cdatcdat ♪
cdat I'm ready for the movies, lamb chopt
You gonna treat your grandma?cdat
Uh, I would but, uh,cdat
I'm a little short.cdat
Yeah... ( clears throat ) Too easy.cdat
Don't worry, baby. It's Grandma's treatt
Cheap just like his daddy.cdt
You wanna come with us, chickpeat
Um, I would, but I gotta write my trailblazer report for school.cdat
I'm writing about Christopher Columbuscdat
but I'm just not feeling it.ct
It's like saying, "Congrats, Chris.cdat
You discovered a brand-new worldcdat
that is already filled with people lookin' at youcdt
like, who the heck is this guy."cdat
( laughter t
- It would be like me discovering this pie. - Hey, that's my pie.cdat
Then what's it doing in my mouth?cdat
cdat I would much rather be writing about a real trailblazercdatcdat
like... like you, Grandma.cdat
The first female black spy in the Organization.cdat
What in the Harry Potter are you talking about?cdat
I wasn't the first.cdat
Cleo Brown was.cdat
Uh, speaking of firsts,cdat
did you know a black man invented the traffic light?cdat
Why don't we pay homage to himcdt
as you drive me to the movies?cdat
Hold your horses, potato chip.cdat
Which, FYI, was also created by a black man.cdat
That sour cream and onion flavor?cdat
White folks.cdat
So if Cleo Brown was the first,cdatcdat
then how come I've never heard of her?cdat
Probably because it happened in the '70st
Back then, it was hard for any woman to get aheadt
But a black woman? Forget it.cdat
Sister couldn't catch a break.t
But I bet they could catch a movie,cdat
which means they're doing better than me.cdat
For your informationt
back then, there was no glass ceiling for ust
It was made of concretet
Maybe that's why they wore the big Afros,cdat
to soften the bump.cdat
Oh, but Cleo changed all of that.cdat
She was kinda like yout
Smarter than a set of encyclopedias,t
those long, pencil legst
and a smile bigger than the Mississippit
She was a bad mama jammat
♪ She's the baddest of the bad ♪cdat
♪ The toughest of the tough ♪cdat
♪ She's Cleo Brown and she don't take no stuff ♪ct
cdat ♪ Cleo, Cleo Brown ♪cdat
cdat ♪ Oh, when danger comes for you ♪cdatcdat
♪ You know I'll stand beside you ♪cdat
♪ 'Cause ain't nobody keep things hustle cool ♪cdat
♪ I'll always find a way, a way out of the fire ♪cdat
cdat ♪ Don't tell nobody, tell nobody ♪cdat
cdat ♪ I'm not perfect ♪cdat
♪ So many things I wanna tell you ♪cdat
♪ But I, I, I, I keep it undercover ♪cdat
cdat ♪ Livin' my life, no way to learn ♪cdat
♪ Doin' my thing, gonna make it work ♪cdat
♪ Know I'm the realest, baby, I'm fearless ♪cdat
♪ But I always got your back ♪cdat
♪ Nobody can do it like I can ♪cdat
♪ I gotta find out who I am ♪cdat
♪ Ain't got to worry about me ♪cdat
♪ It's all part of the plan ♪cdat
I keep it undercover.cdat
cdat Grandma, you gotta talk.cdat
I need to know more about this Cleo Brown.cdat
Okay, okay, now calm down, baba ganoush.cdat
Okay, let me start at the beginning.t
The year was 1974t
Nixon was just about to resign,cdat
the Sky Lab was orbiting the Earth,cdat
and the world was changing.cdat
And Cleo Brown was right smack dabcdat
in the middle of the storm.cdt
Now the woman's movement was well underway,cdat
but we have a long way to go.cdat
Cleo Brown was a secretary,cdat
which is fine if that's what you wanna do.cdt
But she wanted more.cdat
Agent Ballard, I took the libertycdat
of doing a little research for your mission to Bahrain.ct
As is custom, you will have to burp after every mealcdat
in order to show your appreciation of the host.t
If you don't burp, you will blow your cover.cdat
( burps loudly )cdat
You're welcome.cdat
And in other news, it's tuna casserolecdat
in the cafeteria today.cdat
I don't understand why you work so hard.cdatct
