[girl] Previously on Queen Sugar:
We opened our old home as a clinic for migrant workers.
-We? -[man] Is it true what I'm hearing about you and Luke?
What'd you hear?
Could you please tell aunt--
There's no use. She ain't ready to hear from you.
That new highway will cut right through Saint Jo.
This route guts most of the black farmers' land.
Did you even consider my son hearing these things about his mother?
I really took pains to protect you--
Do not come near me or Blue again.
[door slams]
[Trudy] Nova. Come on. It's time to eat.
Okay, Mama, I just need to finish this page.
[Trudy] Food's getting cold, baby. Are you okay?
Yes, Mama, I'm okay.
Are you okay, Nova?
[gasps]
[sirens wailing distantly]
Mama came to me again in my dreams.
Third time.
This time on the land.
♪ Dreams never die ♪
♪ Take flight As the world turns ♪
♪ Dreams never die ♪
♪ Take flight As the world turns ♪
♪ Keep the colors In the lines ♪
♪ Take flight ♪
♪ Dreams never die ♪
♪ Keep the colors In the lines ♪
♪ Keep the colors In the lines, take flight ♪
-[humming] -[knock at door]
Hey.
Blue, why are you answering the door?
[Blue] Mom said I could if it was you.
But you got to lower your voice. Mom is still sleeping.
She said she was really tired.
But I got ready all by myself.
Make sure you get all your stuff.
[Blue] I will.
I'm ready, Pops. Let's go.
All right, let me text your mom something real quick.
Oh, put a smiley face on it. She really likes those.
Can I see?
What's that weird smell, Pops?
-I don't smell nothing. -[sniffs]
It's you.
You smell like stinky flowers.
[laughs]
It's called cologne.
I think it smells good.
I think it smells funny. Maybe you put too much on.
No, I didn't, actually.
I just got an important meeting, that's all.
Like a really, really important meeting?
Oh, yeah, the best kind of meeting.
The kind where I got to smell really, really, really good
-Let's get out of here. -[laughs]
All right, let's go.
-Thank you. -All right.
Hey, Prosper.
You heading over to pay your respects to the Durands?
I am.
Leon's passing hit them pretty hard.
Y'all used to jam back in the day, didn't you?
Yeah, we did.
The man played a mean saxophone.
Yeah, I'm going to miss him.
We'll be over there,
handling the repast.
Look forward to seeing Genevieve.
Genevieve?
Leon's baby sister?
She's in St. Thomas.
You know I haven't seen her, I guess it's been 40 years.
We all used to play around together back in the day.
[chuckles]
Whoa.
-Remy Newell. Oh, man. -[laughs]
Oh!
I haven't seen you in a spell. How you been?
I'm good, man. Still standing, Prosper.
-Still standing. -Well, that's a good thing.
You can't take these precious days standing for granted.
-Not a one. -That's right. Not a one.
Mm-hmm.
-Remy. -Good to see you.
Hey, Vi.
[laughs]
Wow, this place looks incredible.
[laughs]
Wow.
Is that Remy Newell?
-Hey, boy. -Hey!
-My brother! -What's up?
-Oh, man, it's been too long. -I know, man.
[sighs]
Good to see you, man.
Both of you.
I was just telling Violet that the place just looks so good.
I'm proud of y'all.
Well, sit down.
I'll get you something. I know your favorites.
Yes.
So...
you going to tell me where you disappeared to?
Why you can't return a phone call
or a text for me, Vi or Rah?
Nobody?
[computer beeps]
[sighs]
-Yeah. -[Davis] Hey, Charley,
I am in trouble and I need your help.
That sister of yours is causing me major problems here.
I haven't even started my new job yet,
-and I'm already deep in it. -Whoa, Davis, slow down.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Turn on the news.
Nova's book is kicking up that Melina mess all over again.
Look, can you...
can you meet me for lunch or something?
Help me find the best way to deal with this?
Because I'm trying to start new and--
Davis, this just isn't my problem anymore.
-Call your lawyer. -Charley, hey, wait a second.
Charley, look, I get that, okay?
I get it, but I need you right now for Micah's sake.
We need to figure out how to deal with this head-on,
because it's going to affect all of us all over again.
