Small Axe

Here we go, here we go, here we go.

One one. One one.

Ohh!

These are new men,

new types of human beings.

It is in them that are to be found

all the traditional virtues of the English nation,

not in decay as they are in official society,

but in full flower...

Rita.

...because these men have perspective.

Is where you been?

Note particularly that they glory in the struggle.

They are not demoralized or defeated or despairing persons.

They are leaders, but are rooted deep among those they lead.

Linton...

I tell you enough times you catching your tail in front of here, boy.

Just liming with the limers, man.

Get your backside somewhere else.

Oh, man.

Respect, bright man.

The place stinking of varnish.

Ah, when we have cook up, no one will smell nothing.

We need a little something to make the place look nice, no?

You asking me? And all day Kendrick sitting on his backside.

Kendrick...

run down the market and get some flowers for our opening night.

I don't know a thing about flowers. What if someone seen me?

Say you're in love. Go.

You see what I mean, Frank?

Good for nothing.

Hmph.

Mnh-mnh-mnh.

- Miss Agnes? - Mm-hmm?

- Mr. Charles? - Yes, sir?

Okay, we gonna do fish curry. Goat curry. Mutton curry.

Yes, sir.

Me mother's crab and dumpling.

But first, we will start with the roots.

The Trinidadian barrister, Darcus Howe,

thinks things could build up dangerous social tensions.

The policeman who-- who frames a Black man

is doing so with a confidence that the system

is going to give him a conviction.

And the section of the community who

one must call the most alienated

either are going to turn to crime

in that they are going to be arrested anyway,

or seek their revenge against the society in another form.

Now, at this point in time,

that form has not been expressed and I hope it wouldn't be,

but one must be very direct here,

and say that the police must either stop it

or the Black community will have to stop them doing it.

Excellent work!

A toast, a toast.

A toast to my beautiful wife Selma,

who brought this vitally important program together.

And to my husband, the great CLR James,

who I thank for his love and support.

And Darcus. He's a leader!

He'll make a great lawyer one day.

Yeah, he done all right, didn't he?

But let's get one thing straight:

Darcus isn't interested in being a barrister.

He is interested in change.

To change.

To change!

Hey, bruh.

What's happening?

Oh, so my brother gone all bourgeois in the ghetto.

You want a cappuccino?

...cappuccino.

Hey, Frank. Listen, eh, to the Mangrove. A fresh thing.

A fresh thing, yes!

I'll drink to that.

Bring it!

Hey! Frank, check it, man!

Come on everybody. Let's play outside.

Come on.

Come outside.

Come on, a celebration, this one!

Celebration!

Now we have a limbo!

You see, the thing about the Black man is... he's got his place.

He's just gotta know his place.

If he oversteps, he's gotta be gently nudged back in.

And then you get the odd one or two who need more of a...

you know...

just like the Micks.

What you have to understand, Dickie,

is that the army isn't up for it, are they?

Not like the old days

when they'd have got a small battalion together and, bam.

Wipe the whole lot out in one go.

Did, uh... you ever want to be in the army?

No.

I grew up thinking I'd never see my country fighting

anyone else's war ever again.

That's why I'm Bill, through and through.

But you never wanted to,

you know, be a sergeant or anything?

I've seen enough.

You reading Black Jacobins again?

That's what you should be teaching.

They're primary school children.

I'm not sure they're ready for Black Jacobins just yet.

Well, you're never too young to start.

I've lost count of the amount of times I've read it.

What are you on about?

One TV show, you think you're the Second Coming or what?

No. But not far behind.

Oh, it's all about you, innit?

You grew up in a society where Black people were the majority, yeah?

I grew up in an environment where I was the minority.

From day one I was judged as being "too Negroid" to be adopted.

So don't you come at me with your lofty words

and your Black Jacobins, all right?!

Hey.

Look, you're right to say that sometimes words aren't enough.

But know this.

No one is going to help us unless we help ourselves.

Yeah, you're absolutely right.

Actions do speak louder than words.

And the first thing that I want you to do

is tidy up the bloody mess that you have made in the kitchen.

Move it.

Hey.

You still there?

Good for nothing but making a whole of a mess.

You varnish your house like this? You stinking up the place!

PC Pulley.

Yes, how can I help you?

I want to talk to the manager of this fancy new... what is it?

It's a restaurant. And I is the owner, not the manager.

Aren't you the golden goose?

Yeah, and we closed right now.

Smells like a sex club to me, Mr. Crichlow.

No, sir, sex club is not my thing.

We setting up for lunch.

So how about a sausage and egg then?

Yeah, the Mangrove don't do that kind of thing.

It's just spicy food, you know, for a particular palate.

Irregardless, you have to book to eat here.

What, with this?

No. With our reservation book.

Do I have to spell it out?

No, I understand enough. I met many a hustler, Constable.

What did you just call me?

I call you Constable. Maybe it's Officer now.

I'll arrest you right now, you Black bastard.

Arrest me for what?

I haven't forgotten your antics at your last shithole, The Rio.

Degenerates. Illegal gambling, ponces...

This is a new business. It's a different kind of thing.

...tarts, late-night queer parties. Drug dealing.

I've never taken drugs in my life.

We'll shut you down before you can say eenie...

- I don't want no trouble. - We got company.

- Hey, leave the Mangrove alone. - Leave him alone.

- He said move. - Go on about your business, then.

- Move on, Pulley. Move on. - Move your backside from our area.

You not got jobs to go to?

Get out of here, man. Get out.

Move your backside. Move.

The Mangrove is a restaurant!

It serves West Indian cuisine to people who eat that kind of food.

Just like any other restaurant!

Greek. French. English, for that matter!

We the Mangrove.

We pay we taxes, we pay we bills, and we pay we staff.

You gonna try and arrest me for that, or what?

- Yes, Frank. - Tell him, Frank. Tell him.

- Leave him alone. - Move on.

You can't outsmart them blue necks, man.

No!

The Mangrove ain't nothing like the Rio!

They have no business here so long as we keep the place clean!

End of the story!

Hm.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

My name is Altheia Jones.

I am a student studying biochemistry in this country,

but today I am here as a member of the Black Panther movement.

I have been invited here by your trade union

to talk you about your workers' rights

and your power as a collective force.

We have discovered,

discovered and rediscovered,

the ways in which we can overcome

the fragmentation our people have suffered throughout our history.

And the way is through joining the struggle

and being part of an organized struggle.

For it is the struggle, actually, which makes us whole.

So I have come here today to encourage you

to actively support your trade union.

Because the virtue of lending your voice to collective bargaining

is that together we become stronger.

Well, if colonialism is good for anything,