Gone Too Soon©

THE LAWYER TAKES HER SEAT AS THE CONFIDENT DISTRICT ATTORNEY QUICKLY CONFERS WITH HIS ASSISTANTS. HE reviews THE detailed SCHEDULE OF WITNESSES AND EXPERTS THAT have been summoned TO SUSTAIN THE STATE'S ALLEGATIONS. after A QUICK GLANCE HE CALLS HIS FIRST WITNESS.

THE COURT SCENE DARKENS AS THE UPPER CORNER OF THE STAGE LIGHTS UP. VIDEO SEQUENCE IS PLAYED SHOWING DEXTER KING SHAKING HANDS WITH JAMES EARL RAY IN 1997.

goes to the stenographer, pulls the transcripts and removes that section to the amazement of the court clerk.

He raises his hand to his ear awaiting a response from his witness. HE SMILES and RETURNS TO HIS SEAT as dexter rises.

“I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when twenty two million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice. I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death.”

DEXTER SITS DOWN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY began the ATTACK ON HIS PERSONALITY.

the stage darkens as the scene is re-enacted. Rosa parks is seen seated behind the white SECTION, WHICH is filled with twelve white passEngers. Six white patrons board the bus at the empire theater stop. Three negroes rise immediately but rosa remains seated.

The bus driver SUMMONS the police and rosa parks is arrested. actual black and white pictures are shown as a backdrop.

the SYNCHRONIZED sounds of mimeograph MACHINES are heard in the background as BOYCOTT SUPPORTERS DISTRIBUTE LEAFLETS THROUGHOUT THE AUDIENCE CHANTING don’t ride the bus.

THE MIMEOGRAPH CONTINUES AS MUSIC IS BLENDED IN. BOYCOTT SUPPORTER CHOREOGRAPH AND KEEP ON WALKING.

the scene ENDS WITH video sequences of BOYCOTT SUPPORTERS CARPOOLING AND WALKING TO WORK AS EMPTY BUSSES PASS BY. 382 DAYS LATER, STANDING AT THE PODIUM, MARTIN LUTHER KING’S SPEECH OF DECEMBER 21, 1956 IS RE-ENACTED AS THE MEMBERS OF THE BOYCOTT LISTEN TO dR. kING’S ANNOUNCEMENT ENDING THE STRIKE.

This morning the long awaited mandate from the United Supreme Court, concerning bus segregation came to Montgomery. This mandate expresses in terms that are crystal clear, that segregation in public transportation are both legally and sociologically invalid. In the light of this mandate and the unanimous vote rendered by the Montgomery Improvement Association about a month ago, the year old protest against city buses is officially called off. And the Negro citizens of Montgomery are urged to return to the buses tomorrow morning on a non-segregated basis. Are you ready for the question?

BOYCOTtERS

Yes!

Martin Luther King Jr. (V.O.)

All in favor let it be known by standing on your feet.

THE CROWD STANDS.

Martin Luther King Jr. (V.O.)

Looks like it has been carried unanimously.

Dexter King

My father emerged from the bus integration in Montgomery a national leader with a popular backing. He was only twenty-seven. During the 382 days of the boycott practically all the Negro ministers of Montgomery were arrested, four Negro churches had been bombed as well as the homes my father and of Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy and other boycott leaders. Two years later, the buses in Atlanta, Tallahassee and other cities were desegregated. But civil rights were not why my father was killed. On April 4 1967, my father publicly voiced his opposition to the Vietnam War. Exactly one year later, to the day, he was shot.

Defense Lawyer

No more questions Your Honor.

SHE RETURNS TO THE DEFENSE TABLE

Judge

Does the prosecution wish to re-direct?

District Attorney

Yes Your Honor. There are things that still aren't clear in my mind. For instance, Mr. King was unanimously elected president of this ad hoc organization only because he was new in the community, a position that allowed him to take all the credit for the relative success of the boycott that he didn’t initiate or inspire. For instance, while the majority of the Negroes walked, rode mules and drove wagons to their jobs, the alleged leader of the boycott drove his car around the city. He was in no way inconvenienced throughout the whole ordeal. But as soon as the Supreme Court handed down the decision declaring segregation unconstitutional, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the first to set foot on that bus. Not Rosa Parks, not Rev. Abernathy nor any of the thousands who walked for hours in the rain for a year to comply to his whimsical demands.

PHOTOGRAPH OF DR. KING SEATED IN A NON SEGREGATED BUS IS DISPLAYED BY THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Here we have Dr. King basking in his glory. For instance, you mentioned that Mr. King and the other leaders and ministers were arrested during the boycott. They were arrested for activities directly related to the boycott. Not Mr. King. Oh no...

PHOTOGRAPH OF DR. KING being ARRESTED for speeding

Mr. King was arrested for speeding. Speeding in a twenty-five mile an hour zone while the less fortunate boycotters walked. As you can see while some were freedom riders, the more affluent black leaders were damn free riding. They sped in their cars with no disregard for the law. Just like your distant cousin from Los Angeles, Rodney King.

PRESENTS THE JUDGE WITH a copy of THE SPEEDING TICKET FOR REVIEW.

For instance, on Monday January 30, a month after the boycott started and negotiations were going nowhere, the Negro leaders needed to unite the tired masses that were forced to walk to work. Conveniently when Martin was not at home and Coretta and her baby were safely in the back of their home, a bomb mysteriously exploded on the front porch. I say conveniently because the bombers were never caught but the commotion drew an angry crowd of blacks armed with stones and bottles. Fifteen minutes later Mr. King arrives calms the crowd and deflects the anger with his message of non-violence: "I want you to love your enemies..." The next morning, the very next morning, Dr. Gandhi, Dr. non-violence, Dr. Nobel Peace prize, applied for a gun permit.

PRESENTS THE JUDGE WITH THE GUN PERMIT REQUEST

Thank God for the law-abiding citizens of Montgomery the permit was denied. The following year your father did one thing and one thing only. He gave 208 speeches based solely on a bus boycott that he did not start but ended taking all the credit for.

Dexter King

My father united the Negro community. He gave them leadership, momentum and direction to the scattered groupings of Negroes. And he was willing to go to jail for his beliefs.

