Αυτή η στιγμή του 1969 με στοιχειώνει ακόμα.
Αστροναύτες του Apollo 11 Armstrong και Aldrin
είχε κολλήσει στη σεληνιακή μονάδα Eagle
να ξεκινήσουν την τελική τους κάθοδο.
Στη θάλασσα της ηρεμίας, αυτοσχεδίασε ο Άρμστρονγκ,
χειροκίνητος πιλότος του πλοίου περνούν αρκετούς ογκόλιθους
και αποφυγή ορισμένων τραγωδιών.
Κατά τα τελευταία δευτερόλεπτα,
ο υπολογιστής του Eagle ακούγησαν συναγερμοί.
Ο Άλντριν τους αγνόησε.
Στις 4:17 μ.μ. EDT,
with 30 seconds of fuel remaining,
Armstrong brought her home and said,
"Houston, Tranquility Base here.
The Eagle has landed."
During the first COVID spring,
without even realizing it,
I was counting down myself.
Waiting for the last-second heroic call
that would shoot me back to sanity.
Shh, shh, shh.
No PowerPoint?
Figured I'd use my finger.
Like-- like this, and this, and that, and...
Yeah, sorry.
Sorry.
Yeah, um,
our report is about the bussing crisis
in the old days of s-- segregation.
And hey, you know, I actually own a bus.
It's what you call it, a perfect fit.
We named it the Magic Bus...
because...
magic things can happen...
in, um, a...
-Antonio? -Yeah.
I never-- never-- never mind, um...
What were we?
- Shit, uh... - Name of the article?
It Was Never About Bussing.
We'll need your handout.
Uh, yeah.
Wait. Lita, did I give it to you?
-I think I gave it to you. -Shut up, I gave it to you.
-No, I can't do it. -You've seen it all the time.
Uh, one sec.
I think we might have, uh, misplaced it,
or something, like...
Shit.
Well...
It's funny.
- This is funny. - Uh, uno momento.
I said that it was funny,
not that you could have more time.
- Ooh. - Wow.
No, I'm-- look, um, okay.
Let's just-- let's start over. Let's start over.
Never happened.
Um, the name of the story...
is...
-Goddammit, I just would-- -Yeah. We read the chapter.
I know it doesn't look like it, but we did.
Um, hold-- hold, please.
Maybe by some miracle, he did give it to me--
-Oh, my God, I got it. -Oh.
- Lo siento, we're ready. - Good.
Unfortunately, we're not.
No, but-- but-- but-- we-- we read the--
we read the-- the story.
Which, in educated circles, is called an article.
It's nice of you.
But the assignment was to present it.
And without a PowerPoint or a handout,
how are you going to do that?
- We have the handout. - Hmm.
That does indicate a level of commitment.
Just not the right level.
-Shit. -Shit.
Was that "shit," as in,
"What an embarrassment, shit."
Or I was thinking it was,
"Shit, these guys are trying to undermine
my whole class" shit.
Or, "I gotta stop them before my entire class loses its shit."
No, we're not doing-- no, Mr.--
Sit back down.
Both of you.
Mr. Cole, you can't, um...
stop us from giving our report.
Sure I can.
I'm the professor.
At my office, after class, both of you.
Next.
We're all fucked.
We're fine. I can't get in trouble. Okay?
I'll take Lita first.
Whoa, whoa. We're not going in together?
In an interrogation, you keep people separate,
so that their stories don't match.
Right?
He's kidding.
I think.
On second thought...
I'll take your boyfriend first.
-What the-- -It's fine, it's fine.
Stay calm.
Okay? Okay?
Oh, shit.
Shit, shit.
Oh, my-- you fucking--
What are you doing?
Oy, Antonio.
You people had me chomping pencil lead again.
I've been there. It's a tough habit to break.
I'm sorry. This is serious.
Do you want to explain to me, Antonio,
why you attacked Mr. Cole?
First...
I shouldn't have.
There's no excuse.
But...
he...
I-- I-- I--
I just messed up bad.
Ethan.
We can still call campus police.
It's your move.
It's been embarrassing enough.
Do you feel safe,
letting him back in your classroom?
After about a few weeks' break, of course.
What about me?
What about you, what?
What about me? My-- my-- my safety?
You're kidding, right?
No, I'm sorry, I'm just--
I guess I'm just being stupid today.
Anyway, I'm not coming back.
- To class, I mean. - That's not an answer.
Yeah, well...
I take another quiz, I'm just gonna fail.
He will be disciplined, Ethan, but, um,
maybe it's best for everyone
if we don't involve the police.
Let's just say bygones?
That's a professor
doing you a solid there, Antonio.
Be back here at 8 a.m. tomorrow for a wrap-up, please.
Thank you.
I can't wait.
We know what you mean.
You in a hurry?
-I have another class. -At 12:30.
Tamara.
When are you going to stop catching me at everything?
When you stop looking so guilty and start lightening up.
But seriously, how you doing?
Bruises, no cuts.
I can see that,
but what about what I can't see?
Hey, what you can't see can't hurt you.
Oh, come on. Nobody believes that.
Yeah. True.
He says "In the age of coronavirus..."
I just got out of a two-hour meeting
on all things coronavirus.
It was not fun.
But first things first. How are you?
I never see you these days.
Oh, well, just getting jumped by the occasional student.
What is the corona update?
Keeping the doors open for now,
we'll see how things progress...
Oh, did you hear about the two full-time positions?
I've heard rumblings.
Just like you to figure out the strangest way
to show off for the hiring committee.
-Unless I'm not applying. -What? Wow!
For the fifth straight year?
Beginning to think you don't like us.
It has nothing to do with you guys.
That's what I'm afraid of.
Ethan...
ever since Marie, you have been a little...
I mean...
maybe a little lost?
-Is there anything that-- -Yep.
Lesson plans await.
And I have to Google search student uprisings
and the professors that caused them.
Oh, well, I wouldn't want to get in the way
of another good Google search.
Tamara, I, um...
I appreciate your understanding in this matter.
Ethan.
We have your back.
I just wish I could convince you of that.
"Appreciate your understanding on this matter."
Jesus.
I call it a matter.
Got your plowman,
your fisherman, your shepherd.
And your soggy prince, Icarus.
They're off in the painting's right corner.
His thrashing legs, anyway.
Maybe I'm Icarus, the self-centered god,
who flies too close to the sun,
and drowns while the plowman,
the fisherman, and the ship's sailors
go about their business.
Oh, uh--
Hi, Tamara. Um...
Ethan? Do you have a minute?
Yeah, um, look,
- I'm sorry about the-- - No.
