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Downloaded from
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Official YIFY movies site:
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     up-tempo classical music     

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      [Lipsyte] I met Dick Gregory   
           for the first time        

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             on the evening          
         of September 16, 1963.      

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              At the time,           
     Greg was the hottest comedian   

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            in the country,          
           and he had signed         

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 the typical publishing contract   

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       for one of those humorous     
     rags-to-riches autobiography.   

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            And the problem          
       was that Greg had rejected    

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   every writer maybe in America,   
       and finally the publisher     

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 scraped the bottom of the barrel 
                with me.             

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 I was a 25-year-old sportswriter 

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         at   The New York Times,      

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 and I went up to his hotel room. 

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       He was on his bed. He was     
     curled up in a fetal position. 

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     He was wearing only underwear, 
           and he was crying.        

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         I sat down in a chair       
            next to the bed,         

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     and I asked why he was crying, 

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     and he said, "Didn't you read   
      about the four little girls    

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      who were murdered yesterday    
        in a Birmingham church?"     

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 And he just kind of rolled over   
              on his back,           

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         and for the next hour,      
     he just talked to the ceiling. 

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        Mostly I just listened.      
           I was fascinated.         

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          This man was angry.        
           He was passionate.        

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               He was not            
        the cool, slangy hipster     

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 who was on the nightclub stages, 

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      and I really do believe that   
     he had missions to accomplish, 

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 and it wasn't just making jokes. 

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       When they say this show      
       features living color,       

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       you better believe it.       

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             [laughter]             

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   Of course, back in my hometown, 

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        we had what you call        
     the friendly Ku Klux Klan.     

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       Oh, yeah, they'll come       
   to your house to burn a cross.   

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   If they didn't have no matches, 

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      they'd knock on your door     
       and ask you for a pack.      

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         Dick was the first one      
     that stepped in that I knew of 

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               that made             
      political and social issues    

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      the subject of his humor.     

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     Found out that cold weather    
         makes it very nice         

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         for race relations.        

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       But last month when it was    
       15 below zero in Chicago,     

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      I walked out of a nightclub.   
        A drunk walked up to me,     

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    said, "Why don't you get back   
     to Africa where you belong     

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       and take me with you?"       

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         [audience laughter]        

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       Dick Gregory was one of      
 the greatest political comedians 

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            to ever live.           

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    There are a lot of comedians    
      in the history of comedy,     

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   who are "political comedians,"   

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      but they're not actually      
           taking a side.           

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       Dick Gregory was always      
            taking a side           

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       and then suffering the       
 consequence of taking that side. 

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     I chose to be an agitator.     

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          Next time you put         
           your underwear           

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       in the washing machine,      
       take the agitator out,       

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    and all you gon' end up with    
     is some dirty, wet drawers.    

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     Are you out to give people     
            a good laugh?           

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         Are you out to make        
           a very definite          

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      and a very pungent point,     

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       or is it a combination       
             of the two?            

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           I happen to be           
       a very firm believer--       

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    believe that you can't laugh    
           social problems          

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          out of existence,         

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         and the day we find        
         a cure for cancer,         

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     it won't be through jokes.     

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              It'll be              
     through hard, sincere work.    

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      For him, making people laugh   
             wasn't enough.          

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            To be out there          
           on the front lines        

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     of the civil rights movement,   

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      he made a huge sacrifice.     

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           We've seen plenty         
         of entertainers march       

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        and march repeatedly        
     and always, always go back     

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          to the big money          
          of show business.         

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 But we do have this one example   
           of this one person        

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    who went all the way with it.   

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      [Dick] Thank this movement--   

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     I'm not talking about the ones 
             we know about.          

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         Talking about the ones      
          we don't know about.       

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       Facts are, there is a God     
      that know all of the names,    

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     and because of this movement,   
 it gave me a turtle philosophy.   

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          Hard on the outside,       
          soft on the inside,        

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          and willing to stick       
             your neck out.          

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        That's what it's about.      
      Huh? That's what it's about.   

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 [man] Ah! Ladies and gentlemen,   
             Dick Gregory!           

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        [cheers and applause]       

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             Dick Gregory!           

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              Dick Gregory!          

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        [cheers and applause        
              subside]              

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               [click]              

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          This is Bob Lipsyte,       
               room 1705,            

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           the Hotel Beverly         
        in New York City, 1963.      

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          When you first tried       
              to get a job           

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         with the kind of jokes      
              that you do,           

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            I imagine it was         
             kind of tough.          

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      So how did you break through   
        to the big white clubs?      

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       [Dick] Biggest break I had    
            was I opened up          

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          at the Playboy Club        
             for one night           

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         to fill in for a comic      
              in Chicago,            

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       and everyone who had heard    
     my act told me, "Don't go on,   

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            "because we have         
     a Southern convention in town, 

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         and the room is filled      
           with Southerners."        

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         [Lipsyte] A room full       
            of Southerners?          

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           [Dick] A room full        
            of Southerners.          

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      [Lipsyte] So what happened?    

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         upbeat jazz music        

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      [Dick] So the Playboy Club,    

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      it was...it was the only one   
            in the country,          

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 and it was just getting started, 

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           and it was, like,         
          the talk of America.       

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 And they said they'd pay me $50, 

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     and I couldn't believe it was   
     that much money in the world.   

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        He was invited to do        
          the Playboy Club.         

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      Mr. Hefner gave my father     
           the opportunity          

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      to come and do flat-foot,     
    stare-you-in-the-eye comedy.    

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       He jumps onto the stage      
             on a night             

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    that they'd rather he hadn't.   

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       [Dick] The room that I was    
      working had been rented out    

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      to a frozen food convention.   

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          It was a delegation        
            from the South.          

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           ominous music          

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       Victor Lownes said to me,     

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 "Hefner told me to tell you, you 
     don't have to go on tonight."   

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       And he said, "We're sorry,    
       but we rented the room out    

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       to a Southern delegation."    

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         And I just pushed him       
              out the way            

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     and said, "You don't know what 
      I went through to get here."   

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      And, uh, got up on the stage   
          and started talking.       

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       Got a little snow down       
             in Georgia             

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         for the first time         
         in a hundred years.        

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          [man in audience          
        shouts indistinctly]        

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     [Dick] Oh, it's not funny.     

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    Can you imagine what it feels   
         like being my color        

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      in an all-white Georgia?      
        - [audience chuckles]       

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        Hell, I had a cousin        
        damn near got killed        

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       after that first snow.       

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      He thought he was leaning     
       up against a snowbank,       

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       and it turned out to be      
        a Ku Klux Klan rally.       

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             [laughter]             

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     Well, I remember when I was    
          a kid back home.          

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      It got so cold one night,     
          the Ku Klux Klan          

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        tried to burn a cross       
         on our front porch,        

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   and we opened the door and told 
       'em, "Bring it inside."      

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             [laughter]             

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       I go on at eight o'clock.     

156
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       At ten o'clock that night,    
             I'm still on.           

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        They are just going off.     

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     At eleven o'clock that night,   
          they called Hefner.        

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               They said,            
       "You better get over here.    

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        Something's happening."      

161
00:07:26,195 --> 00:07:29,574
                                   

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         And nobody can believe      
         that this Black comic       

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           can take this room        
         of Southern white men.      

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     [Christian] The door was open. 

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            Dick Gregory            
        walked off that stage       

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   and never looked back the same. 

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                 [Dick]              
      The press just went insane.    

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         Time   Magazine wrote        
             about my act,           

169
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 and then Jack Paar picked it up, 

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      which was probably the most    
      powerful personality on TV.    

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              [Christian]            
       My father loved Jack Paar.    

172
00:08:01,063 --> 00:08:05,651
 He loved Mr. Paar's smoothness,   
       his delivery, his timing.     

173
00:08:05,693 --> 00:08:06,903
          [telephone rings]         

174
00:08:06,944 --> 00:08:10,072
          [Dick] I got a call        
        from the Jack Paar show.     

175
00:08:10,114 --> 00:08:11,949
          "Dick, he wants you        
             on the show."           

176
00:08:11,991 --> 00:08:13,951
        I said, "Well, tell him      
     I don't wanna be on the show." 

177
00:08:13,993 --> 00:08:17,580
       Because a negro had never     
         sit down on the couch       

178
00:08:17,622 --> 00:08:19,582
             on that show.           

179
00:08:19,624 --> 00:08:21,417
             So I hung up.           

180
00:08:21,459 --> 00:08:25,129
          And I'm crying now,        
         'cause I mean, I knew       

181
00:08:25,171 --> 00:08:28,299
     what it would be to my career   
        not to go on that show.      

182
00:08:28,341 --> 00:08:30,510
       Then the phone rings back,    
          and it's Jack Paar.        

183
00:08:30,551 --> 00:08:33,221
           "What do you mean,        
 you don't wanna go on the show?" 

184
00:08:33,262 --> 00:08:35,556
       "Negroes never sit down."     

185
00:08:35,598 --> 00:08:38,851
         He said, "Come on in.       
       You can sit down with me."    

186
00:08:38,893 --> 00:08:41,812
         theme music plays        

187
00:08:41,854 --> 00:08:46,859
             [applause]             

188
00:08:46,901 --> 00:08:47,902
         [applause subsides]        

189
00:08:47,944 --> 00:08:49,320
       It was, like, so wild.       

190
00:08:49,362 --> 00:08:51,197
        I just finished doing       
          the one-nighters          

191
00:08:51,239 --> 00:08:53,241
           at the colleges          
       all across the country,      

192
00:08:53,282 --> 00:08:56,077
           and last week,           
     I worked Brown University.     

193
00:08:56,118 --> 00:08:57,828
   But the way I got this booking, 
       they called my office.       

194
00:08:57,870 --> 00:09:00,289
   It just so happened, I happened 
     to have been in the office.    

195
00:09:00,331 --> 00:09:02,083
     And I picked up the phone,     
          and the guy said,         

196
00:09:02,124 --> 00:09:03,292
       "I wonder if we can get      

197
00:09:03,334 --> 00:09:05,127
    Dick Gregory to do a concert    
             in Brown."             

198
00:09:05,169 --> 00:09:07,755
             [laughter]             

199
00:09:07,797 --> 00:09:08,965
        And I said how else?        

200
00:09:09,006 --> 00:09:10,841
             [laughter]             

201
00:09:10,883 --> 00:09:12,885
        Dick Gregory changed        
        the entire landscape        

202
00:09:12,927 --> 00:09:14,804
          of standup comedy         
 by just walking through the door 

203
00:09:14,845 --> 00:09:18,182
 and taking up so much space that 
    more people can come through.   

204
00:09:18,224 --> 00:09:20,851
        [Hart] When Dick Gregory     
           was doing comedy,         

205
00:09:20,893 --> 00:09:22,311
     there was a lack of diversity. 

206
00:09:22,353 --> 00:09:24,981
   He was in the game at the time   

207
00:09:25,022 --> 00:09:26,941
    when there wasn't many of us    
               in it.               

208
00:09:26,983 --> 00:09:29,110
    It was because of the change    
    that he was a part of making    

209
00:09:29,151 --> 00:09:31,612
   that I'm able to do what I do.   

210
00:09:31,654 --> 00:09:33,948
 Well, since we first met, things 
     have sure happened for you.    

211
00:09:33,990 --> 00:09:35,408
 That's a nice apartment you got. 

212
00:09:35,449 --> 00:09:38,035
          - Oh, thank you.          
     - What kind of car you got?    

213
00:09:38,077 --> 00:09:39,870
       - A Lincoln, naturally.      
        - No, well, that's...       

214
00:09:39,912 --> 00:09:41,414
             [laughter]             

215
00:09:41,455 --> 00:09:45,042
        What's overlooked is        
         how unafraid he was        

216
00:09:45,084 --> 00:09:48,462
          to not only call          
          white people out,         

217
00:09:48,504 --> 00:09:50,673
        but he wasn't afraid        
      to call Black folks out.      

218
00:09:50,715 --> 00:09:51,757
         Of course, if you get       
     some money, you get a Lincoln. 

219
00:09:51,799 --> 00:09:53,301
     Oh, you're a good audience     
              tonight,              

220
00:09:53,342 --> 00:09:54,719
         and treat me nice,         

221
00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:56,887
 because with President Kennedy's 
          new housing bill,         

222
00:09:56,929 --> 00:09:58,681
    I might be your neighbor now.   

223
00:09:58,723 --> 00:10:00,308
             [laughter]             

224
00:10:00,349 --> 00:10:02,310
            You saw it here          
           for the first time        

225
00:10:02,351 --> 00:10:04,395
      from a Black person's mouth    

226
00:10:04,437 --> 00:10:08,274
      what life is like in America   
      from a humorous standpoint.    

227
00:10:08,316 --> 00:10:13,654
         NBC got so many calls,      
      their switchboard blew out.    

228
00:10:13,696 --> 00:10:16,824
           Now I did not know        
        if you sit on the couch,     

229
00:10:16,866 --> 00:10:18,576
         you become the family.      

230
00:10:18,618 --> 00:10:20,161
       And sitting on that couch,    

231
00:10:20,202 --> 00:10:24,415
         my salary jumped from       
     $250 a week to $5,000 a night. 

232
00:10:24,457 --> 00:10:27,335
   That's the power of that show.   

233
00:10:27,376 --> 00:10:28,836
         I couldn't believe it       
         slow funk music          

234
00:10:28,878 --> 00:10:33,007
         I don't know what went      
          through Paar's mind        

235
00:10:33,049 --> 00:10:35,968
             when he said,           
       "I want him on the show."     

236
00:10:36,010 --> 00:10:36,844
                 Okay.               

237
00:10:36,886 --> 00:10:41,390
                                   

238
00:10:41,432 --> 00:10:43,726
            [jet roaring]           

239
00:10:43,768 --> 00:10:47,521
      Paar's show and a jet plane    
            in the same day.         

240
00:10:47,563 --> 00:10:49,357
         To get on a jet, see,       
            like, the height         

241
00:10:49,398 --> 00:10:52,735
        of a poor man's ambition     
           is to be on a jet,        

242
00:10:52,777 --> 00:10:54,695
         like standing outside       
         the world looking in.       

243
00:10:54,737 --> 00:10:56,530
                                   

244
00:10:56,572 --> 00:10:58,074
      [man] Mike Wallace interview   
        with guest Dick Gregory,     

245
00:10:58,115 --> 00:11:00,409
               take one.             

246
00:11:02,203 --> 00:11:05,206
     [Wallace] Until how recently-- 
     I mean this quite seriously--   

247
00:11:05,247 --> 00:11:06,499
      was money a problem for you?   

248
00:11:06,540 --> 00:11:09,377
      [Dick] Up until a month ago.   

249
00:11:09,418 --> 00:11:10,836
 [Wallace] Up until a month ago?   

250
00:11:10,878 --> 00:11:13,297
       [Dick] Last year, I think     
        I cleared about $1,500.      

251
00:11:13,339 --> 00:11:16,133
         [Wallace] From $1,500       
       to half a million dollars     

252
00:11:16,175 --> 00:11:17,843
              in one year.           

253
00:11:17,885 --> 00:11:20,846
      - You must be a happy fella.   
           - I'm very happy.         

254
00:11:20,888 --> 00:11:23,391
          When I was young,         
    we were poor. We were hungry.   

255
00:11:23,432 --> 00:11:27,728
     We were raggedy, you know?     
    And, uh, and, well, you know,   

256
00:11:27,770 --> 00:11:29,563
    matter of fact, the best day    
         we had in our house        

257
00:11:29,605 --> 00:11:31,190
      was Halloween, you know?      

258
00:11:31,232 --> 00:11:33,234
             [laughter]             

259
00:11:33,275 --> 00:11:35,820
    In fact, that was the day you   
   could wear your natural clothes 

260
00:11:35,861 --> 00:11:37,738
    and everybody thought you was   
 dressed for the occasion, right? 

261
00:11:37,780 --> 00:11:38,906
             [laughter]             

262
00:11:38,948 --> 00:11:40,408
        Ooh, look at Richard,       
            got on shoes            

263
00:11:40,449 --> 00:11:42,702
        look just like feet.        

264
00:11:42,743 --> 00:11:45,413
       [laughter and applause]      

265
00:11:45,454 --> 00:11:50,793
          dramatic music          

266
00:11:50,835 --> 00:11:55,923
                                   

267
00:11:56,674 --> 00:11:59,802
      [Christian] My father had an   
     extremely difficult childhood. 

268
00:11:59,844 --> 00:12:03,347
     He was born in 1932, which was 
       literally the poorest year    

269
00:12:03,389 --> 00:12:07,101
        of the Great Depression.     

270
00:12:07,143 --> 00:12:09,645
       He used to always say,       
     in order to know happiness,    

271
00:12:09,687 --> 00:12:11,272
   you have to have known sadness. 

272
00:12:11,313 --> 00:12:13,023
   In order to have known health,   

273
00:12:13,065 --> 00:12:16,777
        you had to experience       
        sickness and disease.       

274
00:12:16,819 --> 00:12:20,698
       You can't truly appreciate    
          any spectrum of life       

275
00:12:20,740 --> 00:12:23,909
    unless you'd spent some time    
           on both sides.           

276
00:12:23,951 --> 00:12:25,411
                 [Dick]              
      I didn't like where I lived.   

277
00:12:25,453 --> 00:12:26,787
         I didn't like my mama.      
      I didn't like none of that.    

278
00:12:26,829 --> 00:12:30,791
               You know,             
         so I'd just go walking      

279
00:12:30,833 --> 00:12:33,794
        and walking and walking      
              and walking.           

280
00:12:33,836 --> 00:12:35,546
                                   

281
00:12:35,588 --> 00:12:39,300
         So I started running.       

282
00:12:39,341 --> 00:12:43,596
 And so next thing I knew, I was   
 running and running and running. 

283
00:12:43,637 --> 00:12:46,599
      My father used to take us     
      on these mandatory runs.      

284
00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:48,976
      He taught us how to run.      

285
00:12:49,018 --> 00:12:51,645
 Uh, we had to spend a great deal 
         of time in nature,         

286
00:12:51,687 --> 00:12:55,483
      and particularly running.     

287
00:12:55,524 --> 00:12:57,943
        Letting your feet touch      
              that ground            

288
00:12:57,985 --> 00:13:02,656
     and feeling that cosmic force   
      coming up through the roots    

289
00:13:02,698 --> 00:13:06,952
            into our feet--          
       he wanted us to feel that.    

290
00:13:06,994 --> 00:13:09,663
                                   

291
00:13:09,705 --> 00:13:14,502
      Growing up in extreme times,   

292
00:13:14,543 --> 00:13:16,587
          I really do believe        

293
00:13:16,629 --> 00:13:22,009
         running became his way      
        of reinventing himself.      

294
00:13:22,051 --> 00:13:25,304
 My dad had two weapons. He could 
      either run like the wind,     

295
00:13:25,346 --> 00:13:27,681
     or that razor-sharp tongue     
     of his could lay into you.     

296
00:13:27,723 --> 00:13:29,767
          [Dick] Kids used to        
           pick on me a lot.         

297
00:13:29,809 --> 00:13:31,519
         "My daddy's not home.       

298
00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:35,356
       You know, I'm gonna leave.    
       "Haven't got him with me.     

299
00:13:35,397 --> 00:13:37,191
     So how can I get him with me?" 

300
00:13:37,233 --> 00:13:41,529
     I laid home in bed one night,   
         and I figured it out.       

301
00:13:43,155 --> 00:13:46,033
     I start making jokes about me   
          not having no daddy,       

302
00:13:46,075 --> 00:13:50,704
           how poor we were,         
        and then I noticed that      

303
00:13:50,746 --> 00:13:53,999
           once you get a man        
           laughing with you,        

304
00:13:54,041 --> 00:13:55,793
       it's hard for him to laugh    
                at you.              

305
00:13:55,835 --> 00:13:58,921
                                   

306
00:13:58,963 --> 00:14:03,801
          And the whole thing        
             changed then.           

307
00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:06,846
          Can you remember          
       when you first stood up      

308
00:14:06,887 --> 00:14:09,682
   and told jokes to an audience?   
           When was that?           

309
00:14:09,723 --> 00:14:11,183
     Oh, yeah, first time I told    
        jokes to an audience        

310
00:14:11,225 --> 00:14:13,227
          was in, uh, 1959.         

311
00:14:13,269 --> 00:14:18,065
            funk music            

312
00:14:18,107 --> 00:14:23,195
                                   

313
00:14:30,202 --> 00:14:32,663
         [Dick] I had never had      
            nightclub life.          

314
00:14:32,705 --> 00:14:35,040
     I never smoked. I never drank. 

315
00:14:35,082 --> 00:14:38,836
      And so I went to a nightclub   
     one night, South Side Chicago, 

316
00:14:38,878 --> 00:14:41,380
       and I saw the Black comic     
               come out.             

317
00:14:41,422 --> 00:14:43,048
          Everybody got quiet.       

318
00:14:43,090 --> 00:14:46,385
         And I said, God, what       
     a lovely way to make a living. 

319
00:14:46,427 --> 00:14:48,762
              jazz music           

320
00:14:48,804 --> 00:14:51,056
             So I went out           
       to a real small nightclub,    

321
00:14:51,098 --> 00:14:54,101
         which was the Esquire,      
           and I told the guy        

322
00:14:54,143 --> 00:14:59,315
     I was this big-time comedian,   
     and he let me up on the stage. 

323
00:14:59,356 --> 00:15:01,275
            And I was funny.         

324
00:15:01,317 --> 00:15:03,944
      I went out on the stage,      
    and I tried to look as funny    

325
00:15:03,986 --> 00:15:05,946
      as I could, so I took...      
    I took some white buck shoes,   

326
00:15:05,988 --> 00:15:08,699
   and I painted 'em powder blue,   

327
00:15:08,741 --> 00:15:10,826
              and I put             
       some big suspenders on       

328
00:15:10,868 --> 00:15:12,870
       and a big cap, you see?      

329
00:15:12,912 --> 00:15:16,040
         Because, you see,          
    in the low income nightclub,    

330
00:15:16,081 --> 00:15:18,042
        the brother got a lot       
      of problems on his mind,      

331
00:15:18,083 --> 00:15:21,462
       and he's off from work,      
      and he will out-talk you      

332
00:15:21,503 --> 00:15:23,547
     if you don't come out there    
    and shock him into his thing.   

333
00:15:23,589 --> 00:15:25,883
          He gave me a job.         

334
00:15:25,925 --> 00:15:30,888
     And the next thing I knew,     
           I wasn't funny.          

335
00:15:30,930 --> 00:15:32,806
     When you're not a comedian,    

336
00:15:32,848 --> 00:15:34,433
         but when you become        
            a profession,           

337
00:15:34,475 --> 00:15:37,144
      then you have a challenge     
    to make them laugh, you know?   

338
00:15:37,186 --> 00:15:39,647
   You could have a 5-year-old son 
 that's a marvelous piano player, 

339
00:15:39,688 --> 00:15:40,981
    and you could bring him here,   

340
00:15:41,023 --> 00:15:42,566
     and everybody would listen     
           to him and say,          

341
00:15:42,608 --> 00:15:44,985
       "Beautiful, beautiful,"      
    but put him in Carnegie Hall    

342
00:15:45,027 --> 00:15:47,738
           at $5 a ticket,          
      and, uh, we might decide      

343
00:15:47,780 --> 00:15:49,615
      he don't play that well,      
              you know?             

344
00:15:49,657 --> 00:15:50,950
    And so this is what happened    
               to me.               

345
00:15:50,991 --> 00:15:54,912
          So those early days        
             at the Esquire          

346
00:15:54,954 --> 00:15:56,413
          was really learning        
             the audience,           

347
00:15:56,455 --> 00:15:59,041
            but most of all,         
            learning timing.         

348
00:15:59,083 --> 00:16:02,461
            It's the timing,         
          breathing properly,        

349
00:16:02,503 --> 00:16:06,382
      learning how to play a joke,   
     how to play it with your face, 

350
00:16:06,423 --> 00:16:08,300
     how to play it with your body. 

351
00:16:08,342 --> 00:16:09,969
 When I used to smoke cigarettes, 

352
00:16:10,010 --> 00:16:12,137
             I wasn't aware          
        until I stopped smoking      

353
00:16:12,179 --> 00:16:14,974
     how much I used that cigarette 
              for timing.            

354
00:16:15,015 --> 00:16:17,267
    If I could believe everything   
         everybody told me,         

355
00:16:17,309 --> 00:16:20,062
      we wouldn't have a racial     
      problem in this country.      

356
00:16:20,104 --> 00:16:21,897
       'Cause everybody I meet      
          in the nightclub,         

357
00:16:21,939 --> 00:16:23,232
        after they get drunk,       
 they all tell me the same thing. 

358
00:16:23,273 --> 00:16:26,193
   "Greg, some of my best friends   
            are colored."           

359
00:16:26,235 --> 00:16:27,695
             [laughter]             

360
00:16:27,736 --> 00:16:29,029
      Mike, you know and I know     

361
00:16:29,071 --> 00:16:30,614
     there's not that many of us    
            to go around.           

362
00:16:30,656 --> 00:16:32,449
             [laughter]             

363
00:16:32,491 --> 00:16:38,330
     [Rock] He was a real cool cat, 
     like another level of smooth.   

364
00:16:38,372 --> 00:16:42,376
    'Cause most Black comics come   
   from a tradition of preachers,   

365
00:16:42,418 --> 00:16:45,838
   so they're loud, and they talk   
        a certain way and...        

366
00:16:45,879 --> 00:16:49,883
          and they were there        
        for five, seven minutes,     

367
00:16:49,925 --> 00:16:52,386
         and they had to get        
 your attention in a certain way. 

368
00:16:52,428 --> 00:16:54,888
      With Dick Gregory, he had     
   the same five or seven minutes, 

369
00:16:54,930 --> 00:16:57,182
    but he really took his time.    

370
00:16:57,224 --> 00:17:00,853
             Excuse me.             

371
00:17:00,894 --> 00:17:02,062
    I have to smoke here because    
      I made the great mistake      

372
00:17:02,104 --> 00:17:05,399
     of writing off 180 cartons     
          on my income tax.         

373
00:17:05,441 --> 00:17:09,862
             [laughter]             

374
00:17:09,903 --> 00:17:11,280
    And then the Internal Revenue   
            boys told me            

375
00:17:11,321 --> 00:17:14,241
       every time they see me,      
       I'd better be smoking.       

376
00:17:14,283 --> 00:17:15,451
             [laughter]             

377
00:17:15,492 --> 00:17:17,077
        [Chapelle] Dick Gregory,     
           real handsome guy.        

378
00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,164
          Rock a suit onstage,       
       smoke a cigarette onstage.    

379
00:17:20,205 --> 00:17:21,790
          There's a few comics       
             that did that,          

380
00:17:21,832 --> 00:17:23,417
         they looked real suave      
           when they'd do it.        