District Attorney

Very well Dexter boy; let’s examine the times he went to jail for his beliefs. Your father had 29 run-ins with the law. His wrap sheet resembles that of another black hero, the name escapes me... Is it O.J., MJ, Kobe... something or the other... But out of these, twelve were traffic-related offenses, one for speeding, one for driving without a valid Georgia driver’s license and we have one arrest for perjury on income tax returns for 1956 and again for 1958. Mr. King was a repeat offender and half the time he was in trouble had nothing to do with racial inequality.

his assistant lorna beales hands him an open book written by martin luther king jr.

In a book he later wrote Mr. King says and I quote "I am proud of my crimes" unquote. In the twelve years that your father was not getting a traffic ticket or evading taxes, he was the quote, unquote the Negro spokesman, and did nothing but speeches and receive awards for speeches. A great orator I’ll give you that. But on the front lines of the struggle, others did the dirty work.

PHOTOGRAPH OF children being HARASSED by the police is displayed.

District Attorney

Where is King? I see Rev. Abernathy and I see the school children. Oh, I remember King was on the cover of Jet Magazine that month; he couldn’t come to this march. One more thing, do you have any physical evidence that links the U.S. government to the death of your father?

Dexter King

No, I don’t.

District Attorney

No further questions for the prodigal son Your Honor. He can step down.

Defense Lawyer

Not without telling us what happened to the income tax perjury charges against your father.

Dexter King

They were dropped. A jury of twelve white men acquitted him. The charges were racially motivated.

District Attorney

Objection. Hear say.

Judge

Sustained.

DEFENSE LAWYER

Your Honor I sat quietly while the prosecution compared Martin Luther King Jr. to O.J. Simpson. O.J. Simpson Your Honor! He insinuated that the indictment on perjury charge on his income taxes, which were later dropped, were in some way similar to Kobe Bryant’s transgressions. Your Honor, the D.A. very well knows that Rodney King is in no way related to the King family in Atlanta. I also said nothing when the District Attorney accused Dr. King of planting a bomb in his own house while his wife and nine month old daughter were still in it, just to arouse black support for the bus boycott.

Picks up the book from the D.a.’s table.

And that quote from Dr. King's book where he states that he is proud of his crimes reads and I quote "I am proud of my crimes. The crime of joining my people in a non-violent protest against injustice. The crime of seeking to instill within my people a sense of dignity and self-respect. The crime of desiring for my people the inalienable right of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The crime of seeking above all to convince my people that non-cooperation with evil is just much a moral duty as cooperation with good." Those were the crimes that Dr. King was proud of. In addition, Your Honor, Dr. King could not be in every demonstration against segregation when all across the country people were protesting racial inequalities. However, when he was in town, he was there. Front line, center.

PHOTOGRAPH OF marchers is displayed with martin luther king and the black leaders marching side by side.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Posed for the media... Show me pictures of Mr. King in front of fire hoses, police dogs or a situation were his life was endangered...

PHOTOGRAPH OF DR. KING, JESSE JACKSON AND RALPH ABERNATHY IS SHOWN ON THE BALCONY OF THE FATAL SHOT. A LOUD rifle shot IS HEARD AS THE PICTURE DISSOLVES.

Defense Lawyer

No more questions Your Honor.

DEXTER LEAVES THE STAND.

SCENE 2: BELAFONTE MARCH ON WASHINGTON

Defense Lawyer

Not long after the Montgomery Bus boycott ended Martin Luther King became a national figure. With the fame came violent and abusive threats. One night in January 1956, the new leader came to the end of his rope. Standing in the kitchen, he told God he could not go any further alone. Dr. King confessed that he was afraid. In his kitchen came the presence of the Divine and he heard "Stand up for righteousness, stand up for justice and God will be at your side forever". After that experience, he was ready to face anything...

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Objection Your Honor. Ms. Carusso is making speeches.

DEFENSE LAWYER

Courtney.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Whatever...

JUDGE

I will allow it.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

With all due respect Your Honor, but Ms. Cratney has failed to even show us a shred of evidence to back this government conspiracy theory? She is talking about a vision Mr. King had in his kitchen. This vision could not have come from the burning bush, Moses did that one. This must have been the warm stove. Next, she’s going to tell this court that out of the oven Mr. King received the ten chitlings. Thou shall not...

Defense Lawyer

Which of the things I have stated lacks evidence? Was it that Dr. King was the spiritual leader of the civil rights movement?

District Attorney

Yes...

Defense Lawyer

Was it that he preached a doctrine of non-violence?

District Attorney

Yes...

DEFENSE LAWYER

Was it that he went to jail for what he believed?

District Attorney

Yes...

Defense Lawyer

And that the U.S. government waged a war against King and conspired to kill him?

District Attorney

Yes! Yes! Yes!

POUNDING THE DESK

You mean to tell me you have physical palpable evidence that:

1. The U.S. government wanted Mr. King dead.

2. That the U.S. government took actions in that direction.

3. That the actions they took led to his assassination.

4. And... If they wanted Mr. King dead, you have evidence that the U.S. government arranged for the assassination and carried it out.

THEY END UP LOOKING AT EACH OTHER FACE TO FACE

Well Ms. Carlinski?

Defense Lawyer

I most certainly do! And my name is Courtney! Ms. Beverly Courtney.

District Attorney

What ever...

SHE TURNS AROUND AND HEADS TOWARDS THE DEFENSE TABLE AS THE AUDIENCE AND THE JURORS REACT FAVORABLY. THE JUDGE WRESTLES WITH HIMSELF OVER whether TO ALLOW THIS SCENE TO CONTINUE OR TO RECALL THE COUNSELORS TO HIS CHAMBERS

DEFENSE LAWYER

And I will go beyond that by proving that the U.S. government was not only involved in the assassination but has covered their active participation for thirty-five years by silencing witnesses, intimidating them and by destroying evidence. In 1963, Dr. King focused his efforts in the most segregated big city in the United States, Birmingham, Alabama. The civil disobedience led to atrocities against the peaceful demonstrators. The nation for first time saw how America treated its citizens of color.

