What's up, man?
Eric, are you even pushing it?
That's what I'm doing!
- You got it? - Yeah.
Dang it!
Hey, Slug, Slug!
Hey, Slug!
Slug, give us a hand, will ya?
Why didn't y'all tell me?
Tenth floor. You would have taken forever.
- And the elevator broke. - It always is.
You right. I would have.
This mattress is heavy.
You're still not gonna give us a hand?
Nah, nah, I'm good.
-Mama know you're jumpin'? -Not unless you tell her.
-And what if I do? -Gosh, go away, Dee.
-Let me jump. -Why?
So you can get hurt and start crying to Mom?
You're so mean!
Look, you about to cry right now, aren't you?
That's not true!
You don't gotta be like that to your sister.
Not everybody can jump.
Not like me.
In Cabrini-Green,
there's only one rule on the playground.
It don't matter how old you are...
how much money you got...
how big or tall...
or small.
All that matters...
is if you can jump.
I was flying, man.
That's the closest I got to God.
Wish you'd tell me how you do it.
It's a secret.
If I told you, I wouldn't be the best no more.
Keep it, then.
-You good on dinner, man? -Yeah.
All right. See you.
There you are. Why do you look so terrible?
Daddy is gonna raise hell if he sees you.
- So? - Boy, you in trouble!
- I hear you, Malik! - I hear you, too, Amber.
Eric, you need a bath!
You ain't my mama!
Good for you I'm not. Otherwise, I'd whup you.
So, you...
- Whatcha making? - None-ya business.
Okay.
How much you charging, Grandma?
Two dollars.
You ain't getting rich that way.
Hmm. Is that what you think I'm trying to do?
How come these tins never have any cookies in 'em?
Hey, I said $2.
Malik.
What'd I tell you about that jumpin'?
Who told you?
♪ La, la-la, la-la ♪
You snitch.
She didn't have to tell me nothin',
I just know. I'm your mama.
You should have seen me.
I broke a world record. I was flying!
Oh, so now you braggin', huh?
You said I could jump as long as I didn't get caught.
You think you're funny now, don't you?
Mama, what did the microwave say to the other microwave?
Go on, tell me.
"Is it me, or is it hot in here?"
Ma.
That's a good one, Malik!
Don't encourage him!
Oh, shoot!
Hey, little man, what's going on in there?
Mm. Mm-mm-mm. See, you rowdy.
You do whatever it is you wanna do,
regardless of what anybody tells you.
Just like my daddy.
-Hey, Ma? -Mm?
How do bears keep cool?
You gonna tell me anyway. Go on.
Bear conditioning.
You need to work on your delivery.
Diana, baby, you're gonna fall right in if you're not careful.
Little girl, why is there yelling in my house?
- There's a spider, Mama! - Oh, leave it.
What if it crawls on my face when I sleep?
- It won't. - It'll lay eggs on you.
When you wake up, there will be baby spiders
- crawling out of your ears. - God! Mama!
Can you stop torturing your sister?
Why she acting like she never seen one before? Grow up!
The one who needs growing is you, little man.
Oh, my God, oh, my God.
Malik! Can you stop playing with it?
-Get it out of my house! -Okay! Okay! I'm doing it. Jeez!
Come on, you know the deal. Hold his hand.
Grab your sister's hand. Come on.
Bow your heads, please. Thank you.
Heavenly Father, thank you for this day.
We ask that you bless this food,
let it be nourishment to our bodies.
God, thank you for all you have given us
and that you continue to give us every single day.
And, um, bless my father,
who would have been 70 years old today.
Bless him.
Mm-hmm.
- Amen. - Amen, amen.
Isn't it funny
that we're celebrating Grandpa's birthday
even though he's not even alive?
Still his born day.
We have to pay our respects.
But he won't get any older.
It's been five years, Dolores.
You're just confusing them now.
I'm not confusing 'em, Ma.
How else are they gonna know who their granddaddy is?
All right, who's excited for dessert?
- Me, me, me! - Yeah? Okay.
Eat everything on your plate,
you'll get dessert after dinner.
See, Ma? We're celebrating. Get in the mood.
How 'bout making a dessert for the living?
We've been eating this four days in a row.
I'm about to turn into a vegetable.
Why don't you cook?
I'm too little to use the stove.