-I'm not calling about that. -Mmm. Okay.
So then, there's a campus shutdown
-as of 6 p.m. Tonight. -No...
Remote instruction, until we hear otherwise.
Well, a remote instruction
sounds kind of like an oxymoron, doesn't it?
- Yeah. - Oh. Mm-hmm.
It's about the only choice we have, you know?
Only way to land the plane.
- I understand. - Sorry.
This is really going to alter your syllabus.
Yeah. Curriculum changes ahead.
We're finishing up some best practices.
-I was just thinking-- -Yeah, I'll check my email.
- Yeah, please. - Mm-hmm.
Ethan, let us know
if there's anything else we can do for you.
Same to you, um...
Well. I think that's about it.
- Yeah. - Stay safe, my friend.
Yeah, take care.
Fuck.
Coronavirus is overwhelming every hospital.
Another 46 people have died from it.
This is a serious health situation in China.
As the wave of sickness
appears to be following the grim predictions.
The pandemic...
was the strangest Mad Hatter ride.
Maybe the apt metaphor is water-based.
Teachers were lost on rapids of online education,
drowning in computer graphics, rethinking...
everything.
Wait.
Houston, an idea finally landed.
Mr. Cole! What's up?
Okay, so, Apollo.
What was it about?
I feel like this is a trick question,
but, uh, I'll play.
Landing on the Moon for 500, Alex.
-Um, Ethan. -Yes. No, no.
I-- I mean more than that.
I mean, obviously, the program's legacy
- is all tied up in-- - Careful.
I feel my feet leaving the floorboards.
It's tied up in our legacy
of can-do spirit.
We set out to achieve an outlandish goal,
and we achieved it.
And that's what we're about to do.
Achieve a national goal, or land on the Moon?
Achieve a goal with the pandemic.
Got it. No, I completely lost it.
I'm like, Kanye West levels of confused here.
All right.
When America is faced with a challenge,
- what do we do? - Ethan.
Can I get the Concise Epiphany for Dummies version of this?
I'm busy.
Uh, rewriting my entire semester's syllabus,
just like everybody else.
What is the real history of this country?
Oh, do you mean the one
with the friendly Native Americans who've got
the colorful headdresses and they helped serve
the Thanksgiving stuffing piping hot?
-Or the one that-- -No, we show up.
When we are faced with a challenge,
we solve it.
I mean, we've covering
the late 20th century history anyway.
So, why not focus on the Apollo program?
That's what I'm gonna do for the remainder of the semester.
While still covering the essential elements
of late 20th century history?
With my eyes closed.
Now-- now, I mean, you know--
'Kay. Eyes closed. Open, wide shut. Whatever.
I have faith in you, E-man. Go to town. Bye.
Thank you, bye.
In 500 years, the 20th century
will be remembered for space exploration.
Basically, the Apollo 11 Moon landing has no peers.
It was and is astonishing, that we have forgotten
what a wild roll of the dice it was.
We didn't have the equipment, the technology, or the men.
We were unprepared on almost every level
when the mission called, asking everything
and offering not one single guarantee of success.
Regardless, we dug down deep, ignored every fear,
and shot past every failure into orbit.
This is our track record.
We win when the chips are down.
And this semester will remind us
that big challenges are second nature to Americans.
Students,
lofty aspirations are what we do,
even when the goal lies across time and space itself.
All right, that's it.
That's a start.
For the first time, three Americans rode
the Saturn 5 Moon rocket.
-Whoa. -Hey. Hey, Mr. Cole.
What in the wild flying fuck of a world
are you doing here?
I see you still got your way with words, Mister.
-Look, I just came here to talk. -You don't have a mask.
-All right? -Okay. Okay, one sec. One--
Jesus. You shouldn't be here!
Look, I know this isn't cool.
That doesn't even begin to start.
Leave now and we won't have to--
Look, I get it, I get it, okay?
You-- it's, like, the second time you've decided
whether or not you want to call the cops on me?
Yeah, and that's two times way too many.
M-- Mr. Cole.
I'm not here to do anything bad.
Okay?
I'm not that kind of guy.
And I think you know that.
I know that you jumped me.
That's right.
But it ain't that simple, is it?
How did you find out where I live?
Well, in the days of Google Maps search,
ain't that hard.
All right, this time, I am calling the cops,
-All right? -Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey.
Okay. I get it.
If that's what you want to do...
you'll do it.
Quit saying that.
-Saying what? -"I get it."
You don't get it, okay?
What?
- What? - What do you want?
Mr. Cole, I want to know if I should drop the class.
That's what emails are for.
-I guess that's true. -That is true.
But what about the other thing?
The presentation malpractice?
No.
In the office.
Between me and you.
What happened and what was said?
You want to start makin' sense at any time,
you go right ahead.
Oh, but no big deal, I'm just--
hangin' out here with the guy who slammed me into the ground.
No big.
But, you know, I've got a class to teach, so...
So...
I should probably just drop, then?
Listen, I'm just surprised that you--
-I'm surprised. -Yeah. I-- I-- I get it.
Sorry, I said it again.
I'm sorry that I'm surprising you.
Is this really all you're here for,
to decide if you should drop?
Is that a difficult question?
That's why I'm here.
Good.
Look, you gotta understand.
As a teacher, I want what's best for you.
Okay?
So, this...
this is a matter I'm gonna leave to your better judgment.
I'm gonna drop.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Yeah, I bet you are.
What's that?
-You don't-- -You know, Mr. Cole...
I'm sorry I came here.
You're more than six feet, it's fine.
- But don't-- - I know.
Don't come back.
Fuck.
A waxing crescent, little less than half.
25% illumination.
Mysterious one tonight.
I should tell him.
When he wakes up.
Probably won't, though.
Uh, chica?
Sorry, just doing homework.
No.
- No? - Mm-mmm.
Babe, you're jackhammering my skull.
Oh, Antonio, you sweet boy.
Where is the big jackhammer hitting?
Well, for starters...
right here.
Over here?
Actually, right here.
Oh, right here?
- Yes. - Quit, quit.
Are you cured, or should I call the hospital?
Babe, papers on the first day of Spring Break?
What's the first rule?
Uh, first rule of Spring Break...
-no typing? -Mm-mmm.
No...
-jackhammering? -Mmm, no.
No homework.
I know, I know.
Just a conclusion to go with this history paper.
And then after that, we can do whatever you want.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
-What-- -What?
Please tell me you're not writing for that stupido.
Forget it, I was just killing time until you got up.
Okay? Are you up?
Well, don't play that shit with me, babe.
-Who's playing? -You-- Cole's class.