Charley, please.
I don't want to be seen in public with you.
Okay.
Just come to the mill at noon and we'll talk it through, okay?
Hey, handsome.
-How are you? -I'm good, I'm good.
Came by to see if you'd like to have lunch later,
but it sounds like you might be busy.
Yeah, yeah. Unfortunately, I...
I need to help Davis with all of this.
I've got to find some good in this.
I just-- I don't want Micah affected.
The way that you always think about your son,
that's beautiful.
My mother taught me to believe in what's good.
That when people say, "It's too good to be true,"
they're wrong.
Believe in the good.
Don't mistrust it. Don't second-guess it.
Don't fight it.
Just believe it.
You're good.
You are too.
[cell phone vibrates]
♪ ...For a few more days ♪
♪ Strung out ♪
♪ Held my breath But you never came ♪
♪ And there's so many things I wish I could say ♪
♪ And there's so many things ♪
♪ I wish I could do ♪
Dear God,
help me make the best use of what is in my power.
Please give me the insight to understand
that some things are up to us and some are not.
Our thoughts are up to us.
Our impulses, our desires, our actions...
♪ I just want to scream ♪
♪ Till I can't speak Your name ♪
♪ And I just want to scream ♪
♪ Till nothing rhymes ♪
[applause]
And for our next question...
let's go to the woman in the third row.
Ladies and gentlemen,
we are honored to be joined today
by the esteemed Dr. Octavia Laurent,
professor of Cultural Studies at the New School.
Dr. Laurent, what's your question?
[Octavia] Miss Bordelon,
In "Blessing and Blood,"
you situate your family as a microcosm of America.
-I do. -[Octavia] I enjoyed the book,
but I didn't know how to receive it.
I mean, what research did you use
to support such a lofty conclusion?
My book isn't a research project.
It's a memoir, where I take experiences
from my personal life
and set them against a greater contextual backdrop.
Yes, I know what a memoir is, thank you.
But your anecdotes--
-Experiences. -Sure.
Whatever you want to call them,
they're somewhat self-aggrandizing,
and your claims about the African-American community
are not backed up by any kind of empirical analysis.
You're saying my family's story doesn't deserve to be told
-because of a lack of data? -That's not what I said exactly.
Black life in America is the data.
No, that's not what I said.
[Nova] Go into any library.
Stacks and stacks of books,
yet only a handful of them document the lives
of everyday black families and their struggles as Americans.
You're hardly representative of the everyday black American.
I'm a proud everyday black American,
and will fight to the death anyone who says otherwise.
[applause]
For centuries, we have been denied
the tools and platforms to tell our stories
using our voices.
My memoir's conclusions are rooted
in firsthand experience and knowledge.
I don't fetishize theory and research,
as your institutions define them,
because to do so is to commit an act of cultural violence
against my own people.
[applause]
Yes, yes, that is all very well and good.
But I found in my experience
that the dismissal of research and theory
is the telltale mark of an amateur.
[audience murmurs]
[Hollywood] Are you sure about this?
Got a whole community out here.
You got roots here.
Yeah, but they're not my roots.
They're my wife's roots.
When Shauna passed, I tried to make this place home.
And it was, for a long time.
I mean, you know, I love St. Jo's.
But everything with Charley and Nova...
showed me who I really am.
And I don't like what I see.
Oh, you're a good man, Remy. Don't do this to yourself.
I just have this lack inside of me
that I always have to fill,
because life didn't happen the way I planned for myself.
You know, a wife. Kids.
Happily ever after.
And that affected me.
And I got to admit it.
I hear you.
I really wanted Charley to be the one.
But when we broke up, it devastated me
because I didn't think I was ever going to find love again.
And then feelings started to develop between me and Nova.
And...
suddenly I felt hope again.
Funny thing is,
I think the two of you would have made a good couple.
Now I ain't gonna never tell Vi or nobody else that,
but y'all match.
Both of y'all smart as hell.
You love your community.
I think it could've worked out.
Yeah, well, nothing worked.
And nothing's working here.
I got to go stand on my own...
and find myself again.
All right. Goodies for the road.
[sighs]
Thank you.
You take care of yourself, Remy.
An don't be a stranger.
