Mr. Farmer, I think I would begin to quote you as saying that Negroes are fed up.
You say, they are not afraid to go to jail now.
They wear jail sentences as badges of honor, not even being afraid of being shot.
These people aren't going to stop.
We're not going to stop until we have the right to enter any place which serves the public.
We're not going to stop until the bigots of the South and the North
no longer challenge a man's right to live simply because he is asking for the
rights which the Constitution says are his. We are not going to stop in a worry
until America becomes America for all people.
I've been asking myself that question my whole life.
Well, you got an answer?
Sir?
I, uh, no, I thought it was a rhetorical question.
A what?
A rhetorical question. I was waiting for you to, you know, keep saying what you were going to say.
Oh, speak up, son.
You kids play on the phone so much these days, like y'all forgot how to talk.
I ask you again, do you know anything about regret?
I was saying that... never mind, no I don't.
You don't know regret, that my grandson was wrong.
You're not cut out to tell my story.
You're right, Mr. Wilcox. I'll leave.
Is that all you've got to say? You call yourself a writer?
I'm a writer, I'm a writer, but I can't take the heat.
Sir when your grandson emailed me, he said that you had a story to tell and that you
were days away from dying.
He also said that you had a tale about something that happened in the 60s.
Now, that time period means a lot to me, so here I am.
Son, I assure you, my story should be of interest to you.
In fact, this may be your last chance to hear it.
Excuse me?
The doctors say there's nothing more they can do for me.
So I just pray I'm forgiven for my sins,
and God has mercy on my soul.
Well, where's your family?
Well, son,
I'm something of an asshole.
My family's at my granddaughter's graduation.
I didn't want them to miss it on my account.
I promised her I'd make it, but you know the old story, tell God your plans and make him
laugh.
They'll be back soon.
I see.
I'm sorry about before.
Oh, sometimes I can be a mean, ornery son of a bitch.
Ain't nothing sadder than an old man living with regret.
God willing, you get to be my age.
You won't have any.
You seem like a good kid.
I don't think you're up for this interview I think I should go
I think I'll stay a bit longer.
When I told my grandson about what happened that night, he said you could help me.
I thought you was too young.
How old are you anyway?
Twenty-eight.
My God.
I was around your age when it happened.
My grandson, he read your article, the one you wrote about your great uncle that was
murdered in the 60s.
He said you named the man that killed him.
I did.
I read it too.
I was hoping you could do the same for me.
Someone you love murdered?
In the drawer.
Hand that to me, please.
This is me, when I was your age.
I thought I knew it all.
The fact is, I didn't know shit.
I wasn't a good person.
I wasn't kind or good.
Mr. Wilcox, what exactly are you trying to tell me?
Love is a wonderful thing. It can change a man. It changed me.
Son, before I met my Alice, I was a bad man who did terrible things to good people.
In the 60s, I was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and in the fall of 1961, I can still
see him lying there, all that man wanted was something more, something better.
Tell me what happened Wilbur. Tell me. I kept telling him he didn't need to die.
What are you saying?
I took part in the murder of Freedom Rider James Raffi.
I ain't the one that pulled the trigger.
But I didn't try and stop it either.
I hated every last one of them.
They was trying to change everything.
I didn't care about who that man was, what he did, if he had a family.
I found out later he was a medical student.
Who knows, maybe he could have invented the cure to save my sorry ass, but he's dead and
I lived.
It was Alice.
She changed me.
She gave me so much love.
I felt it every second of the day.
Because of her, I had such a rich life.
I was never the same.
Do you believe in forgiveness?
Wow.
Yeah.
Okay, so I get it now.
You're calling me here because you're dying and you want atonement for all the evil things you've done.
Typical.
Son.
No matter of fact, I don't even think I'm the right person to tell you a story.
My great uncle was killed by someone just like you, cowards, ignorant cowards, he left
behind a wife and six...
I tell you what, Mr. Wilcox.
Give me the names of those men
and I guarantee you I will get justice.
I want the family of James Raffi
to finally have some peace.
I did hope you'd change and that you're sorry for taking that man's life.
Here.
You know, I sincerely hope you rot in hell.
I know you don't have any reason to believe me, son.
My name is Mr. Jameson.
Mr. Jameson.
Everything you need to know about me...
is in this book, my mistakes, my failures, my redemption.
When they ask you, who told you about what happened to James Raffi,
You tell him who I am.
You tell him who I was.
When I'm done with this story, Mr. Wilcox,
everyone will know what you did.
That's all I ask, thank you, thank you.
David Rothbacher.
Russ Palmer, Wilbur Wilcox, the men responsible for the murder of James Raffey.
Grandma! Come on! Oh, I'm sorry about that, brother. I didn't mean to...
Thanks.
Steve.
Steve Jameson.
Yes.
Hi, my name is Eric.
I'm a huge fan of yours.
I'm sorry, who?
I'm Eric, the guy who actually contacted you
by interviewing my grandfather.
Wait, what was your grandfather?
Yes, yes he is.
Well, Eric, I'm not quite so sure
how to go about telling the story, man.
What do you mean?
I mean, I know it's a lot of work.
Trust me, I do.
I could only imagine the man he once was,
but I know the man he is today.
I'm not trying to sit here and make any excuses for anybody,
but I just want the world to know that change,
real change, is possible.
Grandma, I want to introduce you to somebody.
Wait, you're Alice?
Why, yes, I certainly am.
Grandma, this is actually the writer from the Tribune.
He finished talking to Grandpa not too long ago.
Mmm.
Well, darling, you don't have to tell me that.
Because by the look on your face,
oh, you have spoken to my husband.
Did he give you the names of those men?
And the photo album?
Thank you, Jesus!
My husband thinks that if he shows the world that he can change,
Others will try to change as well.
Did he tell you that?
Yes.
Everything we've had to face
and all that we have been through, the good and the bad,
I just don't think anything
will change how I feel.
But the world may respond differently
and I'm okay with that.
I want to
thank you for helping him.
I think this will bring him peace.
At least I hope so.
Hi.
Hello.
Alicia Wilcox.
Steve Jameson.
Pleasure.
You're the reporter.
Congratulations.
I hear today is your graduation day.
Thank you.
You know it's because of my grandfather that I was even able to go to college.
He paid for my education and encouraged me every step of the way.
I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about all this.
His past.
Should I feel anger, resentment, hatred, or rage?
Or wonder what people will think of me?
I'm here to say goodbye to the grandfather I once knew, not the man he once was.
Alicia, come on!
Excuse me.
That concludes the story.
You