We don't have to be good at this.cdat
We just have to be here long enoughcdat
to make a man fall in love with us so we can get married.t
Hi, Harvey.cdat
cdat 'Cause I love spy work.cdatt
The challenge, the excitement.cdat
Cleo, stop dreaming about your silly career,cdat
and start dreaming about changing diapers.cdat
Changing diapers is your dream?cdat
Because that is my nightmare.cdat
There is more to life than marriage and babies.cdat
Not according to Marriage and Babies Digest.ct
Can I see that?cdat
Oh, sure.cdat
Ow!cdat
Girl, get it together; it is 1974.cdat
I don't know about you, but I wanna grab the brass ringt
and live the thrilling life I was meant to.cdat
- Where's my coffee? - Right after I grab Agent Whitman his coffee.cdat
Coming, sir.cdat
cdat Here you go, Mr. Whitman.cdt
Thanks, hon.cdat
Her boss called her hon?cdatcdat
Well, baby, that's the way it was back then.cdat
What's wrong with hon?cdat
It's condescending, it's belittling.cdat
It's like saying a woman's name isn't worth remembering.ct
How would you like it if I called you hon?cdat
Compared to what you usually call me,cdat
it would be a step up.cdat
I see your point.cdat
Sorry, hon.cdat
All right, agents. We have a new mission.cdat
( snaps fingers ) Hon, get the lights.cdat
cdat Based on intel we just received,cdat
there's a brand-new group of subversivescdat
calling themselves the Other Side.cdat
Relax.cdat
Chances are, we'll be able to take care of them quickly,ct
and they'll never be heard from again.cdat
Meanwhile, we suspect they're using a local discothequecdat
as a front to print counterfeit money.cdat
( snaps fingers ) Hon, get the lights.cdat
cdat Now as soon as our informant Smitty tells uscdat
the location of the discotheque,cdat
we'll move in.cdat
We need someone cool and hip to blend incdat
cdat with the glamorous discotheque crowd.cdat
Henrietta, you haven't been on a mission for a while.cdat
You're our gal.cdat
cdat Yes, hon?cdatcdat
Actually, it's Cleo.cdat
Um, I just wanted to say to Henrietta,cdat
you are an amazing agent and a total pioneer, girl,cdt
but, um, I just think I'm a bit more...cdat
well, disco-ier than she is,ct
and a better fit for this mission.cdat
( laughing )cdat
You wanna go on a mission?cdt
Well, yeah. I'm the right age.cdat
I watch Soul Train, so I know all the new dances.ct
The Bus Stop, the Robot,cdat
and my Funky Chicken is the funkiest in town.cdat
Cleo, I'm as progressive as the next guy,cdat
cdat but I can't put you on this mission.cdat
Why not?cdat
Because you're a woman.cdat
Henrietta's a woman.cdat
Well, yeah, but you're...cdat
You're, um...cdat
I'm what?cdat
You're a secretary.cdatcdt
Now why don't you act like one,cdatcdat
and get me a doughnut. Can you handle that mission?ct
cdatcdat I am so angry, I could pop.cdat
I went in there and volunteered to be on a mission,cdat
and they practically laughed me out of the room.cdt
You really don't want a husband, do you?cdat
You might as well walk around here in boring clothingcdat
and no makeup and... never mind.cdat
cdat Oh, now, sweetie, are you okay?cdatcdat
What the heck is wrong with you?!cdat
Keep this up and you're gonna get us both fired.cdat
Power to you, but I can't get caught up in your mess.cdt
Girl, I got four kids, one of 'em need braces,cdat
and I'm saving up for a car.cdat
And how would I get us both fired?cdat
Now you know good and wellcdt
they can't tell us secretaries apart.cdat
cdat Then why don't you go in therecdatcdt
and give Agent Whitman his doughnut?cdat
Because if I go back in theret
I'm gonna shove it down his doughnut holet
Cleo, why are you rockin' the boat?cdat
Now just stay in your place.ct
My place? I don't have to stay in my place.cdat