I thought you were gonna drop.
One of us has to stay in school.
You're gonna let that big white dickhead,
who made me tackle him, teach you.
Remind me again how he made you tackle him?
You know what, never mind.
Antonio. It's remote.
I don't even have to see him.
And what is he teaching now? Huh?
Let me guess, what is he doing, what's the word?
How to be, what, come on.
That one single word?
That one out of a million others?
So, fill in the blank, you're the smart one.
He's teaching privilege.
White privilege.
Right, just like all the other white teachers.
Drop his class!
Final!
Antonio. That's not fair. Don't ask me to.
Wow. Okay. All right, you know what?
I'm out of here, then. Forget it.
-Are you serious? -Yeah, I'm leavin'.
You're acting like a child.
- Yeah, bitch. - Whatever, leave then.
Well, I'm going.
You know what, on second thought...
I'm gonna let you make it up to me.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
It is Spring Break, and...
...you're gonna need these clothes.
- Hey. - That clothes, that one...
- And yeah-- that one. - Wait.
You better be nice to me, or I'm not gonna take you.
Shut up, it's coronavirus. We can't go anywhere.
And these are your clothes, not mine!
You wear my clothes all the time, chica.
-Stop it! -What are you talkin' about?
-We're goin' to San Diego. -No, Antonio.
Nobody's lis-- hear me out, please.
You haven't met my homies there yet.
Oh, my God, if they're anything like your friends here...
What? What?
You know, is it even safe to go out?
You think I would take you somewhere that's not safe?
Hmm?
My best friend, D'Andre...
he's got this garage we can stay at.
He's got a great crash pad by the beach.
It's beautiful.
We can jump in the water, we can surf,
just you and me.
And just get out of here, you know,
just forget all this bullshit for a while.
I think it'd be good for us.
And I want you to meet my friends.
They're like my family.
For real.
Okay. Then I want to.
You better.
And you'll quit bugging me about taking this class?
It's really not that bad,
he's focusing on the Apollo Moon landing a lot.
That's what my research paper's on.
No wonder that's your favorite subject, huh?
Moonface.
All right, go get dressed.
This girl, she reminds me...
slow down.
But I only know fast.
She's trying to teach me her different way.
I think...
I love her.
That...
worth a try.
Our channel breaks the news here.
Hey, all right, everybody.
Bro, let's go.
Yo, it's a party, you'll let me get my thing on.
-Cheers. -Cheers.
Cheers.
Ah, thank you.
Yeah. No more for him, he's cut off!
No, no, no, but seriously. Nah, we were cool.
This guy was stressin' on D'Andre.
Again. They always are, man.
Yeah, no, tell the story. What happened?
I got nothin' but love.
Oh, my God. Love?
I keep tellin' him, that ain't this year's plan.
It just ain't.
Do you know why?
'Cause this man right here, he's from another country.
Aye, man.
Not a country.
Oh, my God.
You hear this? People shit on fool, he just smiles.
What is that?
It's like your mama took care of him, some shit.
Hey, hey.
She did.
Wait, wait.
And that's, like, a bad thing?
Uh, look, it-- it's cool, it's cool, it's cool.
You know, except for when they...
-when they try to... -Oh, hell no.
Oh, look, it's on, do it, De, come on.
Come on, man, not this shit again.
I'mma fuck you up.
Fuck this up, it's up.
When-- when-- when they try to take my rabbits.
Oh, no, the deep--
- No, don't do it. - Wait, what is it, what is it?
Don't ask, baby, please.
- No, come on, just... - Shut up, eh?
We're gonna...
we're gonna get a little place, and we're gonna--
we're gonna get a little place, a-- and we're gonna--
He's so stupid.
Is he stupid?
Little bit, it's a little bit.
We're goin' to get a little place,
a-- and Jamal says we're gonna have pigs
and-- and chickens,
and you better not forget about the alfalfa for my rabbits.
-No, no, no. -Oh, I can--
I can see it now.
I can see it right across the river.
Ah!
Jamal says everybody's gonna be nice to me.
There ain't gonna be no more trouble.
Oh, Jamal, can we go now? I don't want no more trouble.
No.
So, what is the question again?
"To be or not to be."
- Dun, dun, dun. - That is the question.
"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind of
to suffer the slings and arrow of rage's fortune,
or to take his rabbits
to a sea of alfalfa,
and plow a pasture
against everybody ain't gonna be nice to him.
If to die, to sleep no more...
and by sleeping say...
There ain't gonna be no more trouble."
No, sir.
"And therefore end the heartache,
and a thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to."
"In other words, should I,
the first Black
Lenny Hamlet,
take them rabbits and go across the river,
and just wait here and get shot in the back of your head?"
Oh!
"To be, or not to be, a rabbit on Earth?
That is the question."
I don't get why it's so damn funny.
It's funny, because my man here is funny.
'Cause he blended it together from a book and a play.
You know, Of Mice and Men with a little Hamlet mixer.
Okay.
Steinbeck and Shakespeare...
That's wild.
Lookit, my girlfriend's smart.
Stage calls you, my bro.
No, but seriously...
I don't know, though, out in the real world,
-it might not fly. -Ah.
Fuck carrying a gun, now it's love and acting?
That shit'd get you stone cold stomped out around here.
That's why I hang out with you dopes.
Hey, I'm going to get cold ones.
- Call it. - Yup. Yup.
- Hey. Let's go. - Shots, shots.
Man, De can only do some shit like that, huh?
My mom never let me smoke inside.
Boys were, uh, playing poker.
I hate cards.
So, uh...
you get hassled a lot?
I don't see how anyone would have a problem with you.
They all want me.
And by that, I mean that they all wanna kill me.
You know,
these guys were hardasses until I made 'em laugh.
Use your humor to relax people.
People have these stories built up in their heads.
It's the most dangerous thing in the world.
What is?
A bad story.
They see a Black guy...
they-- they got stories.
Most are bullshit.
But you show 'em different.
Oh, I don't know about that.
When I perform, it-- it's like I'm trying to find
the place where people are...
better.
And if they let me, I work from there.
I'm searching for that spot, too.
I, um-- do this thing,
when people get wound too tight, in Monterey Park.
I love it.
It just, you know, reminds people--
We're all in the same city.
-In the same country. -In the same world.
Exactly.
Look, maybe you'll catch this.
Saw this movie the other day called Matewan,
about this town in the Appalachians in the 1920s.
It's this, uh, coal strike goes down.
This grinch-ass coal company
puts the, uh,
whites, Italians and Blacks against each other.
Uh, the plan is to get 'em to hate each other
to grow business.
