MEMPHIS: You hear that, Holloway? The man own so much property around here the city gonna go broke trying to pay him for it and he trying to hustle me. Hell, if he offer me fifteen for it I know it’s worth twenty-five. Might be able to get thirty.
(STERLING enters. He has a handful of flyers.)

STERLING: How you all doing? Hey, Risa, let me get a cup of coffee.

HOLLOWAY: Did you go up there to see Aunt Ester?

STERLING: I went up there. Got a red door just like you say. I knocked on the door. I must have knocked on it about five minutes. I was getting ready to leave when a man opened the door. Big man. Must have been over seven feet tall. I told him I wanted to see Aunt Ester and he told me she was sick.

HOLLOWAY: She get sick sometime. As you can imagine somebody three hundred and twenty-two years old is bound to get sick once in a while. But she ain’t gonna die, I guarantee you that! You go on back up there next week.

MEMPHIS: Ain’t nobody up there. I take that back . . .  there might be somebody up there but she ain’t no three hundred years old.

HOLLOWAY: Three hundred and twenty-two. If you gonna tell it tell it right. Three hundred and twenty-two.
(STERLING hands a flyer to MEMPHIS and HOLLOWAY.)

STERLING: You all wanna go to this rally. They having a rally to celebrate Malcolm X’s birthday. It’s right down there at the Savoy Ballroom.
(They read the flyers. STERLING hands one to RISA.)
Here you go, Risa.

MEMPHIS: Malcolm X is dead. Malcolm ain’t having no more birthdays. Dead men don’t have birthdays. I’d rather celebrate your birthday. I’ll buy the cake, a case of liquor, and we can have a party. I ain’t going to no party for no dead man.

HOLLOWAY: I remember when Malcolm didn’t have but twelve followers. I remember when he come out to the Mosque there. I went out and saw him. He didn’t have but twelve followers.

STERLING: Why wasn’t you number thirteen?

MEMPHIS: Where he gonna follow him to? The only place he was going was to the graveyard. Anybody could see that.

HOLLOWAY: I didn’t follow him cause I know where to find Aunt Ester. If she hadn’t been there I don’t know what I would have done.

STERLING: I would have followed him. He the only one who told the truth. That’s why they killed him.

MEMPHIS: Niggers killed Malcolm. Niggers killed Malcolm. When you want to talk about Malcolm, remember that first. Niggers killed Malcolm . . .  and now they want to celebrate his birthday.