No, you're not.
You're never too little. Right? I was cooking at her age.
Mm-hmm
Set your mind to it, you can do it.
I'm putting my mind to McDonald's,
I don't see it on my plate.
All right.
Everybody close your eyes.
Come on.
Now, imagine...
you hear a frying pan sizzling.
And you can smell some thick-cut bacon,
the best kind from the butcher.
And there's some potatoes and some fried chicken
that was cooked in that bacon grease.
And next to it,
is a big glass of orange juice.
It's cold, with the pulp just floating at the top,
just how you like it.
And as your mouth is watering, you look down.
Open your eyes.
Mm!
I'll get the groceries tomorrow.
Don't forget my juice.
Everybody like it except you.
Can I help?
Your hands clean?
How about this?
You can help me by counting this.
Ten, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 65.
Okay.
Now, you know what this is for, right?
So $65 is for electricity,
$30 is for gas,
$20 is for water
and $250 for rent.
Now, all together, how much is that?
Nope, I don't want you using your fingers.
Come on, concentrate.
$355?
It's Sunday. What're you testing him for?
Let him live.
Well, I went jumping today.
I jumped higher than everybody, even Malik.
Is that right?
How'd you even make these?
When me and Gordon first moved in,
all we wanted was a little color in the house.
Victoria gave us the fabric.
And I sewed it with that machine
I brought with me from Mississippi.
Where in Mississippi?
Tupelo.
Your grandfather, his parents, my parents,
all of our cousins were born and bred there.
But you don't have an accent, Grandma.
Well, it's pretty much gone now.
You lose it with time.
You miss that place?
Well, every once in a while, it comes back in a dream.
Sometimes, I can...
I can even hear my mama's voice calling me for dinner.
I miss my mama.
I miss the people.
But I do not miss that place, no.
Every time you talk about that place,
it's like poetry.
Well, there's poetry in everything.
It could be nature, it could be speech.
It could be a bird.
Can you stop picking at it?
Are you ever gonna throw that out?
What you think, Malik?
Is this sweater too ugly for your mama to be wearing?
-Nah. -She gonna keep it
until it's nothing but rags.
Watch. You'll see.
What are you doing?
Holding you.
Like you used to hold me.
I love you, Ma.
What do you call a boy who can't jump?
- What? - Eric.
What do you call a snail on a ship?
-What? -A snailor.
What do you call three trees?
-What? -A trio.
-How do you make a tissue dance? -How?
Put a little boogie in it.
Who would Michael Jordan be without Scottie Pippen?
I dunno. Still be MVP.
Are you dumb?
Isiah Thomas is the coldest dude on the West side.
He destroys anybody who gets in his way.
If Scottie wasn't there, MJ would have just been a dude
who couldn't get past Isiah.
So MJ needs Scottie.
Well, actually, they kinda need each other...
Y'all are wrong.
They'd be nobody without Horace Grant.
-Get outta here, man. -Y'all didn't wait for me.
We would have been late.
How many times we gotta tell you that?
-Sure. And I'm never late. -"And I'm never late."
Man, shut up!
Hey! Y'all left me again!
You trying to impress Ms. Willis or somethin'?
Me? You're the one who's always like,
"Ms. Willis, I need homework help."
Going to her after class.
Damn, son. Be cool.
Ms. Willis got money. You can tell by her nice car.
Eric, she got a Toyota Corolla.
-That's what I said. -Rich or not, she's available.
I gotta be ready for my moment.
Ain't no moment coming for you.
Plus, she don't mess around with no one from around here, no way.
Only time she ever talk to you
is if you forgot to do your homework
and she about to call your mama.
- Justin. - Present.
MS. - Tyrone.
Here!
I know that's not Tyrone's voice, Samuel.
Stop fooling around.
Samuel.
My moms named me after a prophet.
You named after a prophet and you still broke.
Oh, he got you. He did.
- Georgia? - Here.
- Beth? - Here.
Dang. My head really that big?
I mean, bigger than average.
Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America.
And to the republic, for which it stands,
one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
...for all.
Y'all need to hold it down, all right?
I win.
-Three out of five. -Okay.
Look over there.
It's the roof. So?
- See all them cracks? - Yeah.
If you look real close, they turn into stars.
Try it.
You gotta really try.
I am.
See 'em now?