Towards the end, they-- they get smart.
They realize that they share the fight.
I think that's the message that needs to get sent.
We're all living in the same city...
under the same sky, but...
most of the time, you wouldn't even know it.
They don't want us to.
My plan...
to get people to see that...
it's all one thing.
Living.
It sounds so...
Sounds good.
Like your house.
It's a thrasher.
But to me, it's a mansion.
My pops left it to me when he died.
My mom and dad died,
and these guys became my second family.
This is our home.
What about you?
Me?
I'm-- I'm good.
Nah.
Somethin' else.
The way you catch all my crap
means somethin' pulled you out of orbit, too.
I mean--
you mean what, family?
Sure. What happened?
I, uh...
just...
it's hard to...
You don't talk about it.
Not really, no.
Well, if my fight is your fight,
then maybe you should.
Okay, um...
okay.
Uh, it was years ago.
We, uh...
my brother, my dad and I...
we were crossing...
and it, uh...
didn't go right.
Crossed the border?
Yeah. In the big river.
The Rio Grande.
That's the one.
Lost them?
Yeah.
Follow its current.
Grows cold, sometimes, like...
pandemic cold.
You've got Antonio now, a-- and...
...us.
New phase, new days.
I'm sorry about your parents.
Everyone's battling.
Babe.
Are you ready to Road Warrior?
What?
Our boy Luke has a bar that still pours.
I mean, they'd probably serve us, but...
Party time, D'Andre, baby!
Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo.
What-- what place is this, y'all?
Y'all didn't tell me about any places.
The Ale-- The Ale's on K Street.
- K Street. - Ah, that place
is where you go if you tryin' to solo.
That place is filled with fools.
- What? - Exactly.
Then we'll fit right in.
Wait. They're open during a pandemic?
A lot of places are.
A lot of stupid places.
-Who you callin' stupid? -Huh?
Whoa!
Kay, we'll get started...
Don't get it, I don't care...
I got a picture of it, sure.
- Damn, well, you get it. - I still get you, though.
I step from out of this, period.
Half moon.
50% illumination.
Middle ground.
Where you get tired of doing the smart thing.
Goddammit! I--
And hello to you, too, Mr. Cole.
Just over half the students took the frickin' midterm.
Well, did you email them on Canvas?
Every last one!
Then you've done all you can do.
What, we're just gonna wash our hands of the whole semester?
Of course not.
Well, it sounded like what you were implying.
- Ethan, are you okay? - I'm doing my job.
What is it gonna take to get these students interested?
Ethan.
There is a lot going on in the world right now.
Yeah, and I'm trying to show up.
-We all are. -We had enough trouble
with people showing up beforehand.
God only knows what the world's gonna look like
when this horror is over!
Wow.
That was really dark, Ethan.
Well, okay. Okay.
I'm sorry.
Yeah, me too.
Look, um,
maybe the Moon mission will hit big
after the pandemic is over.
I mean, we're all struggling, right?
You and me. Your students.
Hey, that kid, Antonio, he dropped, right?
Tamara, I'm sor-- I-- I'm--
I have another call I have to-- I have to-- thank you.
It is.
Sounds impressive.
It's, um-- it's-- it's a window!
-Okay. -I love it, it's beautiful.
-You love it? -Yes, I do.
-Really? -Yeah.
Uterine cancer in a 42-year-old woman.
Maybe a fall is waiting inside each of us.
A green sea, drowning.
Marie went down so fast...
nobody heard her splash.
- What are you doin'? - Guess.
Well, it looks like you're reading.
Well, you'd be wrong. Guess again.
You're writing?
Ding, ding, ding!
Maybe you should've stayed in school, you're pretty smart.
Are you kidding me?
You know what happened to me, and this is how you're acting.
You want to know what I hate most in the whole world?
You know what, I'm getting some ideas
and maybe, I'm thinking it's me.
I hate not being listened to, Antonio!
I'm listening, Lita.
You're not even listening enough to know
that you're not listening, you're so out of it!
Well, you know what--
Well, maybe if I could drink.
Maybe if you would let me, allow me to have one beer.
Then maybe I would listen to you!
Hey, hey, hey.
I didn't mean that, okay? Just don't go. I'm-- I'm--
I'm sorry.
Look, I know that you're struggling...
but I can't take this, Antonio.
You can't take this?
What do you think was taken from me in San Diego?
Believe me, I know.
But your life didn't end there.
You're doing it again.
But all my life, people have told me to shut up!
-I never tell you to shut up. -You might as well have!
Look, I'm gonna say this one time.
So are you back from wherever the hell you are,
the edge of the abyss?
Yes, I mean-- I'm-- I'm here. Yes.
Brown girls like me?
They know not to speak up, and do you want to know why?
Think I'm gonna get told.
Because then we bring attention to ourselves.
Attention!
And people tell me like they have my whole life,
"Who do you think you are?"
- Stop. - I'm right here!
-Okay, I hear you. -No, you don't.
-I'm listening, right here! -You don't!
You're just trying to get back together with me, Antonio,
and that's not gonna happen!
I thought I could help you...
but I can't, not by myself.
Yeah, go ahead, Antonio.
Get mad, like you always do.
Fuck!
There goes Antonio.
Can't talk about his feelings.
What do you want me to do?
You tell me right now, you want me to do something,
I'll do it right here!
What do you want me to do? I'll do anything, you tell me.
I'll do it.
Take me home.
ten, nine...
We have ignition sequence...
Three, two, one, zero.
For the first time,
three Americans board the Saturn 5 Moon rocket.
Calling Houston,
you are a go for us,.
Emergency alarms are blaring.
Mission hangs in the balance.
Where...
where the hell am I?
I need to talk to you, too.
Hey, teacher.
That mask makes you look like a gangster.
So, I don't really know what we're doing here.
- I think maybe you do. - Well, then.
Tell me what you want to tell me.
How's your boyfriend?
Antonio and I aren't dating anymore.
Sorry to hear that.
But I am really worried about him.
Why? Seems like a pretty tough guy.
Uh, six feet, remember?
Let's just...
what is this about?
Antonio.
Getting drunk every night and trying to hurt himself
because he lost one of his best friends.
I'm sorry to hear that,
but what's it have to do with me?
Antonio and I are still living together
until the pandemic ends.
Last night, he came home so drunk,
that he could barely see or stand.
Before he nodded off, he said something to me.
Okay.
Ah.
Wait, Antonio.
How's your boyfriend doing?
Your professor.
Huh?
You still taking that shitty class?
Let me tell you something.
He's just like the white lady of Central Park, chica.
Just like her!
No idea what that means.