381
00:17:23,459 --> 00:17:24,960
        They timed themselves       
        with their cigarettes       

382
00:17:25,002 --> 00:17:27,129
         to say a funny joke        
       and the punchline hits,      

383
00:17:27,171 --> 00:17:28,672
       and he was one of the guys    
            who just did it.         

384
00:17:28,714 --> 00:17:30,007
      When you stop and think,      

385
00:17:30,049 --> 00:17:32,468
       football's a fair sport      
           for my people.           

386
00:17:32,509 --> 00:17:34,928
    How many sports in the world,   
    a negro can chase a white man   

387
00:17:34,970 --> 00:17:37,765
     and 40,000 people stand up     
            and cheered?            

388
00:17:37,806 --> 00:17:42,686
       [laughter and applause]      

389
00:17:42,728 --> 00:17:46,065
      [Rock] Chappelle and Gregory   
         have a lot in common.       

390
00:17:46,106 --> 00:17:51,111
   Dave and Dick have this   really, 
           like, goddamn,           

391
00:17:51,153 --> 00:17:54,782
   you motherfuckers are relaxed.   

392
00:17:54,823 --> 00:17:56,784
        I kinda perform like        
            they're gonna           

393
00:17:56,825 --> 00:17:58,660
       take the stage from me       
           at any moment.           

394
00:17:58,702 --> 00:18:00,287
        Like, I've never been       
          that comfortable.         

395
00:18:00,329 --> 00:18:03,499
        [Bell] Dick Gregory was      
     a pioneer in political comedy. 

396
00:18:03,540 --> 00:18:06,085
    He doesn't get enough credit    
        for being the bridge        

397
00:18:06,126 --> 00:18:08,003
 for Black comedians to come out   
        of the Chitlin' Circuit.     

398
00:18:08,045 --> 00:18:10,214
     He wasn't moving around a lot. 

399
00:18:10,255 --> 00:18:13,425
 He wasn't tap dancing. He's not, 
     like, selling out Black folks. 

400
00:18:13,467 --> 00:18:14,760
      In fact, he's standing up     
     for Black folks by saying,     

401
00:18:14,802 --> 00:18:16,595
          "I'm going to do          
        the same things I do        

402
00:18:16,637 --> 00:18:19,932
    in front of a Black audience    
                here,               

403
00:18:19,973 --> 00:18:21,809
          and they're actually       
           more powerful here        

404
00:18:21,850 --> 00:18:23,268
   because the stakes are higher.   

405
00:18:23,310 --> 00:18:24,728
            20 years ago,           

406
00:18:24,770 --> 00:18:26,146
     the light-complected negro     
            had it made.            

407
00:18:26,188 --> 00:18:27,731
             Today it's             
      the dark-complected negro     

408
00:18:27,773 --> 00:18:29,441
          simply because of         
        government contracts.       

409
00:18:29,483 --> 00:18:32,528
 In order for big business to get 
     good government contracts,     

410
00:18:32,569 --> 00:18:35,072
   today you'd have to hire negro   
    and white on an equal basis.    

411
00:18:35,114 --> 00:18:37,574
       So they go out and get       
 the blackest cat they can find.   

412
00:18:37,616 --> 00:18:39,284
             [laughter]             

413
00:18:39,326 --> 00:18:40,869
       So when that government      
    inspector walk in that plant,   

414
00:18:40,911 --> 00:18:43,247
           he can see him           
         seven blocks away.         

415
00:18:43,288 --> 00:18:44,790
             [laughter]             

416
00:18:44,832 --> 00:18:46,083
         "Sir, you got one!"        
      "Darn right, we had one."     

417
00:18:46,125 --> 00:18:47,376
                 Oh.                

418
00:18:47,417 --> 00:18:50,045
       [laughter and applause]      

419
00:18:50,087 --> 00:18:56,093
    His stage presence was, like,   
           just so smooth.          

420
00:18:56,135 --> 00:18:58,554
    I'll say thank you very much,   
       but never clap for me.       

421
00:18:58,595 --> 00:19:01,890
     Just take me to lunch when     
     it's not Brotherhood Week.     

422
00:19:01,932 --> 00:19:05,561
 He's saying powerful commentary. 
          It's like, damn,          

423
00:19:05,602 --> 00:19:07,771
        he's talking to these       
       white people like that?      

424
00:19:07,813 --> 00:19:09,690
     Where is he? Dick Gregory!     

425
00:19:09,731 --> 00:19:11,024
     Well, will you welcome now,    
               please,              

426
00:19:11,066 --> 00:19:12,651
           on the stage of          
    the Little Theatre, Mister...   

427
00:19:12,693 --> 00:19:14,153
            Dick Gregory.           

428
00:19:14,194 --> 00:19:18,323
             [applause]             

429
00:19:18,365 --> 00:19:21,910
       [Dick] I developed quick,     
          watching television,       

430
00:19:21,952 --> 00:19:24,538
              Paar's show,           
         all the comedy shows,       

431
00:19:24,580 --> 00:19:26,790
              Ed Sullivan,           
      every form of entertainment    

432
00:19:26,832 --> 00:19:30,252
             I could watch,          
          catching the people        

433
00:19:30,294 --> 00:19:32,629
             and developing          
          new material on 'em.       

434
00:19:32,671 --> 00:19:35,215
      Next thing I knew, I had me    
 a little following going for me. 

435
00:19:35,257 --> 00:19:36,967
                                   

436
00:19:37,009 --> 00:19:42,222
          By Christmas of '58,       
        I could taste that fame.     

437
00:19:42,264 --> 00:19:46,351
         One Sunday afternoon,       
        a girl walked in there.      

438
00:19:49,938 --> 00:19:53,609
        Lillian Gregory was,        

439
00:19:53,650 --> 00:19:55,861
        in the truest sense,        

440
00:19:55,903 --> 00:19:58,363
     Dick Gregory's foundation.     

441
00:19:58,405 --> 00:20:01,408
         If you would call Greg      
              in one city            

442
00:20:01,450 --> 00:20:03,160
        and ask him where he was     
       going next, he never knew.    

443
00:20:03,202 --> 00:20:05,037
         He'd say, "Call Lill."      

444
00:20:05,078 --> 00:20:07,748
       Every phone call I had       
             with Greg,             

445
00:20:07,789 --> 00:20:09,416
       Lill was on the phone.       

446
00:20:09,458 --> 00:20:12,002
       At some point in the call,    
               he'd say,             

447
00:20:12,044 --> 00:20:14,379
        "Lill, can you patch in      
              Mark Lane?"            

448
00:20:14,421 --> 00:20:17,090
             And, you know,          
          she was part of him.       

449
00:20:17,132 --> 00:20:20,260
       He could not have lived      
          the life he did,          

450
00:20:20,302 --> 00:20:23,222
   nor could he have accomplished   

451
00:20:23,263 --> 00:20:25,265
       the things that he did       
            without Lill.           

452
00:20:25,307 --> 00:20:27,684
                                   

453
00:20:27,726 --> 00:20:32,773
       In 1957, I was a secretary    
     at the University of Chicago,   

454
00:20:32,814 --> 00:20:34,441
           and he was running        

455
00:20:34,483 --> 00:20:37,653
      on the University of Chicago   
              track team,            

456
00:20:37,694 --> 00:20:40,614
       and also he was appearing     
             in a nightclub          

457
00:20:40,656 --> 00:20:43,242
           called the Esquire        
     on the South Side of Chicago.   

458
00:20:43,283 --> 00:20:45,994
     I really hadn't heard anything 
           about him before,         

459
00:20:46,036 --> 00:20:48,121
   but he was performing, and I--   

460
00:20:48,163 --> 00:20:50,457
       you know, and I really       
         interested in him,         

461
00:20:50,499 --> 00:20:52,459
        and, uh, he came over       
       to the table and talked      

462
00:20:52,501 --> 00:20:55,796
    to my sister and a few other    
     friends that were with us,     

463
00:20:55,837 --> 00:21:00,384
     and then, in fact, I think     
 I came back the next night also. 

464
00:21:00,425 --> 00:21:05,013
          slow jazz music         

465
00:21:05,055 --> 00:21:08,308
                                   

466
00:21:08,350 --> 00:21:09,643
           [Dick] That's why         
          it's always so nice        

467
00:21:09,685 --> 00:21:11,395
        to be polite to people.      

468
00:21:11,436 --> 00:21:16,066
           Because in walking        
             to that table,          

469
00:21:16,108 --> 00:21:19,403
          I didn't know I was        
          gonna meet my wife.        

470
00:21:19,444 --> 00:21:23,490
                                   

471
00:21:23,532 --> 00:21:28,745
      [Lillian] We were married in   
           February 2, 1959.         

472
00:21:28,787 --> 00:21:31,665
      [Dick] Have you checked out    
      the price of onions lately?    

473
00:21:31,707 --> 00:21:34,167
          You believe onions?        

474
00:21:34,209 --> 00:21:35,669
      'Cause onions are still how    
          my wife used to cry        

475
00:21:35,711 --> 00:21:37,629
          when she'd peel 'em.       
     She cry when she buy 'em now.   

476
00:21:37,671 --> 00:21:39,339
             [laughter]             

477
00:21:39,381 --> 00:21:41,717
                                   

478
00:21:41,758 --> 00:21:45,345
      [Christian] My mother worked   
     at the University of Chicago,   

479
00:21:45,387 --> 00:21:47,180
       and my father liked that.     

480
00:21:47,222 --> 00:21:49,850
         My father always liked      
               intellect.            

481
00:21:49,891 --> 00:21:53,395
      She would type up his shows    
            for that night.          

482
00:21:53,437 --> 00:21:55,856
       [Lillian] I used to go by     
       and see him after a night     

483
00:21:55,897 --> 00:21:57,357
       after I'd get off of work,    

484
00:21:57,399 --> 00:21:58,608
              and, uh,              
      I would always bring him      

485
00:21:58,650 --> 00:22:00,235
   a lot of magazines and things.   

486
00:22:00,277 --> 00:22:01,903
                                   

487
00:22:01,945 --> 00:22:03,363
     He was always very interested   

488
00:22:03,405 --> 00:22:07,451
          in what was going on       
             in the world.           

489
00:22:07,492 --> 00:22:08,785
              [Christian]            
         My dad had a routine.       

490
00:22:08,827 --> 00:22:10,203
 He would look at the newspapers. 

491
00:22:10,245 --> 00:22:12,497
           He would highlight        
          and he would extract       

492
00:22:12,539 --> 00:22:15,542
          that evening's show        
        based on the front page.     

493
00:22:15,584 --> 00:22:17,544
        Kennedy and Khruschev       
       is arguing over Berlin,      

494
00:22:17,586 --> 00:22:19,546
       and pretty frightening.      

495
00:22:19,588 --> 00:22:21,340
       I think both these men       
         have the one button        

496
00:22:21,381 --> 00:22:23,967
      they can push and do away     
        with the whole world.       

497
00:22:24,009 --> 00:22:25,385
      And the frightening thing     
              about it              

498
00:22:25,427 --> 00:22:27,846
   is Kennedy's button is located   
       in Caroline's playroom.      

499
00:22:27,888 --> 00:22:29,639
             [laughter]             

500
00:22:29,681 --> 00:22:33,727
     He had that cool monotone,     
    and he'd tell a little story,   

501
00:22:33,769 --> 00:22:37,230
     and once he had you seduced    
   into the story he was telling,   

502
00:22:37,272 --> 00:22:39,191
    he would pop the color thing    
               on you.              

503
00:22:39,232 --> 00:22:40,859
     A lot of people got caught     
         right in the middle        

504
00:22:40,901 --> 00:22:45,697
     of loving what he was doing    
   and then being given a message. 

505
00:22:45,739 --> 00:22:47,449
    And he was a genius at that.    

506
00:22:47,491 --> 00:22:48,909
        And we have a lot of        
     racial prejudice up north,     

507
00:22:48,950 --> 00:22:51,411
    but we're so clever with it.    

508
00:22:51,453 --> 00:22:53,872
     Take my old pal in Chicago.    

509
00:22:53,914 --> 00:22:57,250
      I mean, you can't see it      
     just...just going in there.    

510
00:22:57,292 --> 00:22:59,544
     But when negroes in Chicago    
      move into one large area,     

511
00:22:59,586 --> 00:23:01,755
      and it look like we might     
         control the votes,         

512
00:23:01,797 --> 00:23:03,382
   they don't say anything to us.   

513
00:23:03,423 --> 00:23:05,300
     They have a slum clearance.    

514
00:23:05,342 --> 00:23:08,637
             [laughter]             

515
00:23:08,678 --> 00:23:13,225
       - [cheers and applause]      
         - Mr. Tan? Mr. Tan?        

516
00:23:13,266 --> 00:23:15,227
       - Man, Tanman Moreland.      
       - Hey, Nipsey Russell.       

517
00:23:15,268 --> 00:23:16,561
       - Where have you been?       
      - What do you wanna know?     

518
00:23:16,603 --> 00:23:17,979
      - What...What you wanna--     
       - Where have you been?       

519
00:23:18,021 --> 00:23:20,273
          What do you know          
        where I've been for?        

520
00:23:20,315 --> 00:23:22,943
       [Dick] You show nothing in    
        this country but my bad.     

521
00:23:22,984 --> 00:23:27,572
      Show my good. Show my good.    

522
00:23:27,614 --> 00:23:29,574
                                   

523
00:23:29,616 --> 00:23:31,535
      And we weren't really saying   
       take "Amos 'n' Andy" off.     

524
00:23:31,576 --> 00:23:34,538
     We were saying balance it out. 

525
00:23:34,579 --> 00:23:37,582
          Put the man on there       
 that's splitting all the verbs.   

526
00:23:37,624 --> 00:23:39,793
          But also, let me see       
            my Ralph Bunche.         

527
00:23:39,835 --> 00:23:42,462
 Let me hear my Marian Anderson.   

528
00:23:42,504 --> 00:23:46,258
 Get me a negro news commentator. 

529
00:23:46,299 --> 00:23:48,510
          Then balance it out.       

530
00:23:50,137 --> 00:23:51,888
        See, wherever we call       
             big crimes,            

531
00:23:51,930 --> 00:23:56,017
        which is pretty cool,       
   and, uh, we have small crimes,   

532
00:23:56,059 --> 00:23:58,145
      which they hang you for.      
            - [laughter]            

533
00:23:58,186 --> 00:23:59,688
        No, no, I mean, like        
            a guy go out,           

534
00:23:59,729 --> 00:24:01,690
      and he's been on relief,      
    and his check hasn't shown up   

535
00:24:01,731 --> 00:24:03,525
        in, like, six months.       

536
00:24:03,567 --> 00:24:04,818
      His war disability check      
      haven't shown in a year.      

537
00:24:04,860 --> 00:24:07,821
       And he sticks up a bank      
         for about $20,000.         

538
00:24:07,863 --> 00:24:10,866
    They catch him. He get about    
       four years in Alcatraz.      

539
00:24:10,907 --> 00:24:13,034
   The president of that same bank 
            embezzled it            

540
00:24:13,076 --> 00:24:16,079
    for, like, $2 million, he get   
 three years' suspended sentence. 

541
00:24:16,121 --> 00:24:18,957
       [laughter and applause]      

542
00:24:18,999 --> 00:24:23,503
     [Christian] He took that power 
      at the height of his career    

543
00:24:23,545 --> 00:24:26,506
    to do a step that most people   
         didn't see coming.         

544
00:24:26,548 --> 00:24:29,342
   Pretty early on, he was willing 
          to give his time,         

545
00:24:29,384 --> 00:24:32,846
          which was money,          
    when you were an entertainer    

546
00:24:32,888 --> 00:24:34,181
    who could be booked probably    
   three or four different cities   

547
00:24:34,222 --> 00:24:36,016
         in any given night.        

548
00:24:36,057 --> 00:24:40,020
     And then in the fall of 1962,   
      he goes down to Mississippi,   

549
00:24:40,061 --> 00:24:42,105
     and that will change his life. 

550
00:24:42,147 --> 00:24:47,360
           ominous music          

551
00:24:48,904 --> 00:24:52,949
 [Dick] Everything was all right, 
      but, uh, something missing.    

552
00:24:52,991 --> 00:24:58,330
                                   

553
00:25:01,333 --> 00:25:03,418
              [Christian]            
         The folks in the North      

554
00:25:03,460 --> 00:25:05,295
      continued to see the images    
          in the news reports        

555
00:25:05,337 --> 00:25:07,589
         of what was happening       
              down South.            

556
00:25:07,631 --> 00:25:09,674
         See, just one thing        
           I have learned.          

557
00:25:09,716 --> 00:25:11,426
       They're not bad folks,       

558
00:25:11,468 --> 00:25:14,971
       provided you can treat       
       a negro like a nigger.       

559
00:25:15,013 --> 00:25:16,890
                                   

560
00:25:16,932 --> 00:25:18,517
        It was a time of terror,     

561
00:25:18,558 --> 00:25:22,729
      and I'm not exaggerating      
             with that.             

562
00:25:22,771 --> 00:25:27,817
     Um...the system, as it was,    
           was determined           

563
00:25:27,859 --> 00:25:30,695
    not to allow people of color    

564
00:25:30,737 --> 00:25:34,115
     the opportunity to register    
            and to vote.            

565
00:25:35,909 --> 00:25:41,248
     The clerk, who might have had   
        a sixth grade education,     

566
00:25:41,289 --> 00:25:47,420
     and a person of color may have 
        had a college education,     

567
00:25:47,462 --> 00:25:50,340
         could simply throw         
           your sheet out.          

568
00:25:50,382 --> 00:25:52,425
     [man] I would think certainly, 

569
00:25:52,467 --> 00:25:54,261
          that it would not be       
            for the welfare          

570
00:25:54,302 --> 00:25:59,391
        of any community to have     
     illiterate, uneducated people   

571
00:25:59,432 --> 00:26:03,562
          to be able to vote.        

572
00:26:03,603 --> 00:26:06,022
       [Dick] The demonstrations     
 started in Jackson, Mississippi. 

573
00:26:06,064 --> 00:26:09,818
           I read about 'em,         
 I listened to 'em on the radio,   

574
00:26:09,859 --> 00:26:11,444
         I looked at 'em on TV.      

575
00:26:11,486 --> 00:26:15,073
           And I told myself,        
 what those negroes do down there 

576
00:26:15,115 --> 00:26:18,743
         don't affect my life.       

577
00:26:18,785 --> 00:26:21,580
        I was definitely afraid.     

578
00:26:23,582 --> 00:26:28,086
    It seems like he was getting    
         more and more aware        

579
00:26:28,128 --> 00:26:31,506
     of the civil rights thing,     
    I guess maybe during the time   

580
00:26:31,548 --> 00:26:34,175
       that Martin Luther King      
          came into being,          

581
00:26:34,217 --> 00:26:38,513
          and being known.          

582
00:26:38,555 --> 00:26:41,808
            The future of           
    the United States of America    

583
00:26:41,850 --> 00:26:46,313
     may well be determined here    
           in Mississippi.          

584
00:26:46,354 --> 00:26:48,815
      But it's here that democracy   

585
00:26:48,857 --> 00:26:53,820
             faces its most          
           serious challenge.        

586
00:27:01,911 --> 00:27:04,789
       And I realized if I can      
           subject myself           

587
00:27:04,831 --> 00:27:07,709
     to go to a foreign country,    
       lay on some cold dirt,       

588
00:27:07,751 --> 00:27:11,755
   take a chance of losing my life 
     to guarantee some foreigner    

589
00:27:11,796 --> 00:27:14,674
      a better way of life than     
    my own family has in America,   

590
00:27:14,716 --> 00:27:16,551
          then it's a must          
        that I get involved.        

591
00:27:16,593 --> 00:27:20,305
                                   

592
00:27:20,347 --> 00:27:24,351
       He was a very wealthy man.    

593
00:27:25,268 --> 00:27:29,606
        When Medgar called him,      

594
00:27:29,648 --> 00:27:31,816
      he could have sent a check.    

595
00:27:31,858 --> 00:27:33,902
                                   

596
00:27:33,943 --> 00:27:37,572
     Instead he went to Mississippi 
     and put his life on the line.   

597
00:27:37,614 --> 00:27:39,449
                                   

598
00:27:39,491 --> 00:27:40,825
           He never stopped.         

599
00:27:40,867 --> 00:27:44,871
            From the moment          
        he went to Mississippi,      

600
00:27:44,913 --> 00:27:49,292
        he never stopped putting     
         his life on the line.       

601
00:27:49,334 --> 00:27:51,878
     [man] Where you're going, have 
      you been given any warning?    

602
00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,881
    I just play it by ear, and I    
    think if I can sit in a room    

603
00:27:54,923 --> 00:27:56,841
      and entertain a room full     
             of drunks,             

604
00:27:56,883 --> 00:28:00,720
       I can go to Mississippi      
      in a dry state. [laughs]      

605
00:28:00,762 --> 00:28:02,097
            [jet roaring]           

606
00:28:02,138 --> 00:28:05,266
                                   

607
00:28:05,308 --> 00:28:06,893
              [Christian]            
         I don't think in 1962       

608
00:28:06,935 --> 00:28:08,978
           my father thought         
       an invitation he received     

609
00:28:09,020 --> 00:28:10,563
           from Medgar Evers         

610
00:28:10,605 --> 00:28:12,524
           to come and speak         
     at voter registration rallies   

611
00:28:12,565 --> 00:28:15,068
        in Jackson, Mississippi,     
       was gonna change his life.    

612
00:28:15,110 --> 00:28:17,904
       [Evers] Now for many of us    
        who have gone overseas,      

613
00:28:17,946 --> 00:28:22,826
        fought for this country,     
        fought for Mississippi,      

614
00:28:22,867 --> 00:28:26,496
         we fought for Alabama,      
     we fought for North Carolina,   

615
00:28:26,538 --> 00:28:28,206
        we fought for Illinois,      

616
00:28:28,248 --> 00:28:30,709
     and we fought for every state   
             in this union.          

617
00:28:30,750 --> 00:28:32,210
              [Christian]            
        Medgar being a sergeant      

618
00:28:32,252 --> 00:28:35,922
             who had fought          
           in the Korean War,        

619
00:28:35,964 --> 00:28:39,843
 Medgar was fearless. Medgar was   
     the first person I ever heard   

620
00:28:39,884 --> 00:28:43,138
           my father describe        
      as if they were superhuman.    

621
00:28:43,179 --> 00:28:45,932
      The two of them hit it off.    

622
00:28:45,974 --> 00:28:50,311
        They were...brothers.       

623
00:28:50,353 --> 00:28:55,233
 Stronger, I believe, than blood. 

624
00:28:55,275 --> 00:28:59,821
    Both the same goal--justice.    

625
00:28:59,863 --> 00:29:03,241
        Dick knew how to take       
           a heated issue,          

626
00:29:03,283 --> 00:29:07,412
   bring humor, and move forward.   

627
00:29:07,454 --> 00:29:09,998
        It encouraged people.       

628
00:29:10,039 --> 00:29:12,625
         See, I had a dream         
       about Clark last night.      

629
00:29:12,667 --> 00:29:14,669
             [laughter]             

630
00:29:14,711 --> 00:29:16,713
     I was...I was dreaming that    
               this...              

631
00:29:16,755 --> 00:29:18,798
   this white citizen council guy   

632
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:24,012
           who was drunk,           
   driving about 90 miles an hour   

633
00:29:24,053 --> 00:29:27,599
    and he hit two demonstrators    
            accidentally,           

634
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,059
           didn't mean to.          
          - [man] Go ahead.         

635
00:29:30,101 --> 00:29:35,148
        And Clark showed up,        
        and one demonstrator        

636
00:29:35,190 --> 00:29:38,902
   flew about 500 yards in the air 
    and bounced off in the field,   

637
00:29:38,943 --> 00:29:41,154
     and the other demonstrator     
            came through            

638
00:29:41,196 --> 00:29:46,034
        the dashboard window        
    and landed in the front seat.   

639
00:29:46,075 --> 00:29:49,537
      And Clark got to whuppin'     
     this cat about being drunk     

640
00:29:49,579 --> 00:29:51,581
       until he found out that      

641
00:29:51,623 --> 00:29:54,751
     those were two colored cats    
             he had hit.            

642
00:29:54,793 --> 00:29:57,420
     And he went and he arrested    
         the one colored guy        

643
00:29:57,462 --> 00:29:58,630
 that was 500 yards down the road 

644
00:29:58,671 --> 00:30:01,424
        for leaving the scene       
           of an accident.          

645
00:30:01,466 --> 00:30:04,302
             [laughter,             
         scattered applause]        

646
00:30:04,344 --> 00:30:06,429
        And the one that came       
       through the windshield,      

647
00:30:06,471 --> 00:30:09,265
            he booked him           
     for breaking and entering.     

648
00:30:09,307 --> 00:30:14,521
       [laughter and applause]      

649
00:30:19,067 --> 00:30:22,111
       [Dick] I had no intentions    
           on demonstrating.         

650
00:30:22,153 --> 00:30:25,198
            None whatsoever.         

651
00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:26,699
 I was scared enough just knowing 

652
00:30:26,741 --> 00:30:31,037
      I was going to an area where   
       there were demonstrations.    

653
00:30:31,079 --> 00:30:34,707
           And after speaking        
       to these people that night    

654
00:30:34,749 --> 00:30:38,044
         and seeing the beauty       
            of these people          

655
00:30:38,086 --> 00:30:41,714
         and seeing the police       
       harassment at the church,     

656
00:30:41,756 --> 00:30:43,049
        and not one negro doctor     

657
00:30:43,091 --> 00:30:44,884
         which means when these      
           negro demonstrate,        

658
00:30:44,926 --> 00:30:46,845
       that mean they forfeiting     
      all their medical attention,   

659
00:30:46,886 --> 00:30:49,222
         I'm looking at a man,       
       that when he demonstrates,    

660
00:30:49,264 --> 00:30:53,560
        he's gonna get his name      
     and his picture in the paper.   

661
00:30:53,601 --> 00:30:55,728
           And if I must die         
             with him, man,          

662
00:30:55,770 --> 00:30:57,605
          I couldn't think of        
         a better way of dying.      

663
00:31:00,066 --> 00:31:03,778
      In doing this, I know you'll   
 kill yourself in show business.   

664
00:31:03,820 --> 00:31:06,322
         And I called up Lill,       
          and I said, "Honey,        

665
00:31:06,364 --> 00:31:08,741
 are you willing to eat in a tent 

666
00:31:08,783 --> 00:31:11,703
      and go back to where we were   
              for right?"            

667
00:31:11,744 --> 00:31:13,329
           And she said yes.         