Yeah.
Hello!
Hey!
My name Malik!
And my name Eric! And don't you forget it!
-My name Malik! -And my name's Eric!
Hello!
Don't underestimate us!
Don't you forget us! I exist!
I exist!
Hey! Oh! Hey! Oh!
- Hey, baby. - Hey, Ma.
Hey, Mama.
Hey, baby.
- They eat yet? - 'Course they did.
- I had two dinners. - Yeah?
My big girl.
You look so very proud of yourself.
Mama, why you look so tired?
Because your mama was out there working for this family,
that's why.
Talk to me.
You know what it is, Ma?
I now know how much everybody makes.
I see all their paychecks.
I know just how much everybody else is worth.
It was so much easier when I didn't know.
Well, they're working you like a dog.
And for what?
They gonna give you a raise?
What you say that for?
You know I can't ask that right now.
Why not? We need it. You gotta ask.
And what, risk getting fired?
There's a whole line of folks
waiting outside the door just to take my job.
And they all got fancy college degrees.
Is that a fact,
or is that what they telling you to keep you in your place?
Look, I'm just trying to hold on
to the little bit that we got, okay?
Can barely afford to take care of all y'all anyways.
You say that as if
I don't understand what you going through.
I'm sorry. I don't mean nothing by it, Ma.
Y'all wanna try it on? Hey, try it.
Anybody wants to, go ahead.
Nah, I'm good.
This dude can't even count.
Man, you just jealous.
I wouldn't be buying no watches and showing 'em around school.
I'm not trying to get robbed.
You got no money for no watches anyway.
-It ain't even his money. -Why does it matter?
-Money is money. -Serving ain't no real job.
He stands on a street corner, looking out for his brother.
One of these days, he gonna get killed.
All right. No need to get into it.
Look, the cops are here.
Why are the cops here? What's going on?
- Someone got shot. - Did they get killed?
- I don't know. - Somebody got killed.
Man, relax. Hey. Hey, man.
Ma, what is all of this?
They said we gotta stay out here until we get an ID card.
Something about safety.
Whose safety? Our safety?
We been living here...
Think they care about that?
They treat us like roaches in our own home.
Excuse me. Officer.
We don't really need an ID card if we live here, though, right?
Everybody needs an ID to get inside, ma'am.
What about my children?
- Do they live here? - Yes.
They need an ID just like everybody else.
No one in or out. New policy.
What do you mean, policy? They're kids.
What do you need to keep track of them?
If you have questions, contact your CHA board member.
We're doing our job.
Don't let me stop you. Treating us like criminals.
This is what they do. They chip away at you.
Who was it?
Heard it was a kid.
-How old was he? -I don't know.
Hey. Kids, come on. Don't wander off.
It's almost our turn.
It was a little boy.
Where did it happen?
Right outside the school, with his mom.
This neighborhood's just not the same anymore.
In broad daylight.
- Dolores. - Unbelievable.
That's too much.
Eric can help himself, baby.
But look at him.
He doesn't eat enough. He's skinny.
-Hey, Ma? -Mm?
Why'd we get ID cards for?
Um...
so that people who don't live here don't get inside.
The whole neighborhood's going under lockdown
because of all the shootings happening.
So unless you're walking to or from school,
you play inside, okay?
What are we gonna do inside?
Well, there won't be much jumping anymore,
that's for sure.
You and me can play cards.
That's a great idea, Eric.
You can stay overnight. I'll call your father.
But the faucet's gonna drive him crazy.
Can't I just stay over his house?
You already here.
Besides, that faucet will get fixed.
Ah, you keep saying that.
And I keep asking them.
Complained three months ago. What else you want me to do?
What do we do if the whole apartment gets flooded?
-Flooded? -I don't know how to swim.
Well, then I will build a boat.
Like, um, Noah's Ark?
No, not that big.
And it certainly won't have any room for no animals.
But anyone here who wants to get on,
you can get on.
Where would you get all the wood?
To make the boat?
Got a point, Ma.
Ain't enough trees in Cabrini-Green for that.
You're staying here tonight. That's final.
What about them?
I sense when a place is past its prime, Dolores.
We can move someplace else.
It's not that simple. You know that.
Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America.
And to the republic, for which it stands,
one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Please remain standing
to observe a moment of silence for Dantrell Davis.