Well, neither did I.
But this morning I realized
he was talking about the white lady
who called the cops on the Black birdwatcher in Central Park.
I can tell you know what this means.
Let's take a walk.
First, I want to explain.
This is important.
A good person was...
lost.
Not just anybody. A really special person.
Okay.
There. Look.
You're a fan of the Apollo mission, yeah?
One of the greatest successes of the 20th century, yeah.
I admit, it's a favorite obsession.
You're the expert, in class.
I'm glad you think so.
What Moon phase is that?
Oh, uh...
that's a full moon.
A full moon is when the Sun illuminates all of it.
A hundred percent.
This is a waning gibbous.
See, there's a chunk on the edge missing there?
It's gone past the full moon stage, about...
90% illumination.
Wow.
I'm impressed.
A few months ago, that would have been all I needed.
I would have just taken the good grade
and walked away happy.
I don't know what's going on here.
I'm not just trying to impress you anymore, Mr. Cole.
I'm trying to show you that there's more to the Moon
than you think there is.
Okay. I get it.
No, you don't.
Fine. Explain it to me.
The Moon is about more than white people landing on it.
You know the Sun? It's like you.
Harsh and aggressive.
You celebrate what it celebrates.
But your interests could go beyond that.
You see, the Moon doesn't have its own energy source,
but it is equal to the Sun.
Its power is...
inward and mysterious.
It moves in ways that,
maybe to you, aren't important...
but they're real.
Didn't know this was about resenting my class.
I like your class, Mr. Cole. I do.
But it only covers one side.
It doesn't cover everything and everyone.
Make it sound like I'm turning the Moon landing
into a white savior narrative.
Oh. Oh.
Well, you're trying to blow my mind
and piss me off at the same time.
It's working.
You know... I used to avoid conversations like this.
But now I know I have to have them.
Or you might do to someone else what you did to Antonio.
Let's just talk about what happened.
You okay?
Whom are you talking to?
Uh, you. Cole.
Teacher.
My name begins with a "Mister" or a "Professor."
Professor.
Mr. Professor Cole.
So, how many points did I lose?
All of them.
Every single one.
Damn.
You just don't give a shit, do you?
Not the way you think I should.
God, can't you see?
It's just like someone like you would say.
Someone like me?
What can I do to get you to understand?
Maybe we don't speak the same language.
Oh, you think that girlfriend of yours speaks
the same language as you, huh?
How long do you think
she is gonna let someone like you drag her down?
Takes me five seconds to see
that she's the brains of the operation.
Oh, now you're starting to get heated.
You know what? Sit tight. I'll just talk to Lita instead.
I'm being totally honest, I was a little pissed that day.
So, he jumped you, because--
Because I said that you and he were different.
Which was clearly a sore subject.
-A sore subject? -Look, it wasn't my best day.
But he shouldn't have gone wild like that,
and obviously, he shouldn't have jumped me.
-Anyway. I should get back. -Mr. Cole.
A friend of mine told me
the stories people make up in their heads are dangerous.
I think he meant the stories people tell
with their own interests in mind.
Well, I teach history...
so my stories are based on facts.
In México, stories can be factual
and still empty in the middle.
I have a class to teach.
I want you to think differently about Antonio.
Like me, he doesn't have any real family.
And he just lost a really good friend recently.
I, uh...
I'm s-- sensitive to that.
Are you?
Look, what am I being accused of here?
I know that you lost somebody, too,
so you should be the first person--
That is my business.
Okay. Lo siento.
It's just...
Antonio, he's...
he's just...
just falling.
And I'm trying to figure out a way to help him before--
Before he hits the water.
Yeah.
I know it's crazy, but I think you can help him.
I need to tell you the story of D'Andre.
Man, this is "Black man get killed 101."
Walkin' into people's apartments when they don't answer the door?
But Lita said he'd be here.
She said he'd need to talk.
Yo, T?
Tone?
Yo, Antonio?
Tonio.
Jesus Christ.
Can't a dude get some fuckin' privacy?
Oh.
Damn, what, you livin' on the toilet now?
Oh, it helps when you need to throw up.
No. God.
Jesus, man.
Let me help you on that.
I got it.
What are you doin' in LA?
Ah, you know, bro, just kickin' it about a...
Bro, I'm not even gonna lie. Lita called me.
Lita? Yeah, I-- fuck Lita.
You know she's the best thing that ever touched your ugly ass.
I know.
It's over now, man.
Well, you know, the fighting.
-God. -When's she movin' out?
Yeah, I think, like, um,
once this shit with the pandemic cools...
she's out.
So what, bro, you about to just sit around,
shittin' yourself all day?
Oh, what do you expect me to do?
Hmm?
My fucking-- I don't have a job.
College is done.
Hmm. My girl hates me.
- Yup. - Yeah.
But you know what?
I ain't gonna go down sober.
Okay.
You know what, then?
I got you to party with.
I thought you'd be fucked up, just not this fucked up.
Stop, don't talk like that, man. This is life!
Huh?
Open the hole, drop the poison.
-Nah, man. -Like old times, come on.
Not for me, get that shit out of my face.
Why? No? Why?
Because, in a way, goin' out drinkin'
is what got D'Andre killed.
Yeah.
You don't know that for sure.
But you know what, man? Thank you, bro.
So good to see you. Thank you for the talk, man.
Thank you for comin' and checkin' up on me, ese.
Well, thank you!
Fool-ass.
No, you pathetic, boy.
That is some strong language, bro.
You think you're strong enough to be saying it?
You lookin' to kill your immune system off?
I got a dead brother that way.
Well, I guess the plan worked, didn't it?
Excuse me?
He's gone, man.
Look at the fuckin' world we live in, it's donkey shit!
Only one thing to do now: party time.
Motherfucker, did you hear a word I just said?
I said I got a dead brother that way.
I heard it.
-Yeah? -Yeah.
But right now, I'm too-- numb, dumb to feel it.
Well, you a coward, boy.
Are you doubling down now? Huh?
Don't you ever call me boy, ever again, okay?
All right?
Ever again.
Boy.
Little boy.
Punk, fool-ass boy.
Boy. Yeah.
You think you're hard 'cause you can slam some shit?
Look at you. Can't even stand up.
-Yeah-- what. Right here. -Yeah.
Yeah. Telling it like it is.
Let me hear it. Come on.
You know what, we want to keep that ugly face of yours, right?
You wanna do that? You came here to come fight me?
Okay, fine.
You better make sure your mouth writes a check,
'cause I'm gonna cash in on your teeth.
But check this: real men?
Yeah, real men speak, even when it hurts.
My bro taught me that.