668
00:31:13,371 --> 00:31:17,584
      She told me as she's told me   
          so many other times,       

669
00:31:17,625 --> 00:31:22,422
 that the true test of a rich man 
 is strip him of all his wealth,   

670
00:31:22,463 --> 00:31:24,173
     then see how much he's worth.   

671
00:31:24,215 --> 00:31:26,467
                [static]             

672
00:31:36,060 --> 00:31:39,230
          [amplified voice]         
      This is an announcement.      

673
00:31:39,272 --> 00:31:44,277
     We will ask you to proceed     
         in smaller groups.         

674
00:31:44,319 --> 00:31:47,113
 And a bunch of illiterate whites 
     that probably couldn't even    

675
00:31:47,155 --> 00:31:50,950
      pass the test themselves.     
     That's what you're seeing.     

676
00:31:50,992 --> 00:31:53,786
         - Guns and sticks.         
         - Guns and sticks.         

677
00:31:53,828 --> 00:31:56,122
            - In America.           
             - Exactly.             

678
00:31:56,164 --> 00:31:58,833
          - [man] Yes, man.         
 - Get a good look at their faces 

679
00:31:58,875 --> 00:32:00,627
      so the rest of the world      
             can see it.            

680
00:32:00,668 --> 00:32:02,170
               - Yeah.              
     - See what they look like.     

681
00:32:02,211 --> 00:32:06,799
        [Lipsyte] A civil rights     
       demonstration in the South    

682
00:32:06,841 --> 00:32:09,594
          was in grave danger.       

683
00:32:09,636 --> 00:32:15,475
     Dogs, fire hoses, truncheons,   
                 guns,               

684
00:32:15,516 --> 00:32:18,394
    but if Dick Gregory flew down   

685
00:32:18,436 --> 00:32:21,981
      to wherever, Mississippi,     

686
00:32:22,023 --> 00:32:25,735
     for a rights demonstration,    

687
00:32:25,777 --> 00:32:30,573
    one of the network news crews   
            would follow.           

688
00:32:30,615 --> 00:32:32,992
          But he also knew          
      that the cameras being on     

689
00:32:33,034 --> 00:32:35,954
         does not protect me        
    from getting hurt or killed.    

690
00:32:35,995 --> 00:32:41,250
     [indistinct conversations]     

691
00:32:41,292 --> 00:32:43,920
     [Lillian] When I'd see things   
      on TV of him being arrested,   

692
00:32:43,962 --> 00:32:45,838
      you know, I really would get   
            a little upset,          

693
00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:48,549
         and, uh, at that time,      
        we just had two children     

694
00:32:48,591 --> 00:32:50,176
     and, you know, "Why is Daddy,   

695
00:32:50,218 --> 00:32:52,845
           you know, why are         
       they putting him in jail?"    

696
00:32:52,887 --> 00:32:56,557
                                   

697
00:32:56,599 --> 00:33:00,353
                 [Dick]              
      This is where we are today.    

698
00:33:00,395 --> 00:33:04,732
 This is what we fightin' for...   

699
00:33:04,774 --> 00:33:08,987
         to free this country.       

700
00:33:09,028 --> 00:33:12,031
           Make this country         
         America the beautiful.      

701
00:33:14,993 --> 00:33:20,039
   He upset people. He really made 
       people wanna kill him.       

702
00:33:20,081 --> 00:33:23,042
         I mean, I got hundreds      
            of death threats         

703
00:33:23,084 --> 00:33:26,838
       about how they were gonna     
      kill him at a certain place.   

704
00:33:26,879 --> 00:33:28,339
      [Lillian] People would call.   

705
00:33:28,381 --> 00:33:30,049
          They were gon' come        
            kill all of us.          

706
00:33:30,091 --> 00:33:31,968
         "And gonna come get        
         your nigger kids,"         

707
00:33:32,010 --> 00:33:36,639
     just many, many bad calls,     
     many, many very bad calls.     

708
00:33:38,683 --> 00:33:41,144
      [Dick] You can feel a town.    

709
00:33:41,185 --> 00:33:45,565
         You can sense a town,       
           sense the police.         

710
00:33:45,606 --> 00:33:47,900
        And there's a stillness      
               in a town             

711
00:33:47,942 --> 00:33:50,319
 before something's gonna happen. 

712
00:33:50,361 --> 00:33:55,575
         I felt that someone...      

713
00:33:55,616 --> 00:33:57,702
          was gonna be killed.       

714
00:33:57,744 --> 00:34:01,748
          poignant music          

715
00:34:01,789 --> 00:34:05,293
      I decided to go the long way   
               to Chicago            

716
00:34:05,334 --> 00:34:09,380
           to stop by and see        
         the wife and the kids,      

717
00:34:09,422 --> 00:34:13,134
         only to explain to her      
 that if anything happened to me, 

718
00:34:13,176 --> 00:34:15,428
            if I got killed,         

719
00:34:15,470 --> 00:34:19,098
       that she would never raise    
         those kids with hate.       

720
00:34:19,140 --> 00:34:21,517
 I would feel I had died in vain   
     if my kids turned out hating.   

721
00:34:21,559 --> 00:34:24,437
                                   

722
00:34:24,479 --> 00:34:26,105
      Always had a lot of trouble    
               with Lill             

723
00:34:26,147 --> 00:34:29,525
       because I was on the road     
          when they were born.       

724
00:34:29,567 --> 00:34:32,028
                                   

725
00:34:32,070 --> 00:34:33,946
        Dick Junior was laying       
          in the bed, crying,        

726
00:34:33,988 --> 00:34:38,743
     so I tipped him in the room,    
         and I picked him up,        

727
00:34:38,785 --> 00:34:41,788
        and he stopped crying,       
            and he'd smile.          

728
00:34:41,829 --> 00:34:45,792
           Lill walked out.          
       She was so happy because      

729
00:34:45,833 --> 00:34:47,126
       I was playing with my son,    

730
00:34:47,168 --> 00:34:51,798
       kiss my daughter Michele,     

731
00:34:51,839 --> 00:34:55,301
        kiss my daughter Lynne,      

732
00:34:55,343 --> 00:35:00,264
   said Daddy's gonna try to make   
      it a better world for you.     

733
00:35:00,306 --> 00:35:02,767
        [Lillian] He really had      
        a feeling that something     

734
00:35:02,809 --> 00:35:04,644
           was gonna happen.         

735
00:35:04,685 --> 00:35:06,813
      He really didn't know what,    

736
00:35:06,854 --> 00:35:10,566
         but he just really had      
             a bad feeling.          

737
00:35:10,608 --> 00:35:14,153
                                   

738
00:35:14,195 --> 00:35:16,197
          [Dick] Medgar Evers        
        woke me up that morning      

739
00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:20,159
           with a phone call.        

740
00:35:20,201 --> 00:35:22,578
 Asked Medgar what had happened.   
        He said he didn't know.      

741
00:35:22,620 --> 00:35:25,873
     He tried to make me call home, 
              and I said,            

742
00:35:25,915 --> 00:35:28,876
        "Medgar, what happened?"     

743
00:35:28,918 --> 00:35:34,298
      A man as brave as Medgar...    

744
00:35:34,340 --> 00:35:36,634
           couldn't tell me.         

745
00:35:36,676 --> 00:35:42,098
         Because when he said,       
          "Your son is dead,"        

746
00:35:42,140 --> 00:35:44,433
         he almost said it like      
       he had killed him himself.    

747
00:35:44,475 --> 00:35:49,438
                                   

748
00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:51,023
          This can't be true.        

749
00:35:51,065 --> 00:35:53,818
           I just held him...        

750
00:35:53,860 --> 00:35:57,613
         only a few hours ago.       

751
00:35:57,655 --> 00:35:59,782
           So I called home.         
       Lill picked up the phone,     

752
00:35:59,824 --> 00:36:01,033
         and she was screaming.      

753
00:36:01,075 --> 00:36:05,246
               She said,             
        "Greg, Richard's dead."      

754
00:36:05,288 --> 00:36:08,124
                                   

755
00:36:08,166 --> 00:36:13,462
   I said, "Honey, I'll be there.   

756
00:36:13,504 --> 00:36:16,048
       I love you very much."       

757
00:36:16,090 --> 00:36:21,345
                                   

758
00:36:33,691 --> 00:36:37,570
     Never will forget that Medgar   
         cried when he told me.      

759
00:36:37,612 --> 00:36:41,699
      He was sorry I was leaving,    
           but he understood,        

760
00:36:41,741 --> 00:36:44,410
      got out of town, not knowing   
           that that would be        

761
00:36:44,452 --> 00:36:47,205
   the last time I would ever see   
          Medgar Evers alive.        

762
00:36:47,246 --> 00:36:51,876
                                   

763
00:36:51,918 --> 00:36:55,713
          I knew my husband         
        was gonna be killed.        

764
00:36:55,755 --> 00:36:59,592
              We knew it.            

765
00:36:59,634 --> 00:37:02,762
      He pulled into the driveway.   

766
00:37:04,347 --> 00:37:06,641
      And I remember our children    
                saying,              

767
00:37:06,682 --> 00:37:09,727
     "Daddy's home, Daddy's home."   

768
00:37:09,769 --> 00:37:13,064
 And in the process of getting up 
           to go to the door,        

769
00:37:13,105 --> 00:37:15,316
           a shot was heard.         

770
00:37:15,358 --> 00:37:19,362
                                   

771
00:37:19,403 --> 00:37:21,989
      And I think of all the blood   
               on my car             

772
00:37:22,031 --> 00:37:26,369
         as he tried, struggled      
               to get in             

773
00:37:26,410 --> 00:37:31,249
         and fell at the steps       
     with the door key in his hand. 

774
00:37:31,290 --> 00:37:34,585
                                   

775
00:37:34,627 --> 00:37:38,798
          That nightmare...         

776
00:37:38,839 --> 00:37:41,634
            never leaves.           

777
00:37:41,676 --> 00:37:43,719
     [siren wailing in distance]    

778
00:37:43,761 --> 00:37:45,638
            The only reason          

779
00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:49,433
              Dick Gregory           
       was not with Medgar Evers     

780
00:37:49,475 --> 00:37:52,311
       on the night Medgar Evers     
          was shot and killed,       

781
00:37:52,353 --> 00:37:55,648
     is because his child had died   
              in his sleep           

782
00:37:55,690 --> 00:37:57,233
          at three months old.       

783
00:37:57,275 --> 00:37:59,944
         I don't think anything      
             less than that          

784
00:37:59,986 --> 00:38:01,862
          you could have pried       
              Dick Gregory           

785
00:38:01,904 --> 00:38:03,364
        away from Medgar Evers.      

786
00:38:03,406 --> 00:38:06,492
                                   

787
00:38:06,534 --> 00:38:08,828
 [Dick] Funny about a great man,   
             when he dies,           

788
00:38:08,869 --> 00:38:10,830
           if the whole world        
            didn't know him,         

789
00:38:10,871 --> 00:38:13,582
 the whole world learns, and they 
       can decide for themselves.    

790
00:38:13,624 --> 00:38:16,252
         They had decided that       

791
00:38:16,294 --> 00:38:21,048
        we had lost a great man      
            in this country.         

792
00:38:21,090 --> 00:38:22,049
         It's a strange world.       

793
00:38:22,091 --> 00:38:25,428
                                   

794
00:38:25,469 --> 00:38:28,180
       To quit demonstrating,       

795
00:38:28,222 --> 00:38:32,768
   we want complete desegregation   
      of all public facilities      

796
00:38:32,810 --> 00:38:34,312
    and all the charges dropped.    

797
00:38:34,353 --> 00:38:37,231
      Now we're not gonna stop      
     for nothing short of this.     

798
00:38:37,273 --> 00:38:38,441
             [applause]             

799
00:38:38,482 --> 00:38:42,111
      Police dogs is not enough     
              no more.              

800
00:38:42,153 --> 00:38:43,571
        If they don't give us       
          this demand here,         

801
00:38:43,612 --> 00:38:45,448
     they better go out and try     
     to put smoke in the barrel     

802
00:38:45,489 --> 00:38:47,158
          in the contract.          

803
00:38:47,199 --> 00:38:48,534
       [laughter and applause]      

804
00:38:48,576 --> 00:38:52,705
                                   

805
00:38:52,747 --> 00:38:54,832
      We went to southern Atlanta.   

806
00:38:54,874 --> 00:38:57,209
       People all over the world     
           should understand         

807
00:38:57,251 --> 00:39:01,130
           the American negro        
      will not be told any longer    

808
00:39:01,172 --> 00:39:05,426
       that it's gonna take time     
         to solve this problem.      

809
00:39:05,468 --> 00:39:08,387
         There's no more time.       
     We don't want a man to tell us 

810
00:39:08,429 --> 00:39:12,141
        that we're gonna get it,     
      that we have to understand.    

811
00:39:12,183 --> 00:39:14,393
     When you're out demonstrating   
             in the street,          

812
00:39:14,435 --> 00:39:17,938
      the social revolution is on,   
         and it's gonna stay on      

813
00:39:17,980 --> 00:39:20,399
        until the negro receives     
              full rights.           

814
00:39:20,441 --> 00:39:23,402
       We don't want these rights    
               tomorrow.             

815
00:39:23,444 --> 00:39:26,447
    We don't want 'em next week.    
     We don't want 'em tonight.     

816
00:39:26,489 --> 00:39:31,035
    We want what we are demanding   
         right this minute.         

817
00:39:35,122 --> 00:39:37,416
         He is without doubt        
        the most talked about       

818
00:39:37,458 --> 00:39:39,335
     and written about comedian     
          in show business,         

819
00:39:39,377 --> 00:39:41,712
         not necessarily on         
   the amusement pages these days   

820
00:39:41,754 --> 00:39:43,964
    but right on the front page.    

821
00:39:44,006 --> 00:39:46,258
         Uh, I think he has         
          some provocative          

822
00:39:46,300 --> 00:39:48,636
       and interesting things       
    to say to all of us tonight.    

823
00:39:48,677 --> 00:39:51,972
    I'm sure he has. So would you   
      all welcome Dick Gregory?     

824
00:39:52,014 --> 00:39:56,352
             [applause,             
      band playing jazz music]      

825
00:39:56,394 --> 00:39:59,730
                                   

826
00:39:59,772 --> 00:40:01,565
    The government realized when    
   negroes are integrating things   

827
00:40:01,607 --> 00:40:04,944
          in America today,         
      in about six more months,     

828
00:40:04,985 --> 00:40:07,405
   they're gonna be forced to hire 
 negro bus drivers in Mississippi 

829
00:40:07,446 --> 00:40:08,614
 so we're growing steering wheels 

830
00:40:08,656 --> 00:40:10,032
          so they can drive         
      from the back of the bus.     

831
00:40:10,074 --> 00:40:12,910
             [laughter]             

832
00:40:12,952 --> 00:40:14,703
             [applause]             

833
00:40:14,745 --> 00:40:16,288
      I received a letter one day    
              informing me           

834
00:40:16,330 --> 00:40:20,126
            that I had made          
         Who's Who in America.       

835
00:40:22,753 --> 00:40:28,426
        This is why I'm willing      
       to lay down my life, die,     

836
00:40:28,467 --> 00:40:30,428
          'cause no place else       
              but America            

837
00:40:30,469 --> 00:40:32,513
      could a man born and raised    
               on relief             

838
00:40:32,555 --> 00:40:36,851
           from 1932 to 1952,        
        through 11 years later,      

839
00:40:36,892 --> 00:40:41,188
      I made Who's Who in America.   

840
00:40:41,230 --> 00:40:45,651
                 Yeah.               
      This is worth fighting for.    

841
00:40:45,693 --> 00:40:47,987
                                   

842
00:40:48,028 --> 00:40:51,657
      Trying to save this country.   

843
00:40:51,699 --> 00:40:55,703
     You see, bread in your stomach 
             means nothing           

844
00:40:55,744 --> 00:40:57,371
     when you're walking around     
          with a full belly         

845
00:40:57,413 --> 00:41:01,917
    but your soul has been robbed   
             of dignity.            

846
00:41:01,959 --> 00:41:06,005
    All right. Now I'd rather die   
          trying to be free         

847
00:41:06,046 --> 00:41:09,300
        than be a full slave.       

848
00:41:09,341 --> 00:41:10,342
         [audience murmurs]         

849
00:41:17,057 --> 00:41:19,852
     [indistinct conversations]     

850
00:41:19,894 --> 00:41:23,522
        [applause continues]        

851
00:41:23,564 --> 00:41:26,442
       [Healy] Whenever Dr. King     
        called, Dick was there.      

852
00:41:26,484 --> 00:41:29,612
     He was kind of his front man.   

853
00:41:29,653 --> 00:41:32,656
    If Dr. King wanted him to go    
       and bother Bull Connor,      

854
00:41:32,698 --> 00:41:36,202
     he would send him in a week    
      before Dr. King arrived.      

855
00:41:36,243 --> 00:41:37,870
        That's how he did it.       

856
00:41:37,912 --> 00:41:39,413
    And Dick would go down there    
    and speak maybe at a college    

857
00:41:39,455 --> 00:41:41,832
        or a community event        
   or it's in the Black community   

858
00:41:41,874 --> 00:41:44,043
        or at a Black church,       

859
00:41:44,084 --> 00:41:46,670
         but he'd go down there      
      and aggravate and stir it up   

860
00:41:46,712 --> 00:41:50,049
           so when we arrive,        
     we can make something happen.   

861
00:41:50,090 --> 00:41:52,927
 There'll be somebody listening,   
     there'll be somebody talking.   

862
00:41:52,968 --> 00:41:54,428
           [Bell] As a comic,        
       I can look at Dick Gregory    

863
00:41:54,470 --> 00:41:57,223
      and tell that he was killing   
            in that moment,          

864
00:41:57,264 --> 00:41:58,307
       'cause he has that look      
           that comics get          

865
00:41:58,349 --> 00:41:59,475
      when they've just gotten      
             a big laugh            

866
00:41:59,517 --> 00:42:01,852
    and said, "Yeah, I did that."   
              [laughs]              

867
00:42:01,894 --> 00:42:04,104
         And I don't know that       
        I've ever seen a picture     

868
00:42:04,146 --> 00:42:06,440
       of Martin Luther King Jr.     
     where he looked that relaxed,   

869
00:42:06,482 --> 00:42:08,651
           and he looks like,        
     "Dick, you take it from here.   

870
00:42:08,692 --> 00:42:10,402
             I'm-a sit here          
          and just enjoy it."        

871
00:42:10,444 --> 00:42:12,696
               [Lillian]             
        Dick, being a comedian,      

872
00:42:12,738 --> 00:42:16,367
      he was always telling Martin   
       a funny joke or something,    

873
00:42:16,408 --> 00:42:18,369
   and then Martin would just roar 
           with laughter.           

874
00:42:18,410 --> 00:42:20,037
        I mean, he just loved       
          to talk to Dick,          

875
00:42:20,079 --> 00:42:22,039
     you know, 'cause he would--    
         you know, Dick had         

876
00:42:22,081 --> 00:42:24,208
          something to say          
          about everything.         

877
00:42:24,250 --> 00:42:26,252
              [Christian]            
         My father and Dr. King      

878
00:42:26,293 --> 00:42:29,046
          became good friends,       
              confidantes.           

879
00:42:29,088 --> 00:42:31,924
     They realized that their time   
             on this earth           

880
00:42:31,966 --> 00:42:36,428
      would probably be cut short.   

881
00:42:36,470 --> 00:42:39,348
         [Connor] You can never      
            whip these birds         

882
00:42:39,390 --> 00:42:41,350
           if you don't keep         
         you and them separate.      

883
00:42:41,392 --> 00:42:43,936
   I found that out in Birmingham. 

884
00:42:43,978 --> 00:42:46,272
    You've got to keep the white    
       and the Black separate.      

885
00:42:46,313 --> 00:42:51,110
          dramatic music          

886
00:42:51,151 --> 00:42:56,532
                                   

887
00:43:02,580 --> 00:43:04,915
       [Dick] I'm standing there     
              at the door            

888
00:43:04,957 --> 00:43:07,668
     with my hands around the bars, 

889
00:43:07,710 --> 00:43:09,920
      and I'm thinking about Lill,   
        I'm thinking about home.     

890
00:43:09,962 --> 00:43:11,839
        [indistinct shouting]       

891
00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:17,386
         And Bull Connor, them,      
 they come in with baseball bats. 

892
00:43:17,428 --> 00:43:19,430
   [crowd shouting and screaming]   

893
00:43:19,471 --> 00:43:21,640
          They beat me so bad        
         with the baseball bats      

894
00:43:21,682 --> 00:43:22,975
      and had done a larger area,    

895
00:43:23,017 --> 00:43:25,269
             that probably           
         would have killed me.       

896
00:43:25,311 --> 00:43:27,313
         [indistinct shouting,       
             water rushing]          

897
00:43:27,354 --> 00:43:31,984
        My...my arms swolled up      
     so it tore my suit right off.   

898
00:43:32,026 --> 00:43:36,155
                                   

899
00:43:36,196 --> 00:43:39,491
        I didn't wanna complain      
         because I didn't know       

900
00:43:39,533 --> 00:43:40,784
 if they would take me someplace   

901
00:43:40,826 --> 00:43:43,621
            where they would         
            amputate my arm.         

902
00:43:43,662 --> 00:43:48,167
                                   

903
00:43:48,208 --> 00:43:50,669
        Five guards came by.        
 That's when they opened the door 

904
00:43:50,711 --> 00:43:52,796
     and started to come inside,    
    and that's when I walked out    

905
00:43:52,838 --> 00:43:55,007
   rather than have the kids here, 

906
00:43:55,049 --> 00:43:57,551
    and this is when the beating    
             took place.            

907
00:43:57,593 --> 00:44:02,765
            Birmingham woke          
          a lot of people up.        

908
00:44:02,806 --> 00:44:07,186
         Birmingham woke us up       
             to this cancer          

909
00:44:07,227 --> 00:44:09,313
      it is not too late to cure.    

910
00:44:09,355 --> 00:44:13,275
       And if America wants to be    
               a doctor,             

911
00:44:13,317 --> 00:44:16,820
        we have to be the doctor     
             to cure this.           

912
00:44:16,862 --> 00:44:19,406
      I would like to introduce     
            very briefly            

913
00:44:19,448 --> 00:44:24,078
   a comedian fresh from the jail, 
          Mr. Dick Gregory.         

914
00:44:24,119 --> 00:44:29,249
        [cheers and applause]       

915
00:44:32,586 --> 00:44:34,546
         [applause subsides]        

916
00:44:34,588 --> 00:44:35,714
           I'd like to say          
        thank you very much,        

917
00:44:35,756 --> 00:44:39,385
   and it's a pleasure being here   

918
00:44:39,426 --> 00:44:43,722
     and nice being out of jail.    
            - [laughter]            

919
00:44:43,764 --> 00:44:46,558
   And I'm very confused this year 
       because I never thought      

920
00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:48,060
 I'd see the day I would give out 

921
00:44:48,102 --> 00:44:50,229
          more fingerprints         
          than autographs.          

922
00:44:50,270 --> 00:44:51,563
             [laughter]             

923
00:44:51,605 --> 00:44:56,026
     [Bellamy] People have no idea. 

924
00:44:56,068 --> 00:45:00,364
         You know, he would not      
       compromise his integrity,     

925
00:45:00,406 --> 00:45:03,534
     making $5,000-plus a night     

926
00:45:03,575 --> 00:45:06,787
     and gave that up to go down    

927
00:45:06,829 --> 00:45:09,707
          with Medgar Evers         
            and Dr. King.           

928
00:45:09,748 --> 00:45:13,585
       His economic situation       
          totally, totally          

929
00:45:13,627 --> 00:45:15,087
        went down the toilet.       

930
00:45:15,129 --> 00:45:16,714
    What about the, uh, contracts   

931
00:45:16,755 --> 00:45:20,134
      that you have to perform      
             elsewhere?             

932
00:45:20,175 --> 00:45:21,677
   What are you doing about those? 

933
00:45:21,719 --> 00:45:24,513
   Well, the only ones that I have 
         to worry about now         

934
00:45:24,555 --> 00:45:27,015
      are the ones as of today,     
      'cause when I'm in jail,      

935
00:45:27,057 --> 00:45:28,642
         those contracts are        
      automatically forfeited.      

936
00:45:28,684 --> 00:45:30,894
       It'll just be a matter       
        of calling my manager       

937
00:45:30,936 --> 00:45:33,605
    and just canceling everything   
    out straight across the board   

938
00:45:33,647 --> 00:45:36,525
 until...until I get out of here. 

939
00:45:36,567 --> 00:45:38,610
               [Madison]             
       Dick used all his credit.     

940
00:45:38,652 --> 00:45:42,614
       He would come back from      
    a protest or a demonstration,   

941
00:45:42,656 --> 00:45:45,743
      and the mortgage payment      
              was due,              

942
00:45:45,784 --> 00:45:47,870
      and they didn't know how      
       they were gonna pay it.      

943
00:45:47,911 --> 00:45:50,539
       [Belafonte] Well, not many    
        people in entertainment      

944
00:45:50,581 --> 00:45:53,542
       that, uh, rocked the boat.    

945
00:45:53,584 --> 00:45:57,463
   They were all very intimidated   
            with the fact           

946
00:45:57,504 --> 00:45:59,715
            that whether            
        they made commentary,       

947
00:45:59,757 --> 00:46:02,968
          the establishment         
      would fall down on them,      

948
00:46:03,010 --> 00:46:06,346
         so for a long time,        
    Black humorists remained mute   

949
00:46:06,388 --> 00:46:09,975
             until Richard.          

950
00:46:10,017 --> 00:46:11,935
        [Williams] He really was     
      out of money and, you know,    

951
00:46:11,977 --> 00:46:14,021
      because he was giving it all   
       the civil rights movement,    

952
00:46:14,062 --> 00:46:16,523
      and some of his children      
            needed money,           

953
00:46:16,565 --> 00:46:17,983
        uh, to go to school,        
        because some of them        

954
00:46:18,025 --> 00:46:19,318
      were in private schools.      

955
00:46:19,359 --> 00:46:22,029
        He was given a check        
           by a gentleman           

956
00:46:22,070 --> 00:46:25,824
     by the name of Bertram Lee     
       to pay for this tuition      

957
00:46:25,866 --> 00:46:28,786
           for his children,         
     but then he saw Hosea Williams 

958
00:46:28,827 --> 00:46:32,539
            down in Atlanta          
          and found that Hosea       

959
00:46:32,581 --> 00:46:35,417
     had been beaten up very badly, 
               bloodied,             

960
00:46:35,459 --> 00:46:36,835
         and he needed money        
          because he said,          

961
00:46:36,877 --> 00:46:38,670
 "We're going back in two weeks." 