Ernest loved you.
You're a part of us, so don't forget us,
because we're not about to forget you.
[Remy] Thanks, Vi.
God bless you, my brother.
Bless you too, man.
[sighs]
Hey...
tell them both I said goodbye
and thank you.
[door opens]
[door closes]
[inaudible]
You got ten minutes.
What's up?
Like the hair.
-Thanks, man. -It's cool.
I see I'm not the only one with a new look.
Yeah, Asha gave it to me over the summer,
right before I reported here.
Got the idea from Maya Angelou's poem.
It's really dope.
Helps me keep my head up, you know, when I'm down.
How are you holding up in here?
I'm all right, I guess.
I'm reading a lot.
Drawing.
It's cool, though.
Yeah?
You know, I'm your friend, man. You could...
tell me how things really are in here.
Hey, look, the only thing that matters
is that I keep my head down, do my time...
and do whatever I can to never come back.
We were trying to do something good.
Wake folk up around here, but...
I don't know, man. Just...
I don't feel like it was worth it.
Don't do that, bro.
I'm glad to see you,
but you can't just come tell me the reason I'm in here
wasn't worth it.
It had to be.
Look, I can't get through this thinking like that.
I didn't mean it like that.
[sighs]
And I'm sorry, Ant.
I am.
[Davis] Man, I was moving on.
A new city, new career.
Then Nova's book comes out.
Your problems aren't about Nova.
You took a job at a university,
where employees are held to a higher standard
than NBA after-parties.
Yeah, well,
whatever it is, I don't like it.
It's called equal treatment, Davis.
Feels like oppression to you
because you're used to privilege.
[sighs]
Look, I know that I've been privileged
and coddled and protected and all of that, okay?
And you, Charley, you gave me the world.
And I blew it. I know that.
But what I took for granted then,
I'm begging you for now.
Charley, please do something.
Look, yesterday there were only ten protestors outside the gym.
Today, 200.
And if this gets any worse,
then Bayou State will have no choice but to get rid of me.
I need this.
Then be honest.
Do some interviews and take responsibility
for your mistakes.
The public might give you a second shot.
Might?
If you're looking for guarantees,
you should have kept it in your pants in the first place.
Do you even understand what you did?
Not to me.
To her.
Own your mistakes.
Then maybe there might be a small chance
this story will die out in a few days.
[inhales and exhales]
I believe you, Charley.
And I believe in you.
I always have.
Even when I don't like what you're saying.
-[jazzy music playing] -Hello?
[woman] So excited for this discussion.
-Octavia? -[Octavia] Nova.
What a nice surprise.
But then, you always did have great timing.
Let's see if you feel that way after I blast you
for that stunt you pulled at my Q and A.
Hold that thought.
We were just about to discuss your book
for this week's seminar.
The students really loved your talk.
Would you like to join us?
My book?
Oh, I get it now.
I've been Octavia-ed.
You goad me at my event, knowing I'll respond.
And here you are, waiting for me.
It's cute, but I want no part of your games, Octavia.
The Nova Bordelon I remember
never backed down from a challenge.
Especially if it came from me.
Never had someone pack me a picnic basket before.
[laughs]
And I don't think I've been on a picnic
since I was a kid.
Yeah, it's been a minute for me too.
But it's our first time out without the kids.
I wanted to mark the occasion.
Got these for you.
Didn't know you were such a romantic.
[both laugh]
I didn't know either.
[sniffs and sighs]
Folks without kids don't even know.
The struggle is real.
[school bell rings]
Here you go, Blue.
Congratulations on winning the spelling bee.
Thanks, Marcus.
I studied really hard with my daddy.
Oh. But my mom says you ain't got a daddy.
What?
My pops is my daddy.
But she says he ain't your real one.
Heard her tell my auntie
you ain't got no real daddy while they was on the phone.
Want to go play on the swings?
Your aunt is legit
a full-on chef and miracle worker.
Now you grew up with this kind of food daily?
All day.
My daddy couldn't cook, so Aunt Vi kept us fed.
Kept us fed good too.
She sure did.
Yeah.
She teach you how?
[laughs] What? To cook?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I can burn.
-What? -Yeah.