Footage of fire hoses turned on peaceful DEMONSTRATORS is played on the large screens. THE Demonstrators ARE being gassed, attacked by dogs and carried away to jail.

Dr. Martin Luther King is arrested and spent 14 days in jail. Here he was able to smuggle out the now famous Letter from the Birmingham Jail. Over a million copies of this letter were circulated.

As the footage is shown of marchers being brutalized by the POLICE, a voice over of the letter is heard.

LETTER FROM THE BIRMINGHAM JAIL

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

April 16, 1963

Birmingham, Alabama

For years now I have heard the words "wait". It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This wait has always meant "never". We most come to see with the distinguished jurist of yesterday that "Justice too long delayed is justice too long denied."

Defense Lawyer

Finally, with pressure from the federal government, on May 10, 1963 Birmingham became desegregated.

Footage of colored signs being taken down is displayed.

It was a short-lived victory. That night Dr. King’s Motel was bombed. So was the house of Rev. A.D. King, Martin's brother. Dr. King and his aides set their sights on a march on Washington. From that day, the U.S. government was on to Dr. King. And today they still monitor the activities of those who were closest to him. To prove that, the defense calls on a civil rights activist who witnessed that march on Washington. The defense calls upon Harry Belafonte.

THE COURTROOM SCENE DARKENS AS THE STAGE is filled with marchers attending a rally in washington. Thousands of marchers black and white fill the stage. They come in from the sides and the aisles dressed in 1963 garments as scene from that august event are replayed on the backdrop screens. We shall overcome is heard in the background as cast members sing as they assemble to hear dr. king speak.

WE SHALL OVERCOME

TRADITIONAL Lyrics and music

Performed by the CAST

CAST

we shall overcome

we shall overcome

we shall overcome someday

Oh, deep in my soul

i do believe

we shall overcome some day.

Harry Belafonte (V.O.)

I’ve never seen anything like it. People were coming from everywhere. Blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, rich, poor, men and women. It was Wednesday, August 28, 1963. Early estimates were that a hundred thousand people were going to descend on Washington D.C. by bus, train, airplane or on foot. Fifteen members of a core group from Brooklyn had left thirteen days early and walked the entire 230 miles. Although the stars were there, Josephine Baker, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, Dick Gregory, Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne, Ossie Davis, Charlton Heston and Sammy Davis Jr., this was a march for the people. We the people were here in Washington. It was eighty-four degrees, clear skies. God could not have picked a better day for a march. Over half a million showed up for this human rights demonstration. Four out of five people were black. That day W.E.B.Du Bois had died in Ghana and the announcement seemed to bring everyone together. After several speeches and songs from prominent black leaders and performers came the final speaker of the Day: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

THE STAGE LIGHTS UP AS DR. kING TAKES THE PODIUM. PORTIONS OF THE speech ARE RE-ENACTED AS THE CAMERAS PAN THE AUDIENCE.

I HAVE A DREAM

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

August 28, 1963

Lincoln Memorial, Washinghton D.C

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.

One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check.

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, which has come back, marked "insufficient funds". But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.

We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Harry Belafonte (V.O)

As he delivered his prepared speech, he could sense it was not as powerful as many I had heard him make. As he moved towards his final words Mahalia Jackson, who was seated behind Dr. King said "Tell them about the dream Martin"

Martin Luther King Jr.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation this must become true.

So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Harry Belafonte

His speech was truly a masterpiece, truly immortal. With those words the day was done.

Defense Lawyer

Mr. Belafonte... Mr. Belafonte...

Harry Belafonte

Yes...

Defense Lawyer

What was the purpose of the march?

harry belafonte

It was to mark the 100^th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in which Lincoln abolished slavery. It went into effect the first of January 1863 and yet the Negroes were not free. So the march was to encourage President Kennedy and the U.S. Congress to sign the civil rights bill. But this march unified black America and the nation now saw us united with one leadership. After the march in Washington, they knew we had become a force to be reckoned with.

HE BOWS HIS HEAD

Defense Lawyer

You don’t seem happy about that.

Harry Belafonte

After that day, they set out to kill Dr. King.

Defense Lawyer

I have no more questions Your Honor.

judge

Does the prosecution wish to cross-examine?

District Attorney

Just a few question Your Honor. Did President Kennedy ever sign that Civil Rights Bill?

Harry Belafonte

No. The bill got buried in congress. Then three months later, president Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and so was the Civil Rights bill. Kennedy was the first president in a century to hear the demands of black America and respond with a message of hope. He died just like Abraham Lincoln almost 100 years earlier when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation Act we were celebrating that day. For millions of Americans, black and white that had seen Kennedy as their champion in the fight for justice, the future was suddenly obscured with tears. After John F. Kennedy was shot Martin said, "This is going to happen to me. I will never see my fortieth birthday".

District Attorney

Now let’s talk about that famous "I have a dream" speech. You called it a masterpiece. But the other black leaders brushed it aside. Which is it? Malcolm X dismissed the entire event calling it the "Farce on Washington". He said and I quote "They told those Negroes what time to hit town, how to come, what signs they could carry, what speeches they could make and they told them they had to get out of town by sundown." The black press said: "The speech was a candy coated conciliatory gesture to white America". They compared that speech to Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Compromise of 1895. And Congressman John Lewis who was the speaker before Mr. King said and I quote "Dr. King’s speech lacked substance...it was not in my opinion, the best speech he ever gave". Unquote. These criticisms are from Mr. King's own black supporters.

Harry Belafonte

That was then. Now that speech is required reading in schools across America.

District Attorney

All that march in Washington yielded was a center stage opportunity for Mr. King in an event that wasn’t even his idea. He was an opportunistic philanderer who seized the microphones to repeat an address he gave in Detroit a few weeks earlier. The true message of his speech dwindled a few years later. No one really remembers any part of it except the "I have a dream" line. But more importantly, he created the atmosphere for what transpired a few days after he stepped down from that stage. A bomb blast in Birmingham that would kill four little girls and usher in a season of darkness for the country. No more questions.

HE RETURNS TO HIS SEAT AS harry belafonte STANDS

Harry Belafonte

Are you saying that those four innocent girls were killed because of the march on Washington?

District Attorney

No more questions I said. Your Honor please instruct the witness to step down.

