unheard at this
distance, they begin to speak.

The sun is setting.

NARRATOR
A quarter of a century was to
elapse between the time I last saw
my father and when I was to see
him again, standing alone upon the
red clay of a Mississippi
plantation.
(pause)
I could see a shadow of my face in
his face, and hear an echo of my
voice in his voice, but we were
forever strangers; speaking a
different language, living on
vastly different planes of reality.
(pause)
From the white landowners above
him there had not been handed to
him a chance to learn the meaning
of loyalty, of sentiment, of
tradition. Joy was unknown to
him, as was despair.
(pause)
I forgave him and pitied him.
(pause)
From far beyond the horizons that
had bound this bleak plantation,
there had come to me the knowledge
that my father had sought life,
but had failed; a black peasant
whose life had been hopelessly
snarled in the city... that same
city which had lifted me in its
burning arms and borne me toward
alien and undreamed of shores of
knowing.

SLOW DISSOLVE TO:



An indistinct, sepia image appears while this text rolls:



In 1960 Richard Wright died at a clinic near his home in
Paris.

Long before his death the dreams of his youth were realized.

He did write and present his own valedictorian speech -- to
the white people as well as the blacks.

He would go on to become the first African-American to make
his living as a writer.

In 1945, after the publication of numerous poems, stories and
books, and after his novel, "Native Son," was produced on
Broadway, Richard Wright's autobiography, "Black Boy," became
a best seller.

It was the first work by a black American to be named to the
Book of The Month Club List.

Recognized internationally as one of the great American
authors, his writings remain in print and are studied at
American high schools and universities.

But over the years his works have frequently been banned in
Southern cities.

In 1997, the Jacksonville, Florida school system pulled
"Black Boy" from the shelves for review.

It was charged that the autobiography, the story of Richard
Wright's early life, was "obscene."



The text gradually fades and the sepia image defines into a
sharp, black and white still photo of the real Richard Wright.
: Caption:; For; Ellen and Julia


FADE OUT.