[both laugh]
Oh, wait,
there's some real boasting and bragging going on.
But do you have the chops to back it up,
is what I'm trying to know?
I mean, you could find out.
You can find out a lot of things, really.
[cell phone rings]
The sooner you answer it,
the sooner we can start our second kiss.
Hello?
No, I understand.
Everything all right?
All right.
I got to go.
It's Blue.
Thanks for taking the time out to help me.
You know, it felt a little like old times.
You and me against the world.
Solving problems.
Yeah, I guess it did... a little.
The biggest regret I have
is that when things went bad between us...
I didn't fight hard enough for you.
[sighs]
There was a time when I really needed to hear those words.
[sighs]
More than anything.
That time is gone.
Davis, you're still lying.
I just found out a few months ago
that you have a whole other family.
Look, we're finally at a place
where we can sit at a table and not tear each other apart.
Let's just let that be enough.
Because for me,
there is no more.
[Violet] Well...
that's our first funeral we catered.
I know, and I hate it.
Me too.
But I'm glad they called us.
Girl, you gonna get every repast and birthday
and everything in between for as long as you want.
Well, I'll take it,
as long as you with me.
What's wrong, babe?
I'm scared all over again.
It took so many years to get over this feeling,
and now it's back.
Baby, you know I ain't going to let nothing happen to you.
I know.
But it ain't like that.
I can't explain it.
Try.
It's in me.
The way he treated me.
How I used to live.
How I used to be.
The fear...
that's still in me.
And you can't protect me from that.
You're right.
I can't protect you from what you're feeling inside.
But I can do is be right here with you
while you're going through it.
You don't got to go through this alone.
Hell, you shouldn't have to go through it at all.
That's Nova's doing.
After all I done for her since she was a girl.
Since Trudy passed...
I was there every day.
Showed up for the kids. Did the right thing.
And she spit in my face.
I'm never going to forgive her
for bringing all this back on me.
Your prose is sharp and observant.
[Nova] Thank you.
But I found your methodology to be irrelevant and outdated.
Are you familiar with the works of Brittney Cooper,
Dr. Keisha Blain, Rebecca Traister?
You know, Brit and I were just talking about how long it's been
since we hung out with Keisha and Rebecca.
Next time we get together for lunch,
I'll make sure to ask them if they think
my methods are outdated.
[Octavia clears throat]
While this exchange has been very stimulating,
Miss Bordelon and I have some catching up to do.
I will see you all in seminar on Monday.
That'll be all, Jasmine.
[laughs]
I see you still have a type.
Jasmine?
She's a very bright and talented young woman.
I'll bet she is.
Are you still a fan of Italian Negronis?
Blue!
Blue, come back here.
Please talk to me.
[sighs and mutters]
Darla.
Came as soon as I could.
Where he at?
He's in the bedroom.
[sighs]
What happened?
I don't know.
The only thing that he would say to me the entire way here
is that his friend Marcus isn't being very nice to him.
And the school said he's been crying.
-Crying? -A lot.
-About what? -I don't know. They're kids.
It could be anything.
Most kids. Not Blue.
-[sighs] -Somebody said something.
God, I hate this.
[sighs]
We got through it all.
Why this now?
I cannot believe that she would do this.
[sighs]
[indistinct chatter]
[speaking Spanish]
[Romero, in English] I know that shot scared you, but you're very brave.
Ignacio.
-[Ignacio] Miss Bordelon. -[laughs]
Thank you so much for this clinic.
So many need this,
but are just scared to get help.
Well, we're here.
Thank you.
Eres un angel guardián.
Vamos.
-Guardian angel? -Okay.
High praise.
-I like it. -[laughs] You better.
[officer] Ladies and gentlemen, Immigration.
[inaudible chatter]
[Charley] Wait a minute. No.
No...
[officer 2] Let's go. Move it.
This isn't allowed.
Stop.
[officer 3] Get your papers out.
[Charley] Hold on! Really?
Really?
They're getting medical attention.
You need to back off and let us do our jobs.
Clinics are protected spaces.
You don't have the authority to come and raid--
Do you want to be arrested for obstruction?
Under the current administration ICE has the authority it needs.
How did you hear about this clinic?