962
00:46:38,712 --> 00:46:40,839
       And he just signed over      
              the check             

963
00:46:40,881 --> 00:46:43,592
       that he had just gotten      
    for his children's education    

964
00:46:43,634 --> 00:46:46,011
       because he said what Hosea    
               was doing             

965
00:46:46,053 --> 00:46:48,931
           was more important        
     than his children's education, 

966
00:46:48,972 --> 00:46:51,016
        and he usually chose        
           whatever it was          

967
00:46:51,058 --> 00:46:53,644
         that was gonna help        
   the greatest number of people.   

968
00:46:53,685 --> 00:46:58,816
                                   

969
00:47:02,986 --> 00:47:08,158
        [Dick] It was me seeing      
            ordinary people,         

970
00:47:08,200 --> 00:47:10,994
        people that would never      
       get their name mentioned,     

971
00:47:11,036 --> 00:47:13,580
        people that no one would     
          ever say thanks to.        

972
00:47:13,622 --> 00:47:16,750
                                   

973
00:47:16,792 --> 00:47:20,838
     And that's what that movement   
               was about.            

974
00:47:20,879 --> 00:47:25,217
        Lot of Black folks died,     
 lot of decent white folks died,   

975
00:47:25,259 --> 00:47:26,760
          setting people free.       

976
00:47:26,802 --> 00:47:30,180
        And in the eyes of God,      

977
00:47:30,222 --> 00:47:34,643
     those people would be honored   
                one day.             

978
00:47:34,685 --> 00:47:38,105
      And that's what the movement   
                 meant.              

979
00:47:38,146 --> 00:47:41,525
         Let us die. Not kill.       

980
00:47:41,567 --> 00:47:43,193
     Let us die to set people free. 

981
00:47:43,235 --> 00:47:47,489
                                   

982
00:47:47,531 --> 00:47:53,412
        [protestors chanting]       

983
00:47:53,453 --> 00:47:55,080
        [chanting continues]        

984
00:47:55,122 --> 00:47:56,915
         Oh, I'm sure today         
         for the first time,        

985
00:47:56,957 --> 00:47:59,126
      people all over the world     
          know where I am.          

986
00:47:59,167 --> 00:48:00,794
        [protestors shouting]       

987
00:48:00,836 --> 00:48:03,964
 [Dick] And I hope that you'll be 
     aware there are two jails.     

988
00:48:04,006 --> 00:48:05,090
     [woman] That's right, Dick!    
      [continues indistinctly]      

989
00:48:05,132 --> 00:48:07,551
     One that the establishment     
            sends you to            

990
00:48:07,593 --> 00:48:09,761
     that you can break out of,     

991
00:48:09,803 --> 00:48:13,181
   and one that the establishment   
             puts you in            

992
00:48:13,223 --> 00:48:15,058
 that you can never break out of. 

993
00:48:15,100 --> 00:48:16,727
       [Williams] He was arrested    
            over 100 times,          

994
00:48:16,768 --> 00:48:18,604
         and he kept going back      

995
00:48:18,645 --> 00:48:21,815
       because he was able to use    
             his celebrity           

996
00:48:21,857 --> 00:48:24,192
         to make a difference.       

997
00:48:24,234 --> 00:48:26,069
     You put enough pressure...     

998
00:48:26,111 --> 00:48:27,321
        [woman] That's right!       

999
00:48:27,362 --> 00:48:30,198
 [Dick] ...on this foul, corrupt, 
           insane system.           

1000
00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:32,326
 [woman] Yes! We've got to do it. 

1001
00:48:32,367 --> 00:48:35,370
   [Dick] See to it that can give   
      America her status back.      

1002
00:48:35,412 --> 00:48:40,167
           [horn blaring]           

1003
00:48:40,208 --> 00:48:44,546
                                   

1004
00:48:44,588 --> 00:48:45,881
      [man] What started the riot?   
         What was the incident?      

1005
00:48:45,923 --> 00:48:47,382
       [Dick] Well, the incident     

1006
00:48:47,424 --> 00:48:50,636
        that started the riot       
     was an automobile incident.    

1007
00:48:50,677 --> 00:48:52,304
        There as an argument.       
        There was a scuffle.        

1008
00:48:52,346 --> 00:48:53,722
           By then a crowd          

1009
00:48:53,764 --> 00:48:54,973
     of several hundred negroes     
            had gathered,           

1010
00:48:55,015 --> 00:48:56,642
             and the story           
          of police brutality        

1011
00:48:56,683 --> 00:48:59,061
             quickly spread          
         through the community.      

1012
00:48:59,102 --> 00:49:00,562
     [Dick] Every incident that had 
 been tipped off in this country   

1013
00:49:00,604 --> 00:49:02,189
         in the last two years       

1014
00:49:02,230 --> 00:49:06,068
         had been tipped off        
       by a uniformed police.       

1015
00:49:06,109 --> 00:49:07,819
      I'm not saying the police     
         is right or wrong.         

1016
00:49:07,861 --> 00:49:09,655
        I'm saying when you have     
            these incidents          

1017
00:49:09,696 --> 00:49:11,990
           that's tipped off         
         with this one symbol,       

1018
00:49:12,032 --> 00:49:14,493
      then we should look into it    
          and see what it is.        

1019
00:49:14,534 --> 00:49:16,995
             These negroes           
         aren't throwing bricks      

1020
00:49:17,037 --> 00:49:19,456
           just for the sake         
          of throwing bricks.        

1021
00:49:19,498 --> 00:49:22,167
        [indistinct shouting]       

1022
00:49:22,209 --> 00:49:24,920
            Police brutality         
           is not when a cop         

1023
00:49:24,962 --> 00:49:27,381
         necessarily knocks me       
            upside the head.         

1024
00:49:27,422 --> 00:49:30,676
 It's when a cop calls me nigger   
      when he's making the arrest.   

1025
00:49:30,717 --> 00:49:32,761
             This is a form          
          of police brutality.       

1026
00:49:32,803 --> 00:49:36,598
                                   

1027
00:49:36,640 --> 00:49:41,019
    As you know, I just got back    
     from Los Angeles, Vietnam.     

1028
00:49:41,061 --> 00:49:44,022
             [laughter]             

1029
00:49:44,064 --> 00:49:45,816
 [man] That was quite a morning.   

1030
00:49:45,857 --> 00:49:47,943
      We all picked up our papers    
           here in New York.         

1031
00:49:47,985 --> 00:49:50,153
      A lot of people didn't read    
         beyond that headline.       

1032
00:49:50,195 --> 00:49:51,697
              All it said            
         here in New York was,       

1033
00:49:51,738 --> 00:49:53,240
           "Dick Gregory shot        
             in race riot."          

1034
00:49:53,281 --> 00:49:55,659
              [Christian]            
          A bullet to his leg,       

1035
00:49:55,701 --> 00:49:59,204
               trying to             
        step in between forces,      

1036
00:49:59,246 --> 00:50:03,834
       trying to find a peaceful     
 solution to what was happening.   

1037
00:50:03,875 --> 00:50:05,836
        [Dick] I would never go      
           to my baby's crib         

1038
00:50:05,877 --> 00:50:08,338
        when my baby was crying      
        and say, "Quit crying."      

1039
00:50:08,380 --> 00:50:10,674
        First, I would find out      
          why she was crying,        

1040
00:50:10,716 --> 00:50:13,385
      uh, because kids do not cry    
         for no reason at all.       

1041
00:50:13,427 --> 00:50:16,638
 It's the same thing about what's 
      happening in America today.    

1042
00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:18,640
         Those people have such      

1043
00:50:18,682 --> 00:50:19,975
          legitimate gripes         
          and frustrations          

1044
00:50:20,017 --> 00:50:23,145
     built in them for so long.     

1045
00:50:23,186 --> 00:50:25,397
         Nobody ever talked         
            about Watts,            

1046
00:50:25,439 --> 00:50:27,649
           and it's gonna be         
         a whole lots of Watts       

1047
00:50:27,691 --> 00:50:29,901
         all over this country,      
               up north,             

1048
00:50:29,943 --> 00:50:32,029
           if we don't go in         
           and start solving         

1049
00:50:32,070 --> 00:50:33,405
          not only the problem       
              of the negro           

1050
00:50:33,447 --> 00:50:35,574
            but the problem          
         of the poor white man.      

1051
00:50:35,615 --> 00:50:37,451
         You have white people       
        that live in the ghetto,     

1052
00:50:37,492 --> 00:50:38,910
      that they're gonna be next,    

1053
00:50:38,952 --> 00:50:41,913
         unless we sit down         
       and solve this problem       

1054
00:50:41,955 --> 00:50:43,874
            which is not            
       a Los Angeles problem,       

1055
00:50:43,915 --> 00:50:45,584
            which is not            
       a Mississippi problem.       

1056
00:50:45,625 --> 00:50:47,377
      It's an American problem.     

1057
00:50:47,419 --> 00:50:51,590
        [indistinct shouting]       

1058
00:50:51,631 --> 00:50:56,261
                                   

1059
00:50:56,303 --> 00:50:58,305
         [man, amplified voice]      
       This area is being closed.    

1060
00:50:58,346 --> 00:51:01,349
        Please go in your homes.     

1061
00:51:01,391 --> 00:51:03,894
          [woman, chanting]         
   You can't stop the revolution!   

1062
00:51:03,935 --> 00:51:05,353
            [male reporter]          
            In Newark alone,         

1063
00:51:05,395 --> 00:51:08,940
       thirty persons were killed    
        in four days of rioting.     

1064
00:51:08,982 --> 00:51:10,442
       Hands up! Don't shoot!       

1065
00:51:10,484 --> 00:51:12,903
            - Hands up--            
             - [gunshot]            

1066
00:51:12,944 --> 00:51:16,448
        [indistinct shouting]       

1067
00:51:16,490 --> 00:51:18,408
     [female dispatcher] All units, 
      looters at 62 and Broadway.    

1068
00:51:18,450 --> 00:51:23,246
                                   

1069
00:51:23,288 --> 00:51:25,457
             [Dick] People,          
      whether you like it or not,    

1070
00:51:25,499 --> 00:51:27,375
       are controlled by nature.     

1071
00:51:27,417 --> 00:51:29,127
        If you put a tight shoe      
     on your foot, you get a corn.   

1072
00:51:29,169 --> 00:51:30,045
          If you wear the shoe       
              long enough,           

1073
00:51:30,087 --> 00:51:31,630
        it turns into a callus.      

1074
00:51:31,671 --> 00:51:32,631
          If you wear the shoe       
              long enough,           

1075
00:51:32,672 --> 00:51:33,924
        it turns into a bunion,      

1076
00:51:33,965 --> 00:51:35,383
            and eventually,          
        it'll wear the shoe out.     

1077
00:51:35,425 --> 00:51:38,929
       Black folks in America       
 got a callus around their souls. 

1078
00:51:38,970 --> 00:51:40,514
          And if the system         
      don't back up their shoe,     

1079
00:51:40,555 --> 00:51:42,140
       it's gonna be wore out.      

1080
00:51:42,182 --> 00:51:44,643
                                   

1081
00:51:44,684 --> 00:51:49,106
        [indistinct shouting]       

1082
00:51:49,147 --> 00:51:51,608
        There used to be many       
       who doubted the motives      

1083
00:51:51,650 --> 00:51:53,819
          of Dick Gregory.          

1084
00:51:53,860 --> 00:51:56,988
     He's been a leading figure     
    in the civil rights movement,   

1085
00:51:57,030 --> 00:51:59,491
 and yet he is billed as a comic. 

1086
00:51:59,533 --> 00:52:03,161
       Uh, there were charges       
    of publicity, money, career.    

1087
00:52:03,203 --> 00:52:07,124
        Recently, he was shot       
   in a race riot in Los Angeles.   

1088
00:52:07,165 --> 00:52:08,625
          He and his family         
          have been jailed          

1089
00:52:08,667 --> 00:52:10,418
    both in the North and South.    

1090
00:52:10,460 --> 00:52:11,920
   He won his fame as a comedian,   

1091
00:52:11,962 --> 00:52:16,007
   and yet his fellow negro comics 
         say his dedication         

1092
00:52:16,049 --> 00:52:18,677
       has blunted his humor,       

1093
00:52:18,718 --> 00:52:19,803
      that he's lost his sense      
             of satire,             

1094
00:52:19,845 --> 00:52:22,514
      that he's now more angry      
             than funny             

1095
00:52:22,556 --> 00:52:25,600
         Judge for yourself,        
     'cause we believe him to be    

1096
00:52:25,642 --> 00:52:27,644
   a funny, funny, courageous man. 

1097
00:52:27,686 --> 00:52:30,105
     Here is Dick Gregory. Yeah.    

1098
00:52:30,147 --> 00:52:34,442
     [band playing uptempo jazz,    
              applause]             

1099
00:52:34,484 --> 00:52:39,865
                                   

1100
00:52:42,075 --> 00:52:47,205
        [applause continues]        

1101
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:53,170
        [cheers and applause]       

1102
00:52:56,756 --> 00:52:58,300
         [applause subsides]        

1103
00:52:58,341 --> 00:53:00,510
             [laughter]             

1104
00:53:00,552 --> 00:53:06,308
    And nobody's not that funny,    
 but you're about to convince me. 

1105
00:53:06,349 --> 00:53:09,853
             [applause]             

1106
00:53:09,895 --> 00:53:12,397
            We give so much          
            to celebrities.          

1107
00:53:12,439 --> 00:53:15,442
                                   

1108
00:53:15,483 --> 00:53:16,943
       We want 'em to be perfect.    

1109
00:53:16,985 --> 00:53:22,199
                                   

1110
00:53:24,951 --> 00:53:28,663
     As long as all the negativity   
       you're doing is glamorous,    

1111
00:53:28,705 --> 00:53:30,165
        you could be a drunkard,     

1112
00:53:30,207 --> 00:53:32,417
      you could be hooked to dope,   

1113
00:53:32,459 --> 00:53:36,254
        we can still admire you      

1114
00:53:36,296 --> 00:53:38,048
 Come out here and get to saying   

1115
00:53:38,089 --> 00:53:42,344
       that we can't treat women     
          a certain way or...        

1116
00:53:42,385 --> 00:53:45,347
        Catholics a certain way      
         or Jews a certain way       

1117
00:53:45,388 --> 00:53:50,018
        or Blacks a certain way,     
         Chicanos a certain way      

1118
00:53:50,060 --> 00:53:52,562
           then you can lose         
         your celebrity status.      

1119
00:53:52,604 --> 00:53:58,443
                                   

1120
00:53:58,485 --> 00:53:59,653
             You get dirty.          

1121
00:53:59,694 --> 00:54:02,989
                                   

1122
00:54:03,031 --> 00:54:05,158
        There are certain people     
               in society            

1123
00:54:05,200 --> 00:54:07,577
              who love you           
          but can't touch you.       

1124
00:54:07,619 --> 00:54:10,247
                                   

1125
00:54:10,288 --> 00:54:12,916
        If I was young enough       
           to get drafted,          

1126
00:54:12,958 --> 00:54:14,876
       I would wait till I got      
        my induction notice,        

1127
00:54:14,918 --> 00:54:16,795
          then, uh, show up         
         in the draft board,        

1128
00:54:16,836 --> 00:54:18,255
    and they give you that little   
     questionnaire to fill out,     

1129
00:54:18,296 --> 00:54:19,881
           and when it got          
       to that little section       

1130
00:54:19,923 --> 00:54:23,301
       that said "Occupation,"      
   I would just write "murderer."   

1131
00:54:23,343 --> 00:54:24,844
             [laughter]             

1132
00:54:24,886 --> 00:54:27,305
 That sounds funny, but you know, 
        we got such dumb laws       

1133
00:54:27,347 --> 00:54:28,932
   in this country, we would never 
         be permitted by law        

1134
00:54:28,974 --> 00:54:31,643
      to draft a murderer into      
   the army to send him to Vietnam 

1135
00:54:31,685 --> 00:54:33,645
         to kill Viet Cong?         

1136
00:54:33,687 --> 00:54:35,730
             [laughter]             

1137
00:54:35,772 --> 00:54:39,317
   It was one thing to talk about   
   moving into your neighborhood.   

1138
00:54:39,359 --> 00:54:43,780
    That was...That was something   
   that he said on the Paar show.   

1139
00:54:43,822 --> 00:54:47,075
 But it was another thing to talk 
      about the war of Vietnam.     

1140
00:54:47,117 --> 00:54:48,618
         The Federal Bureau         
          of Investigation          

1141
00:54:48,660 --> 00:54:52,789
     is waging and will continue    
    to wage a relentless warfare    

1142
00:54:52,831 --> 00:54:55,292
    against crime and criminals.    

1143
00:54:55,333 --> 00:54:58,128
          Further advances          
 against the insidious activities 

1144
00:54:58,169 --> 00:54:59,587
      of underworld characters      

1145
00:54:59,629 --> 00:55:02,048
         and their vicious,         
        conspiring parasites        

1146
00:55:02,090 --> 00:55:04,592
          must yet be made.         

1147
00:55:04,634 --> 00:55:08,179
   Hoover had written, "Watch this 
    negro comedian Dick Gregory."   

1148
00:55:08,221 --> 00:55:12,100
 Only a fool today would sit back 
       and blame Hitler's army      

1149
00:55:12,142 --> 00:55:13,518
        and not blame Hitler.       

1150
00:55:13,560 --> 00:55:15,103
     That's why the whole world     
          is looking at us          

1151
00:55:15,145 --> 00:55:17,856
         very critical now.         

1152
00:55:17,897 --> 00:55:21,151
      Because anytime we can go     
             to Vietnam             

1153
00:55:21,192 --> 00:55:23,528
     and do the same thing there    
          Hitler was doing,         

1154
00:55:23,570 --> 00:55:25,572
   the world will know it will not 
         be too much longer         

1155
00:55:25,613 --> 00:55:27,282
      before they do it to us.      

1156
00:55:27,324 --> 00:55:30,410
         [Greg] The head of the      
 Federal Bureau of Investigation   

1157
00:55:30,452 --> 00:55:35,790
       signed a letter asking for    
     the FBI to do an investigation 

1158
00:55:35,832 --> 00:55:38,043
            of Dick Gregory.         

1159
00:55:38,084 --> 00:55:41,379
       [Dick] This secret, secret    
 police was out to discredit you, 

1160
00:55:41,421 --> 00:55:44,466
            not to help you          
         but to discredit you.       

1161
00:55:44,507 --> 00:55:48,887
      It said, "Chicago, as office   
      on Richard Claxton Gregory,    

1162
00:55:48,928 --> 00:55:50,805
      also known as Dick Gregory,    

1163
00:55:50,847 --> 00:55:52,307
         Chicago should develop      

1164
00:55:52,349 --> 00:55:56,227
      counterintelligence measures   
           to neutralize him.        

1165
00:55:56,269 --> 00:55:57,896
        This should not be done      
      in the nature of an exposé,    

1166
00:55:57,937 --> 00:56:01,524
         since he already gets       
        far too much publicity.      

1167
00:56:01,566 --> 00:56:04,944
        Instead, sophisticated,      
      completely untraceable means   

1168
00:56:04,986 --> 00:56:08,073
      of neutralizing Dick Gregory   
         should be developed."       

1169
00:56:08,114 --> 00:56:11,785
     I had every government agency   
     in America's tapping my phone, 

1170
00:56:11,826 --> 00:56:16,331
 the CIA, the FBI, bunch of cats   
        we ain't never heard of.     

1171
00:56:16,373 --> 00:56:17,582
             [laughter]             

1172
00:56:17,624 --> 00:56:20,335
          Once in a while,          
     there would be phone calls,    

1173
00:56:20,377 --> 00:56:22,128
        and a telephone call        
              from Greg             

1174
00:56:22,170 --> 00:56:27,675
          would usually be          
 at three o'clock in the morning. 

1175
00:56:27,717 --> 00:56:29,052
     And it would be a whisper.     

1176
00:56:29,094 --> 00:56:31,179
       And he would always say...    

1177
00:56:31,221 --> 00:56:32,680
      uh, "Talk clearly so the FBI   

1178
00:56:32,722 --> 00:56:35,892
             can understand          
     what you're saying." [laughs]   

1179
00:56:35,934 --> 00:56:39,104
        [Dick] You know, I mean,     
         I ain't into nothing.       

1180
00:56:39,145 --> 00:56:40,855
               [laughter]            

1181
00:56:40,897 --> 00:56:42,440
              And I mean,            

1182
00:56:42,482 --> 00:56:45,443
            they know I know         
       they're tapping the phone.    

1183
00:56:45,485 --> 00:56:47,195
               [laughter]            

1184
00:56:47,237 --> 00:56:51,783
 The people booking entertainers, 
      especially comedians, said,    

1185
00:56:51,825 --> 00:56:53,618
          "We don't wanna talk       
       about the war in Vietnam.     

1186
00:56:53,660 --> 00:56:56,788
       We don't wanna talk about     
        civil rights movement."      

1187
00:56:56,830 --> 00:57:00,792
   And he realized he was talking   
        to the wrong people.        

1188
00:57:00,834 --> 00:57:05,338
         1960s rock music         

1189
00:57:05,380 --> 00:57:07,966
                                   

1190
00:57:08,007 --> 00:57:11,970
     He was getting a lot of calls   
     from universities and colleges 

1191
00:57:12,011 --> 00:57:16,141
          all over the country       
      who wanted to hear him talk.   

1192
00:57:16,182 --> 00:57:18,518
 These are educated young people   

1193
00:57:18,560 --> 00:57:21,271
       who were really interested    
         in changing the world.      

1194
00:57:22,856 --> 00:57:26,192
       And it dawned on him that     
     this was the greatest audience 

1195
00:57:26,234 --> 00:57:28,111
             he could have.          

1196
00:57:28,153 --> 00:57:29,362
     [Dick] You know how it felt    

1197
00:57:29,404 --> 00:57:31,489
        with the civil rights       
           legislation is?          

1198
00:57:31,531 --> 00:57:33,199
       White folks in America       
       gonna get their rights       

1199
00:57:33,241 --> 00:57:34,325
       under the United States      
            Constitution,           

1200
00:57:34,367 --> 00:57:35,285
     and Black folks got to get     
             our rights             

1201
00:57:35,326 --> 00:57:38,288
   under civil rights legislation. 

1202
00:57:38,329 --> 00:57:40,999
       I don't want my rights       
    on no damn installment plan.    

1203
00:57:41,040 --> 00:57:42,917
    He was like the most popular,   

1204
00:57:42,959 --> 00:57:46,337
    most in-demand guest lecturer   
           you could find.          

1205
00:57:46,379 --> 00:57:48,006
         You got three hours        
           of information,          

1206
00:57:48,047 --> 00:57:51,676
       and it was from one of       
 the funniest guys in the planet. 

1207
00:57:51,718 --> 00:57:54,345
    I got on the plane yesterday    
       morning flying in here,      

1208
00:57:54,387 --> 00:57:56,181
    and I'm on my way to my seat,   

1209
00:57:56,222 --> 00:57:57,974
       and this   old   white cat       
           sitting there,           

1210
00:57:58,016 --> 00:58:01,352
   looked at me and say, "Uh, uh,   
   can I talk to you, my brother?" 

1211
00:58:01,394 --> 00:58:06,524
       [laughter and applause]      

1212
00:58:08,610 --> 00:58:11,488
             Your what?             

1213
00:58:11,529 --> 00:58:13,364
       Things have got so bad,      
        I'm your brother now.       

1214
00:58:13,406 --> 00:58:15,950
                 He had              
      this vast college audience.    

1215
00:58:15,992 --> 00:58:18,578
              You see,              
      the word "white liberals"     

1216
00:58:18,620 --> 00:58:20,538
      is an unconscious racist      
              statement             

1217
00:58:20,580 --> 00:58:25,001
   because nobody's ever admitted   
     that we got Black liberals,    

1218
00:58:25,043 --> 00:58:28,004
       which is far more worse      
 than white liberals, definitely. 

1219
00:58:28,046 --> 00:58:29,380
             [laughter]             

1220
00:58:29,422 --> 00:58:30,882
             [applause]             

1221
00:58:30,924 --> 00:58:33,426
      The reason I spend about 90%   
               of my time            

1222
00:58:33,468 --> 00:58:36,596
       on college campuses today     
        because I sincerely feel     

1223
00:58:36,638 --> 00:58:38,515
        that the young people       
        in this country today       

1224
00:58:38,556 --> 00:58:40,183
    are the most honest, ethical,   
        dedicated, committed        

1225
00:58:40,225 --> 00:58:42,685
    group of young people that's    
     ever lived in this country.    

1226
00:58:42,727 --> 00:58:45,939
      You young folks have come     
    to the nation's Capitol today   

1227
00:58:45,980 --> 00:58:49,734
           to do away with          
 the military industrial complex. 

1228
00:58:49,776 --> 00:58:51,778
        We're gonna see to it       

1229
00:58:51,819 --> 00:58:54,739
     there will be no more war!     

1230
00:58:54,781 --> 00:58:57,492
             [cheering]             

1231
00:58:57,534 --> 00:59:00,036
            The promises            
        of the great society        

1232
00:59:00,078 --> 00:59:04,874
         have been shot down        
   on the battlefield of Vietnam.   

1233
00:59:04,916 --> 00:59:10,505
         The war on Vietnam         
      was the demarcation point     

1234
00:59:10,547 --> 00:59:13,925
       for him, for Dr. King,       
        for a lot of people.        

1235
00:59:13,967 --> 00:59:18,346
     That was the point where they   
       had to give up everything.    

1236
00:59:18,388 --> 00:59:21,641
     [Dick] But being an agitator,   

1237
00:59:21,683 --> 00:59:27,730
         I realize that you get      
              dirt on you.           

1238
00:59:27,772 --> 00:59:31,609
       But looking at my children    
           wash their hands,         

1239
00:59:31,651 --> 00:59:34,362
        I can tell the intensity     
            of their playing         

1240
00:59:34,404 --> 00:59:38,491
         according to how dirty      
              the soap is.           

1241
00:59:39,200 --> 00:59:43,454
       Dirty soap don't bother me    
      'cause I can wash it clean.    

1242
00:59:45,081 --> 00:59:49,210
 But looking at that, I realized   
        that I'm America's soap,     

1243
00:59:49,252 --> 00:59:53,339
     and all the dirt you see on me 
          come off of America.       

1244
00:59:53,381 --> 00:59:56,593
                                   

1245
00:59:56,634 --> 01:00:00,805
        For those who say to me,     
        "Stick to civil rights,"     

1246
01:00:00,847 --> 01:00:03,474
       I have another answer.       

1247
01:00:03,516 --> 01:00:06,728
           Injustice anywhere        

1248
01:00:06,769 --> 01:00:10,690
              is a threat            
         to justice everywhere.      

1249
01:00:13,276 --> 01:00:15,111
        Dr. King was standing       
           on the balcony           

1250
01:00:15,153 --> 01:00:17,322
    of a second floor hotel room    
              tonight,              

1251
01:00:17,363 --> 01:00:20,283
   when according to a companion,   
          a shot was fired          

1252
01:00:20,325 --> 01:00:22,660
       from across the street.      