This isn't the olden days when you had to be afraid to step out of line.cdat
This is 1974t
A black woman ran for president of the United Statest
Now, granted, barely anybody voted for hert
but you know what, she ran.cdat
So now you think you Shirley Chisholm?cdat
Girl, you ain't even Shirley Temple Black.cdat
No, I'm Cleo, Cleo Brown.cdat
I just want the same opportunitiescdat
to succeed as anyone else in here.cdat
( phone rings )cdat
( sighs )cdat
Hello. Agent Whitman's office.cdat
Yes, this is Cleo speaking. Oh, hi, Smitty.cdat
It's the informant.cdat
Uh, you know what?cdat
Agent Whitman is in a meeting right now.cdt
Can I take a message?cdat
The Xenon discotheque.cdat
cdat All right, I'll let him know.cdat
Thank you.cdat
( clears throat )cdat
The Xenon. Interesting.cdat
Cleo Brown, you are workin' my last nerve.cdat
cdat Now go in there and give Whitman that message.cdat
I could, and he could say, "Thanks, hon. Go get me another coffee,"cdat
or I could go to the Xenon, complete the mission by myself,t
and prove that I have what it takescdat
to be a real spy.cdat
Now I'm taking this mission.ct
( paper drops )cdatcdat
cdat I forgot I burnt my bra.cdatcdat
cdat This story's getting good.cdatcdat
Because she said bra?cdat
No. Because this brave womanct
had the courage to prove her worthcdat
in a society that undervalued her contributionsct
simply because of the color of her skin.cdat
- And because she said bra. - ( giggles ) Yeah.cdat
cdatcdat So let me guess.cdat
Cleo Brown went behind the Organization's back, completed the mission,cdat
they say how amazing she was and made her an agent.cdat
Excuse me. Who's telling this story?cdat
Right now, no one. Come on, Grandma.cdat
You can't leave a chickpea hangin'.cdat
Okay. So that night, Cleo convinced her friendscdt
to go with her to the discotheque.cdat
cdatcdat I can't believe I let Cleo Browt
talk me into helping her on some crazy secret mission.ct
Secret mission? She told me this was a fix-up.cdat
I hope no one sees me heret
I cannot afford to get fired.ct
I got four kids, one of 'em need bracest
and I'm savin' up for a car.cdat
Well, I hope no one sees me here either.cdat
How pathetic, being out on the town without a date.cdat
I don't wanna seem desperate.cdat
Said the girl who tells first dates she already has a wedding dress.cdt
cdat That is not desperate.cdat
That is prepared.cdat
cdatcdat Not you two.cdat
What the heck are you lookin' at?cdat
Jive turkey!cdat
What, so you sayin' we not cool and hip enoughcdat
for this club?cdat
Just for that, I'm not offering youcdat
a bite of my meatloaf sandwich.cdat
Don't tell me I'm not cool and hip.cdatct
♪ She's the baddest of the bad ♪cdat
♪ The toughest of the tough ♪cdat
♪ She's Cleo Brown and she don't take no stuff ♪ct
cdat ♪ Cleo, Cleo Brown ♪cdat
cdat What the heck was thatt
Oh, it's Cleo!cdat
( deep voice ) Cleo Brown!cdat
cdat How you feelin', ladies?cdat
You're latet
I may be late, but I am right...cdat
on time.cdat
Well, actually, you're not.cdat
But regardless, they're not letting us in.cdat
You are with Cleo Brown.cdat
They'll let us in. Ya dig?cdat
cdat Come on in.cdat
Baby, I'm already int
cdatcdat GRANDMA: And spinnin' on the turntables that night
was the coolest deejay who ever lived.cdat
cdat DJ Funky Wonder.cdat
Grandma Gayle, did DJ Funky Wonder look like me?ct
cdat Uh, no, fluffernuttert
Not even a little?cdat
Sorry, soda popt
Can he look like me?cdat
Ugh! Finet
( feedback whines )cdat
Are you ready to get on down?cdat
cdat Right on, right on. Are you ready to get on up?cdt
cdat You're rockin' with DJ Funky Wonder.cdatcdat
I'm gonna make you boogie-oogie-oogiecdat
until you just can't boogie no more, baby.cdat
cdat Boogie.cdatcdat