Dantrell Davis was seven years old.
He lived in 500, West Oak.
He and his mom were walking to school one day,
and they heard a gunshot.
Dantrell was struck in the side of the head.
They took him to the hospital.
He was dead before they got there.
Thank you.
Scientists believe redwoods first appeared
during the Jurassic period around 160 million years ago.
Remains discovered by archeologists
show such forests with giant trees
were largely spread across the northern hemisphere.
The forests that still remain,
like those found in Redwood National Park,
are an important link between past and present.
These slender trees continually compete with each other,
reaching upwards towards the sun
with every cell of their immense bodies.
As they fight for the sun's energy,
the trees grow taller and taller.
Giant sequoias can grow up to...
Yeah?
Can I go to the bathroom?
You may.
...1.6 million pounds.
Their upper branches form a crown
which creates a dome of shade,
where among the giant trunks...
What happened to Slug?
Ms. Willis said he could hold it till we got back.
What are we gonna do?
Let's go!
Yes! We made it! We made it!
We made it, made it, made it!
-Oh, look at that. -That's so cool.
-You like her? -No.
'Cause if you do, you should tell her.
You are way too loud.
I don't like her. I'm in love with her.
-Tell her that then. -She's way too rich for me.
-Just look at her. -That's a good thing.
My dad told me it's a bonus when a woman can buy you dinner.
No, man, it just wasn't meant to be.
You're not scared of cracking your own head,
but you're afraid of some nice lady?
-You're right. I'm going. -All right then.
Excuse me, ma'am.
I just wanted to say I love you.
I don't think I'll ever find anybody
to love like you in my whole life.
Hey, kid. Why aren't you in school?
It's Martin Luther King Day. Mind your own business.
Damn!
So, where they at?
Says here they're at a train station.
Okay, so why is this dude helping them carry their bags?
They can carry their own bags.
I mean, he getting paid to do it.
So? They got two hands, don't they?
They're going to Chicago, but where they coming from?
Mississippi. Just like my grandma did.
Maybe that's where I'm from, too.
You don't know for sure?
No.
Everybody like dandelion seeds.
They're blown from place to place,
then they're just planted wherever they land.
Or they're like those trees from California.
Redwoods?
They been in the same place for millions of years.
All aboard!
Oh!
Why are rich people so angry?
Look at them fighting.
"Don't you know who I am?
"Don't you know I live on Lake Shore Drive?"
"You need way more makeup
"to cover up your ugly personality."
- "Get out of my way!" - "Smell you later."
Really are some crazy people in this world.
I know, right?
David, I'm sorry,
but I can't come back to the office right now.
No, I still can't find my son. Okay...
I don't know.
But I really gotta get off the phone
-in case someone tries to call. -Mama. What's wrong?
Okay, he's here.
Oh, thank you, Jesus. Oh, my baby.
-You okay? Yeah? -Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah? Okay. Nobody hurt you?
-No. -Okay.
-Where were you? -The Art Institute.
-What? -The Art Institute.
Okay, but what were you doing at the Art Institute?
They had us watching this boring nature documentary.
We had to get out of there.
Who were you talking to?
Your little friend, Eric, is about to be punished.
Won't be visiting you, coming around here anytime soon.
But it was my idea to skip school.
Oh, I'm sure it was, Malik.
Yeah, I'm sure it was. I'm over here worried sick!
Boy, I should beat your ass.
Nothing happened to...
But something could have happened!
That's what you're not understanding!
God damn it. Dantrell was killed!
Malik, don't that mean anything to you?
I'm not gonna get shot like Dantrell did.
You don't know that!
Ain't nothing worse in the world
than what happened to that little boy.
And that could have been you.
Now, how am I supposed to keep you safe
if I don't know where you are or what you doing?
Huh?
You want to be dead out there on them streets?
No.
I can't keep you safe.
And that hurts me.
But you don't give a damn.
And you don't care how it affects anybody in here.
Finish your homework,
and also, no TV for a month.
But I can watch, right?
It doesn't matter who's watching.
You're not gonna be going in and out this house
without telling me who you gonna be with and where you going.
Look, I know you're not his mother, okay?
But you're supposed to be looking after your brother.
Happy?
You're not gonna see him?
-Why not? -I don't want to.