Fuck you, man, you don't know me, fool.
You wanna fight?
Come on, you don't know how to fight, faggot!
Come on.
You better watch out, bro, I'm gonna fuckin'
put you down for good, man.
Look, bro, I don't like the word "faggot," all right?
I am gay, but...
I can fight.
You what?
I'm gay.
That clear enough for you?
So what's your whole fuckin'--
tell the whole fuckin' rainbow coalition, man.
What do you want me to do? You think I give a shit?
Give me a--
What, what, just because you never told nobody,
what, you can come in here and what?
When everything's upside down?
I told D'Andre.
Yeah, I told him that night.
What did he say?
He said he already knew.
That's just like him.
He was always a know-everything kind of guy.
I hated his dumb--
-dumb ass. -No, you didn't.
You loved him.
And this...
all this right here is your ass-backwards way of showin' it.
Tell me...
Tell me again what happened that night.
Come on, bro, we already did this shit a few hundred times.
It's not gonna save anything.
Humor me.
All right, well...
we pulled up, and both you and Lita didn't get out.
She didn't feel right, man, she's just--
she didn't feel safe.
That's why we brawled, big time.
Maybe she wasn't wrong to have that feeling.
How you do it, man?
How are you even dealing with this, man, like--
Bro, I'm hurtin', too, all right?
I just--
I don't know. I can't give in to it, though.
Anyway...
I let Troy talk me into the whole stupid deal.
This motherfucker was yammerin' his fool drunk crap.
Talkin' about a rack of Skittles, man.
Jesus Christ.
I dunno what's goin' on, man.-?
I was starting to realize what a dumb call
bringing his ass there, what--
Oh, look at that!
- Man, look at his face, dawg! - Levi Adam!
Levi Angie! He got in that ad!
There's no way-- Hey, that-- that board's rigged.
Dawg. That's why you my dawg, man.
Yeah, yeah. We get that, too.
You're my dawg, you better pay me the money, then,
-yeah, you saw it, right? -I ain't paying shit.
Let's take a minute.
Hello there, B.
-Can I have moonshine? -Hey.
We closed, man.
This right here?
Private audience.
Hey, man, what's up?
Hey, Tom-Tom.
- Tom-Tom? - S'all good, Cantrell.
I know this guy way back.
What's up, Jamal?
Looking good.
I'll be with you in a sec.
What was that flirtin'?
What? Nah, chill, bro, we're friends.
Yeah, right.
I knew it.
-Knew what? -You sweet on him, huh?
Oh, my--
Hey, mommy and daddy finally let you out, huh?
Fighting out there in the car, as always.
Dude, why you gotta be such a asshole?
'Cause I need a drink, man!
We shouldn't have to wait too long.
Jamal knows the bartender.
Said he was lookin' real good, didn't he?
You're a player, man?
But don't you got all those guys up there?
We're playing twos, need a ringer.
Figured you guys'd be the athletes.
-What the-- -What the heck does that mean?
It's a compliment, bro.
You guys play everything good, except quarterback, that is.
-Okay, now you playin'. -Whoa!
Are you bein' a racist, fool?
- Nah, man, I'm cool. - You're cool in what world?
You got a problem here, small-time?
I got your small-time right here, come and get it,
-you bitch-ass motherfucker. -Yeah.
Let's go. We know you got problem here.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
What's up, guys? What are you havin'?
These guys ain't drinkin'. Hey, hey, Cantrell.
We got attitude over here.
Black kind.
Boy, you're about to get bitch slapped, real quick.
Hello. Fellas.
Guy here just said he was gonna give me a beatdown.
-In my house? -That did not happen.
You called him out for lying?
I'm callin' him out for wishful thinkin'.
What am I doing here?
I'm a damn fool.
Been cooped up in my house
for a month and a half,
drinkin' too much, and the first chance I get,
I go to a dark bar to drink some more.
What the hell are we doing here?
Burning off at the mouth is what you doin'.
-Shut up. -Or he could be insulting
the bar owner, too.
The one that didn't invite him here in the first place.
I never would.
I have nothing but appreciation
for business owners like yourself.
Ah, shit. This kid's got balls.
Okay. Proceed appreciating.
Let me just say one true thing,
and then I will buy everybody in this bar a drink,
and we will go home.
- Cool? - Just give me the drink.
-Hold the preach, bitch. -Levi.
- Yeah? - Go ahead.
My mom used to make me do this deal.
Whenever I was ready to do somethin' super stupid,
she would make me tell her one true thing.
So...
here's today's true.
I had a collapsed lung when I was a kid.
Didn't know it.
It gave me chronic bronchitis.
Messes with the breathing passageway,
so you overproduce mucus.
Anyway, it sucks.
Now, I never really was into sports.
I-- I couldn't be.
Instead, I worked on my lungs.
I was a... mad
king walker.
Now, I found
this big old grassy hill
on top of downtown.
I walked there every day.
Lay on the grass, stare at the sky.
I could... breathe there,
like, full gulps.
That was air, man.
Sometimes I stayed there till the moon came up.
Inhaling... exhaling.
Here's the thing.
I don't walk much anymore.
I haven't been to that hill in years.
Why is that?
Because air is for invalids. Let's cocktail, please.
Levi.
Quiet.
I'll take it on.
Why you don't go there no more.
One day...
you went up to that grassy hill...
sun shinin'...
the wind was crackin' hard.
And you laid down on that grassy hill...
bam!
Nothin'.
Stale.
Probably no big deal,
but definitely not like the breaths
you took as a young turd.
And so what did you do?
Hmm, I wonder where there's a dark bar.
Man, please, with that shit.
Listen up...
'cause here's the one true thing.
When you're a kid...
everything happens for the very first time.
But when you become an adult...
those same breaths that you took
just don't do it for you no more.
And what do you say about that?
Maybe...
um...
here's my take.
Life is never second-rate.
People go cold.
The world whips us along so fast.
We get out of alignment.
Don't fix ourselves.
You're right, bro.
One day, I went to that hill...
took that breath...
and it wasn't the same.
Not because breathing got old, though.
It was because my mom and dad died.
I... lost the upside.
I lost hope.
Air is good.
Always.
But sometimes it just hurts to taste.
Man, I already tasted fuckin' coronavirus
listening to this shit, I'm out.
- Fuckin' come on, man. - Man, fuck me raw.
Oh.
Tell me about this one true thing.
Sounds like D'Andre.
He always knew how to turn anything around.
Who didn't love the guy after five minutes?
Ha, the guys that hated him, wanted to kill him.
There's plenty of them, too.
I wish I never met him.
You, too.