Harry Belafonte

Martin Luther King’s speech that day was about non-violence. And he made each one of us promise to continue in the path of non-violence if we wanted to be associated with this struggle.

HE STEPS DOWN FROM THE WITNESS STAND and grabs the District Attorney by the lapel. THE BAILIFF ATTEMPTS TO RESTRAIN Him.

How dare you associate his name with an act of violence?

District Attorney

The same way Mr. King's non-violent marches were always associated with riots, looting and death. I see you lied about your promise of non-violence you made to Mr. King.

HE LETS GO OF HIM EMBARRASSED FOR His BEHAVIOR AS THE BAILIFF TRIES TO INTERCEDE. DR. PRESTON BATTLE II GESTURES TO THE BAILIFF INDICATING THAT EVERYTHING WAS UNDER CONTROL.

Free at last! Free as last! Thank God almighty I'm free at last!

ONCE AGAIN THE D.A. uses theatrics to DISCREDIT A KEY WITNESS IN FAVOR OF THE DEFENDANt.

Harry Belafonte

The government you defend is directly responsible for what happened to him. Every room we stayed was bugged. Every phone call was monitored.

District Attorney

Every conversation Mr. King had after the march was monitored?

Harry Belafonte

Of course! Mr. King had become a national threat.

District Attorney

Every conversation?

Harry Belafonte

Are you deaf? I said every conversation...

District Attorney

Even extramarital affairs? Mm? Mm? Who's deaf now?

HE BOWS His HEAD. the District Attorney mocks MR. belafonte by singing one of his most popular tunes

Daylight come and me wan' go home.

ONCE AGAIN, DR. PRESTON BATTLE II STRIKES A MORTAL BLOW TO THE DEFENSE’S KEY WITNESS. Mr. BELAFONTE IS FAMILIAR WITH THE UNCONFIRMED REPORTS ABOUT DR. KINGS PRIVATE LIFE. The defense ATTORNEY ATTEMPTS damage control.

Defense Lawyer

Objection Your Honor. This is the second time the District Attorney has hinted the possibility that Dr. King was engaged in illicit behavior. It has no bearing on the affidavit the grand jury has come to decide.

District Attorney

On the contrary. If the government was monitoring Mr. King’s every move, and they did come across this information? Why didn’t they use it to discredit him? This would have been the perfect opportunity to rid themselves of Mr. King. Therefore, your constant surveillance theory doesn’t hold water. We on the contrary have damaging evidence that refutes any claim these witnesses have presented today. One more thing, do you have any physical evidence that links the U.S. Government to the death of Mr. King?

Harry Belafonte

Not at this moment.

District Attorney

No more questions for this witness.

he leaves the stand.

Your Honor, the state would like to introduce this brief to the grand jury. Mrs. Beales please read the title of the documents on my desk.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

THE ASSISTANT D.A. HAS WORKED WITH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR 20 YEARS. tHE DEVOTED ASSISTANT HAS NEVER DOUBTED HIS INTEGRITY OR HIS INTENTIONS.

Code-name Zorro.

District Attorney

Thank you Mrs. Beales. In this brief, which I have compiled over the past thirty-five years, there is conclusive evidence that will shed the long awaited light on the conspiracy theory.

Defense Lawyer

GOING THROUGH HER PAPERS WITH HER NEWLY APPOINTED DEFENSE ASSISTANT.

Objection! May council approach the bench?

THE JUDGE MOTIONS BOTH ATTORNEYS TO APPROACH.

We had an agreement that all the evidence we had would be properly documented, revised and exchanged prior to these proceedings. I do not have these files in my glossary. Your Honor this is highly unethical...

District Attorney

Your Honor these documents are of my personal research. Research, which I concluded this very morning. I myself am startled by the findings, but it contains evidence that cannot be excluded from these proceedings. Mr. King, as I will thoroughly demonstrate, had his personal agenda when it came to the Civil Rights Movement. Did you know Your Honor that in early 1968 Mr. King was entertaining the idea of running for president as a third party candidate in November? Did you know Your Honor that it was Mr. King himself that decided to stay at the Lorraine Motel? If that is so, how could this be a government conspiracy? These documents hold the answers to all the rumors and conspiracy allegations in this case. It also confirms the fact that U.S. government made no threats or attempts to discredit Mr. King. That is why there is no physical evidence linking the U.S. government to his assassination. These documents must be presented Your Honor.

Defense Lawyer

Yes Your Honor, but through due process.

District Attorney

The truth has precedence over legal bureaucracy Your Honor. When this case was assigned to me, it was to find the truth which ever it might be. Are you afraid of the truth Your Honor?

Judge

GETS UP IRRITATED

Counselors, to my chambers! Now!

THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY REFUSES TO MOVE.

Your questions are to be directed to the witnesses. I will not be held on judgment in my own courtroom!

District Attorney

The people's courtroom Your Honor!

HE EXPLAINS.

All I am trying to do is establish the truth.

JUDGE

Which is...?

District Attorney

That Mr. King’s inner circle suspected all along that James Earl Ray was not the lone gunman but agreed to his confession and have kept silent about the fact until the prospects of movie riches came knocking on their doors. Suddenly surprise witnesses are crawling out the woodwork. It is all here.

Defense Lawyer

I strongly object their use in these proceedings.

District Attorney

Your Honor my conclusions found within these pages will shed light on this whole matter. If we are in search of the truth, let's welcome any new evidence with open arms.

Defense Lawyer

This is highly irregular. I still protest.

Judge

Noted.

District Attorney

Now step back Cassandra.

Judge

I will allow these documents to be entered in this hearing but if I detect the slightest sign of evidence tampering, forced conclusions or unreliable sources in your findings I will throw out this case all together and I will hold you in jail under contempt until O.J. Simpson confesses.

Defense Lawyer

Then I motion that this case be adjourned until I have had the proper time to acquaint myself with its contents.

District Attorney

There's no need for that. I prepared a summary for you.

HIS ASSISTANT HANDS THE JUDGE AND THE DEFENSE LAWYER A COPY OF A FIVE HUNDRED-PAGE DOCUMENt.

Defense Lawyer

I thought you concluded this research this morning?