Many of you have come from all over the neighborhood
to celebrate the life of Dantrell Davis,
a beloved son.
Many of you are wrestling in this darkness
that seems to eclipse all of us.
When I think of the story of Young Dantrell,
a beloved son of this community, a beloved child of God,
my mind goes to the story of another child,
a child born in Bethlehem,
a child raised in the projects of east Nazareth,
a child who was raised by a mother who loved him,
a mother who had to wrestle mightily with the knowledge
that she could not save her son
from that great destiny that was before him.
You see, the path of God
leads us through the crucible of suffering
and persecution of the righteous and the innocent.
The way to the New Jerusalem leads us up a road
upon which our Savior dragged his old wooden cross.
It leads us up a hill called Calvary.
And what happened on Calvary
was not the end of the story,
but it was only the beginning.
Amen.
Why didn't you look at him?
'Cause I don't want to see no dead boy.
So many people came to see him.
At least he's in a better place now.
I don't know. I think he just gone.
No ghost or nothing.
Wait, you don't believe in no afterlife?
-Nobody knows. -What about Jesus?
I think he lived,
but I don't know if he ever gonna come back.
How do we know that?
There ain't no afterlife, then what's all this for?
Why's it matter? People die here all the time.
Yeah, but he was little, like really little.
Where else is Dantrell gonna go?
What if he just...
don't go anywhere?
What if he just done?
That death became a symbol
of the escalating violence
that the city seems to be unable to control.
Chicago Mayor, Richard Daley.
What we see is, unfortunately, violence,
a total disregard of human life by gang and drug dealers.
We have a war here, and we have to go after them
the same way they go after innocent people.
Daley and the Chicago Housing Authority chief,
Vince Lane, vowed to take back Cabrini-Green
from the shooters, the snipers, and the gangs.
Malik! Wake up, baby. Wake up, wake up.
You have 30 seconds to open this door.
Who is it? I'm coming.
Open up. It's the police.
Officer, what's the problem?
CHA's been authorized to conduct a search on your apartment.
Okay. A search for what?
- Be careful. - Step aside.
-Ma'am, step aside. -Okay, sir.
- What's going on? - All right.
Sir, do you have a warrant?
We're searching for drugs on the premises.
We don't have any... We don't have any drugs here.
It's just me, my mama, my kids. There's no drugs here.
What are they doing?
Then you got nothing to hide.
Dolores?
All right, we ain't got any drugs.
You're scaring my babies.
Oh, Lord, have mercy. Tearing up the house. Dolores.
It's 2:00 in the morning. You're scaring the kids.
Keep calm. Everyone's being searched.
No, please.
Why are they doing this?
These are her things, okay?
She's not gonna hide drugs in some damn material.
You're not gonna find anything.
I don't know why you going there.
Ma, I got it. I got it.
Listen, you got the wrong house.
You're not gonna find anything. Is this really necessary?
-Get your hands off that. -Okay.
Sir, you got the wrong house. You...
Not in my baby's... My little girl...
Can you just leave us alone? God damn it!
Mama.
Come, babies. Come on.
Why they doing this, Ma?
It's Diana's beads. Why they... Why they gotta...
Hey, put my shit right back up there.
Eric. You there?
Man, they threw my mattress.
It sucks, man. Ours, too.
What you gonna do about it?
Kick their ass.
No, you're not.
Hey!
Come on, man. Hey!
Hey!
I exist!
-We exist! -We exist!
We exist!
We're ready for you.
Um, David mentioned the senior payroll position,
and that's the one I'd love to put my hat in the ring for.
See, I've been picking up...
more shifts than anyone else here in the department.
So you know I'm really committed to this job.
I just want a chance to advance.
I really think it's the right move for you.
-Yeah? You do? -Absolutely.
I just have one question for you.
You take the bus to work every day. Is that right?
Yeah, I do.
Would you be able to get a car?
Um... no. Why?
Well, the job you're looking at isn't actually here
in our Chicago offices. It's in Peoria.
Oh. I see.
I'm sorry. He didn't mention that to me.
I don't mean to waste your time.
I really think you should consider it.
You're a great fit,
and it's a significant pay increase.
It's three hours away.
It would be a change.
It would.
You don't have to give me an answer right now.
Talk it over with your family.
When do you need to know by?
Next week.