1253
01:00:22,702 --> 01:00:26,414
           somber music           

1254
01:00:26,456 --> 01:00:29,167
               [Lillian]             
       And they killed Dr. King.     

1255
01:00:29,208 --> 01:00:31,336
      There was no turning around.   

1256
01:00:31,377 --> 01:00:33,630
      Dick was just despondent,     
              crushed,              

1257
01:00:33,671 --> 01:00:36,549
    and just terrible, terrible.    

1258
01:00:36,591 --> 01:00:40,178
       [Dick] You have to realize    
           that we are living        

1259
01:00:40,219 --> 01:00:43,514
      in a country that's so prone   
        to killing that they...      

1260
01:00:43,556 --> 01:00:46,017
          that a man of peace        
        and kindness and of love     

1261
01:00:46,059 --> 01:00:49,479
      like Dr. Martin Luther King    
        can die a violent death,     

1262
01:00:49,520 --> 01:00:52,357
           hated by Americans        

1263
01:00:52,398 --> 01:00:56,069
   while our generals of the army   
       is loved in big parades      

1264
01:00:56,110 --> 01:00:57,695
        and standing ovation.       

1265
01:00:57,737 --> 01:01:01,449
   That's the mess you youngsters   
        is fixing to inherit.       

1266
01:01:01,491 --> 01:01:03,284
                                   

1267
01:01:03,326 --> 01:01:07,038
        When you asked me to be      
      nonviolent in Mississippi...   

1268
01:01:07,080 --> 01:01:09,374
                                   

1269
01:01:09,415 --> 01:01:14,545
       ...or go to Vietnam and be    
      so violent, I can be a hero,   

1270
01:01:14,587 --> 01:01:17,632
        to someone that's never      
           smacked my mother,        

1271
01:01:17,674 --> 01:01:21,219
        to someone that's never      
         insulted my children.       

1272
01:01:21,260 --> 01:01:23,721
           You know, America,        

1273
01:01:23,763 --> 01:01:25,973
           you're gonna have         
           to stop expecting         

1274
01:01:26,015 --> 01:01:29,143
        Black folks to be better     
               than them.            

1275
01:01:29,185 --> 01:01:34,232
                                   

1276
01:01:34,273 --> 01:01:36,567
     I didn't know what I could do   
          to protest strongly        

1277
01:01:36,609 --> 01:01:39,904
          the war in Vietnam,        

1278
01:01:39,946 --> 01:01:43,449
      and I thought that if I did    
             a 40-day fast,          

1279
01:01:43,491 --> 01:01:44,742
      it come dramatize the issue    

1280
01:01:44,784 --> 01:01:46,411
       better than any other way     
                I knew.              

1281
01:01:46,452 --> 01:01:48,037
          funk rock music         

1282
01:01:48,079 --> 01:01:50,248
            [male reporter]          
       The White House announced     

1283
01:01:50,289 --> 01:01:52,917
       that another 50,000 troops    
       would be sent to Vietnam,     

1284
01:01:52,959 --> 01:01:55,086
           bringing the total        
       to nearly half a million.     

1285
01:01:55,128 --> 01:01:58,923
        That call probably broke     
         into a weeklong series      

1286
01:01:58,965 --> 01:02:01,134
            of increasingly          
         bloody demonstrations.      

1287
01:02:01,175 --> 01:02:02,510
        The draft week continued     
                today...             

1288
01:02:02,552 --> 01:02:06,848
     1968 really was a unique year. 

1289
01:02:06,889 --> 01:02:09,934
      Some historians have said     
   it was like a second civil war. 

1290
01:02:09,976 --> 01:02:12,520
        The fight for freedom       
      and to end all communism.     

1291
01:02:12,562 --> 01:02:14,689
        And these punks here        
           walking around,          

1292
01:02:14,731 --> 01:02:17,442
    that's what you call anarchy    
            and treason.            

1293
01:02:17,483 --> 01:02:20,778
           For the first time        
          in American history,       

1294
01:02:20,820 --> 01:02:24,449
        there was a very serious     
           anti-war movement.        

1295
01:02:24,490 --> 01:02:28,786
      I'm just sad you young folks   
       don't tie up and paralyze     

1296
01:02:28,828 --> 01:02:31,122
       every city in America,       
       because there should be      

1297
01:02:31,164 --> 01:02:34,459
        no order of business        
       in this country anymore      

1298
01:02:34,500 --> 01:02:36,419
          but the business          
           that's at hand.          

1299
01:02:36,461 --> 01:02:39,297
     Yes, I'm determined to set     
    an example as an individual,    

1300
01:02:39,338 --> 01:02:41,424
    American, lawfully protesting   

1301
01:02:41,466 --> 01:02:43,801
       against my government's      
             involvement            

1302
01:02:43,843 --> 01:02:45,762
       in the war on Vietnam,       
         and we're probably         

1303
01:02:45,803 --> 01:02:48,681
   the only country in the world,   
         uh, that's overfed,        

1304
01:02:48,723 --> 01:02:51,684
     and I think the fact of...     
      of someone in our society     

1305
01:02:51,726 --> 01:02:53,311
            as we know it           
        withdrawing from food       

1306
01:02:53,352 --> 01:02:54,854
   from Thanksgiving to Christmas, 

1307
01:02:54,896 --> 01:02:57,190
       I think this will have       
        a tremendous effect.        

1308
01:02:57,231 --> 01:02:59,776
      I don't know anything that I   
     ever did in the whole movement 

1309
01:02:59,817 --> 01:03:03,780
 that got as much press reaction   
          as that 40-day fast.       

1310
01:03:03,821 --> 01:03:08,826
             [applause]             

1311
01:03:12,580 --> 01:03:14,248
         [applause subsides]        

1312
01:03:14,290 --> 01:03:17,126
             [laughter]             

1313
01:03:17,168 --> 01:03:20,004
                                   

1314
01:03:20,046 --> 01:03:22,173
       You know, this is my...      
            my 14th month           

1315
01:03:22,215 --> 01:03:26,302
   of not eating any solid food in 
   protest of the war in Vietnam,   

1316
01:03:26,344 --> 01:03:30,139
 and the reason I mention that to 
   you now is because I'm hungry.   

1317
01:03:30,181 --> 01:03:31,641
             [laughter]             

1318
01:03:31,682 --> 01:03:34,519
        What do you have now        
       in the course of a day?      

1319
01:03:34,560 --> 01:03:36,938
     Uh, fruit juice and water.     
 I travel with a juicing machine, 

1320
01:03:36,979 --> 01:03:38,481
         not to be mixed up         
           with a blender.          

1321
01:03:38,523 --> 01:03:41,651
    This is where you put it in,    
     and it extracts the juice.     

1322
01:03:41,692 --> 01:03:44,111
       Sends the juice one way      
      and the pulp go another.      

1323
01:03:44,153 --> 01:03:45,613
        You really feel well?       
          Still feel well?          

1324
01:03:45,655 --> 01:03:47,031
   I really...I really feel good,   
                yeah.               

1325
01:03:47,073 --> 01:03:51,160
     I go through little periods    
        of...of...of hunger.        

1326
01:03:51,202 --> 01:03:52,495
           Do you dream of          
      cheesecake or anything--      

1327
01:03:52,537 --> 01:03:54,539
      Man, I dream of dog food.     

1328
01:03:54,580 --> 01:03:57,208
             [laughter]             

1329
01:03:57,250 --> 01:03:58,751
            - [applause]            
            - Cheesecake.           

1330
01:03:58,793 --> 01:04:04,715
         Eight ounces of water,      
          eight glasses a day.       

1331
01:04:04,757 --> 01:04:07,009
   You're starving yourself. Why?   

1332
01:04:07,051 --> 01:04:10,388
    And he said, "Because what'll   
   happen is people will ask you,   

1333
01:04:10,429 --> 01:04:14,183
      'Why aren't you eating?'      
     And then once they ask you,    

1334
01:04:14,225 --> 01:04:19,063
   you now get to explain to them   
      what the issue is about."     

1335
01:04:19,105 --> 01:04:22,900
     The United States Constitution 
          talks about justice,       

1336
01:04:22,942 --> 01:04:25,528
          and I think that          
      we're being shortchanged      

1337
01:04:25,570 --> 01:04:27,530
     because everybody's worried    
          about communism.          

1338
01:04:27,572 --> 01:04:29,740
       If America could become      
            as frightened           

1339
01:04:29,782 --> 01:04:34,078
     of things like injustices      
      as she is of communism,       

1340
01:04:34,120 --> 01:04:36,747
           and wipe it out          
        with all of the vigor       

1341
01:04:36,789 --> 01:04:38,416
           she's trying to          
         wipe out communism,        

1342
01:04:38,457 --> 01:04:40,251
   this would be a groovy country, 

1343
01:04:40,293 --> 01:04:45,423
      and that in itself would be    
           the greatest goal         

1344
01:04:45,464 --> 01:04:48,885
      in the history of communism.   

1345
01:04:48,926 --> 01:04:51,095
         You don't use the fast      
          to change the minds        

1346
01:04:51,137 --> 01:04:54,682
 or hearts of tyrants or to make   
        bad people good people,      

1347
01:04:54,724 --> 01:04:56,934
     but to create a positive force 

1348
01:04:56,976 --> 01:05:00,021
      where other positive forces    
               can join,             

1349
01:05:00,062 --> 01:05:02,607
         and eventually things       
              will change.           

1350
01:05:02,648 --> 01:05:03,482
      When he first said that,      
              you know,             

1351
01:05:03,524 --> 01:05:05,484
    he was going on a long fast,    

1352
01:05:05,526 --> 01:05:07,695
       I really thought he was      
           out of his mind          

1353
01:05:07,737 --> 01:05:11,908
      just to go that long, uh,     
           without eating.          

1354
01:05:11,949 --> 01:05:14,493
     And then when I would see him, 
        I would see how he was,      

1355
01:05:14,535 --> 01:05:15,995
        you know, losing weight.     

1356
01:05:16,037 --> 01:05:19,332
      [Dick] I weighed 288 pounds    
            when it started,         

1357
01:05:19,373 --> 01:05:21,542
      98 pounds when it finished.    

1358
01:05:21,584 --> 01:05:25,087
         - How's everybody?         
        - [man] How are you?        

1359
01:05:25,129 --> 01:05:27,506
         Do we need to test,        
    check for levels, everybody?    

1360
01:05:27,548 --> 01:05:29,926
   Testing one, two, three, four.   

1361
01:05:29,967 --> 01:05:32,219
   [man] Do you think this gesture 
             is futile?             

1362
01:05:32,261 --> 01:05:34,555
     Do you think it will really    
     bring about what you want?     

1363
01:05:34,597 --> 01:05:37,642
     I think if enough pressure     
             comes down,            

1364
01:05:37,683 --> 01:05:39,894
       uh, in the money areas,      

1365
01:05:39,936 --> 01:05:42,229
        I think it will have        
         a profound effect.         

1366
01:05:42,271 --> 01:05:44,315
    I didn't expect a tremendous    
       amount of college kids       

1367
01:05:44,357 --> 01:05:46,817
         to go on and fast.         

1368
01:05:46,859 --> 01:05:48,402
         Uh, matter of fact,        
        I've had to intercede       

1369
01:05:48,444 --> 01:05:51,489
        and get' em come off        
      because they wanted to go     

1370
01:05:51,530 --> 01:05:53,658
       for long, long periods.      

1371
01:05:53,699 --> 01:05:55,618
          Uh, word of mouth         
       had really carried it.       

1372
01:05:55,660 --> 01:05:57,411
       It's really surprising.      

1373
01:05:57,453 --> 01:06:00,247
   [man] You think this will have   
 a lasting effect on your health? 

1374
01:06:00,289 --> 01:06:03,125
           - On my health?          
               - Yeah.              

1375
01:06:03,167 --> 01:06:05,169
            I don't know.           
     I don't have any...no idea.    

1376
01:06:05,211 --> 01:06:06,253
         [man] Are you under        
       a doctor's care at all?      

1377
01:06:06,295 --> 01:06:07,922
                 No.                

1378
01:06:07,964 --> 01:06:11,342
         Brother Dick also did       
      a tremendous amount of harm    

1379
01:06:11,384 --> 01:06:13,678
       to his body, not being       
     reckless and irresponsible,    

1380
01:06:13,719 --> 01:06:16,889
     but really prepared to die     
          for the movement,         

1381
01:06:16,931 --> 01:06:22,561
       and he just didn't know      
    how belated that fatal aspect   

1382
01:06:22,603 --> 01:06:24,814
        of what he was doing        
          was going to be.          

1383
01:06:24,855 --> 01:06:27,108
                                   

1384
01:06:27,149 --> 01:06:28,734
       [Dick] The minute you say     
             go on a fast,           

1385
01:06:28,776 --> 01:06:34,240
            they wanna know,         
     "Did you check with a doctor?" 

1386
01:06:34,281 --> 01:06:35,908
      See, people don't check with   
     a doctor when they snort coke. 

1387
01:06:35,950 --> 01:06:37,493
 People don't check with a doctor 
        when they smoke reefers.     

1388
01:06:37,535 --> 01:06:39,495
 People don't check with a doctor 
      when they smoke cigarettes.    

1389
01:06:39,537 --> 01:06:43,708
                                   

1390
01:06:43,749 --> 01:06:46,335
        As long as I was smoking     
     four packs of cigarettes a day 

1391
01:06:46,377 --> 01:06:48,462
     or drinking a fifth of Scotch   
               every day,            

1392
01:06:48,504 --> 01:06:52,967
 nobody worried about how I felt. 

1393
01:06:53,009 --> 01:06:57,304
       A lady named Dr. Fulton--     
        she basically taught me      

1394
01:06:57,346 --> 01:07:00,933
          what to look out for       
      and how much water to drink.   

1395
01:07:00,975 --> 01:07:05,396
     My success in fasting would be 
         thanks to Dr. Fulton.       

1396
01:07:05,438 --> 01:07:09,608
       The greatest nutritionist     
     in the history of the planet.   

1397
01:07:09,650 --> 01:07:14,655
       She had that special magic    
       of putting herbs together,    

1398
01:07:14,697 --> 01:07:17,283
         plus the prayer piece.      

1399
01:07:17,324 --> 01:07:21,996
     I have not run across anybody   
             like her yet.           

1400
01:07:22,038 --> 01:07:26,042
        [Bellamy] Dr. Fulton had     
 a health food store in Chicago.   

1401
01:07:26,083 --> 01:07:29,462
        She explained to him        
    that you need to do something   

1402
01:07:29,503 --> 01:07:32,381
   that's going to leave a legacy, 

1403
01:07:32,423 --> 01:07:35,384
   and it's important that you get 
         your   health together.       

1404
01:07:35,426 --> 01:07:40,222
     [Dick] And we just talked and   
     talked and talked and talked,   

1405
01:07:40,264 --> 01:07:43,059
       and the next thing I know,    
         my whole life changed.      

1406
01:07:43,100 --> 01:07:44,977
                                   

1407
01:07:45,019 --> 01:07:47,396
      To smoke four to five packs    
          of cigarettes a day,       

1408
01:07:47,438 --> 01:07:49,440
      I started smoking when I was   
             13 years old,           

1409
01:07:49,482 --> 01:07:50,941
      and I smoked all the way up    
           to six months ago,        

1410
01:07:50,983 --> 01:07:53,402
     and I'll tell you why I quit.   

1411
01:07:53,444 --> 01:07:56,363
             [applause]             

1412
01:07:56,405 --> 01:07:58,240
           I did my homework,        
            and I looked up,         

1413
01:07:58,282 --> 01:08:00,367
       and I found out every time    
     I bought a pack of cigarettes, 

1414
01:08:00,409 --> 01:08:02,995
         I gave the government       
            eight cents tax,         

1415
01:08:03,037 --> 01:08:04,622
      and at the end of the year,    
         the cigarette industry      

1416
01:08:04,663 --> 01:08:06,248
          gave the government        
            $2 billion more,         

1417
01:08:06,290 --> 01:08:09,251
      and at that point, I decided   
        I will not catch cancer      

1418
01:08:09,293 --> 01:08:13,589
        and buy napalm and mace      
           at the same time.         

1419
01:08:13,631 --> 01:08:17,009
             [applause]             

1420
01:08:17,051 --> 01:08:19,220
                                   

1421
01:08:19,261 --> 01:08:23,557
 I really never understood hunger 
        until I went on a fast.      

1422
01:08:23,599 --> 01:08:26,435
     When I look at television,     
    I see a dog food commercial.    

1423
01:08:26,477 --> 01:08:29,647
     And I wanted some, and then    
     after I came off the fast,     

1424
01:08:29,688 --> 01:08:31,398
         I started checking,        

1425
01:08:31,440 --> 01:08:34,235
      and in St. Louis, Missouri,    
        they sell more dog food      

1426
01:08:34,276 --> 01:08:36,570
             in the stores           
          next to the projects       

1427
01:08:36,612 --> 01:08:38,989
        where the people are not     
        permitted to have dogs.      

1428
01:08:39,031 --> 01:08:40,366
        And for the first time,      
              I was aware            

1429
01:08:40,407 --> 01:08:42,535
          that how many people       
          was eating dog food.       

1430
01:08:42,576 --> 01:08:45,079
     And so consequently, when you   
     start looking at these things, 

1431
01:08:45,121 --> 01:08:47,331
      and then for the first time,   
          I started realizing,       

1432
01:08:47,373 --> 01:08:50,584
          you know, what crime       
      in the street is all about.    

1433
01:08:50,626 --> 01:08:52,586
         [Christian] My father       
        was profoundly impacted      

1434
01:08:52,628 --> 01:08:54,421
           by the nonviolence        
     of the civil rights movement.   

1435
01:08:54,463 --> 01:08:56,841
         That's what led to him      
           being a vegetarian        

1436
01:08:56,882 --> 01:08:58,175
    and then ultimately a vegan.    

1437
01:08:58,217 --> 01:09:01,011
      He figured, "If I am not      
       gonna harm another man,      

1438
01:09:01,053 --> 01:09:04,390
 I'm gonna give that same respect 
      to other living things."      

1439
01:09:04,431 --> 01:09:06,433
        The number one force        

1440
01:09:06,475 --> 01:09:10,646
         on this here thing         
     called planet Earth is us,     

1441
01:09:10,688 --> 01:09:14,900
       human, real, and one of      
    the things we need to survive   

1442
01:09:14,942 --> 01:09:18,320
    is what they call whole food.   

1443
01:09:18,362 --> 01:09:21,407
    We sort of take diet culture    
   as, like, that's just something 

1444
01:09:21,448 --> 01:09:23,033
       that we all do or we...      
            or, you know,           

1445
01:09:23,075 --> 01:09:25,244
    now I'm gonna eat vegetarian    
              or vegan.             

1446
01:09:25,286 --> 01:09:27,037
              But none              
      of that's happening then.     

1447
01:09:27,079 --> 01:09:28,747
    He was way ahead of his time    
              in that,              

1448
01:09:28,789 --> 01:09:31,083
   as far as, like, thinking about 
     what you put into your body    

1449
01:09:31,125 --> 01:09:32,835
   and how it helps you long-term. 

1450
01:09:32,877 --> 01:09:35,921
          poignant music          

1451
01:09:35,963 --> 01:09:38,132
              [Dick] I had           
         to get out of Chicago.      

1452
01:09:38,174 --> 01:09:43,137
                                   

1453
01:09:43,179 --> 01:09:46,140
       Be where the air was pure     

1454
01:09:46,182 --> 01:09:49,143
         and, uh, where you had      
      some room to move around in.   

1455
01:09:49,185 --> 01:09:54,273
                                   

1456
01:09:54,315 --> 01:09:56,525
            Close to nature.         

1457
01:09:56,567 --> 01:09:59,153
                                   

1458
01:09:59,195 --> 01:10:01,655
      So Lill got out the hospital   
          with baby number 10,       

1459
01:10:01,697 --> 01:10:04,909
      and we packed up everything,   
      and I wanted to find a place   

1460
01:10:04,950 --> 01:10:10,664
     where the children could have   
       fresh air and clean water.    

1461
01:10:10,706 --> 01:10:13,584
   My first reaction, I looked out 
         and saw this water.        

1462
01:10:13,626 --> 01:10:15,586
     I said, oh, God, the...all     
    my children are gonna drown.    

1463
01:10:15,628 --> 01:10:17,254
              [laughs]              

1464
01:10:17,296 --> 01:10:20,591
     It seemed like that road was,   
          like, 20 miles long,       

1465
01:10:20,633 --> 01:10:23,594
       and I said, wait a minute.    
           You mean the kids         

1466
01:10:23,636 --> 01:10:26,555
   that are school age, they gotta 
      go up and down   that   road?     

1467
01:10:26,597 --> 01:10:29,058
      It just seemed like we were    
       in the middle of nowhere.     

1468
01:10:29,099 --> 01:10:33,270
        I probably was in tears      
               every day.            

1469
01:10:33,312 --> 01:10:38,108
     Take a family of 10 Black kids 
        from, you know, Chicago,     

1470
01:10:38,150 --> 01:10:39,735
             and move them           
      to Plymouth, Massachusetts,    

1471
01:10:39,777 --> 01:10:43,614
      and I joke with people often   
       that when we moved in '73,    

1472
01:10:43,656 --> 01:10:46,617
        we integrated the town.      

1473
01:10:46,659 --> 01:10:49,286
        First day of school,        
      you know, the teacher...      

1474
01:10:49,328 --> 01:10:52,498
    "Uh, Gregory Greg?" One name,   
        and, you know, all...       

1475
01:10:52,539 --> 01:10:53,791
           all eyes on me.          

1476
01:10:53,832 --> 01:10:56,919
         We hated it at first,       
         but as we grew older,       

1477
01:10:56,961 --> 01:10:59,630
     man, what a...what a blessing   
           it was, you know?         

1478
01:10:59,672 --> 01:11:04,385
    After a while, just suddenly,   
       I fell in love with it.      

1479
01:11:04,426 --> 01:11:08,973
                                   

1480
01:11:09,014 --> 01:11:11,600
        [Dick] There's something     
             about nature.           

1481
01:11:11,642 --> 01:11:14,937
 There's something about outside. 

1482
01:11:14,979 --> 01:11:19,108
       It changed my whole life.     

1483
01:11:19,149 --> 01:11:22,820
        It gave me a new energy.     

1484
01:11:22,861 --> 01:11:25,322
     One of my small daughters,     
      I said, "Hey, come here."     

1485
01:11:25,364 --> 01:11:27,741
         And she walked up.         
    She said, "What do you want?"   

1486
01:11:27,783 --> 01:11:30,077
    I said, "Give me some sugar."   
        And she looked at me.       

1487
01:11:30,119 --> 01:11:31,787
      She said, "What's that?"      

1488
01:11:31,829 --> 01:11:33,330
            - [laughter]            
             - Oh, wow.             

1489
01:11:33,372 --> 01:11:34,748
         We never had sugar         
            in the house.           

1490
01:11:34,790 --> 01:11:36,292
            That's great.           

1491
01:11:36,333 --> 01:11:38,627
        [Christian] We had this      
        extreme diet of veganism     

1492
01:11:38,669 --> 01:11:40,713
         where not only was it       
          no animal products,        

1493
01:11:40,754 --> 01:11:43,841
           it was, you know,         
 no white flour, no white sugar,   

1494
01:11:43,882 --> 01:11:45,551
            no fried foods.          

1495
01:11:45,592 --> 01:11:47,678
      Couldn't eat what we wanted,   
            stuff, you know,         

1496
01:11:47,720 --> 01:11:50,514
        folks were hiding things     
          in different places,       

1497
01:11:50,556 --> 01:11:52,683
         and all I knew is that      
          when Dad came home,        

1498
01:11:52,725 --> 01:11:55,185
     a lot of stuff got shut down.   

1499
01:11:55,227 --> 01:11:57,688
         I remember one day,        
        they got a pizza that       

1500
01:11:57,730 --> 01:11:59,815
   they weren't supposed to have.   

1501
01:11:59,857 --> 01:12:04,153
      He got a chain and put it     
       around the refrigerator      

1502
01:12:04,194 --> 01:12:06,322
       and says, "When you get      
      the food that is supposed     

1503
01:12:06,363 --> 01:12:09,992
     to be in this refrigerator,    
      I'll take the lock off."      

1504
01:12:10,034 --> 01:12:12,536
     And that lasted three days.    

1505
01:12:12,578 --> 01:12:14,455
      [Frost] There's all the talk   
       of divorce today and of...    

1506
01:12:14,496 --> 01:12:16,040
       of love that doesn't last     
               and so on.            

1507
01:12:16,081 --> 01:12:18,542
           Does it seem like         
         a foreign land to you?      

1508
01:12:18,584 --> 01:12:20,502
     No, I feel...I feel strange    
          talking about it          

1509
01:12:20,544 --> 01:12:22,171
         'cause I'm not home        
          most of the time.         

1510
01:12:22,212 --> 01:12:25,883
     [Lillian] He was always gone.   
 He was gone out of the country.   

1511
01:12:25,924 --> 01:12:28,177
        One of the kids said,       
   "Oh. Like, you're a stranger."   

1512
01:12:28,218 --> 01:12:32,056
       [laughs] And he didn't       
        take that very well.        

1513
01:12:32,097 --> 01:12:33,849
          By his admission,         
        he was probably gone        

1514
01:12:33,891 --> 01:12:37,353
         from the homestead         
          90% of the time.          

1515
01:12:37,394 --> 01:12:40,731
       I think to a great extent,    
              Dick Gregory           

1516
01:12:40,773 --> 01:12:45,569
       struggled with the effort     
           to mix his family         

1517
01:12:45,611 --> 01:12:48,530
         and his responsibility      
              as a citizen           

1518
01:12:48,572 --> 01:12:50,366
        and to the civil rights      
               movement.             

1519
01:12:50,407 --> 01:12:52,451
     I think he didn't know how     
         to do it sometimes.        

1520
01:12:52,493 --> 01:12:56,955
                                   

1521
01:12:56,997 --> 01:13:01,168
       Lill imbued in the kids      
          an understanding          

1522
01:13:01,210 --> 01:13:04,713
          that their father         
          was really being          

1523
01:13:04,755 --> 01:13:07,466
     a father to the world also.    

1524
01:13:07,508 --> 01:13:09,968
       [Lillian] It was a family     
             where you knew          

1525
01:13:10,010 --> 01:13:11,553
     you were doing something good. 

1526
01:13:11,595 --> 01:13:13,430
        You were doing something     
             for the cause,          

1527
01:13:13,472 --> 01:13:16,683
     and even though he was gone    
           more than not,           

1528
01:13:16,725 --> 01:13:18,602
      he had enough faith in me     
   to know that I could take care   

1529
01:13:18,644 --> 01:13:20,354
       of everything at home.       