cdatcdat Come on, ladies. You gotta loosen up.cdat
We gotta blend in. We're on a mission here.cdat
No, you're on a mission here.cdt
I need to be home.cdat
I got four kids, one of 'em need braces,cdat
and I'm savin' up for a car.cdat
Yes, you have mentioned that.cdat
If you ask me, I'd just buy the car,cdat
and tell that kid of yours to smile with his mouth closed.t
Yeah, Carolt
Be cool.cdat
Don't be all, like, uncool.cdt
cdatcdat All right, ladies,cdat
I'm gonna groove my way to the back roomcdat
and see if I can get a picture of the counterfeiting machine on my Afro camera.cdt
Oh, what's an Afro camera?cdt
It's a camera in my Afro.cdat
cdatcdat Now all I gotta do is take a picture of the counterfeiting machine,cdt
send it in to the drugstore,cdat
wait a couple of weeks for it to come back,cdat
then show it to Agent Whitman.cdat
Then he'll come down here to the disco,cdat
and bust 'em cold stone and then, shablooya!cdat
I will be Agent Cleo Brown in no time.cdat
Well, a little bit of time, but you know what.cdat
I've waited a year, so I can wait a couple more weeks.cdat
cdatcdat GRANDMA: Now don't ask me how,cdat
but Cleo shimmied her way into the bowels of the club.t
cdatcdat "TNT Boom."cdat
MAN: It's right here in the storage room.cdat
cdatcdat Okay, Skully, we're almost finished pressing the LP's.cdt
We definitely shipping tonight?t
Yep, and no one will ever guesscdat
the albums are actually made out of dynamite.cdat
Ho! ( laughs )cdat
The records will soon be in the hands of the Other Side.cdat
Hopefully soon, some bread will be in my handst
Ah, yeah, about that.cdat
( laughing ) What was he thinking?cdatcdat
I make records out of dynamite.cdat
Did he really expect me to pay him?cdat
Clean up this mess.cdatcdat
And try not to blow anything up.cdat
cdatcdat I'm starting to thinkcdat
I should've let Henrietta do this mission.cdt
I wonder if it's too late to cram her into a tube top.ct
cdatcdat Oh, hey, Cleot
Hey. It turns out there's some pretty crazy stuff goin' on here.cdat
Tell me about itt
This disco music is out of sightt
Turns out you can dance all by yourself.cdat
I'm telling you, this music has changed met
I don't need a man to dance witht
I don't need a man at all.cdat
That's too bad, because there's a guy over therecdat
checking you out.cdat
I don't even caret
cdat Why you dancin' over to him?ct
It's a coincidence.cdat
Cleo, did you get the picture you needt
I got the pictures, all right.t
Turns out they're making records out of dynamite.cdat
I need to tell Agent Whitman so he can come down here and handle it.cdat
So he can handle itt
Cleo, I thought this was your missiont
This is the chance you've been dreaming aboutt
You will never be able to live with yourselft
unless you complete itt
( feedback whines )cdat
Hey, hey, party people.cdat
I was just in the back room,ct
and stumbled across a new recordcdat
from a band I've never heard of called TNT.cdat
Their new single's called "Boom."cdat
Let's see if it blows us away, baby.cdat
Oh, it will blow us away,cdat
as soon as he puts it on the turntable.cdat
It's made out of dynamite. We need to get outta here right now.cdat
Or you can finish what you startedt
cdat Now all you foxy ladies and cool cats,cdat
cdat let's get ready to groove to "Boom."cdat
No! You can't play that record. It's a bomb.cdat
At least give it a chance, lollipop.cdat
For all you know, it could be... dyn-o-mite.cdt
cdatcdat You may be bad, but I'm badder.cdat
I am bad, bad Cleo Brown.cdat
♪ She's the baddest of the bad ♪cdat
♪ The toughest of the tough ♪cdat
♪ She's Cleo Brown, and she don't take no stuff ♪ct
cdat ♪ Cleo, Cleo Brown ♪cdat
cdat Grandma Gayle, I don't want you to thinkcdatcdt
