:36:01
This man is black.
We can all see that.
:36:05
But can we also see as easily
that which is equally true?
:36:10
That he is the only
true hero in this room.
:36:14
If he were white,
he wouldn't be in this court,
:36:17
fighting for his life.
:36:19
If he were white
and his enslavers British,
:36:22
he'd be weighed down by the medals
and honours we would bestow upon him.
:36:27
Songs would be written about him.
:36:31
The great authors of our times
would fill books about him.
:36:34
His story would be told
:36:36
and retold, in our classrooms.
:36:41
Our children, because we would
make sure of it,
:36:46
would know his name as well as
they know Patrick Henry's.
:36:51
Yet, if the South is right,
:36:54
what are we to do with that
embarrassing, annoying document,
:36:58
"The Declaration of Independence"?
:37:01
What of its conceits?
:37:05
"All men created equal," "inalienable
rights," "life, liberty," and so on.
:37:12
What on Earth are we
to do with this?
:37:15
I have a modest suggestion.
:37:37
The other night I was talking
with my friend Cinque.
:37:41
He was over at my place, and we were
out in the greenhouse together.
:37:45
He explained to me how when a member
of the Mende - that's his people...
:37:52
How when a member of the Mende
encounters a situation
:37:55
where there appears
no hope at all,
:37:58
he invokes his ancestors.