1530
01:13:20,396 --> 01:13:24,024
       [Christian] The farm that     
         us Gregorys grew up on      

1531
01:13:24,066 --> 01:13:27,236
      in Plymouth, Massachusetts,    
      was called Tower Hill Farm.    

1532
01:13:27,277 --> 01:13:30,114
      Tower Hill Farm was a lot of   
     things for the Gregory family. 

1533
01:13:30,155 --> 01:13:32,449
           But for my father,        
          it was his workshop.       

1534
01:13:32,491 --> 01:13:35,953
       It was where he formulated    
            his 4X Formula.          

1535
01:13:35,994 --> 01:13:40,040
           The 4X Formula was        
       a combination of vitamins     

1536
01:13:40,082 --> 01:13:42,459
             and nutrients,          
          ground into a powder       

1537
01:13:42,501 --> 01:13:45,921
      that you would scoop and mix   
          with water or juice.       

1538
01:13:45,963 --> 01:13:48,465
   We would go to whatever health   
     food store was in the city.    

1539
01:13:48,507 --> 01:13:51,468
    He spent about $2,000, $3,000   
            on vitamins,            

1540
01:13:51,510 --> 01:13:53,595
          and he would make         
          individual packs,         

1541
01:13:53,637 --> 01:13:55,305
           and he would be up        
     all night long in the kitchen, 

1542
01:13:55,347 --> 01:13:58,308
        just making pill packs.      

1543
01:13:58,350 --> 01:14:02,604
     It was a secret concoction     
           of ingredients           

1544
01:14:02,646 --> 01:14:04,440
          that Dick Gregory         
          had put together,         

1545
01:14:04,481 --> 01:14:07,860
       and any individual that      
    he found had a health issue,    

1546
01:14:07,901 --> 01:14:10,487
         he would literally put      
          his formula together       

1547
01:14:10,529 --> 01:14:13,073
      and send it to him for free.   

1548
01:14:13,115 --> 01:14:16,577
          Greg played a...          
       a very important role,       

1549
01:14:16,618 --> 01:14:20,330
          as told by Yoko Ono        
          in finding a formula       

1550
01:14:20,372 --> 01:14:24,835
            to get both she          
     and John Lennon off of drugs.   

1551
01:14:24,877 --> 01:14:26,795
              [Christian]            
       My dad and Michael Jackson    

1552
01:14:26,837 --> 01:14:28,964
         flew over to Ethiopia       
           during the famine         

1553
01:14:29,006 --> 01:14:31,967
         and were able to save       
          hundreds of infants        

1554
01:14:32,009 --> 01:14:35,846
     by bringing that product over   
 and paying the money theirselves 

1555
01:14:35,888 --> 01:14:37,514
           to distribute it.         

1556
01:14:37,556 --> 01:14:40,684
     He influenced individuals,     
   not just in the United States,   

1557
01:14:40,726 --> 01:14:42,352
            but globally,           

1558
01:14:42,394 --> 01:14:46,523
     people start drinking water    

1559
01:14:46,565 --> 01:14:49,109
      because of Dick Gregory,      
    because when he said to them,   

1560
01:14:49,151 --> 01:14:50,944
         that no matter what        
            your disease,           

1561
01:14:50,986 --> 01:14:52,529
    no matter what your ailment,    

1562
01:14:52,571 --> 01:14:56,200
           no matter what           
    your health challenge may be,   

1563
01:14:56,241 --> 01:14:57,951
        if you just increase        
         your water intake,         

1564
01:14:57,993 --> 01:15:00,037
       you will find yourself       
             improving.             

1565
01:15:00,078 --> 01:15:01,580
     That made sense to people.     

1566
01:15:01,622 --> 01:15:03,499
      And so around the world,      
           millions of us           

1567
01:15:03,540 --> 01:15:05,876
          started consuming         
       large amounts of water       

1568
01:15:05,918 --> 01:15:07,961
 for the first time in our lives. 

1569
01:15:08,003 --> 01:15:10,964
     We're talking about people     
         starving right now.        

1570
01:15:11,006 --> 01:15:12,216
     We're talking about a world    

1571
01:15:12,257 --> 01:15:15,052
            where there's           
       a half a billion people      

1572
01:15:15,093 --> 01:15:17,221
         that could be dead         
           from starvation          

1573
01:15:17,262 --> 01:15:20,557
       in the next six months,      
        and I'm just insulted       

1574
01:15:20,599 --> 01:15:24,436
 living in a nation that can send 
       tanks around the world       

1575
01:15:24,478 --> 01:15:25,854
       but can't send turnips,      

1576
01:15:25,896 --> 01:15:28,607
   that can supply the whole world 
            with napalm,            

1577
01:15:28,649 --> 01:15:30,150
         but not fertilizer.        

1578
01:15:30,192 --> 01:15:34,905
        rhythmic drum music       

1579
01:15:34,947 --> 01:15:39,826
                                   

1580
01:15:39,868 --> 01:15:42,871
           I ran from Chicago        
          to Washington, D.C.,       

1581
01:15:42,913 --> 01:15:45,541
            drinking nothing         
     but orange juice, fruit juice, 

1582
01:15:45,582 --> 01:15:47,584
       and taking this solution,     

1583
01:15:47,626 --> 01:15:49,920
 which the base of it being kelp, 
     k-e-l-p, which is seaweed,     

1584
01:15:49,962 --> 01:15:53,215
      which is 70 million tons      
    laying off the Indian Ocean.    

1585
01:15:53,257 --> 01:15:57,761
      One heaping tablespoon full    
        were to keep you alive.      

1586
01:15:57,803 --> 01:16:01,306
       We can produce this now      
   at five cents a day per person. 

1587
01:16:01,348 --> 01:16:05,269
     [indistinct conversations]     

1588
01:16:05,310 --> 01:16:08,939
      We're not gonna tolerate      
          living in a world         

1589
01:16:08,981 --> 01:16:13,026
      where millions of people      
     gon' die for lack of food.     

1590
01:16:13,068 --> 01:16:14,319
    This is what it's all about.    

1591
01:16:14,361 --> 01:16:17,990
          When he was running        
          across the country,        

1592
01:16:18,031 --> 01:16:20,534
        he was telling the press     
           and telling anyone        

1593
01:16:20,576 --> 01:16:23,453
           that would listen         
           that this country         

1594
01:16:23,495 --> 01:16:27,374
         is going to experience      
           a serious epidemic        

1595
01:16:27,416 --> 01:16:31,336
         in obesity, diabetes,       
          high blood pressure,       

1596
01:16:31,378 --> 01:16:33,839
      and all kinds of illnesses.    

1597
01:16:33,880 --> 01:16:37,634
     The newest stunt was gonna be   
          a cross-country run.       

1598
01:16:37,676 --> 01:16:39,761
         [Dick] We're gonna run      
           from New York City        

1599
01:16:39,803 --> 01:16:43,098
             all away cross          
      to Los Angeles, California,    

1600
01:16:43,140 --> 01:16:46,310
            to dramatize            
         that there's a need        

1601
01:16:46,351 --> 01:16:49,271
    for all the major governments   
               to deal              

1602
01:16:49,313 --> 01:16:50,981
       with the hungry people       
            in the world            

1603
01:16:51,023 --> 01:16:52,065
     and that this food do work.    

1604
01:16:52,107 --> 01:16:54,651
                                   

1605
01:16:54,693 --> 01:16:57,070
        [Christian] He got wind      
          that a schoolteacher       

1606
01:16:57,112 --> 01:16:58,572
      by the name of Gordon Brooks   

1607
01:16:58,614 --> 01:17:00,407
     had already mapped out a route 

1608
01:17:00,449 --> 01:17:02,200
            and was planning         
         to do the same thing.       

1609
01:17:02,242 --> 01:17:06,705
      He called me up and said,     
    "Hey, brother, how you doing?   

1610
01:17:06,747 --> 01:17:09,416
 I want you to coordinate my run   
        from L.A. to New York,"      

1611
01:17:09,458 --> 01:17:12,878
         and I went, "Okay."        

1612
01:17:12,919 --> 01:17:17,507
      Yeah, I got to spend, like,    
     four or five months with him,   

1613
01:17:17,549 --> 01:17:19,509
      and he kept me cracked up     
            all the time.           

1614
01:17:19,551 --> 01:17:21,345
              [laughs]              

1615
01:17:21,386 --> 01:17:22,596
      Sometimes, we'd have to hop    
               in the van            

1616
01:17:22,638 --> 01:17:25,515
       and get to a media event,     

1617
01:17:25,557 --> 01:17:28,644
         because he was trying       
          to raise awareness.        

1618
01:17:28,685 --> 01:17:30,896
    John Doe citizens should not    
          have to go around         

1619
01:17:30,937 --> 01:17:33,815
      running across countries      
       to feed hungry people.       

1620
01:17:33,857 --> 01:17:39,404
      He was always trying to test   
      the public, test the media.    

1621
01:17:39,446 --> 01:17:43,075
 Nobody believed he could do it.   

1622
01:17:43,116 --> 01:17:48,955
       And he did it, basically,     
            on a total fast.         

1623
01:17:48,997 --> 01:17:51,875
        That was the scary part.     

1624
01:17:51,917 --> 01:17:54,878
                                   

1625
01:17:59,383 --> 01:18:01,468
                 [Dick]              
 We're averaging 50 miles a day,   

1626
01:18:01,510 --> 01:18:03,762
        which is the equivalent      
        of two marathons a day.      

1627
01:18:03,804 --> 01:18:06,098
                                   

1628
01:18:06,139 --> 01:18:10,268
       Pain going through my body    
       that it's hard to believe     

1629
01:18:10,310 --> 01:18:13,563
 that the human body could take.   

1630
01:18:13,605 --> 01:18:18,318
         [Brooks] The pain that      
     Dick Gregory was going through 

1631
01:18:18,360 --> 01:18:22,447
       was beyond comprehension.     

1632
01:18:22,489 --> 01:18:23,990
         They don't call it         
     Hells Canyon for anything.     

1633
01:18:24,032 --> 01:18:25,826
              It was hell.           

1634
01:18:25,867 --> 01:18:30,455
      [Bellamy] The blisters that    
       he would get on his feet,     

1635
01:18:30,497 --> 01:18:32,290
 the tiredness, how tired he was, 

1636
01:18:32,332 --> 01:18:34,793
           but he would say,         
            "I gotta do it."         

1637
01:18:34,835 --> 01:18:37,170
              We'd wake up           
      the next morning. He'd say,    

1638
01:18:37,212 --> 01:18:38,130
         "Let's go to work."        

1639
01:18:38,171 --> 01:18:42,426
                                   

1640
01:18:42,467 --> 01:18:45,595
 He gets to New Mexico, roughly,   

1641
01:18:45,637 --> 01:18:49,683
      calls me and said, "Jack...    

1642
01:18:49,725 --> 01:18:52,602
           we're not getting         
          the press we need."        

1643
01:18:52,644 --> 01:18:54,396
                                   

1644
01:18:54,438 --> 01:18:58,942
      "You have to go out and see    
         Muhammad Ali tonight."      

1645
01:18:58,984 --> 01:19:03,447
     Said, "Mr. Ali, we need you    
   in our run across the country." 

1646
01:19:03,488 --> 01:19:05,949
          Ali said, "You know        
        I'm the greatest fighter     

1647
01:19:05,991 --> 01:19:07,868
 in the world. I'm gonna destroy   
         Jimmy Young tonight?"       

1648
01:19:07,909 --> 01:19:10,078
        Uh, yes, sir. Yes, sir.      

1649
01:19:10,120 --> 01:19:13,039
        "I'm gonna pee blood for     
 two weeks, pay for this myself,   

1650
01:19:13,081 --> 01:19:15,292
 and you want me to go out there, 
       run in that damn desert?"     

1651
01:19:15,333 --> 01:19:18,086
           Yes, sir, I do.          

1652
01:19:18,128 --> 01:19:19,463
               "Okay!"              

1653
01:19:19,504 --> 01:19:21,089
            [crowd shouting]         

1654
01:19:21,131 --> 01:19:23,925
     Here he is, the heavyweight    
     champion, leaving no doubt.    

1655
01:19:23,967 --> 01:19:26,470
   I must say that Dick Gregory's   
            a great man.            

1656
01:19:26,511 --> 01:19:27,804
            He's running            
        from coast to coast,        

1657
01:19:27,846 --> 01:19:29,890
         putting an emphasis        
        on the food problem.        

1658
01:19:29,931 --> 01:19:33,393
       He's now about 20 miles      
       out of Wichita, Kansas,      

1659
01:19:33,435 --> 01:19:35,187
           on Highway 54.           
      I wanna say hello to him.     

1660
01:19:35,228 --> 01:19:40,609
            funk music            

1661
01:19:40,650 --> 01:19:42,319
                                   

1662
01:19:42,360 --> 01:19:45,781
       It was for the nation.       
   It was because Dick called him, 

1663
01:19:45,822 --> 01:19:48,033
   just like Dr. King called Dick. 

1664
01:19:48,074 --> 01:19:50,744
          They felt something        
          inside of themselves       

1665
01:19:50,786 --> 01:19:52,329
           that was important        
             to the nation,          

1666
01:19:52,370 --> 01:19:53,747
        important to the world.      

1667
01:19:53,789 --> 01:19:56,541
                                   

1668
01:19:56,583 --> 01:19:59,669
       [Ayanna] Running initially    
             was a way out.          

1669
01:19:59,711 --> 01:20:04,174
             Later in life,          
      running, just like fasting,    

1670
01:20:04,216 --> 01:20:06,676
      was a way of protesting.      

1671
01:20:06,718 --> 01:20:10,347
               He ran for            
      activism against apartheid.    

1672
01:20:10,388 --> 01:20:14,851
      He ran for Native Americans.   
           He ran for women.         

1673
01:20:14,893 --> 01:20:17,020
                                   

1674
01:20:17,062 --> 01:20:18,647
                His time             
     in the civil rights movement,   

1675
01:20:18,688 --> 01:20:21,691
      he learned that there is      
        no more humane thing        

1676
01:20:21,733 --> 01:20:24,027
          than to take care         
   of your health and well-being,   

1677
01:20:24,069 --> 01:20:26,446
            and that led            
      to the natural transition     

1678
01:20:26,488 --> 01:20:29,866
   of him becoming an advocate of   
 healthy living and clean living. 

1679
01:20:29,908 --> 01:20:34,704
        He decided at that time      
        that health and wellness     

1680
01:20:34,746 --> 01:20:36,373
           was right up there        
             with activism.          

1681
01:20:36,414 --> 01:20:40,210
      Somewhere way, way, way down   
           was entertainment.        

1682
01:20:40,252 --> 01:20:42,087
        [Dick] I saw a conflict      
        in saying to young folks     

1683
01:20:42,128 --> 01:20:44,589
     that drugs and alcohol is bad   
       than coming to a nightclub    

1684
01:20:44,631 --> 01:20:46,258
       and catching my act, and--    

1685
01:20:46,299 --> 01:20:47,342
          [Cathy] Where people       
       were smoking and drinking.    

1686
01:20:47,384 --> 01:20:49,052
              [Dick] Yeah.           

1687
01:20:49,094 --> 01:20:51,930
 [man] And then all of a sudden,   
         he called me and said,      

1688
01:20:51,972 --> 01:20:54,975
 I'm not gonna do any more dates   
             at nightclubs.          

1689
01:20:59,062 --> 01:21:01,898
     As many of you no doubt know,   

1690
01:21:01,940 --> 01:21:07,362
         this is a very special      
           and historic night        

1691
01:21:07,404 --> 01:21:09,322
 in the history of show business   

1692
01:21:09,364 --> 01:21:14,244
 and in the almost legendary life 
            of Dick Gregory.         

1693
01:21:14,286 --> 01:21:19,541
 His final nightclub performance. 

1694
01:21:19,583 --> 01:21:22,252
         No man has given more,      
              asked less,            

1695
01:21:22,294 --> 01:21:24,713
          or been more needed.       

1696
01:21:24,754 --> 01:21:27,090
     As you go on to other service, 

1697
01:21:27,132 --> 01:21:30,385
              we thank you           
         and dedicate ourselves      

1698
01:21:30,427 --> 01:21:35,765
 to returning your gifts in kind   
      to your chosen beneficiary.    

1699
01:21:35,807 --> 01:21:37,934
                Mankind.             

1700
01:21:37,976 --> 01:21:43,398
               [applause]            

1701
01:21:43,440 --> 01:21:48,236
     [Dick] Why am I giving it up?   
        Well, I'll tell you why.     

1702
01:21:48,278 --> 01:21:53,241
         I will be 41 years old      
          this coming October,       

1703
01:21:53,283 --> 01:21:56,328
             and thanks to           
       the civil rights movement,    

1704
01:21:56,369 --> 01:21:59,164
      thanks to the peace movement   
      and all the beautiful people   

1705
01:21:59,205 --> 01:22:01,917
           I was able to meet        
       because of my involvement     

1706
01:22:01,958 --> 01:22:06,963
         on a worldwide level,       
         at 41-years-old-to-be,      

1707
01:22:07,005 --> 01:22:09,257
        I know now that there is     
           a universal force         

1708
01:22:09,299 --> 01:22:10,759
     that controls the whole thing. 

1709
01:22:10,800 --> 01:22:13,303
          You call it anything       
           you wanna call it.        

1710
01:22:13,345 --> 01:22:17,057
     One day it's gonna balance out 
          all of our ledgers,        

1711
01:22:17,098 --> 01:22:18,600
           and it's gonna be         
           a simple question.        

1712
01:22:18,642 --> 01:22:21,394
          Not "How much money        
     did you make? Were you funny?   

1713
01:22:21,436 --> 01:22:23,396
           Did they like you?        
         Were you a celebrity?       

1714
01:22:23,438 --> 01:22:24,981
          Who was your mother?       
          Who was your father?       

1715
01:22:25,023 --> 01:22:26,274
          Where did you live?        
       What school did you go to?    

1716
01:22:26,316 --> 01:22:27,734
       Where'd you send your kids    
              to school?"            

1717
01:22:27,776 --> 01:22:29,152
 Well, here's one simple question 

1718
01:22:29,194 --> 01:22:31,780
      that all of us are going to    
           have to deal with.        

1719
01:22:31,821 --> 01:22:35,492
     How much service did you give   
      to your fellow human beings?   

1720
01:22:35,533 --> 01:22:37,577
            Just that simple         
          and just that sweet.       

1721
01:22:37,619 --> 01:22:38,995
              [woman] Yes.           

1722
01:22:39,037 --> 01:22:44,042
               [applause]            

1723
01:22:45,710 --> 01:22:46,962
    You may remember Dick Gregory   

1724
01:22:47,003 --> 01:22:49,673
      as the hip, acid-tongued      
         nightclub comedian         

1725
01:22:49,714 --> 01:22:51,675
          of the '60s whose         
      outspoken political views     

1726
01:22:51,716 --> 01:22:54,386
         so rankled the FBI         
        that an internal memo       

1727
01:22:54,427 --> 01:22:57,847
        called him demented,        
    or you might remember him as    

1728
01:22:57,889 --> 01:22:59,891
      the civil rights activist     
        or the man who fasted       

1729
01:22:59,933 --> 01:23:03,687
        for nearly two years        
     to protest the Vietnam War,    

1730
01:23:03,728 --> 01:23:05,939
             or the man             
       who has devoted himself      

1731
01:23:05,981 --> 01:23:08,108
    to stamping out world hunger.   

1732
01:23:08,149 --> 01:23:11,653
      At 57, his life has been      
       more chaotic than calm,      

1733
01:23:11,695 --> 01:23:13,154
   but he says that's what happens 

1734
01:23:13,196 --> 01:23:15,699
       when you walk the path       
            he's chosen.            

1735
01:23:15,740 --> 01:23:20,996
                                   

1736
01:23:22,706 --> 01:23:27,127
     [Dick] The number one problem   
         that we're confronted       

1737
01:23:27,168 --> 01:23:30,338
          with today is diet,        
            uh, the poisons,         

1738
01:23:30,380 --> 01:23:32,132
             the additives           
          that's in the food,        

1739
01:23:32,173 --> 01:23:34,884
        the vitamins it destroys     
 when it's cooked or it's frozen. 

1740
01:23:34,926 --> 01:23:36,970
                                   

1741
01:23:37,012 --> 01:23:42,058
   My goals is to...to really help 
        change the priorities       

1742
01:23:42,100 --> 01:23:46,813
    in this country, that I could   
   change the whole food industry. 

1743
01:23:46,855 --> 01:23:49,524
            Because I think          
           that this nation,         

1744
01:23:49,566 --> 01:23:52,444
     will never be a great nation,   
     will never be a strong nation. 

1745
01:23:52,485 --> 01:23:56,531
       Great nation is not a gun     
       or a bomb or an Air Force.    

1746
01:23:56,573 --> 01:23:59,451
     This great nation is a nation   
     that has the healthiest people 

1747
01:23:59,492 --> 01:24:02,287
        mentally and physically.     

1748
01:24:02,328 --> 01:24:06,374
   Oh, we've been eating bad shit   
       for hundreds of years.       

1749
01:24:06,416 --> 01:24:08,460
 You know, there's no whole foods 
            in the hood.            

1750
01:24:08,501 --> 01:24:10,211
      There's very few choices,     

1751
01:24:10,253 --> 01:24:12,630
            and the fact            
       that he took nutrition,      

1752
01:24:12,672 --> 01:24:14,966
              it's one              
      of the most basic things      

1753
01:24:15,008 --> 01:24:17,802
       to improve the quality       
         of someone's life.         

1754
01:24:17,844 --> 01:24:20,305
         I told him. I said,        
      "Greg, you have come down     

1755
01:24:20,346 --> 01:24:22,432
       from almost 300 pounds.      

1756
01:24:22,474 --> 01:24:26,102
         You need to find a way      
       to convert the 4X Formula     

1757
01:24:26,144 --> 01:24:29,230
             into a diet            
     and take it to the market."    

1758
01:24:29,272 --> 01:24:31,858
        He said, "I don't...        
    I don't know how to do that."   

1759
01:24:31,900 --> 01:24:34,110
           [man] Dick Gregory        
         for the Bahamian Diet.      

1760
01:24:34,152 --> 01:24:35,612
           The problem is           
         you're overweight.         

1761
01:24:35,653 --> 01:24:37,363
       Whether it's 10 pounds       
           or 150 pounds,           

1762
01:24:37,405 --> 01:24:40,241
        hey, I've been there,       
     and the solution is simple.    

1763
01:24:40,283 --> 01:24:41,576
         The Bahamian Diet.         

1764
01:24:41,618 --> 01:24:43,119
       You can do it. I know.       

1765
01:24:43,161 --> 01:24:45,288
          I've been there,          
        and it ain't pretty.        

1766
01:24:45,330 --> 01:24:48,083
                                   

1767
01:24:48,124 --> 01:24:52,295
    We were able to find someone    
          that assisted him         

1768
01:24:52,337 --> 01:24:56,466
     with the finalizing formula    
      for 4X, Dr. David Allen.      

1769
01:24:56,508 --> 01:24:59,969
     And Dr. Allen took the product 
        and started marketing it     

1770
01:25:00,011 --> 01:25:03,056
       to multi-level marketing.     

1771
01:25:03,098 --> 01:25:08,853
         When the Bahamian Diet      
        came to market in 1984,      

1772
01:25:08,895 --> 01:25:12,398
      we did about $113 million     
              in sales              

1773
01:25:12,440 --> 01:25:14,192
    in a two-year period of time.   

1774
01:25:14,234 --> 01:25:17,529
 He was concerned about nutrition 
           for poor people          

1775
01:25:17,570 --> 01:25:19,155
   and Black people in particular. 

1776
01:25:19,197 --> 01:25:21,116
     It's like we were poisoning    
             ourselves.             

1777
01:25:21,157 --> 01:25:23,368
                [Sykes]              
       That was killing us, too.     

1778
01:25:23,409 --> 01:25:25,495
          High blood pressure,       
         diabetes, all of that.      

1779
01:25:25,537 --> 01:25:29,666
      So I think he was pushing     
        nutrition another way       

1780
01:25:29,707 --> 01:25:32,085
     to try to help his people.     

1781
01:25:32,127 --> 01:25:33,962
       And it was so popular,       
              you know?             

1782
01:25:34,003 --> 01:25:36,172
       I mean, everybody was,       
    "You on that Bahamian Diet?"    

1783
01:25:36,214 --> 01:25:38,925
     You know, whenever you see     
        somebody lose weight,       

1784
01:25:38,967 --> 01:25:40,426
   "Oh, you on that Dick Gregory." 

1785
01:25:40,468 --> 01:25:43,012
        Hey, now, fix me some       
        of that Dick Gregory.       

1786
01:25:43,054 --> 01:25:44,681
 At that point, if you're talking 
         about diet culture         

1787
01:25:44,722 --> 01:25:46,516
          or food culture,          

1788
01:25:46,558 --> 01:25:48,351
        anything that's about       
   taking better care of yourself   

1789
01:25:48,393 --> 01:25:50,270
       is white people talking      
          to white people.          

1790
01:25:50,311 --> 01:25:52,522
       So to have a Black man       
            who's saying,           

1791
01:25:52,564 --> 01:25:54,440
    "We need to take better care    
            of ourselves,           

1792
01:25:54,482 --> 01:25:55,942
        and we need to do it        
           for ourselves,"          

1793
01:25:55,984 --> 01:25:57,485
     like, he's not recommending    
          you go to, like,          

1794
01:25:57,527 --> 01:25:58,653
     a white product and do it.     

1795
01:25:58,695 --> 01:26:00,405
            He's saying,            
     "We can do this ourselves."    

1796
01:26:00,446 --> 01:26:02,365
    That's the revolutionary idea   
              in there.             

1797
01:26:02,407 --> 01:26:04,534
                 [Dick]              
       There's a new economic arm    

1798
01:26:04,576 --> 01:26:06,411
     to the civil rights movement.   

1799
01:26:06,452 --> 01:26:07,871
       The Black neighborhood is     

1800
01:26:07,912 --> 01:26:09,622
         the only neighborhood       
      you can come in in America,    

1801
01:26:09,664 --> 01:26:13,793
       and someone's selling the     
     product other than that group, 

1802
01:26:13,835 --> 01:26:18,590
     and so we saying that when we   
          sell to one another        

1803
01:26:18,631 --> 01:26:22,010
      and open up our businesses,    
       that money changes hands,     

1804
01:26:22,051 --> 01:26:24,262
              and it stays           
          in the neighborhood        

1805
01:26:24,304 --> 01:26:26,514
              and you see            
        the whole piece change.      