District Attorney

I did. There is a 24-hour Kinko’s on Peachtree. You all folks may not know this, but they make copies.

in a CONDESCENDING tone.

I'll also give you my personal notes and studies to back my findings.

MEMBERS OF HIS STAFF PILE EIGHT BOXES OF DOCUMENTS AND FILES ON THe defense TABLE.

Counselor, the complete declassified unedited transcripts of the House Select Committee on Assassinations.

BOTH COUNSELORS RETURN TO THEIR PLACES

District Attorney

I will thoroughly demonstrate, that the man you have come to know, love and idolize was murdered by a single gunman and not by the U.S. government as we have been led to believe. Our thirty-five year investigation concluded that there were in our country extremist groups who wanted Mr. King dead. There were also elements in the U.S. government who were unhappy with the activities of Mr. King but took no action to remove him from the national scene. But unbeknownst to many there was an individual who wanted King dead for a simple reason. Greed. It was widely know that there was a fifty thousand dollar bounty on Mr. King and James Earl Ray wanted to collect it. The dream of the entire black nation wiped out by a single shot by a lone gunman? Impossible! It has to be a conspiracy; it must be a government cover-up! But when you go through these documents as I have, you will draw the same conclusion as our team did and the evidence I will present to you suggests. James Earl Ray who disliked blacks, followed King’s activities for months, and shot him in Memphis.

Judge

Register this as Exhibit "C" please.

District Attorney

Today, most likely will be a disappointing day for the civil rights movement. Without physical evidence of the government's involvement, you have no case. Your witness Ms. Clapton.

Defense Lawyer

Courtney...

District Attorney

Whatever...

HE PURPOSELY KNOCKS HER BRIEFCASE TO THE GROUND SCATTERING HER NOTES. THE DEFENSE LAWYER BENDS DOWN TO PICK THEM UP AS AN ASSEMBLY OF UNWAVERING grand JURORS WAIT. THEY HAVE BEEN MORE IMPRESSED BY THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY 'S POSTURING THAN THE LAWYERS PLEA FOR EMPATHY.

SCENE 3: JOHN LEWIS BLOODY SUNDAY

Judge

You may call your next witness counselor. Ms. Courtney...

Defense Lawyer

One moment Your Honor... For...

SHE PICKS UP HER NOTES

For... For thirty-five years...

SHE LOOKS AT HER ASSISTANT WHO GESTURES HER TO CONTINUE. HOWEVER, SHE IS UNABLE. HE INTERCEDES.

Alberto Phillips

For thirty-five years Your Honor... those who were against the civil rights movement have tried desperately to kill Dr. King a second time. To kill him in the hearts of this new generation. But Dr. King as you have heard the District Attorney repeatedly say was an eloquent speaker who seized isolated events to rally masses of deprived blacks into reckless looting and civil disobedience. Others have made Dr. King out to be a misguided preacher who strayed from his calling. He was an excellent orator for his time, but who today would be nothing more than a talk show host. His assassination like that of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy is ‘till this day surrounded with questions and doubts...

SHE SLAMS THE PAPERS ON THE DESK AND CONTINUES.

Defense Lawyer

To answer those questions, we must call upon those who knew him best. He walked alongside two of the great martyrs of 1968 and witnessed first hand the barbaric atrocities committed against a group of peaceful demonstrators on Bloody Sunday. I call upon the Representative for the Fifth US Congressional District of Georgia, JOHN LEWIS.

A BLACK AND WHITE FILM CLIP IS PLAYED FEATURING THE EVENTS OF BLOODY SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 1965.

John Lewis (V.O.)

The passage of the Civil Rights Bill did not mean the struggle was over. In Alabama, only one in every hundred blacks was able to register to vote. This was due to a testing scheme, which was rigged by state and local government officials. Dr. King focused his attention now to voting rights of the blacks in the south. We organized a peaceful march in Selma. The authorities unwillingly aided our cause by forbidding the march. It was mid afternoon and many of the men and women gathered had come straight from church. They were still wearing their Sunday outfits. Many women had on their high heels. We walked two abreast in a pair of lines that stretched several blocks. The Rev. Abernathy and I led the way. Albert Turner and Bob Mants were right behind us. Marie Foster and Amelia Boyton were next in line and behind them as far as I could see, walked an army of teenagers, teachers, undertakers, beauticians and at the end four ambulances. As we started to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge we saw a sea of battle-ready Alabama state troopers. We moved forward.

state trooper (V.O.)

This is an unlawful assembly. Your march is not conducive to public safety. You are ordered to disperse and go back to your church or to your homes.

JOHN LEWIS (V.O.)

May we have a word with you sir?

state trooper (V.O.)

There is no word to be had. You have two minutes to turn around and go back to your church.

John Lewis (V.O.)

Before we could kneel down to pray, all hell broke loose.

THE CLIP ENDS WITH THE PHOTOGRAPH OF JOHN LEWIS AND JAMES ZWERG AFTER BOTH WERE BEATEN BY THE MOB THAT MET THEIR BUS IN MONTGOMERY ON MAY 20 1961. CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS SITS IN THE WITNESS STAND.

Defense Lawyer

Why wasn’t Dr. King leading this march?

JOHN LEWIS

At first, we were told that he had missed too many preaching commitments, and that he wanted the marched postponed until Monday. About five hundred marchers had gathered in Selma for the march and some were clearly upset. They saw it as a sign of abandonment by Dr. King. I could not imagine anyone questioning the courage of Dr. King. Rev. Andy Young called King back in Atlanta to tell him that the march could not be stopped. King instructed Andy to choose among the four of us, two of the group to lead the march. This part of civil rights history was decided by the flip of a coin. Rev. Hosea Williams and I would lead the march and Andy Young and Bevel would stay back in case of trouble. And boy, was there trouble. We expected a confrontation, but we got a war.

Defense Lawyer

You said earlier that at first you were told that Dr. King did not attend that march because of his preaching commitments. What did you discover later?

JOHN LEWIS

I found out that there had been death threats against his life.

Defense Lawyer

Was this the first time?

