Scenario for a Little Black Movie

Air Raid Over Harlem Under every light Scenario for a Little Black Movie Their faces 30 WHITE By Langston Hughes In Harlem

And mixed in with ‘em Who you gonna put in it? A black cop or two Me. For the sake of the vote in Harlem Who the hell are you? 35 GUGSA A TRAITOR TOO Harlem. No, sir, 5 Alright, then. I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout you’

Mister Policeman! AIR RAID OVER HARLEM No, indeed!

40 I know we got to keep You’re not talkin’ ‘bout, Harlem, are you? ORDER OVER HARLEM That’s where my home is, Where the black million sleep My bed is, my woman is, my kids is! Shepherds over Harlem Harlem, that’s where I live! Their armed watch keep 10 Look at my streets 45 Lest Harlem stirs in its sleep Full of black and brown and And maybe remembers Yellow and high-yellow And remembering forgets Jokers like me. To be peaceful and quiet Lenox, Seventh, Edgecombe, 145th. And has sudden fits 15 Listen, 50 Of raising a black fist Hear ‘em talkin’ and laughin’? Out of the dark Bombs over Harlem’d kill And that black fist People like me- Becomes a red spark Kill ME! PLANES OVER HARLEM 20 Sure, I know Bombs over Harlem The Ethiopian war broke out last night: You’re just making up BOMBS OVER HARLEM 55 A fake funny picture, ain’t you? Cops on every corner Not real, not real? Most of ‘em white Did you ever taste blood 25 COPS IN HARLEM From an iron heel Guns and billy-clubs Planted in your mouth Double duty and Harlem 60 In the slavery-time South Walking in pairs Where to whip a nigger’s Easy as hell—

And not even a living nigger AIR RAID OVER HARLEM

Has a tale to tell

65 Lest the kick of the boot Bullets through Harlem

Baring the more blood to his mouth And someday

In the slavery-time South A sleeping giant waking

And a long billy-club 100 To snatch bombs from the sky

70 Split his head wide And push the sun up with a loud cry

And a white hand draw Of to hell with the cops on the corners at night

A gun from his side Armed to the teeth under the light

And send bullets splaying Lest Harlem see red

Through the streets of Harlem 105 And suddenly sit on the edge of its bed

Where the dead’re laying, And shake the whole world with a new dream

75 Lest you stir in your sleep As the squad cars come and the sirens scream

And remember something And a big black giant snatches bombs from the sky

You’d best better keep And picks up a cop and lets him fly

In the dark, in the dark 110 Into the dust of the Jimcrow past

Where the ugly things hide And laughs and Hollers

80 Under the white lights Kiss my

With guns by their side !x!&!

In Harlem?

Say, what are yuh tryin’ to do? 115 Scenario for a Little Black Movie,

Start a riot? You say?

85 You keep quiet! A RED MOVIE TO MR. HEARST

You niggers keep quiet! Black and white workers united as one

In a city where

BLACK WORLD 120 There’ll never be

Never wake up Air raids over Harlem

Lest you knock over the cup FOR THE WORKERS ARE FREE

90 Of gold that the men who

Keep order guard so well What workers are free?

And then—well, then THE BLACK AND WHITE WORKERS—

There’d be hell 125 You and me!

To pay Looky here, everybody!

95 And bombs over Harlem. Look at me!

I’M HARLEM!