1806
01:26:26,556 --> 01:26:30,268
       And if they can bring dope    
       and cigarettes, caffeine,     

1807
01:26:30,310 --> 01:26:32,395
     and nicotine to your doorstep, 

1808
01:26:32,437 --> 01:26:34,898
      then we want to bring health   
           to your doorstep.         

1809
01:26:34,939 --> 01:26:36,983
          That's the greatest        
         welfare system I know,      

1810
01:26:37,025 --> 01:26:38,610
          is entrepreneurship.       

1811
01:26:38,651 --> 01:26:40,695
              - How so?             
        - We businesspeople,        

1812
01:26:40,737 --> 01:26:43,823
   we can go and buy all the booze 
       we wanna buy for lunch,      

1813
01:26:43,865 --> 01:26:46,159
        and a welfare mother        
         would have trouble         

1814
01:26:46,201 --> 01:26:47,827
   trying to get free apple juice   
           for the babies.          

1815
01:26:47,869 --> 01:26:49,204
        It's just so insane.        

1816
01:26:49,245 --> 01:26:53,583
           I started getting         
          so many phone calls        

1817
01:26:53,625 --> 01:26:54,918
 from people crying out for help. 

1818
01:26:54,959 --> 01:26:56,669
         People said, you know,      

1819
01:26:56,711 --> 01:26:59,005
          "I'm thinking about        
          committing suicide."       

1820
01:26:59,047 --> 01:27:01,758
          dramatic music          

1821
01:27:01,799 --> 01:27:05,470
        Walter Hudson was a man      
       in Long Island, New York,     

1822
01:27:05,511 --> 01:27:08,431
 who was over a thousand pounds.   

1823
01:27:10,391 --> 01:27:12,685
        He had actually tripped      
                and fell             

1824
01:27:12,727 --> 01:27:16,522
     and got wedged in the doorway   
          between his bedroom        

1825
01:27:16,564 --> 01:27:19,234
           and his bathroom.         

1826
01:27:19,275 --> 01:27:23,112
      It took eight rescue workers   
               four hours            

1827
01:27:23,154 --> 01:27:26,407
 to get him out of that doorway,   

1828
01:27:26,449 --> 01:27:29,535
       and it made such big news     
            in Long Island,          

1829
01:27:29,577 --> 01:27:32,705
      that it caught the attention   
            of Dick Gregory.         

1830
01:27:32,747 --> 01:27:35,291
           [Dick] And we were        
      on "The Phil Donahue Show."    

1831
01:27:35,333 --> 01:27:38,336
      Eliminate all the sugar,      
         uh, all the bread.         

1832
01:27:38,378 --> 01:27:41,631
      The most important thing,     
 he was drinking almost no water. 

1833
01:27:41,673 --> 01:27:43,258
    Uh, he was drinking soda pop.   

1834
01:27:43,299 --> 01:27:46,803
    We've increased his water now   
     to about 12 glasses a day.     

1835
01:27:46,844 --> 01:27:49,973
    We'll eventually move that up   
        to 16 glasses a day.        

1836
01:27:50,014 --> 01:27:52,392
       He was under house arrest.    
      He will eat no cooked food,    

1837
01:27:52,433 --> 01:27:54,894
           no animal product,        
           no dairy product,         

1838
01:27:54,936 --> 01:27:56,145
        no white refined sugar,      

1839
01:27:56,187 --> 01:27:57,647
          no bread, no butter,       
               no cheese.            

1840
01:27:57,689 --> 01:27:59,315
    And...and we're gonna do it.    

1841
01:27:59,357 --> 01:28:00,733
      [reporter] But for a man who   
         hasn't left the house       

1842
01:28:00,775 --> 01:28:02,235
         but once in 27 years,       

1843
01:28:02,277 --> 01:28:04,696
     content until his recent fall   
             to lie in bed           

1844
01:28:04,737 --> 01:28:07,699
          watching television,       
     reading the Bible, and eating, 

1845
01:28:07,740 --> 01:28:09,367
         it's an enormous task.      

1846
01:28:09,409 --> 01:28:11,869
     [Dick] You know, there's a lot 
         of people out there...      

1847
01:28:11,911 --> 01:28:12,996
           - [Hudson] I know.        
          - ...that love you.        

1848
01:28:13,037 --> 01:28:14,372
         [Hudson] Yes, I know.       

1849
01:28:14,414 --> 01:28:16,666
          [Dick] You wanna say       
            anything to 'em?         

1850
01:28:16,708 --> 01:28:18,167
 [Hudson] Well, I wanna tell them 
        that I haven't given up.     

1851
01:28:18,209 --> 01:28:19,752
              I have hope,           
           and I believe that        

1852
01:28:19,794 --> 01:28:21,921
            I'm gonna do it.         

1853
01:28:21,963 --> 01:28:24,382
        I will lose that weight.     

1854
01:28:24,424 --> 01:28:25,883
            [male reporter]          
         In just three months,       

1855
01:28:25,925 --> 01:28:28,720
          he lost 300 pounds.        

1856
01:28:28,761 --> 01:28:32,307
       But his biggest lost came     
             the first time          

1857
01:28:32,348 --> 01:28:33,766
      he tried to leave his house.   

1858
01:28:33,808 --> 01:28:36,311
 [Dick] Next move was to get him   
           out of that house         

1859
01:28:36,352 --> 01:28:37,645
       and take him to a facility    

1860
01:28:37,687 --> 01:28:39,355
         where we could get him      
             in the ocean.           

1861
01:28:39,397 --> 01:28:41,482
            [male reporter]          
        On that day in February,     

1862
01:28:41,524 --> 01:28:43,276
        with the world watching,     

1863
01:28:43,318 --> 01:28:45,903
             Walter refused          
            to walk outside.         

1864
01:28:45,945 --> 01:28:48,740
       So Dick Gregory walked out    
                on him.              

1865
01:28:48,781 --> 01:28:51,701
   Energy-wise and nutrition-wise, 
             he's ready.            

1866
01:28:51,743 --> 01:28:54,537
     The psychological problem,     
         we can't deal with.        

1867
01:28:54,579 --> 01:28:57,206
     Do you feel you are letting    
            people down?            

1868
01:28:57,248 --> 01:28:59,667
     No, because I figure that,     
              you know,             

1869
01:28:59,709 --> 01:29:04,339
   I'm still going on with my diet 
     so I haven't let them down.    

1870
01:29:04,380 --> 01:29:07,175
       I feel that, you know,       
       that they'll know that,      

1871
01:29:07,216 --> 01:29:08,843
      and I figure further down     
              the road,             

1872
01:29:08,885 --> 01:29:10,011
   when they see me more thinner,   

1873
01:29:10,053 --> 01:29:12,889
            they'll know            
       that I didn't give up.       

1874
01:29:14,265 --> 01:29:18,353
        [Dick] Two years later,      
            he passed away.          

1875
01:29:18,394 --> 01:29:22,231
           I can't help him.         
       I didn't know what to do,     

1876
01:29:22,273 --> 01:29:25,485
         and I really felt bad       
               about it.             

1877
01:29:28,613 --> 01:29:31,032
            [waves lapping]          

1878
01:29:31,074 --> 01:29:34,744
             I decided that          
        if I could take a group      

1879
01:29:34,786 --> 01:29:39,207
 and could really dramatize them   
             on the press,           

1880
01:29:39,248 --> 01:29:42,460
        then maybe we could wake     
        America's conscience up.     

1881
01:29:42,502 --> 01:29:44,420
          This is gonna be          
    the first breathing exercise.   

1882
01:29:44,462 --> 01:29:46,297
           So move it in.           

1883
01:29:46,339 --> 01:29:49,425
         [Bellamy] We opened up      
       a facility in the Bahamas     

1884
01:29:49,467 --> 01:29:51,677
         called Dick Gregory's       
             Health Resort,          

1885
01:29:51,719 --> 01:29:54,931
     and it just began to blossom.   
           It began to grow.         

1886
01:29:54,972 --> 01:29:56,349
            - I love who?           
              - Myself!             

1887
01:29:56,391 --> 01:29:58,351
             - I love who?          
              - Myself!             

1888
01:29:58,393 --> 01:30:00,103
            - I love who?           
              - Myself!             

1889
01:30:00,144 --> 01:30:01,437
          [Dick] Most doctors        
           and most hospitals        

1890
01:30:01,479 --> 01:30:03,523
         don't know what to do       
        with the morbidly obese,     

1891
01:30:03,564 --> 01:30:06,442
       and yet there's 34 million    
            Americans obese.         

1892
01:30:06,484 --> 01:30:08,194
          There's 100 million        
           that's overweight.        

1893
01:30:08,236 --> 01:30:10,113
               - 301.               
               - 301!               

1894
01:30:10,154 --> 01:30:12,031
        [cheers and applause]       

1895
01:30:12,073 --> 01:30:14,367
            Some of the guys         
        hadn't seen their feet,      

1896
01:30:14,409 --> 01:30:16,035
         you know, standing up.      

1897
01:30:16,077 --> 01:30:19,789
      They hadn't seen collarbones   
       in their bodies in years,     

1898
01:30:19,831 --> 01:30:22,458
 things that we take for granted. 

1899
01:30:22,500 --> 01:30:27,463
     We were able to effect change   
        in...in people's lives.      

1900
01:30:27,505 --> 01:30:30,466
     [male reporter] And last year, 
      he sold the franchise rights   

1901
01:30:30,508 --> 01:30:34,470
 for his Slim Safe Bahamian Diet   
      for a reported $30 million.    

1902
01:30:34,512 --> 01:30:38,766
      Do you think people would     
    find it somewhat of a paradox   

1903
01:30:38,808 --> 01:30:41,519
      to...to see a man who is      
          such an activist,         

1904
01:30:41,561 --> 01:30:44,814
   who has so long been connected   
         with so many cause,        

1905
01:30:44,856 --> 01:30:46,190
      to be such a wealthy man?     

1906
01:30:46,232 --> 01:30:49,152
          No, well, I think         
    you'd probably be surprised,    

1907
01:30:49,193 --> 01:30:51,320
     but I've always made money.    

1908
01:30:51,362 --> 01:30:55,158
 [Sykes] When Dick Gregory became 
           this entrepreneur         

1909
01:30:55,199 --> 01:30:59,537
        with the Bahamian Diet,      
     I don't remember anyone saying 

1910
01:30:59,579 --> 01:31:02,623
     that he was a sellout or...    
    or was disappointed with him,   

1911
01:31:02,665 --> 01:31:06,127
   as, "Hey, this is a good idea," 
              you know?             

1912
01:31:06,169 --> 01:31:07,420
           At least it was          
         something positive.        

1913
01:31:07,462 --> 01:31:09,172
    It's not like he was selling,   
              you know,             

1914
01:31:09,213 --> 01:31:11,340
      Dick Gregory Cigarettes.      

1915
01:31:11,382 --> 01:31:13,926
              [Christian]            
         My father, as somebody      

1916
01:31:13,968 --> 01:31:15,178
       who came from very little,    

1917
01:31:15,219 --> 01:31:17,346
       had very little attachment    
               to money.             

1918
01:31:17,388 --> 01:31:19,682
             If he had it,           
        he was going to use it,      

1919
01:31:19,724 --> 01:31:22,351
     and he was using it to advance 
       something for the better.     

1920
01:31:22,393 --> 01:31:23,519
            [male reporter]          
        But we're talking about      

1921
01:31:23,561 --> 01:31:25,021
         millions and millions       
            of dollars here.         

1922
01:31:25,062 --> 01:31:27,440
      [Dick] No, I don't think so.   
           I mean, I'm sure.         

1923
01:31:27,482 --> 01:31:30,443
      I'm sure they're shocked      
 because--not shocked because of, 

1924
01:31:30,485 --> 01:31:32,987
         I don't act the way        
      you think wealthy people      

1925
01:31:33,029 --> 01:31:34,489
        are supposed to act.        

1926
01:31:34,530 --> 01:31:36,866
               [Yohance]             
         What his net value was      

1927
01:31:36,908 --> 01:31:40,703
               was never             
 even remotely important to him.   

1928
01:31:40,745 --> 01:31:44,832
 And so when you don't keep your   
     eye on that financial needle,   

1929
01:31:44,874 --> 01:31:48,169
       yeah, things can go wrong.    

1930
01:31:48,211 --> 01:31:52,924
           somber music           

1931
01:31:52,965 --> 01:31:58,179
                                   

1932
01:31:58,221 --> 01:32:00,973
         - Tried your diet.         
            - I love it.            

1933
01:32:01,015 --> 01:32:04,227
            - Thank you.            
      - All right. Fine. Okay.      

1934
01:32:04,268 --> 01:32:09,315
       He was a great entertainer    
      and a very poor businessman.   

1935
01:32:09,357 --> 01:32:12,026
           He did not end up         
             in a situation          

1936
01:32:12,068 --> 01:32:15,321
        where much of the money      
         flowed to him at all.       

1937
01:32:15,363 --> 01:32:17,573
                                   

1938
01:32:17,615 --> 01:32:20,076
 [Christian] It became an inside   
       fight between Dick Gregory    

1939
01:32:20,117 --> 01:32:22,578
           and his partners.         

1940
01:32:22,620 --> 01:32:26,832
                                   

1941
01:32:26,874 --> 01:32:30,086
        They felt as though Dick     
      was spending too much money    

1942
01:32:30,127 --> 01:32:34,674
        in these desires to have     
      a facility and other things    

1943
01:32:34,715 --> 01:32:37,385
         he wanted to do versus      
        what they wanted to do,      

1944
01:32:37,426 --> 01:32:40,221
        was just basically move      
        and distribute product.      

1945
01:32:40,263 --> 01:32:42,682
         Two different sides        
        of the executive team       

1946
01:32:42,723 --> 01:32:46,727
 sued each other, and it wound up 
          in federal court.         

1947
01:32:46,769 --> 01:32:50,106
              The facility           
          in Fort Walton Beach       

1948
01:32:50,147 --> 01:32:52,692
           ultimately closed.        

1949
01:32:56,487 --> 01:32:58,614
          It ended very badly        

1950
01:32:58,656 --> 01:33:00,533
       with over $2 million worth    
            of his royalties         

1951
01:33:00,575 --> 01:33:04,829
         were tied up in court       
        that he couldn't access.     

1952
01:33:04,870 --> 01:33:09,333
         Bankruptcy really was       
            the only option.         

1953
01:33:10,710 --> 01:33:15,047
           [birds calling]          

1954
01:33:15,089 --> 01:33:17,508
     I got a call from him one day, 
              and he said,           

1955
01:33:17,550 --> 01:33:20,595
      "Doctor, it's gonna be bad.    
          It's gonna be bad,"        

1956
01:33:20,636 --> 01:33:21,804
     and I said, "What do you mean? 

1957
01:33:21,846 --> 01:33:24,807
                He said,             
      "Well, I'm at the point now    

1958
01:33:24,849 --> 01:33:27,727
     where I will no longer be able 
       to pay my life insurance.     

1959
01:33:27,768 --> 01:33:32,815
        I will no longer be able     
         to protect my family."      

1960
01:33:40,865 --> 01:33:42,825
              [Christian]            
       It wasn't long after that     

1961
01:33:42,867 --> 01:33:47,413
           before we started         
            to lose things.          

1962
01:33:52,710 --> 01:33:55,630
 And it was just me and my mother 
            and my daughter          

1963
01:33:55,671 --> 01:33:58,299
       living there at the time,     

1964
01:33:58,341 --> 01:34:00,176
       and I see these big trucks    
                outside,             

1965
01:34:00,217 --> 01:34:02,219
          and I'm like, "Mom?"       

1966
01:34:02,261 --> 01:34:04,430
           somber music           

1967
01:34:04,472 --> 01:34:05,389
           [Lillian] Oh, God,        
        it was a terrible time.      

1968
01:34:05,431 --> 01:34:07,099
      It was just a terrible time,   

1969
01:34:07,141 --> 01:34:11,979
        and it all just sort of      
          happened in a blur.        

1970
01:34:12,021 --> 01:34:14,732
     [Christian] We lost the farm,   
            Tower Hill Farm,         

1971
01:34:14,774 --> 01:34:16,984
            it was a fixture         
            for us Gregorys,         

1972
01:34:17,026 --> 01:34:20,613
              was no more.           

1973
01:34:20,655 --> 01:34:25,868
                                   

1974
01:34:34,043 --> 01:34:36,045
         I was at Morgan State       
             at that time,           

1975
01:34:36,087 --> 01:34:38,464
          and I just remember        
          getting a call that        

1976
01:34:38,506 --> 01:34:39,715
        we had lost the farm        

1977
01:34:39,757 --> 01:34:44,553
         and that everything        
         got taken offsite.         

1978
01:34:44,595 --> 01:34:47,723
      The lien holder had secured    
           a company to come         

1979
01:34:47,765 --> 01:34:51,811
 and move everything and move it   
        into their storage unit.     

1980
01:34:51,852 --> 01:34:55,398
         I never knew for sure,      
        except I knew every time     

1981
01:34:55,439 --> 01:35:00,277
   I needed to reach him directly, 
    there wasn't really a phone.    

1982
01:35:00,319 --> 01:35:01,779
      There was no home phone.      

1983
01:35:01,821 --> 01:35:05,783
    I could call Lill or I could    
       call his son Christian,      

1984
01:35:05,825 --> 01:35:08,077
           but I kinda sensed        

1985
01:35:08,119 --> 01:35:11,997
           that he was living        
          from place to place.       

1986
01:35:12,039 --> 01:35:15,793
     [Dick] I didn't know that I'd   
 have a Rolls-Royce repossessed,   

1987
01:35:15,835 --> 01:35:21,465
 that I'd be put out of my house   
 with worldwide television there, 

1988
01:35:21,507 --> 01:35:24,635
           and I didn't care.        

1989
01:35:24,677 --> 01:35:27,430
       [woman] Did he wish he was    
          still a millionaire?       

1990
01:35:27,471 --> 01:35:30,182
            I'm sure he did,         

1991
01:35:30,224 --> 01:35:35,104
       but I think what he really    
           would have missed,        

1992
01:35:35,146 --> 01:35:38,357
     if someone said, "You are not   
         Dick Gregory anymore.       

1993
01:35:38,399 --> 01:35:41,360
     What you say does not matter," 

1994
01:35:41,402 --> 01:35:43,946
         that would have broke       
              his spirit.            

1995
01:35:43,988 --> 01:35:47,074
     There's a whole generation     
       that grew up listening       

1996
01:35:47,116 --> 01:35:48,743
          to Dick Gregory.          

1997
01:35:48,784 --> 01:35:53,622
   And I don't know that you have   
        the visibility today        

1998
01:35:53,664 --> 01:35:55,541
        that you had before.        
           - No, I don't.           

1999
01:35:56,834 --> 01:36:02,047
                                   

2000
01:36:04,091 --> 01:36:07,970
            One day, I went          
        into this huge showroom.     

2001
01:36:08,012 --> 01:36:09,930
                                    

2002
01:36:09,972 --> 01:36:14,602
            Did my whole act         
        to an empty auditorium.      

2003
01:36:14,643 --> 01:36:19,523
         I just went in and did      
             my whole act.           

2004
01:36:19,565 --> 01:36:22,067
        I don't know why I did.      

2005
01:36:22,109 --> 01:36:24,153
                                   

2006
01:36:24,195 --> 01:36:28,949
          Ooh, it was painful.       
      I mean, painful 'cause why?    

2007
01:36:28,991 --> 01:36:30,951
            Ain't no laughs.         

2008
01:36:30,993 --> 01:36:35,080
        When you're doing humor      
        or doing entertainment,      

2009
01:36:35,122 --> 01:36:38,459
       you depend on human beings    
               to react,             

2010
01:36:38,501 --> 01:36:41,670
          and if you don't get       
             that reaction,          

2011
01:36:41,712 --> 01:36:44,173
           then your rhythm,         
         your juice don't flow.      

2012
01:36:44,215 --> 01:36:45,925
                                   

2013
01:36:45,966 --> 01:36:49,178
       That made me have respect     
             for hecklers.           

2014
01:36:49,220 --> 01:36:52,348
      You know, I would rather be    
      in a room full of hecklers,    

2015
01:36:52,389 --> 01:36:55,851
 try to do my act than in a room   
           with nobody in it.        

2016
01:36:55,893 --> 01:36:59,855
                                   

2017
01:37:03,901 --> 01:37:06,529
       Next up, we are honored      
      to have a world-renowned      

2018
01:37:06,570 --> 01:37:08,739
        civil rights activist       
          and nutritionist          

2019
01:37:08,781 --> 01:37:11,075
        who allowed me to eat       
         his pre-roast meat,        

2020
01:37:11,116 --> 01:37:12,493
       and I appreciate that.       

2021
01:37:12,535 --> 01:37:16,163
           Please welcome           
     the very old Dick Gregory.     

2022
01:37:16,205 --> 01:37:17,957
        [cheers and applause]       

2023
01:37:17,998 --> 01:37:19,542
     [Schneider] I met Dick Gregory 
      at the roast of Hugh Hefner.   

2024
01:37:19,583 --> 01:37:22,127
            After I met him,         
          I knew he was funny,       

2025
01:37:22,169 --> 01:37:25,464
     and I...I remembered I went    
      like, "I gotta hire him."     

2026
01:37:25,506 --> 01:37:28,133
      So I asked him if he wanted    
       to be in one of my movies.    

2027
01:37:28,175 --> 01:37:30,928
         And I said, "It's a...      
          It's a silly movie."       

2028
01:37:30,970 --> 01:37:33,889
          Movie was called          
      "The Hot Chick." [laughs]     

2029
01:37:33,931 --> 01:37:36,851
     I wanted Dick to come in there 
           and have some fun.        

2030
01:37:36,892 --> 01:37:39,895
          He got it instantly.       
           He just nailed it.        

2031
01:37:39,937 --> 01:37:41,355
     - You got to hold on to it.    
                - Oh!               

2032
01:37:41,397 --> 01:37:44,608
      Not too tight, but enough     
    to let it know you the boss.    

2033
01:37:44,650 --> 01:37:47,069
            - [grunting]            
     - Remember, if you shake it    

2034
01:37:47,111 --> 01:37:49,154
          more than twice,          
       you're playing with it.      

2035
01:37:49,196 --> 01:37:50,906
              [grunts]              

2036
01:37:50,948 --> 01:37:53,826
         If you know funny,         
       you don't ever lose it.      

2037
01:37:53,868 --> 01:37:55,369
      You...you always know it.     

2038
01:37:55,411 --> 01:37:57,037
         And then, 'cause like       
      a month later, I got a call,   

2039
01:37:57,079 --> 01:38:00,749
              and he said,           
     "Because of that movie I did,   

2040
01:38:00,791 --> 01:38:03,878
         I got health insurance      
              for Lillian,           

2041
01:38:03,919 --> 01:38:07,214
      and, uh, she broke her arm,    
              and she, uh,           

2042
01:38:07,256 --> 01:38:08,799
           we got insurance,         
       paid for the whole thing,     

2043
01:38:08,841 --> 01:38:10,885
       so thank you, my brother."    

2044
01:38:10,926 --> 01:38:15,514
            I didn't know           
      he didn't have insurance.     

2045
01:38:15,556 --> 01:38:17,892
     [indistinct conversations]     

2046
01:38:17,933 --> 01:38:20,436
     [Christian] We all get older.   
       We all have a life cycle,     

2047
01:38:20,477 --> 01:38:23,355
 and you know, it doesn't matter   
       how legendary you may be,     

2048
01:38:23,397 --> 01:38:25,107
             aging's aging.          

2049
01:38:25,149 --> 01:38:27,610
                                   

2050
01:38:27,651 --> 01:38:30,404
     He called me up, and he said,   

2051
01:38:30,446 --> 01:38:34,533
      "Hey, hey, doc, I've been     
      walking around this hotel     

2052
01:38:34,575 --> 01:38:38,829
           for 20 minutes           
       looking for my kitchen,      

2053
01:38:38,871 --> 01:38:42,082
        and it took that long       
       before it dawned on me       

2054
01:38:42,124 --> 01:38:43,500
        that I wasn't home."        

2055
01:38:43,542 --> 01:38:49,006
         He had early onset         
           of Alzheimer's.          

2056
01:38:49,048 --> 01:38:51,550
       That was the first time      
        that I started to see       

2057
01:38:51,592 --> 01:38:53,385
     the anger kind of rise up.     

2058
01:38:53,427 --> 01:38:54,803
     What you say? See, you keep    
          looking for shit.         

2059
01:38:54,845 --> 01:38:57,306
      But I'm not understanding     
         what the difference        

2060
01:38:57,348 --> 01:38:58,766
    of your search and my search.   

2061
01:38:58,807 --> 01:39:00,309
        You ain't supposed to       
       understand. It's money.      

2062
01:39:00,351 --> 01:39:02,102
           Fucking money.           

2063
01:39:02,144 --> 01:39:04,438
      I was a former assistant      

2064
01:39:04,480 --> 01:39:08,776
    and manager of Dick Gregory.    

2065
01:39:08,817 --> 01:39:10,945
      [laughs] Man, Mr. Gregory     
    cursed me out so many times,    

2066
01:39:10,986 --> 01:39:12,571
   and I got fired so many times,   

2067
01:39:12,613 --> 01:39:17,034
          and then rehired          
        in the same sentence.       

2068
01:39:17,076 --> 01:39:18,869
       You know, he cursed out      
             everybody.             

2069
01:39:18,911 --> 01:39:20,704
 I seen him curse out Kevin Hart. 

2070
01:39:20,746 --> 01:39:23,624
                                   

2071
01:39:23,666 --> 01:39:25,167
           [Hart] Nick Cannon        
          was in the hospital.       

2072
01:39:25,209 --> 01:39:28,295
         Dick Gregory was there      
       when I showed up to visit,    

2073
01:39:28,337 --> 01:39:30,673
   and he started cussing me out.   

2074
01:39:30,714 --> 01:39:32,925
    "You better put your money in   
 the Black financial institution, 

2075
01:39:32,967 --> 01:39:35,302
      you stupid motherfucker."     
              [laughs]              

2076
01:39:35,344 --> 01:39:37,930
     He...He would cuss at you,     
       and it was aggressive,       

2077
01:39:37,972 --> 01:39:40,140
   but you still had to understand 
         that he meant well.        

2078
01:39:40,182 --> 01:39:42,142
    You try to speak out of turn    
     when Mr. Gregory's talking,    

2079
01:39:42,184 --> 01:39:44,645
     you don't care who you are     
         or what's going on.        

2080
01:39:44,687 --> 01:39:46,313
      He gon' let you have it.      

2081
01:39:46,355 --> 01:39:48,983
    On one hand, he's one of the    
 greatest comedians to ever live. 

2082
01:39:49,024 --> 01:39:50,985
         On the other hand,         
         can't stop talking.        