Anonymous tip about illegal aliens.
Aliens?
They're people.
They live here. They-- They have jobs.
And they're undocumented.
This is such bullshit.
I need to see your papers as well.
No, wait, he's a physician assistant at a hospital.
Charley, it's fine. This is not the first time.
[Ignacio] Senora.
[Charley] Ignacio?
Ignacio, I will find you an attorney.
Whatever you need.
I will be on it. Just-- Hold on!
Detain the father and the oldest boy.
The youngest two are American citizens.
No. No.
-No, just-- -Papa.
[speaking Spanish]
Be strong.
Take care of your little brother.
Please, call my wife. Let her know I'm being detained.
She needs to come get Joaquin and Dante.
I love you, mijo. It's going to be okay.
I love you.
I don't know how people like you live with yourselves.
Well, I'm doing just fine.
Besides, it's out of my hands.
As soon as those undocs are processed,
they're going to be put on that bus
and transported to a detention facility.
You ought to be happy I'm not shutting down your mill
for running an unsanctioned clinic.
We're working with a Farmworker Health Network.
Every volunteer doctor and nurse was licensed
and our health care was legal.
So don't try me.
Those people don't belong in St. Jo.
According to whom? The Landrys?
I know they called in the tip.
Are you saying they called ICE on themselves?
Sam Landry lost three of his best farmhands on that raid.
Well, if it wasn't the Landrys, then who did this?
It's hard to say.
I can tell you this.
When you closed down our prison,
you made more enemies in a day than I made in a lifetime.
Gal, you ain't popular.
Hey, Props, bro, for getting inked up in honor of Ant.
Yeah, man, I just... I want him to know
that we didn't forget about him.
[Asha] Well, what you need to do is slow down on the drinking.
The alcohol was for numbing the pain, not getting drunk.
I can barely feel it.
Oh, man, he's messed up.
-Mm-mm. -[Malik] You want to throw up?
-Mm-mm. -[Asha] Okay, you know what?
Let's just get him to the bathroom
before we all regret it.
-Yeah, let's do it. -[Micah groans]
I'm fine.
Sure you are. Come on.
Let's go.
-Yo, I love you guys. -One step at a time, bro.
He say something yet?
Nothing.
He just cried himself to sleep.
[sighs]
I'll be back in the morning to check on him.
First thing.
He could wake up in the night and start asking questions.
And honestly, Ralph Angel,
I don't have the kind and gentle things to say to him.
I know.
[sighs]
You're not furious?
If this is what I think it is, then yeah, I'm mad.
I feel betrayed.
Like I can't shake my past.
Farm don't matter.
Parole ending don't matter.
The person that matters to me got a stain on him
because of my choices.
No.
From choices I made.
Yeah, well, a lot happened.
We both played our part.
All that matters right now is Blue.
[sighs]
[Nova] Why did you stop writing?
[Octavia] Oh, I still write.
As I get older, it's becomes increasingly more important
for me to mentor the next generation.
-Hmm. -You know, there was a time
I thought you would be my greatest legacy.
Academia wasn't for me.
Well, it's not for any of us.
You know, we do what the work demands.
-We adapt. -Or not.
I chose to write about people,
not theories.
I set you up for intellectual greatness.
Not mediocrity in the form of a tell-all book.
It's just us now.
No audiences to perform for.
You can admit my book is more than that.
And you are capable of so much more.
Coming here was a big mistake.
[Octavia] One line.
That's all you included in your book.
Some vague reference about a professor back at Tulane
who helped you understand patriarchy?
So humiliating me on stage,
that was about me not acknowledging you in my book?
One line is worse than no mention at all,
because it means that you thought about including me,
and then you made a conscious decision not to.
Why is that?
Is it because you never think of me?
Because I don't believe that.
What about all the time that we spent together?
What about the summer in Italy?
When I could make you say my name.
And I could make you scream mine.
[whispers] I remember those days fondly.
[sighs]
As beautiful and as strong as I remember.
[sighs]
Can't believe I'm here.
Oh.
Is it really that surprising?
I think in the back of both our minds,
we always knew we'd meet up again.
Mm-hmm.
How long are you in New York?
Tomorrow's my last day.