JOHN LEWIS

No, they had started a couple months before. Dr. King still wanted to come, but his staff talked him out of it. On March 9 we tried the march again, this time armed with a court order and Dr. King. But again, we were stopped. Dr. King led the crowd in prayer and turned back.

A PICTURE IS SHOWN WITH DR. KING LEADING THE MARCH. ANOTHER PICTURE SHOWS THE MARCHERS PRAYING WHILE CONFRONTED BY SOLDIERS.

Defense Lawyer

Did you ever make it to Montgomery?

John Lewis

Yes, on our third attempt. It was glorious. Though the court order only allowed fifty of us to walk the entire stretch, we did it. When we got to Montgomery, over 8000 people were there to greet us. Dr. King stepped up to deliver one of the most important speeches of his life. Again, as in Washington, he rose to the occasion.

PICTURE IS SHOWN WITH DR. KING AT THE STEP OF THE COURTHOUSE GIVING THE SPEECH "HOW LONG, NOT LONG". THE SCENE IS RE-ENACTED WITH JOHN LEWIS AND RALPH ABERNATHY AT DR. KING’S SIDE AT THE PODIUM.

SELMA TO MONTGOMERY SPEECH

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

March 26, 1965

Montgomery, Alabama

I know some of you are asking today, How long will it take? I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth pressed to the earth will rise again.

How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.

How long? Not long, because you reap what you sow.

How long? Not long, because the arm of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.

How long? Not long, because mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord, trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. He has loosed the faithful lightning of his terrible swift sword. His truth is marching on. Glory hallelujah! Glory hallelujah!

John Lewis

Four and a half months after that day, on August 6, after a long weaving journey through both houses of Congress, the 1965 Voting Rights Act was signed into law by President Johnson in the same room that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation Act.

Defense Lawyer

No more questions Your Honor.

District Attorney

Did you know that the second march was a setup by Mr. King? Did you know that he did not intend to cross the bridge? Did you know that Mr. King purposely mislead you?

Defense Lawyer

Objection Your Honor, the prosecution does not allow the witness to answer his own questions.

District Attorney

Disregard them. Allow me to enlighten you and the members of the grand jury. After the bloody Sunday incident, Dr. King secretly arranged in the middle of the night with the same perpetrators of the alleged massacre on Sunday, to stage a so-called walk from Selma to Montgomery. History tells us, and Congressman Lewis just confirmed that the marchers were turned back. But what is not known are Mr. King’s secret and clandestine arrangements for this march. Mr. King agreed previously with the police not to cross the bridge and to end the march with a prayer and photo opportunity. And I have the document to prove this. Tell the grand jury what was the outcome of the second march.

John Lewis

This march had a tragic ending. Three ministers were beaten that night. One of them Rev, James Reeb, a white minister who died two days later.

District Attorney

Tell the grand jury what was the outcome of the third march.

John Lewis

A few hours after Dr. King spoke Viola Gregg Luizzo, a thirty nine-year-old housewife, was shot after she had transported some volunteers back to Selma.

District Attorney

The intentions of the so-called second march were to provoke an incident to get the federal government involved. I want you to understand clearly that the first march without Mr. King, although riddled with violence and 80 people were hurt, had no deaths associated with it. In comes the peacemaker, Mr. Gandhi, Mr. Nobel Peace Prize winner and in less than 72 hours the town of Selma had blood on their hands, because your leader deceived the thousands with a march he had no intention of completing. Once three bodies had been linked to the voting rights struggle, President Johnson issued an order to fifteen hundred federal troops so that the march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama could be completed. And to aggravate matters worse Mr. King wasn’t even there for the entire historic march? As usual, he was there for the beginning of the march for the photo opportunities and of course, for the grand finale and speech.

John Lewis

Dr. King had a speaking engagement in Cleveland. But we felt his presence through out the entire fifty three-mile journey.

District Attorney

Oh, I bet you did. I understand that while the marchers slept in make shift tents on the road, you were driven back every night to a plush hotel and soft bed. And after a warm bowl of grits, you were again driven to the front lines to lead the march. How can you sit here and talk about a march in which you and Mr. King participated as tourist? It’s in your book "Walking with the Wind" or should it be called Running like the Wind?

john lewis looks at the grand jury as the d.a. picks the book up from his desk.

It says here, you were part of Mr. King’s inner circle until he was shot in April 1968. A month later, you became part of the Robert Kennedy team to elect him president. Two months later, he too was shot dead. You were actually by his side moments before he was gunned down. The two men you worked with and knew personally were struck down within weeks of each other. You must have been devastated.

John Lewis

Devastated? I cried for days. I cried for Martin, and I cried for Bobby. Then I cried for us. Not for the Negroes but for the country itself. We misread Martin’s intentions, misunderstood Bobby’s tears; we ignored their pleading voices and even their words of love. We did not listen. I wanted the sixties to end. We had become a country that was killing it’s own prophets. First it was Medgar Evers, then J.F.K., who we saw as a sympathetic referee in the struggle for civil rights. Later came Malcolm X, Martin and now Robert Kennedy. I don’t think we will ever be able to love our leaders like that again.

District Attorney

pulls out his HANDKERCHIEF.

Dry your tears, this is not being televised. Do you want to know what brings me to tears? Every year you and a bunch of has-beens commemorate the historic walk from Selma to Montgomery and 50% of the time, you aren’t even there. Worst of all, you only re-enact those marches on election years. One more thing congressman. Do you have any physical evidence that links the U.S. Government to the death of Mr. King?

John Lewis

No, I don’t.

District Attorney

No further questions for the tourist congressman Your Honor.

Judge

Congressman John Lewis, you may step down.

CONGRESSMAN LEWIS STEPS DOWN KNOWING THAT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY HAS PORTRAYED HIS PARTICIPATION IN CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE AS AN OPPORTUNISTIC AND SELF-SERVING ACTIVITY. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY HAS CAST SHADOW OF DOUBT ON dR. KINGS INVOLVEMENT IN THE MARCH FROM SELMA TO MONTGOMERY.

BAILIFF

Your Honor if I may...

the BAILIFF approaches the judge with a set of documents for his review. they engage in conversation as the District Attorney approaches the defense table.

District Attorney

Not bad Mrs. Cantley, since this is your first major case since the scandalous Lewinski matter.