2083
01:39:51,026 --> 01:39:53,696
       He had a little briefcase     
               with him.             

2084
01:39:53,737 --> 01:39:55,489
    He broke that out, and he had   

2085
01:39:55,531 --> 01:39:58,325
              you know,             
     clippings of news articles.    

2086
01:39:58,367 --> 01:40:00,869
          So it went from,          
     "Here comes Dick Gregory,"     

2087
01:40:00,911 --> 01:40:03,539
            to "Oh, shit!           
      Here comes Dick Gregory."     

2088
01:40:03,580 --> 01:40:06,041
        And he gon' tell you        
     that you don't know nothing    

2089
01:40:06,083 --> 01:40:08,377
    and that you need to sit down   
             and listen.            

2090
01:40:08,419 --> 01:40:10,295
   "You're a stupid motherfucker." 
        Like...and it was...        

2091
01:40:10,337 --> 01:40:12,214
         it was like, okay,         
     "Well, hold on now, Dick."     

2092
01:40:12,256 --> 01:40:14,466
     "You know, the Russians own    
            Mountain Dew,           

2093
01:40:14,508 --> 01:40:17,219
     and they're putting uranium    
      in..." You know, so okay.     

2094
01:40:17,261 --> 01:40:18,637
     First of all, ain't nobody     
        ever telling me this.       

2095
01:40:18,679 --> 01:40:22,474
      Second of all, let me...      
   let me receive the information. 

2096
01:40:22,516 --> 01:40:26,395
    "You know, Hasbro has a chip    
          inside your brain         

2097
01:40:26,437 --> 01:40:30,816
    that you think is a toy that    
    monitors your..." Huh? What?    

2098
01:40:30,858 --> 01:40:34,236
      Possibly, if you lowered      
      the tone and aggression,      

2099
01:40:34,278 --> 01:40:36,113
          and aggression...         

2100
01:40:36,155 --> 01:40:38,073
 "You know, the government counts 
    every time you say 'nigga.'"    

2101
01:40:38,115 --> 01:40:39,742
          Huh? What? Okay.          

2102
01:40:39,783 --> 01:40:42,619
     And even though it came out    
             aggressive,            

2103
01:40:42,661 --> 01:40:44,413
   at the end of it, he was like,   
         "I'm talking to you        

2104
01:40:44,455 --> 01:40:48,250
    the way I talk to you because   
      I want you to be somebody     

2105
01:40:48,292 --> 01:40:51,086
      that does the right thing     
    so other people can follow."    

2106
01:40:51,128 --> 01:40:53,964
      He just spoke his truth.      
       Like, that's his truth.      

2107
01:40:54,006 --> 01:40:55,257
   You know, he don't care if you   
        don't like it or not.       

2108
01:40:55,299 --> 01:40:56,925
            He don't care           
   if you don't respect it or not. 

2109
01:40:56,967 --> 01:40:58,719
         This is his truth.         

2110
01:40:58,761 --> 01:41:02,222
    You look on the internet now,   
 and you just see countless clips 

2111
01:41:02,264 --> 01:41:06,727
       of just a fire-breathing,     
               angry man.            

2112
01:41:06,769 --> 01:41:09,938
       We'd tell Pop, "You know,     
     maybe you should rest yourself 

2113
01:41:09,980 --> 01:41:11,607
           for a little bit."        

2114
01:41:11,648 --> 01:41:13,358
    Resting for him was...I said,   
     "Well, if you're gonna give    

2115
01:41:13,400 --> 01:41:14,693
      the same level of energy,     

2116
01:41:14,735 --> 01:41:16,278
      we might as well have you     
          up on the stage."         

2117
01:41:16,320 --> 01:41:21,450
   So as he got back into comedy,   
    he made a very clear decision   

2118
01:41:21,492 --> 01:41:24,453
   that he was going to, you know, 
              be R-A-W.             

2119
01:41:24,495 --> 01:41:26,580
       He was gonna be as raw       
         as he wanted to be.        

2120
01:41:26,622 --> 01:41:31,210
      uptempo jazz drum music     

2121
01:41:31,251 --> 01:41:33,045
                                   

2122
01:41:33,087 --> 01:41:33,962
            [DJ Envy] We got         
        a special guest with us      

2123
01:41:34,004 --> 01:41:35,464
     in the building this morning.   

2124
01:41:35,506 --> 01:41:36,548
         [Charlamagne tha God]       
      A very, very special guest.    

2125
01:41:36,590 --> 01:41:37,925
       It's a privilege and honor    

2126
01:41:37,966 --> 01:41:39,176
 to have this man in the building 
             this morning.           

2127
01:41:39,218 --> 01:41:41,303
          - Mr. Dick Gregory.        
          - Mr. Dick Gregory.        

2128
01:41:41,345 --> 01:41:45,140
    - I've got 10 children, man.    
               - Damn.              

2129
01:41:45,182 --> 01:41:47,309
          - That's...Damn?          
   - I'm happy for you. I'm proud. 

2130
01:41:47,351 --> 01:41:48,644
             Happy now?             

2131
01:41:48,685 --> 01:41:49,686
     I want my sperm to catch up    
              to yours.             

2132
01:41:49,728 --> 01:41:52,106
      Oh, man, I'd just get me      
             some booty.            

2133
01:41:52,147 --> 01:41:54,108
             [laughter]             

2134
01:41:54,149 --> 01:41:55,776
          Towards the end,          
   he ended up being funny again,   

2135
01:41:55,818 --> 01:41:57,277
    and he was doing club shows.    

2136
01:41:57,319 --> 01:42:00,447
       It was like, oh, okay.       
          Now we can hang.          

2137
01:42:00,489 --> 01:42:03,867
        Well, I got a cousin        
     outside of St. Louis--Jabo.    

2138
01:42:03,909 --> 01:42:06,036
 He'd be my Secretary of Defense, 

2139
01:42:06,078 --> 01:42:08,205
     and I would just see these     
    white folks on "60 Minutes."    

2140
01:42:08,247 --> 01:42:09,832
       "Jabo, now that you're       
             Secretary,             

2141
01:42:09,873 --> 01:42:11,333
       what you plan on doing       
           about defense?"          

2142
01:42:11,375 --> 01:42:13,752
      "See, first I'm-a fix it,     
           then paint it."          

2143
01:42:13,794 --> 01:42:17,506
             [laughter]             

2144
01:42:17,548 --> 01:42:21,176
     - God bless. Dick Gregory.     
     - I met you when I was 19.     

2145
01:42:21,218 --> 01:42:22,761
         Here you are today         
      still kicking knowledge.      

2146
01:42:22,803 --> 01:42:25,514
        What drives you, sir?       

2147
01:42:25,556 --> 01:42:27,182
             - My bills.            
                - Mm.               

2148
01:42:27,224 --> 01:42:28,934
             [laughter]             

2149
01:42:28,976 --> 01:42:30,811
           He would never           
         get off the stage.         

2150
01:42:30,853 --> 01:42:35,023
 Imagine three hours on the stage 
     and then an hour and a half    

2151
01:42:35,065 --> 01:42:37,192
       doing a meet and greet       
             afterwards,            

2152
01:42:37,234 --> 01:42:39,027
            and it's like           
         one in the morning.        

2153
01:42:39,069 --> 01:42:41,530
     [Dick] I never thought I'd see 
                the day              

2154
01:42:41,572 --> 01:42:44,533
      that white folks would start   
          asking me to comment       

2155
01:42:44,575 --> 01:42:46,243
        on white folks problems.     

2156
01:42:46,285 --> 01:42:48,537
       I came back in from Europe    
              last month.            

2157
01:42:48,579 --> 01:42:51,915
 CNN. "Uh, Mr. Gregory, you think 
    we'll ever catch bin Laden?"    

2158
01:42:51,957 --> 01:42:53,709
            I said, "We?"           

2159
01:42:53,750 --> 01:42:56,211
             [laughter]             

2160
01:42:56,253 --> 01:42:59,548
     - I ain't looking for him.     
            - [laughter]            

2161
01:42:59,590 --> 01:43:03,802
      The best? I don't wanna talk   
        about who was the best.      

2162
01:43:03,844 --> 01:43:06,763
         I wanna talk about         
         who's the baddest.         

2163
01:43:06,805 --> 01:43:08,724
   I became aware of Dick Gregory   

2164
01:43:08,765 --> 01:43:10,517
 because there's something called 

2165
01:43:10,559 --> 01:43:12,769
       State of the Black Union,     

2166
01:43:12,811 --> 01:43:14,438
          and Dick Gregory          
      was always on the panel.      

2167
01:43:14,479 --> 01:43:16,648
          The Black brother         
         from Wells Fargo...        

2168
01:43:16,690 --> 01:43:18,358
            - [laughter]            
              - Uh-huh.             

2169
01:43:18,400 --> 01:43:21,737
      ...head of the mortgages,     

2170
01:43:21,778 --> 01:43:24,740
     I pulled him over and said,    
      "I need to talk to you."      

2171
01:43:24,781 --> 01:43:26,408
            - [laughter]            
      - He said, "Brother Greg,     

2172
01:43:26,450 --> 01:43:27,868
        you need a mortgage?"       

2173
01:43:27,910 --> 01:43:30,537
   I said, "No, they took my house 
        when times was good."       

2174
01:43:30,579 --> 01:43:32,748
             [laughter]             

2175
01:43:32,789 --> 01:43:35,083
       I need two big banners,      

2176
01:43:35,125 --> 01:43:38,086
           one for the FBI          
    and one for the White House.    

2177
01:43:38,128 --> 01:43:42,424
   Picket it, shut the shit down,   
             and then...            

2178
01:43:42,466 --> 01:43:44,259
        and then go to jail.        
          You ready to go?          

2179
01:43:44,301 --> 01:43:46,386
     I think people get confused    
              and think             

2180
01:43:46,428 --> 01:43:48,096
       that he was an activist      
      who decided to be funny.      

2181
01:43:48,138 --> 01:43:51,266
    No, no, no, his soul was that   
        of a stand-up comic.        

2182
01:43:51,308 --> 01:43:53,310
          He just could not         
       just do that in a world      

2183
01:43:53,352 --> 01:43:55,270
        that was falling down       
             around him.            

2184
01:43:55,312 --> 01:43:57,272
       No, I wish Bill Clinton      
              was here              

2185
01:43:57,314 --> 01:44:00,400
     so I would apologize to him    
        for you Black folks.        

2186
01:44:00,442 --> 01:44:01,944
    This is why he's a comedian,    
         'cause...'cause...         

2187
01:44:01,985 --> 01:44:03,362
         'cause you bring up        
            Bill Clinton,           

2188
01:44:03,403 --> 01:44:05,030
    and all...every Black person    
             kinda goes,            

2189
01:44:05,072 --> 01:44:07,407
    "Okay, first Black president.   
             We, uh..."             

2190
01:44:07,449 --> 01:44:09,409
    But the fact is, we...I would   
     apologize to Bill Clinton.     

2191
01:44:09,451 --> 01:44:11,078
       Even as a Black person       
             who thinks             

2192
01:44:11,119 --> 01:44:12,955
     you know where he's going,     
      he's like, "Wait. What?"      

2193
01:44:12,996 --> 01:44:15,832
          No, I mean that.          
    You Black folks tricked him.    

2194
01:44:15,874 --> 01:44:18,585
             You went in            
       that big, old Black pot      

2195
01:44:18,627 --> 01:44:22,130
     and said, "Here, white boy.    
             You Black."            

2196
01:44:22,172 --> 01:44:24,258
              - [laughter]           
                 - Huh?              

2197
01:44:24,299 --> 01:44:27,094
       And then you went back       
          in that Black pot         

2198
01:44:27,135 --> 01:44:28,887
       and said, "Here, Obama.      
      You ain't Black enough."      

2199
01:44:28,929 --> 01:44:30,806
      What kind of fool is you?     

2200
01:44:30,847 --> 01:44:32,724
        - [uproarious laughter]      
                 - Huh?              

2201
01:44:32,766 --> 01:44:35,394
      What kind of fool is you?     

2202
01:44:35,435 --> 01:44:38,480
     He was at that age that he     
     really could say whatever.     

2203
01:44:38,522 --> 01:44:42,567
     Your children ain't violent    
         because they Black.        

2204
01:44:42,609 --> 01:44:44,278
         They ain't violent.        

2205
01:44:44,319 --> 01:44:45,821
      Most people in the world      
        lived in the ghetto.        

2206
01:44:45,862 --> 01:44:47,322
       They don't kill people.      

2207
01:44:47,364 --> 01:44:51,910
        What are you putting        
    in my malt liquor, white boy?   

2208
01:44:51,952 --> 01:44:53,662
 What are you putting in it? Huh? 

2209
01:44:53,704 --> 01:44:55,622
      And you could see everybody    
           next to him, like,        

2210
01:44:55,664 --> 01:44:57,791
   "Oh, man, I gotta follow this?   
          Like..." [laughs]         

2211
01:44:57,833 --> 01:45:03,171
                                   

2212
01:45:14,057 --> 01:45:16,893
        The week before he died,     

2213
01:45:16,935 --> 01:45:19,229
       Dick Gregory was still       
         doing engagements.         

2214
01:45:19,271 --> 01:45:22,482
    My son Christian was probably   
            getting ready           

2215
01:45:22,524 --> 01:45:25,360
     to take him to the airport,    
            and he said,            

2216
01:45:25,402 --> 01:45:27,904
 "Oh, I just don't feel so good," 
      and then Christian said,      

2217
01:45:27,946 --> 01:45:30,907
    "Dad, wait a minute. You just   
   gotta cancel this engagement."   

2218
01:45:38,332 --> 01:45:40,959
 [Christian] We thought my father 
          was in the hospital        

2219
01:45:41,001 --> 01:45:43,795
              for a simple           
        urinary tract infection.     

2220
01:45:43,837 --> 01:45:48,633
     It wasn't until an astute eye   
            of a radiologist         

2221
01:45:48,675 --> 01:45:52,637
     caught what he believed to be   
         a significant problem       

2222
01:45:52,679 --> 01:45:56,641
              taking place           
 with my father's blood vessels.   

2223
01:45:56,683 --> 01:45:59,061
           And they said,           
       "We really don't think       

2224
01:45:59,102 --> 01:46:00,687
     he's gonna live that long."    

2225
01:46:00,729 --> 01:46:03,231
   And we were just like, "What?"   
    You know, we're just stunned.   

2226
01:46:03,273 --> 01:46:07,194
                                   

2227
01:46:07,235 --> 01:46:10,947
       I know he was ready to go.    

2228
01:46:10,989 --> 01:46:14,242
   He knows he had did everything   
        he needed to ever do.       

2229
01:46:14,284 --> 01:46:17,412
        And I just felt he...       
             he just...             

2230
01:46:17,454 --> 01:46:20,540
       I just wished a picture      
 could've been taken of his face. 

2231
01:46:20,582 --> 01:46:24,544
     To this day, it's the most     
     beautiful facial expression    

2232
01:46:24,586 --> 01:46:26,213
           that I've seen           
         in my entire life,         

2233
01:46:26,254 --> 01:46:31,676
      was that last wink made.      

2234
01:46:31,718 --> 01:46:34,721
        Just that last wink.        

2235
01:46:34,763 --> 01:46:36,306
          [exhales deeply]          

2236
01:46:36,348 --> 01:46:41,019
      The look on his face was      
   one of the most peaceful looks   

2237
01:46:41,061 --> 01:46:43,730
       I ever saw on his face       
             in my life.            

2238
01:46:43,772 --> 01:46:48,610
   And we just stayed right there, 
          and there it was.         

2239
01:46:48,652 --> 01:46:51,029
                                   

2240
01:46:51,071 --> 01:46:54,116
        We all quickly became       
             clear that             

2241
01:46:54,157 --> 01:46:57,953
            the...the...            
       the world just lost...       

2242
01:46:57,994 --> 01:47:01,706
       [voice breaking] uh...       
     an incredible human being.     

2243
01:47:04,626 --> 01:47:09,381
           hopeful music          

2244
01:47:09,423 --> 01:47:14,636
                                   

2245
01:47:16,721 --> 01:47:18,306
          [birds chirping]          

2246
01:47:18,348 --> 01:47:21,184
                 [Dick]              
      I'll always have advocates,    

2247
01:47:21,226 --> 01:47:25,147
          many of my friends,        
        people that work for me,     

2248
01:47:25,188 --> 01:47:29,818
            that see through         
            all my ignorance         

2249
01:47:29,860 --> 01:47:32,195
      and can still see my dreams.   

2250
01:47:32,237 --> 01:47:36,324
        And that's what my wife      
            was able to do,          

2251
01:47:36,366 --> 01:47:40,120
      see through my hostility...    

2252
01:47:40,162 --> 01:47:43,248
           and see the love.         

2253
01:47:43,290 --> 01:47:48,503
                                   

2254
01:47:49,546 --> 01:47:51,923
          [birds chirping]          

2255
01:47:51,965 --> 01:47:54,426
                                   

2256
01:47:54,468 --> 01:47:58,096
   If young people were to ask me   
       what distinguished him,      

2257
01:47:58,138 --> 01:48:01,475
        I would say the fact        
   that he shook the body politic, 

2258
01:48:01,516 --> 01:48:03,852
        that he enjoyed flirting     
         with the establishment      

2259
01:48:03,894 --> 01:48:05,479
             on his terms.           

2260
01:48:05,520 --> 01:48:07,063
    I just fell in love with him    
            all the time.           

2261
01:48:07,105 --> 01:48:10,484
         He was just my man.        

2262
01:48:10,525 --> 01:48:12,777
   He lived an extraordinary life. 

2263
01:48:12,819 --> 01:48:15,155
          Like, most people         

2264
01:48:15,197 --> 01:48:18,909
     don't get to do a tenth...     
              [laughs]              

2265
01:48:18,950 --> 01:48:21,077
       of what he experienced.      

2266
01:48:21,119 --> 01:48:25,665
     If somebody told you, "Hey,    
    this guy did all these things   

2267
01:48:25,707 --> 01:48:30,003
     and was kind of oppressed,"    
 you'd be like, "Get outta here." 

2268
01:48:30,045 --> 01:48:35,926
        The thing you learn from     
     guys like that is...is try it. 

2269
01:48:35,967 --> 01:48:39,221
       Don't be lazy. Go for it.     

2270
01:48:39,262 --> 01:48:41,389
         You wanna tell jokes,       
              tell jokes.            

2271
01:48:41,431 --> 01:48:43,975
           If you don't think        
      you can do it, yes, you can.   

2272
01:48:44,017 --> 01:48:47,729
 You...Oh, you weigh 300 pounds.   
        Well, I'm gonna lose it.     

2273
01:48:47,771 --> 01:48:50,106
       Yes, you can lose it all.     
      You can make a lot of money.   

2274
01:48:50,148 --> 01:48:52,234
      You can lose a lot of money.   

2275
01:48:52,275 --> 01:48:54,319
      This guy lived the life,      

2276
01:48:54,361 --> 01:48:58,740
           and that's what          
     everyone should aspire to.     

2277
01:48:58,782 --> 01:49:00,575
          He saw the flaws          

2278
01:49:00,617 --> 01:49:04,079
      in how we were being treated   
 and where we were being placed.   

2279
01:49:04,120 --> 01:49:06,581
       He wanted to be a part       
           of the change,           

2280
01:49:06,623 --> 01:49:09,000
          and he always fought       
            for that change.         

2281
01:49:09,042 --> 01:49:11,461
     [Chappelle] The sacrifices he   
 made aren't necessarily required 

2282
01:49:11,503 --> 01:49:14,464
            of every artist,         
           but that there are        

2283
01:49:14,506 --> 01:49:18,552
         very special people        
        every few generations       

2284
01:49:18,593 --> 01:49:23,056
         we're blessed with         
    that are willing to do that.    

2285
01:49:23,098 --> 01:49:24,558
   And when you see these people,   

2286
01:49:24,599 --> 01:49:26,434
    you should give 'em your love   
          and your respect,         

2287
01:49:26,476 --> 01:49:28,979
   protect them to whatever extent 
              you can,              

2288
01:49:29,020 --> 01:49:31,273
      and try to recognize that     

2289
01:49:31,314 --> 01:49:33,108
       they're doing something      
           very difficult           

2290
01:49:33,149 --> 01:49:35,026
    for the benefit of all of us.   

2291
01:49:35,068 --> 01:49:39,531
       He set a very high bar for    
 the people that came after him.   

2292
01:49:39,573 --> 01:49:41,491
                                   

2293
01:49:41,533 --> 01:49:46,288
     He gave so much of himself     
     to a movement, to a people,    

2294
01:49:46,329 --> 01:49:48,665
 and he wasn't afraid to do that, 

2295
01:49:48,707 --> 01:49:52,419
 and I think the work that he did 
          is still necessary.        

2296
01:49:52,460 --> 01:49:55,505
        We still have to fight.      
       We still have to protest.     

2297
01:49:55,547 --> 01:49:57,340
       We still have to speak up.    

2298
01:49:57,382 --> 01:49:59,718
       [Sykes] When I started out    
             doing comedy,           

2299
01:49:59,759 --> 01:50:02,929
      I would look at the tapes     
    of him from back in the day,    

2300
01:50:02,971 --> 01:50:08,435
      and it definitely taught me    
             to aim higher.          

2301
01:50:08,476 --> 01:50:10,895
   When you gon' throw something,   
             aim higher.            

2302
01:50:10,937 --> 01:50:16,318
                                   

2303
01:50:17,944 --> 01:50:19,738
           [man] Mr. Gregory,        
         is there anything else      

2304
01:50:19,779 --> 01:50:23,116
         that you'd like to say      
            before we leave?         

2305
01:50:23,158 --> 01:50:27,245
    I've had white folks used to    
   tell me, "Love it or leave it." 

2306
01:50:27,287 --> 01:50:31,666
     [laughs] I'm not gon' leave    
 America till I straighten it out 

2307
01:50:31,708 --> 01:50:33,627
      and I'm not gon' love it      
      till she become lovable,      

2308
01:50:33,668 --> 01:50:35,170
      then I'm getting the fuck     
             outta here.            

2309
01:50:35,211 --> 01:50:38,840
                                   

2310
01:50:38,882 --> 01:50:41,134
        I know now that there is     
           a universal force         

2311
01:50:41,176 --> 01:50:43,011
     that controls the whole thing. 

2312
01:50:43,053 --> 01:50:44,804
        You can call it anything     
           you wanna call it.        

2313
01:50:44,846 --> 01:50:48,475
 One day, it's gonna balance out   
          all of our ledgers,        

2314
01:50:48,516 --> 01:50:49,851
           and it's gonna be         
           a simple question.        

2315
01:50:49,893 --> 01:50:51,394
          Not "How much money        
             did you make?           

2316
01:50:51,436 --> 01:50:53,855
             Was you funny?          
           Did they like you?        

2317
01:50:53,897 --> 01:50:55,690
         Were you a celebrity?       
          Who was your mother?       

2318
01:50:55,732 --> 01:50:57,484
          Who was your father?       
          Where did you live?        

2319
01:50:57,525 --> 01:50:58,860
       What school did you go to?    

2320
01:50:58,902 --> 01:51:00,403
      Where did you send your kids   
              to school?"            

2321
01:51:00,445 --> 01:51:01,529
      There's one simple question    
             that all of us          

2322
01:51:01,571 --> 01:51:03,365
        are going to deal with--     

2323
01:51:03,406 --> 01:51:07,452
     "How much service did you give 
     to your fellow human beings?"   

2324
01:51:07,494 --> 01:51:09,663
            Just that simple         
          and just that sweet.       

2325
01:51:09,704 --> 01:51:11,122
              - [man] Yes.           
             - [ applause ]          

2326
01:51:11,164 --> 01:51:12,957
                                   

2327
01:51:12,999 --> 01:51:14,459
            [Black Thought]          
      I'm tactical and strategic  

2328
01:51:14,501 --> 01:51:16,294
       Practical and collegiate    

2329
01:51:16,336 --> 01:51:18,380
             Enough to know         
            if you read it          

2330
01:51:18,421 --> 01:51:20,799
        Don't mean you need it,     
      I follow proper procedure     

2331
01:51:20,840 --> 01:51:24,052
  And get my money right off top 
            like alopecia           

2332
01:51:24,094 --> 01:51:27,222
         I see what's trending      
     was truly the end of an era    

2333
01:51:27,263 --> 01:51:29,724
       But it's forever or never,   
          I'm ever and ever         

2334
01:51:29,766 --> 01:51:31,851
           I am the vendetta        
       that's never been better     

2335
01:51:31,893 --> 01:51:34,062
         Than lyrical terrors,      
          incredibly clever         

2336
01:51:34,104 --> 01:51:36,398
         Perspective is meta       

2337
01:51:36,439 --> 01:51:38,066
           Y'all niggas need        
          to get it together        

2338
01:51:38,108 --> 01:51:39,401
       Like birds of a feather     

2339
01:51:39,442 --> 01:51:42,070
            I pen the words         
            of an Edgar...          

2340
01:51:42,112 --> 01:51:44,239
               Allan Poe            
        'cause I go for broke       

2341
01:51:44,280 --> 01:51:45,699
          Whether or not it's       
           for more cheddar         

2342
01:51:45,740 --> 01:51:48,952
       'Cause I am a go-getter     

2343
01:51:48,993 --> 01:51:50,286
             Loaded lines,          
       my bars bear the burden      

2344
01:51:50,328 --> 01:51:52,038
      I been in the gym overtime  

2345
01:51:52,080 --> 01:51:54,749
        No calls for disturbing     
            my over grind           

2346
01:51:54,791 --> 01:51:57,085
            And moving on me        
         gets you immobilized       

2347
01:51:57,127 --> 01:52:00,422
       My rhymes, super human,     
 I've been next to immortalized  

2348
01:52:00,463 --> 01:52:02,882
      The honorable, I come right   
        at you comical clowns       

2349
01:52:02,924 --> 01:52:05,969
           And break it down        
     into particles and molecules  

2350
01:52:06,010 --> 01:52:08,972
         So trying me is trying     
            the impossible          

2351
01:52:09,013 --> 01:52:12,016
        Slingshots to a monster     
 that keep darts in the arsenal  

2352
01:52:12,058 --> 01:52:13,852
       [Dick] I would like to say    
          thank you very much        

2353
01:52:13,893 --> 01:52:17,731
        and, uh, I really picked     
          a good time to quit.       

2354
01:52:17,772 --> 01:52:20,942
     Probably won't miss me at all. 

2355
01:52:20,984 --> 01:52:23,611
       Plus with all them clowns     
          in the White House,        

2356
01:52:23,653 --> 01:52:26,114
       they'll keep you laughing     
           for years to come.        

2357
01:52:26,156 --> 01:52:28,742
      [woman] Right on! All right.   
         All right, All right.       

2358
01:52:28,783 --> 01:52:33,997