- That soon, huh? - I know.
I really hope it works out, Dolores.
Let me know.
Thank you.
You're kidding me, right?
I don't know what you want me to say.
Well, we'd have to move, you know.
We'd have to get a car.
We'll get a car.
Okay, so we're supposed to move these kids.
That means new schools. They'd have to make new friends.
Baby, they're stronger than you think.
You adjusted when me and your daddy
moved up from Tupelo.
But, Ma, they're rooted here.
Just because I plant them someplace new,
don't mean that they'll flourish.
But this ain't about the kids.
It's about you, baby.
What you're afraid of.
You've been saving that.
Yeah.
For this moment.
Listen to me, baby girl.
If you don't grow,
these babies won't.
It's time.
I was looking for you.
I'm always here.
Can you see it?
No.
Sometimes it don't work.
Maybe I gotta be asleep or dreaming or something.
You get dreams?
Sometimes.
You ever had a dream that felt so real,
you thought you was awake?
Did you?
Yeah. There was this one time
when my dad was cooking a big turkey in the oven.
And it had stuffing and gravy, everything.
Me and Amber was just making the house nice.
Then the doorbell rang.
So I went up to answer it.
When I opened the door...
it was my mom.
You saw your mama?
I knew it was her.
That's how I knew it wasn't real.
She's watching over you.
-I feel sorry for her if she is. -Why?
Not much to see.
Eric, you ever think about
what it would be like outside of here?
Why? This is where we from.
We were born here. We live here and we die here.
But you ain't never been nowhere else.
You could always dream, think about other places.
All right, then, what you dream about?
Like, where do you wanna be?
It's always a house.
With two stories.
And on the first floor, is a big living room
with a bunch of couches and a TV.
Brand-new kitchen.
Everybody got their own room,
so me and Dee ain't gotta share no more.
And Mama,
she got her own garden so she can grow tomatoes.
House so big, we get lost inside.
All right, now.
First off, stories?
Come on. We got 16 of 'em.
And tomatoes?
Dude, you don't even cook.
It's just a dream, Eric. It ain't real.
Man, I don't get you.
-Where are you going? -Finna go home.
-Hey. -Hey.
Grandma, why you move here?
Out of all the places you could have gone.
You know, your granddaddy, Gordon,
oh, that man loved the sun.
Loved the South.
Tupelo.
He had a shoe store.
And when that got burned, we knew we had to go.
We knew it was time.
So we just got on the train
and came to Chicago.
And when we first moved in here,
families would be out here with their kids,
and they'd be treatin' this like a giant porch.
Everybody knew each other's name.
Everybody was family.
You know, we always wanted
better for your mama.
That's why we moved here.
That's why we came here.
It just seems like we always runnin' from something.
All aboard!
Psst.
Four.
-What are you doing? -Uh...
I just dropped my scrap paper.
Then why is it on Eric's desk?
I don't know.
Get up, both of you. Let me see your test.
I'm gonna have to call your father.
You can go back to class.
Why'd you get me in trouble?
Why does it matter?
It's not like anything does.
- Eric. - Malik Johnson.
Why won't you admit what you did was wrong?
I won't do it again.
Son, you know what I need to hear.
And until you say it, you won't be coming back to this table.
You know, it's a miracle that you're not failing more classes.
But if you gotta cheat to get ahead,
you deserve to pay the price.
But he's trying so hard to impress you.
All he wants is to make you proud.
Amber, please let me handle this.
Yo. We found a mattress on the fifth floor. Try to help?
My dad finna come home soon.
Come on, dude, it's A-plus. Can't miss it.
I told you. I can't.
All right. We'll see you.
Half my class isn't even graduating.
Isn't that crazy?
Wow.
You gonna be the first person in this family
to graduate college.
Hey. You'll be the second.
No pressure.
Um, look, I know everybody's busy, but, you know,
let's make sure we make some time to help Ms. Johnson move.
They're moving?
Ms. Johnson's leaving?
What?
With everything that's been going on,
they're moving out.
Malik didn't tell you?
No.
Son.
What's up, man? You hungry?
No, I don't want no food.
-Okay. -So you moving?
That's what my dad told me, that you leaving.
She just started looking.
But you was dreaming about it before it happened.
'Cause you told her, 'cause you want to leave.