Defense Lawyer

Courtney, Dr. Beverly Courtney counselor Battle.

District Attorney

What ever... I am surprised the King family even contacted you. Are you ready to cut your loses and drop this grand jury indictment?

Alberto Phillips

Knock it off Dr. Battle. You lied about this! You have had the sealed transcripts for more than a year! You tampered with and purged any incriminating evidence against the government from these transcripts?

Defense Lawyer

I could present this to the judiciary committee, motion for a mistrial and have you disbarred. I should just nail your butt to the wall!

District Attorney

Wake up counselors. You really expect to uncover the truth. This is a court of law; you won't find here anything that resembles the truth.

Alberto Phillips

You are wrong! Seven years ago 12 jurors it Tennessee found evidence of a conspiracy. We will find the conspirators and bring them to justice.

Defense Lawyer

That is why we accepted this case, not because every other lawyer turned it down.

District Attorney

Cut the moral crap! Why in the world would you take a case in which the chances that the courts would re-open it are slim to none? This case was argued and closed thirty-five years ago with a confession by James Earl Ray. Just because twelve nobodies in Tennessee were pressured to find a conspiracy, you become Joan of Arc? This heroic act will bury your already derailed career.

THREATENING HER

Even if you did get a grand jury indictment verdict and a retrial was ordered, I would clutter it with so many appeals that this case would remain buried in the legal system for another thirty-five years. I can pull a couple of strings and slow the legal apparatus indefinitely. Remember the in-conclusive tests done on James Earl Ray’s rifle? All I had to do is cash-in a couple of favors.

Defense Lawyer

Dr. Preston Battle there is evidence, you know it and we will find the piece that links the government to the assassination of Dr. King.

District Attorney

I am already on number three. After I am done with Coretta, the Promised Land will be nothing more than a plantation.

Alberto phillips

Thanks to people like you, this whole country is a plantation. It makes no difference if you came here on the Mayflower or on a slave ship; we are all in the same boat now.

District Attorney

No we are not. Your boat is sinking because you took this moronic civil rights case!

Defense Lawyer

You really think so?

District Attorney

Of course! Didn't you learn anything in law school? You litigate a case because you believe you can win it or at least make a lot of money on it. Ask Johnnie Cochran. You have always taken on the most idiotic un-winnable cases in history, defending any derelict that claims to be innocent. Why Ms.Corby, why?

Defense Lawyer

Courtney! Beverly Courtney!

BANGING ON THE DESK

District Attorney

What ever... It was still a stupid move. And going up against me, makes your sense of judgment worth looking into. You couldn’t make it in a real law firm that is why after twenty years you are still a public defendant, nothing more than, a court appointed mouthpiece.

HER ASSISTANT ALBERTO PHILLIPS GETS UP TO DEFEND HER AS SHE GESTURES HIM TO REMAIN SEATED.

Defense Lawyer

Because of James Earl Ray's alleged confession, we never heard the truth about the circumstances surrounding the murder of Dr. King. I will not allow that to happen again. It has nothing to do with who the defendant is, but what justice is all about. Don't you get it? It makes no difference if the James Earl Ray did or did not pull the trigger. The people have the right to know all the circumstances surrounding the death of their leader. Our legal system guarantees that the accused is represented by competent counsel, that he is allowed to confront his accusers and that all the evidence against him be presented. That has not happened yet. Didn't you learn anything in law school?

SHE RETURNS TO HER TABLE

Because there are still a handful of ethical lawyers, I am confident that the day when they come for me, with an accusation, there will be someone who will take up my defense and exercise my right to a fair and impartial trial.

District Attorney

APPLAUDS HER AND WALKS TOWARDS THE DEFENSE TABLE

Who died and made you Ms. Righteous? Don't you know there no longer is nobility in fighting for a just cause and losing it?

TURNS AROUND AND RETURNS TO HIS TABLE AFTER DELIVERING THE LAST WORD AS customary.

Defense Lawyer

And what is your noble reason for prosecuting this case? I understand that you not only volunteered for it, but word has it that you pulled some strings to get it.

District Attorney

I do not answer to women.

alberto phillips

Then tell me.

District Attorney

I don’t answer to blacks either.

Defense Lawyer

This is personal isn't it?

District Attorney

It is none of your God dammed business!

HE WALKS AWAY FURIOUS

Bitch!

Defense Lawyer

That is so unprofessional! Oh, I am going to kill that cracker!

Alberto Phillips

Beverly! That is exactly what he wants you to do. He is trying to make you lose your focus and make this appeal personal. Remember what you said not too long ago. Words like Nigger, Kink, Spick, and Cracker were conceived by one race to tear down another.

Defense Lawyer

You are right. I will not stoop down to his level.

Alberto phillips

This appeal is not about you... It's about Dr. King, finding the dream, the mountaintop, the Promised Land and the hidden evidence that destroyed it. Let's focus on the government's involvement in this case.

THE DEFENSE LAWYER REGAINS HER COMPOSURE

Mrs. Lorna Beales ASSISTANT D.a.

Is it true what the defense lawyer just said?

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

About the report? Of course, you know we've had the sealed transcripts since this investigation started twenty years ago. As a matter of fact it was that finding that has given us the edge in overturning all their previous appeals to re-open this absurd case.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

I wasn't referring to that. Ever since that jury found evidence of a conspiracy, you have been obsessed with this third appeal, like I've never seen you before.

District Attorney

This particular case is different. I cannot afford to have this case re-tried. Three days after James Earl Ray confessed in court to the assassination of Mr. King, he wrote a letter proclaiming his innocence and sent it to the judge presiding the case. Judge W. Preston Battle, my father. That afternoon they found my father at his desk. He died of a massive heart attack with James Earl Ray’s letter still in his hands.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

Is that how you became involved in this case?

District Attorney

No. That’s when it became personal. Before my father died, he urged me to go to law school. He wanted me to become a judge but Mr. King’s civil rights struggle snatched my right to an Ivy League education. I went to the University of Mississippi. Yes, with James Meredith, the first black to attend that university. Because I attended a de-segregated university, my application to Harvard was declined. It was a message to all other colleges who were planning on integrating their campuses. I was forced to do my graduate work at a second rate college. Today, all my other classmates are judges. I am still paying the dues of school integration. But this will not happen again. See that young man in the audience? He is my son. He wants to be a civil rights lawyer, but because of affirmative action, some Black or Asian minority will get his spot and his chances to become a criminal attorney.