that I'm accusing you of stretching the truth,cdat
but I just flat out don't believe you.cdat
cdat I mean, how did Cleo Brown,cdt
who had never been on a mission before,cdat
and was basically ready to run through the door,cdat
all of a sudden beat the snot out of 20 bad guys?cdat
Ten, 20, 30, I don't know the exact number.cdat
I ain't no accountant.cdat
But she did save the dayt
and there's a whole lot more to the story.cdat
But first, I gotta take a little nappy nap.cdat
- BOTH: No! - I'm just yankin' your chain.t
cdat Okay, so anyway, the next day,cdatcdat
it was right back to work for Cleo.cdat
Cleo, can I see you in the conference room, please?t
cdat Okay, this is it. Go get 'em, Agent Brown.cdat
I am so proud of you.cdat
♪ You're getting your promotion ♪cdat
cdatcdat I see you have a bruise on your chin.cdat
Well, you should see the other guys.cdat
In fact, in two weeks, when the picturescdat
come back from the drugstore, you will be able to.cdat
Cleo, I'm furious with you.cdat
I think what you mean is, good work.cdat
You broke every rule in the book going on that mission.cdat
I think what you meant to say is I proved myself.cdt
I proved that I am just as capablecdat
as anybody in this office.cdat
I deserve to be an agent.cdat
No. You deserve to be fired!cdat
But I'm gonna spare your job,cdat
because you have four kids, one of 'em needs braces,cdat
and you're saving for a car.cdat
cdatcdat That is not me!cdat
cdat Look, I'm gonna do you a big favor,cdatcdat
keep this whole mess off your record,cdat
because you're a good girl.cdat
First off,cdat
I am not a girl. I am a woman.cdat
Secondly, I am not good.cdat
I am bad. Bad, bad Cleo Brown!cdat
And last but definitely not least,cdat
I will do us both a favor.cdt
I quit!cdat
You got that... hon?cdat
cdatcdat Everybody back to work.cdat
( phone rings )cdat
Hello.cdat
Hi, Charlie.cdat
A date tonight? I don't think so.cdat
I am going disco dancing by myself.cdat
cdat Oh, and another thing.cdat
I'm letting my underarm hair grow!cdat
cdat I want a promotion.cdatcdt
I wanna apply to become a spy.cdat
Aren't you supposed to be making coffee?cdat
I have made enough coffee.cdt
cdatcdat Wait. So Cleo Brown rocked the mission,cdat
saved hundreds of people from a disco inferno,cdat
and still never officially became a spy?cdat
What the heck kinda female empowerment story is that?cdt
The kind we had in the '70s, baby.cdat
But if you allow me to finish, ramen noodlet
Cleo did go on to start her own successful detective agency.ct
cdat And Cleo's lesson was our blessing.cdat
Because after that, the powers that becdat
saw that black women could do any jobcdat
just as well as anybody else, if not better.cdat
And we began to get promotedt
And that is the story of Cleo Brown.cdat
You ready to go to the movies, hon?cdat
No!cdat
I'm too upset about what happened to Cleo.cdat
And don't call me hon.cdat
Well, I'm glad you liked the storyt
cdat You know, we should know about our past.cdat
It's just a shame that Cleo didn't get her due.cdat
Too bad there's nothing we can do to change it.cdat
cdat Or can we?cdat
cdat Cleo Brown kicked down the doorscdat
so that my Grandma Gayle could become a spy.cdat
My Grandma Gayle fought discriminationcdat
with her head held high,cdat
so that my mother could become a spy.cdat
Then my mother, well, she...cdat
she kinda dragged me into this without asking,cdat
but you know what, I digress.cdat
Some people kick down doorst
some people get dragged through doors against their will.ct
Anyway...cdat
it is thanks to Cleo that all young black female spiesct
cdat can be brave, know our worth, and fly.cdat
cdat And that is why we honor her todaycdat
with this bust.cdat
cdatcdat Oh, baby, it's okay. You can let it out.t