Blood Done Sign My Name

---

[piano music playing]

[male voice sings]

a Last Sunday morning a

a The sunshine

Felt like rain a

a The week before,

They all seemed the same a

a With the help of God

And true friends a

a I come to realize a

a I still had

Two strong legs a

a And even wings to fly a

a Oh, I ain't wasting

Time no more a

a'Cause time goes by like a

a Like hurricanes

And faster things a

(woman) We heard it on the radio.

ln the songs, you could tell

that there was a movement...

(woman 2) Because we were

hearing what was going on

all over

the country.

Yes, yes.

And it seemed like

it was real everywhere

but here.

What happened?

How did we get

left behind?

(man) I lived in this part

of North Carolina all my life.

Back in 1970, these fields

were flat-covered in tobacco.

Far as you could see.

lf tobacco was the blood

of eastern North Carolina,

then Oxford was its heart.

For 300 years, tobacco flowed

through those old warehouses.

And like blood,

it kept people alive...

black and white.

After having served

in Vietnam,

and having many black

soldiers around me,

where it was

pretty much the norm,

I come back home and

only find a few blacks

on the Highway Patrol

at the time,

it seemed a little strange to me.

But being

an old North Carolina boy

and raised down in New Bern,

um, I was surprised,

but at the same time,

my background told me

that I wasn't too surprised.

Martin Luther King

was never my favorite,

but I admired him.

I liked what he stood for.

But after Dickie Marrow

was killed,

nobody was having

that sh*t anymore.

We was about ready to kick

some ass our own selves.

(little boy)

What is it?

(older boy)

Shh.

See? told you

Grandma Jessie's rich.

Wow.

There's gotta be close to

$10 worth of Cokes right here.

I'm gonna take one.

She won't miss it.

(man) Vern, Tim, come on outside

and say goodbye

to your grandmother.

(grandmother)

Vernon.

Saying our goodbyes,

Mother Jessie.

Vernon, before you go,

there's something serious

l've got to talk to you about.

lf my boys broke something,

you know I'm good for it.

Bye, Grandma.

So long, Grandma!

I n the car!

Okay, last one.

Well, I think

we're ready.

Martha, I asked Vidalia to pack

a basket of food for the trip.

Would you go see

if it's ready?

Of course.

[door closes]

Anyway vErnon,

I know you believe you can talk

your way out of every predicament,

but Oxford

is not like Biscoe.

They're more

set in their ways.

Don't you worry,

Mother Jessie.

The Lord hasn't

let us down yet.

It's not the Lord

I'm worried about vErnon.

Let's get this show

on the road, Tysons.

Load'em up.

Oh, I'm gonna

miss you so much.

You be sure

and write me, you hear?

I will. I'm gonna

miss it here, too.

All right, sweetie. Bye.

Bye, Mother Jessie.

(both boys)

Bye, Grandma.

Vernon, you take

care now.

(Vern)

I don't want to leave.

(Tim)

Me, neither.

(Vernon) Come on, everyone.

We're on an adventure.

[bell rings]

Good morning,

ladies and gentlemen.

I said good morning,

ladies and gentlemen.

(class)

Good morning.

Welcome to

third period English.

My name is Mr. Chavis.

And I'm your teacher.

lf you could, turn with me

to page 15 in your textbooks.

We'll be covering

Ralph Ellison.

Mr. Chavis.

Yes.

you really know Stokely

Carmichael the Black Panther?

Yes. I know him.

When I was at U NCC, I had him

speak to a student assembly.

And they let

you do that?

Sure. I was head

of the Student Union.

And I thought it would be a good idea

if people heard what he had to say.

What's a

Student Union?

What's a Student Union?

A Student Union is basically

an organization of students,

a place to meet, discuss

ideas, affect change.

Any other questions

before we start?

Yeah. Why'd you ever want

to come back to Oxford?

Are you sure you priced

this flour right?

I can get it over at the A&P

for almost 50 cents less.

Then you just walk another mile

and a half over there and buy it.

May I have a bag, please?

(Tim) Why do we have a house

with furniture already in it?

(Martha) Because the

church owns it, honey.

It's not ours.

Remember the one where all the

furniture was covered in plastic?

(Vernon) Hah. That was a

long time ago, little buck.

Oh vErnon,

it's beautiful.

I just hope they haven't

completely redecorated the place.

Just once, l'd like

to paint our home myself.

Okay, everyone,

best behavior.

Let's go, Tysons.

Reverend Tyson! Hi.

You must be Martha.

Yes, hi.

I'm lsabel Taylor,

and on behalf

of the ladies

of First Methodist,

welcome to Oxford

and your new home.

We knew y'all would

be getting in late,

so we just dropped off a few things

so you'd have

something for supper.

Well, thank you.

Everything looks so nice.

We painted the whole

house and redid the drapes.

You shouldn't have.

Well, I don't

mean to be rude,

but I need to

excuse myself.

But you ladies, you feel

free to stay and just visit

for as long

as you like.

See you Sunday.

(woman) Sure you don't

need any help unpacking?

No, thanks,

I'm fine. Bye.

Oh, Lord, not again.

[sighs]

[knocking]

Come in.

(Roseanna)

Mrs. Tyson?

Yes?

Hi. My name is

Roseanna Allen.

I'm a friend of Vidalia,

who works for your mother.

She said you might be

needing some help.

Roseanna, you

are a godsend.

(woman)

Ben, is that you?

Yeah, it's me, Mom.

Oh, good.

Dinner's ready.

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