Mrs. Lorna BealEs

Like his father...

District Attorney

Much better, he is sharp and very eloquent. Isn't it ironic, he wants to defend the same quota system that kept me and is keeping him from entering Harvard? We have not spoken in four years. All that talent wasted on people who don’t even belong here. I have been offered a nomination to the Supreme Court if I can succeed in overturning this useless appeal. And once I do, I will accept this nomination becoming the first D.A. to sit on the bench. What do you think is going to be my first order of business?

Mrs. Lorna Beales

Upholding the constitution of the United States by eliminating discrimination in all its forms?

District Attorney

No! I will overturn affirmative action. This black movement will not destroy a third generation of Battles. First my Father, then me and now my son has been targeted. With me on the bench, he will go to Harvard. You see I too have a dream. He will get his law degree and he will become a first-rate prosecutor and third generation Judge. This is my chance to get even. You do not know how humiliating it was to be denied entry to a place where everybody else was accepted with open arms.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

That is the story of our lives.

District Attorney

That's different; I am white. And I will not allow this to happen to my son.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

That is why you are out to prove by whatever means possible that James Earl Ray was the lone gunman?

District Attorney

Right.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

What if there really was a government conspiracy as the King family alleges and everybody believes.

District Attorney

I am really not concerned about that. I just want my place on the bench where I belong.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

I thought we were in search of the truth. That is why I joined the prosecution. I'm like many here tonight that have doubts, that have questions about that day in Memphis. Somehow I believed that by taking active participation in this trial I could see first hand the evidence the FBI claims it had. Don't you want to know who killed Dr. King?

District Attorney

The FBI said James Earl Ray did it. That's good enough for me.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

I'm confused now... I quit! What a fool I have been.

SHE PICKS UP HER NOTES PREPARING TO LEAVE.

District Attorney

You'll be a bigger fool if you leave me now. The truth will eventually surface. It always has. In 25 years the truth will be revealed. Listen, I’ve heard the King wiretaps and I have read the sealed congressional transcripts. The FBI and CIA were involved up to their eyeballs. King was not having an affair. The FBI concocted that story. They were trying to discredit him.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

So why do you keep on bringing that up?

District Attorney

To keep them guessing. It is just part of my strategy. It keeps them on their toes. As long as they believe that the government has some dirt on Mr. King, they will not push to release those transcripts and drop all the conspiracy theories against the government. Remember we have never lost a case in 25 years. They don’t know that Mr. King’s only affair was with the civil rights movement itself. He loved his country and his family. It was driving J. Edgar Hoover crazy. He wanted Mr. King removed from the national scene. They even wrote Mr. King a letter urging him to commit suicide or they would expose the alleged affair. But nobody can prove that letter exists. Sullivan, the deputy FBI director who wrote the letter died in 1972. That's the only physical evidence that ties the government to the assassination. The King family has no case without it. That letter is the smoking gun.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

What ever happened to that letter?

District Attorney

Who knows? Mr. King probably threw it away. And most likely did not tell anyone about it. But for now, I need this appeal overturned, and I need to become the next the Supreme Court Justice. Guess whom I am planning to nominate as my replacement as new District Attorney?

Mrs. Lorna Beales

I do not want your job!

District Attorney

Beales! You are a brilliant litigator for Christ sake!

Mrs. Lorna BEALES

But I am also a product of affirmative action and the civil rights movement.

District Attorney

So is Ms. Cabala the defense attorney. But she hasn’t won a single case in her entire career. The woman has been seeing a shrink for over twenty years over some trauma she suffered when she was a teenager. Word around the courthouse is that she can only sleep with the lights on and only for a couple of hours each night. She suffers from these horrible nightmares. She belongs in small claims court, not in here. But you are different; you know your place. You could become a role model for your people. Kind of a Tiger Woods in the courtroom.

Mrs. Lorna Beales

What if I refuse? I do not want a promotion under these circumstances.

District Attorney

Leave now and I'll have you disbarred. You won't even be able to appeal a parking ticket. And if word of my nomination or my son ever leaks out you might as well kiss your legal career good bye. So, what are you going to do? Go back to waiting tables? I gave you a career Mrs. Beales, and I can take it away. I need to know Beales, right now. Are you the next District Attorney or the head waitress at the Three-Dollar Cafe? It's simple. Are you with me, or against me?

Mrs. Lorna Beales LOWERS HER HEAD.

Now shut up and sit down, let's put an end to this dream, and let the nightmare begin.

SHE SITS FRUSTRATED BY THE WAY THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY HAS MANIPULATED THE CIRCUMSTANCES. THE JUDGE hammers his gavel and checks HIS WATCH.

The court will take a fifteen-minute recess. I would like to remind the audience that congressman Lewis just testified that the Voting Rights Bill has just been signed. You are in the south in 1965.

he begins speaking with a southern accent

We are still in the midst of a segregated nation. The bailiff has just informed me that the laws of this state mandate separate but equal facilities and I intend to uphold those laws. Thus, the restrooms, drinking fountains and food bar in this here theater have been segregated as indicated by section three of the Georgia State constitution. The white members of the audience please use the facilities designated for whites only. The rest of you all use the facilities marked colored.

HE HAMMERS HIS GAVEL AS THE COURT STANDS

BAILIFF

All rise!

THE JUDGE LEAVES as THE STAGE DARKENS. AS THE HOUSE LIGHTS ARE TURNED ON, A PAPERBOY RUNS IN ANNOUNCING THE INTERMISSION. All the facilities in the theater are marked “colored” and “for whites only”. UNIFORMED WHITE POLICEMEN are brought in TO ENFORCE THE JUDGE’S MANDATE. they stand GUARD by THE DOORS MARKED “FOR WHITES ONLY”. THE HEADLINES READ "FUTURE Supreme Court NOMINEE SILENCES DEFENSE" "FATE OF CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN HANDS OF A MIRACLE".