Damn.
You know you--
you start hangin' with a guy, you know, you start...
you stop seeing the differences.
You just start seein' the dude.
That one's-- that's is true. All real, all the time.
You know what?
I have to be, too.
You know, good shit, bro.
One true thing, huh?
I wish I had Mom for as long as you did.
I don't know, I-- I-- I just wish I had more memories.
She loved you, dude.
So did Pops.
For both of them, then.
I-- I need to speak my one true thing.
I-- I'm gay.
I know, dude.
You know?
Proud of you for saying so, though.
Hey, everybody.
A toast to my bro, Jamal, here.
He just became a man.
You know, earlier, you asked me how I'm doin'.
I tell you what, bro.
D told me one last thing.
Yeah, they were about to hook him up to the ventilator.
He said something to you?
Yeah, and I was almost gonna keep it a secret, too.
But now I realize that I can't.
Through a glass window, he told me...
that he's gonna be okay.
But if he's not,
and you wanna go around blaming yourself, don't.
Because you blamin' yourself is the same as you blamin' me.
And I won't be nobody's reason to stop.
How is blamin' myself the same as blamin' him?
Well, we're family.
All right, and in family, there's no place
he ends and I begin.
And that's the same thing for you and I.
That's why I'm here.
So get up off your ass, Ant.
Come on, don't make D the reason that you stop.
He wouldn't be good with that.
You hearin' that okay?
I appreciate you're trusting me with all this.
Bad stuff happens.
Then more bad stuff, if you don't trust anyone.
Ten days later...
D'Andre was gone.
Did you guys, um...
did you even get to see him?
Jamal did.
Through the hospital plexiglass, six days later.
This thing, COVID...
tore right through him.
And Antonio figured,
"I drove him to the bar, so..."
When we got the news...
I gave Antonio all of my anger.
Everything.
Now I just wish I could take it all back.
So you guys are...
I mean--
He's gonna be okay.
You don't know that.
And neither do I.
There's this movie, D'Andre told me about it.
It's interesting.
You ever watched a movie called Matewan?
Yeah.
It's a John Sayles,
I used to screen it in a 101 class that I taught.
What do you think it's about?
It's about a coal strike in the 1920s.
More.
These coal company people,
they tried to divide the workers up,
make 'em hate each other,
so that the coal business can grow.
They try and trap 'em in those dark tunnels with no light.
But people share things, don't we?
And eventually, we all wake up, don't we?
And then--
and then--
and then, I don't know.
How about I email Antonio?
Maybe try to apologize for what happened there.
Thank you.
Antonio, like most men...
is strong when it comes to toughness,
but weak when it comes to dealing with pain.
Hey, you know what?
I'm gonna watch Matewan again, too.
Your analysis is better than mine.
Stole it from a friend.
That semester wasn't over yet.
Not by a long shot.
On May 25th, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man,
husband and father,
got cuffed and shoved into a police car
for passing a counterfeit $20 bill.
Second day, Jamal drove up.
We watched it at home for a night.
The cops said he was on drugs, then turned around
and said he was in medical distress,
so they were helping him.
Didn't say they'd pulled him out of the car,
pinned him under the full weight of a police officer.
Didn't say they crushed his air passage.
They didn't have to.
We saw it.
And then we said no.
No more.
Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter!
The KKK's so very stupid...
Something about following,
while others just go on about their days.
Something about being disconnected to everything.
The resources, the testing for the symptoms...
It hit me then.
To quote myself, "We do big challenges here in America,
for we are a nation that accomplishes lofty aspirations."
This time, though, the goal wasn't space.
They were doing what I couldn't, or wouldn't.
I wasn't Icarus. I was the plowman.
The fisherman. And the shepherd.
I was a goddamn bystander.
And I was drowning in my own bullshit.
All right, guys, I think I'm gonna call it a night.
What time are we at it tomorrow?
-11:00 a.m. -All right.
- Good night. - Good night, Jamal.
Ugh.
Man, I can't feel my legs.
Oh, they're there. They're just chillin'.
Promise?
I could rub 'em for you to prove it.
Oh, Antonio. Don't be so--
-Romantic? -Horny.
What, it's...
protesting fires me up.
Well, keep it in your pants!
What, you can't trust me?
Haven't I proved myself these last few weeks?
You have.
But I'm not in the same place anymore.
What does that mean?
It means, I want to hear my voice
without yours on top of it for a while.
How long, for a while?
Been whispering my whole life.
I'm tired of whispering.
Is that what the speech is about tomorrow?
You're on the microphone?
Hopefully, it's about a lot more than that.
Hey, hey. Hey, um...
can you stay up for a little bit with me?
I just-- one beer.
I have to finish my final.
- For, uh-- - Cole's class?
-Yeah. -Yeah.
Did you open any of his emails?
And here I thought you were getting better
at expressing yourself.
Good night.
Li-- Lita, hey.
Just hear me out, okay?
I got nobody.
You wanna know what I got?
And I, uh...
I didn't protect you.
In San Diego?
I let you down.
Let everybody down.
I didn't do my job.
Please don't hate me.
Don't.
It was never about protecting me.
It was about respecting me.
I respect you.
I do.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry I've been so angry with you.
And about D'Andre.
I'll always be sorry for the time you lost
with such a good man.
But you had great memories, too.
And those don't just leave.
And who we have as friends says everything about us.
So you want to know what?
The fact that he was your friend
makes me wonder what you are going to be like
in a few years, when all this is over.
You're thinkin' of him...
it'll be my--
Not a chance.
You know me.
I believe in hope.
Good night.
You okay?
He's here, but he might not come.
We're on our way to a protest.
I lied to you.
I know.
I was pissed that day.
I let it take me over.
I saw it.
You were breathing in anger. You had to push it out.
I didn't know how.
You know what I don't get?
Why didn't Antonio tell
the department chair what happened?
I-- he--
he could have outed me.
Looks like you can ask him yourself.
I will.
I read your email.
You wanna say something?
The old world,
the one that existed before this virus.
- It had a big defect. - Don't do that.
You guys always do that.
Talk about the world.
The world this, the world that. Talk to me.
You know, they always stand by-- wha-- what's the word?
-Platitudes. -Platitudes.
Huh?
Yeah, that's right.
What I wanted to say is...
the part that was missing in it
was the part that was missing in me.
Empathy.
It's almost like we've gone too far
with self-reliance and individualism--
Mr. Cole.
He wants to hear from you...
not your mind.
Well, that's the part that I'm not good at.
It's never too late to learn.
Just speak.
If you talk, I might listen.
That day, uh, you had just said
that you and I don't speak the same language.
