Ragtime movie - Booker T. Washington's Speech/ The Trashing of the Car lyrics
rate me<br>
(Lights come up on BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, making a speech.)<br>
<br>
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON<br>
And I say to you, gentlemen, that every race or notion that has ever got upon its feet has done so through struggle and<br>
persecution; and out of this very resistance to wrong, out of the struggle against odds, they have gained strength. <br>
<br>
(COALHOUSE and SARAH and the baby are returning to New Rochelle in the Model T. <br>
WILLIE CONKLIN and his MEN appear, goofing off in front of the firehouse. We hear the familiar sound of a Model T coming<br>
toward us. The MEN begin to fan out. COALHOUSE and SARAH find their way barred by WILLIE CONKLIN and the EMERALD ISLE<br>
FIREMEN. Nastiness hangs in the air.) <br>
<br>
COALHOUSE<br>
Sarah. Go down the road and wait. <br>
<br>
SARAH<br>
I'm not going to leave you. <br>
<br>
COALHOUSE<br>
Do it, Sarah. <br>
<br>
SARAH<br>
Stubborn, righteous man. <br>
<br>
(SARAH hurries off with the baby.)<br>
<br>
COALHOUSE<br>
Let me pass. <br>
<br>
CONKLIN<br>
Gladly. That will be twenty-five dollars. This is a private toll road. <br>
<br>
COALHOUSE<br>
Since when?<br>
<br>
CONKLIN<br>
Since some high-falutin' nigger and his whore and his whore's baby thought they could drive that goddamn car of their any<br>
place they pleased, that's since when. <br>
<br>
(COALHOUSE gets out of the car.)<br>
<br>
CONKLIN<br>
Running away, nigger?<br>
<br>
COALHOUSE<br>
I am going to find a policeman. If anyone touches my car before I return, he will answer to Coalhouse.<br>
<br>
CONKLIN<br>
Tell him Fire Chief Will Conklin sends his regards! <br>
<br>
(The FIREMEN laugh as COALHOUSE walks away.) <br>
<br>
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON<br>
We must exhibit patience. <br>
<br>
<br>
(The FIREMEN descend on the car and destroy it.) <br>
<br>
Self-control. Forbearance. And dwell above hatred and acts of cruelty.<br>
<br>
(BOOKER T. WASHINGTON disappears.)<br>
<br>
COALHOUSE<br>
Coalhouse found a policeman but he refused to help. When he returned to his car, the Model T was spattered with mud. There<br>
was a twenty-inch tear in the custom pantasote top. The tires had been slashed and all the windows broken. Deposited on the<br>
seat was a mound of fresh human excrement. <br>
<br>
CONKLIN<br>
Come on, fellas, let's roll her into the pond and see if she floats!<br>
<br>
(CONKLIN and the FIREMEN exit, laughing and pushing COALHOUSE'S car as SARAH returns.)<br>
<br>
SARAH<br>
Come on, Coalhouse. Come on. It doesn't matter.<br>
<br>
[Thanks to Yehuda Alexander for lyrics]<br>
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