-I didn't say anything. -Do you want to leave?
-Eric. -Leave me alone.
Can't sleep either?
Faucet keeps me up.
Mm. Me, too.
What's going on? Talk to me.
How do you say goodbye to somebody?
I don't know that you ever really do.
I mean, you...
you always carry them in your heart wherever you go.
Such a big world out there.
So much I wanna do.
I have this dream.
It's always about this train taking me away from here.
-Yeah? -Yeah.
Where does it take you?
I think it takes me to Mississippi.
With my people.
Our people aren't there anymore, baby.
-No? -Mm-hmm.
We're from Chicago. Cabrini-Green.
Although we could take a train somewhere else, someplace new.
All I want is a house.
Two floors.
And outside, there's a garden.
Big garden.
Where you can grow tomatoes.
Hmm.
A garden. And some tomatoes.
Mm-hmm.
What else?
A house.
House so big,
me and Dee ain't gotta share a room no more.
Yeah.
Definitely getting a little too big for that.
I want you all to write about where you're from.
One paragraph, five sentences. Write more if you want.
And there's only one computer,
so everyone's gonna take turns this week.
When the snow falls in Chicago,
it's like a blanket.
The whole city falls asleep.
It's quiet.
And nobody makes a sound.
I wait for so long for the snow to melt,
I grow old.
The sun finally comes out.
And it looks like the lake is on fire.
Me and Eric,
we've done everything together since we were born.
This is what I know.
We saw it together.
We lived it.
We grew up together.
A place is the people.
This is where we from.
This is where we're from.
That's mine.
-What are you doing? -"When the snow falls in Chicago
"it's like the whole city falls asleep."
Stop, that's mine.
"The sun comes out, it's like the lake is on fire."
Why you acting so weird about it?
-Man, stop. -"Me and..."
What are you doing? Give it back.
Why'd you write this?
'Cause it's true.
Take it out.
No. Why would I do that?
You're just mad 'cause I'm leaving.
'Cause I'm leaving and you're not.
- Oh, my God! - Oh, my God, Malik!
Are you okay?
Can I see him?
He's resting right now, baby.
Maybe just come back tomorrow.
Can we pray together?
Come on.
Heavenly Father, watch over us, your children.
Thank you for all that you do,
and continue to do every single day, God.
And grant that we may mend all that is broken.
We ask that you continue to walk with us,
continue to live in our hearts, dear Lord.
Heavenly Father,
I pray that Malik gets his house.
A house with two stories.
A house so big, he gets lost inside.
Somewhere far away from here.
A place with lots of trees.
A place where he can jump.
Where he'll have new friends.
Where he can be happy.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Yeah, did we save some of the newspaper?
And shouldn't those photo albums
be in the box with the other ones?
Will you mark them?
These aren't marked. We gotta mark the boxes.
Didn't I already give you graduation money?
That was the graduation fee. Cap and gown fee are separate.
We only owe $20.
Here you go.
Small price to pay for ya'll to come
to my graduation this summer.
I gotta run.
Well, I'm proud of you.
So you know Dolores called me and said
they're leaving on Thursday.
Have you talked to Malik yet?
I don't think he wanna see me right now.
What are you talking about? He's your friend.
Don't you want to talk to him before he's gone?
Look, it honestly don't matter who started it,
or who's right or wrong.
But he mad at me.
Okay. Maybe he is mad at you.
Or maybe he's waiting on you to apologize.
But I'm scared to talk to him.
Look, son.
We don't get a lot of time here on earth.
Like, tomorrow is not promised at all.
Never in a million years...
did I think your mother'd be gone.
Or I wouldn't be able to get up and talk to her, give her a hug.
I took for granted that time, and now it's gone.
And once that time is gone,
there's no way to get it back.
You understand what I'm saying, right?
Look.
I trust you're gonna make the right decision.
You're not a baby anymore. You're grown now.
And you know right from wrong.
You got this, all right?
Should we take 'em with us?
No, let's leave 'em.
Good idea.
Good morning, baby. I made some Salisbury steak.
Here you go, Dad.
Hey.
You leaving?
Yeah.
I'm gonna miss you.
I'm gonna miss you, too.
Hey, um, I just wanted to give you something before I gotta go.
What is it?
The secret to jumping.
Spit it out, then.
Don't be afraid to fly.