And I said you and Lita don't speak the same language,
which I shouldn't have done...
but I couldn't even hear myself think.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Don't-- don't-- just--
don't go there, bro.
-I mean, Cole. -Mister.
Mr. Cole.
See, I can go anywhere I want, because I have an education.
Because I have the respect of the community.
You know what you have?
What?
Nothing.
No voice, no standing, nothing.
Listen to this. Learn this.
Without an education, what do you have?
I guess I'm gonna find out.
You. You were all alone.
And you think you have so much time.
But there is nothing in front of you but failure.
Look, I'm done. I'm done.
No, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, you can't--
you can't say that, you-- you're a teacher.
I can say whatever I want.
No one's gonna believe someone like you anyway.
You are kind of like that lady in Central Park.
Oh, God, no. No.
Yes.
I didn't mean to be.
But Antonio, why did you not speak?
I, um, just...
Say it.
I didn't think you could.
I need to get cool with people like him.
You know, when I was a little kid,
my mom and dad got in a fight...
and it was really bad.
And they came...
and they took my dad away.
I don't know how it happened, or where.
But they found him dead.
Beaten to death.
He wasn't a bad man.
He wasn't a criminal, he was nothing like that.
He didn't have...
anybody to answer for him.
I'll never forget...
what they did to him.
They did what they wanted to do.
I'll never forget watching them take him away...
and he was arguing.
And I miss him.
And last time I saw him...
he was cold.
And he didn't wake up.
And, from that moment on...
I never wanted to be like that.
So I kept my mouth shut.
I never talked, I never argued, I never did nothing.
I tried.
I tried to speak up, I tried to talk about it,
but it never worked.
They didn't want to listen.
He just got angry.
People like you.
You don't want to listen.
And when people like him...
when they're angry...
they can't be trusted.
It's awful.
And I took you back there, 'cause...
I got angry.
You're right about me.
I, um...
my fiancée, uh...
...she--
she died.
Um...
and I was raging, and you were there to blame.
It just cost too much to see--
Mr. Cole.
I'm sorry about your fiancée.
Really, I am, truthfully.
But it cost too much to do what you did.
And then, it cost too much to do what you both did.
To not talk.
That's what...
that's why.
Oh, my God.
I have to change something.
Can I borrow that?
Sure.
She's givin' the first speech.
Wow, uh, uh, and-- and this woman can write,
I have graded a few of her papers.
Tell me about it. I used to be her boyfriend.
Antonio...
it will never be enough, but...
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, too.
About your fiancée.
I feel like we all lost somebody.
I mean, she lost her brother and her dad.
I have to include that.
Wow. Must be one hell of a speech.
Oh, yeah. She won't even let me read it.
Well, I'd love to hear it.
-Really? -Of course.
Yo, what is the holdup?
Were you guys just about to leave me in the car forever?
Do you check the clouds?
Eh, it's not good.
What is it?
Zero.
Cloud could cover all of LA.
Strawberry moon tonight.
Moonface put it in her speech.
It's what I call her.
- Moonface. - Oh, it suits her.
Don't humor him.
No, please. Humor me, Cole.
I mean, Mr. Cole.
Oh, God. Call me Ethan.
I'm sorry about your friend.
He was a good man.
He was the best of the best.
He had a way with words.
The only person that I know that could do that...
was Lita.
Did you put him in the speech?
Of course.
It's ready.
If you guys want to hear it.
- Of course. - Yeah.
- All ears.
Hi.
My name is Lita Ortiz.
And I was born in bad luck.
And people born in bad luck often lose hope.
I haven't seen my mother in over 20 years,
because she lives in Jalisco, México.
She survives, but that is all.
My brother and my father died on my journey here, to America.
Trying to teach themselves to be hopeful
until their very last breaths.
Daddy!
You see, to us, America is where hope flowed.
But my brother and my father never even got to taste the air
on the other side of the Rio Grande.
I did.
I lived.
But hope was still not in the cards.
Not even here.
My friends...
my teachers...
my boyfriends don't know it.
It's invisible.
We hide in the shadows.
Speak too softly.
And die young.
They tell me to have kids,
because they expect me dead by the time I'm 30.
I'm 29. And I'm not dead.
- That's right. - That's right, man.
And I don't plan to be anytime soon.
Woo!
I have a confidence, though, that cannot be drowned.
I swam to America in the semi-darkness...
with only the moon as my company.
I walked.
And then I ran.
Until I found dry landing.
I stumbled until I could see clear...
but it was right then that I began to get lost.
I'm from a place where trusting anyone
leaves you open to pain...
where optimism is for suckers.
But we must learn to believe different.
I used to think that people pay price no matter what...
but I know different now.
I knew a man for a single night.
His name was D'Andre.
He had a broken-down house.
No degree.
A lot of dreams.
And a really bright soul.
He was a believer in the America that is to come.
He knew that the price of not believing
was an America that benefited the few,
and that price is too high.
And we must stop paying it.
We cannot...
and we will not pay the price any longer.
Yeah!Woo!
That's right!
This new generation of Black,
brown and white anti-racists will change that.
We cannot, and we will not pay the price any longer.
We have suffered for too long,
and we have looked for ourselves
in the cloudy faces of those in power.
Yeah, yeah. Mans, we do!
So, today...
we must put down the ideas...
that don't allow us to see clear.
And we must turn our heads to the skies.
All right. Yes!
There is a moon tonight.
One that can't be seen.
But it is there.
A strawberry moon.
And it is pulsing with imagination.
Feelings and emotions,
and they matter, too.
- All right. - That's right.
- Yeah. - Okay. Right, Lita.
We must realize
that we are the America
that has yet to speak.
And our words...
will fill the skies.
Well?
What do you guys think?
Come on, say something.
Anything?
-Don't... -...change...
...a word.
Look at these people clapping.
Just cheering.
So hopefully.
Beneath a cloudy, moonless sky.
A sea of tranquility in the middle of a pandemic.
I get it.
Alarms blaring are not astronauts Armstrong or Aldrin,
or this young woman.
We can still get things done.
Even in the worst of times.
We can stand up and be heard.
Wouldn't have chosen this pandemic timing,
but it seems right somehow.
D'Andre would agree.
It's time to rise above that heavy load.
So we gather together now.
We share the fight.
The goal is to get there, wherever there is, together.
Not divided.
We're still...
learning the ropes.
This year was an education, for sure.
Maybe we're moon students.
I don't even know what that means,
but I like the sound of that.
Still no moon, though.
Ah, I knew we were too optimistic.
I don't know, it's kind of like astronomy.
Just gotta have faith.