[sighs]
Then I move on to Boston,
Chicago, Atlanta and Baton Rouge.
That's a shame.
I was hoping that we could catch up.
Hmm.
You know, I could come with you on your next stop.
[laughs]
Don't you have classes?
My graduate students can cover them.
It will be fun to spend more time with you.
Just like the old days.
Thank you for coming by.
Could I get you a glass of wine or--?
Oh, no, I'm good, thank you.
But I'm sure you could use a glass.
I heard about the ICE raid at your mill.
[sighs]
They just tore a family apart.
Ignacio's been part of our business for years now,
and I...
I couldn't help him.
I know.
It's disgusting.
But I also heard that you had your P.I. friend, Vicky,
going through old land records.
Now if that information got to me,
it got to others as well.
So the raid's a message.
Someone's trying to stop me from asking questions
about the new highway.
Does St. Thomas know
the Landrys are trying to move the highway to St. Jo?
They know someone's trying to take the highway from them.
And they're not happy about it.
I mean, without it, they lose the tourists
and turn into a ghost town.
How long until they plan to break ground?
-Oh, Charley, I-- -How long?
Five months. Maybe six.
It's being fast-tracked.
Six months?
That can't happen.
We have to stop it, or find a way to slow it down.
You could team up with the people of St. Thomas,
gather enough signatures to put the highway
on the ballot in both parishes,
and let the people decide.
It's a long shot,
but if you expose the Landrys' lobbying effort,
you might have a chance.
-You could also-- -Run for council
against Jacob Boudreaux.
The highway is coming, but it's the city council
who decides exactly where it goes.
If you can get the council to move the highway
just five miles west--
Then most of the farmers' land would be spared.
Including my daddy's land.
But you need to be careful, Charley.
If you decide to run,
you'll discover the Landrys are just the tip of the spear.
Whatever the Landrys and their friends throw at me,
I'll be ready.
If you do this, you better be.
The filing deadline to run for council is in two days.
You think I'd have a shot?
[knock on door, door opens]
Hey, I didn't know that you were--
Oh, my God, what happened?
-Are you hurt? -No, I just...
It's just a little tattoo.
Have you been drinking?
I didn't mean to get drunk. I was just...
I just took a few sips to numb the pain.
You're 17.
Too young for a tattoo
and definitely too young to be drinking.
-Ma, come on-- -Micah!
You're starting to make choices
you'll have to live with for the rest of your life.
Are you even thinking about that?
It's a tattoo.
Everybody does it now.
Okay. I get it.
You're a young man now.
The road ahead is complicated for all of us.
But for you it's...
If you won't listen to me anymore,
just let me know who you will listen to.
Ma, I do listen to you.
[sighs]
♪ Take my hand and see ♪
♪ Where we could go ♪
♪ If you take the lead ♪
♪ Leave the fear behind ♪
♪ And ♪
♪ Let me know ♪
♪ Now ♪
Tell us what happened, buddy?
My friend Marcus said you're not my real daddy.
Yeah, well, Marcus is wrong.
[crying]
Because I am your daddy.
In all ways that matter. Just...
Just not in a biological way.
What's biological mean?
It just mean that a part of a mommy
and a part of a daddy come together to make a baby.
That's all.
You aren't a part of me, Pops?
Is that why I look different than you?
Man, it don't matter what we look like.
I put my soul inside you.
I mean, our heart beat the same.
Look.
Feel that?
-Yeah? -[sniffles]
All right.
Feel that?
That?
Yeah.
That's the kind of father and son we are.
Heart to heart.
I chose you.
I chose to be your daddy.
I chose to take care of you.
Help you with your homework.
Tuck you into bed.
But what if you choose someone else one day?
Another boy or girl?
That'll never happen.
As long as my heart is beating, Blue,
I'm going to be your daddy.
Because I chose you.
And you chose me too, right?
Come here.
[Blue sniffles]
All right.
It's all right.
[sobs]
Okay.
All right.
Is there a part of you in me?
There is.
So you're my biological mommy?
I am.
But even if I wasn't,
I would still choose you a hundred times over.
Just like your daddy.
[sniffles]
I love you.
♪ If not now ♪
♪ When? ♪
♪ For me to see ♪