Freedrama Main Page * Free Monologues * Free Short Play Scripts * Free Comedy Skits * Free Scripts for 2 to 6 Actors
(a rough draft)
NOTE: can be done as play or musical
by D. M. Larson
(using selections from Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Copyright (c) 2002
All Rights
Reserved
Cast of
Characters
PRISONERS (parts can be doubled), GIRL, POLICE OFFICER, and DR. KING
Scene 1
(Lights
come up on jail. Several criminals are
in
their cells. They are
scattered around the stage,
all in despair)
SONG: reflecting unhappy jail setting DEEP RIVER???
(Piano
still plays during following movement:
Enter
police officer and DR. KING. One prison
sees them enter and watches as KING is placed in
solitary confinement.
Prisoner 2113 is shocked at
seeing KING in jail.
In pantomime, KING asked
OFFICER for pen and
paper. OFFICER reluctantly
nods and exits. KING
is alone and sits.)
[Note:
each prisoners character has a number and
not a name]
2113
(Turns
to other prisoner)
You know what I saw?
6322
What?
2113
I saw Dr. King.
5341
You saw who?
2113
Dr. Martin Luther King.
3442
Here?
9112
No way. You're
crazy. Dr. King wouldn't be here.
2113
But I saw him.
4306
I think you've been in here a little too long.
2113
But I swear I did.
8132
Give it a rest, will you.
2113
He's here. I'd
know that man anywhere. So tall and proud. At least in pictures.
He looks kind of sad now.
6322
I would be too if I were in jail.
(Prisoners
laugh)
2113
Go ahead and laugh.
I know what I saw. Laugh all you
want. I'm not talking to you all
anymore.
(2113
goes off alone)
SONG: reflect other prisoners laughter, but still jail's
despair
(Piano
still plays while OFFICER bring KING pen
and paper. Music
fades when KING begins to write)
KING
"My dear fellow Clergymen,
While confined
here in the Birmingham city jail, I [remembered] your recent statement calling
our present activities 'unwise and untimely.'
Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and
ideas...But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will...I would like
to answer your statement..."
(KING
goes silent. 2113 and 6322 are watching)
6322
What's he doing?
2113
Writing a letter I think.
6322
What for?
2133
Shhh. Listen.
?SONG: related to listening [to
God]?????
KING
"I think I should give the reason for my being in
Birmingham...Several months ago our local affiliate here in Birmingham invited
us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program...So I am
here, along with several members of my staff, because we were invited
here. Beyond this, I am in Birmingham
because injustice is here...I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned
about what happens in Birmingham.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of
mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Never again shall we afford to live with the
narrow, provincial `outsider agitator' idea.
Any one who lives in the United States can never be considered an
outsider anywhere in this country.
(KING
pauses thoughtfully then continues)
You deplore the demonstrations that are presently taking
place in Birmingham. But I am sorry that
your statement did not express a similar concern for the conditions that
brought the demonstrations into being...I would not hesitate to say that it is
unfortunate that so-called demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham at
this time, but I would say in more emphatic terms that it is even more
unfortunate that the white power structure of this city left the Negro
community with no other alternative."
(KING
goes silent and prisoners speak)
6322
Just a bunch of fancy talking.
2113
It's far more than that.
Didn't you hear? He's talking
about us. He's talking about our people.
6322
It's all words, nothing more.
(6322
moves away. 5341 comes)
5341
Who's he writing to?
2113
Eight of Birmingham's leading white pastors.
5341
What for?
2113
They say King's causing trouble with all his
demonstrations.
6322
So that's why King's in jail. He's only a trouble maker like the rest of
us.
2113
He's here because he won't give up.
6322
It's no use. Why
even try.
2113
But it's working.
6322
(Pointing
to KING)
It sure doesn't look like it's working to me.
2113
You can't win with a few speeches. You have to keep fighting until the whites
listen.
6322
They never listen to a letter like that.
2113
They'll have to.
6322
Or what? What is he going to do if they don't? He can't get nothing
done without using a gun.
2113
You don't listen at all do you.
6322
No. You're the one
who doesn't listen. Things will never
change.
SONG: ?????
(Song
fades as KING begins again)
KING
"Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly
segregated city in the United States.
Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this
country. Its unjust treatment of Negroes
in the courts is a notorious reality.
There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in
Birmingham than any city in this nation.
These are the hard, brutal and unbelievable facts. On the basis of these conditions Negro
leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the political leaders consistently
refused to engage in good faith negotiation."
6322
They'll never listen.
2113
They'll have to.
6322
How?
2113
Dr. King will show the way.
SONG: show the
way, guiding light -???Onward Christian Soldier????
(Music
fades and KING speaks)
KING
"You may well ask, `Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, etc.? Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are exactly right in your call for
negotiation. Indeed, this is the purpose
of direct action. Nonviolent direct
action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a
community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the
issue. It seeks so to dramatize the
issue that it can no longer be ignored...
(Pauses
to think, then continues)
I have earnestly worked and preached against violent
tension, but there is a type of constructive nonviolent tension that is
necessary for growth...we must see the need of having nonviolent gadflies to
create the kind of tension in society that will help men to rise from the dark
depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and
brotherhood."
3442
(3442
joins 2113, 6332, and 5341)
Does Dr. King really believe this whole nightmare will
end? Does in believe we can finally be
free of the whites?
6332
We'll never be free of them.
2113
But maybe one day we can live together.
6332
Never.
2113
One day we will. One day we will see one of our people with one of theirs working
together side by side; helping instead of hurting, building instead of
fighting, and laughing instead of crying. One day we will live in peace.
SONG: song of peace ???Peace on Earth?????
(Music
fades as KING begins to speak)
KING
"We know through painful experience that freedom is
never voluntarily give by the oppressor...For years
now I have heard the words "Wait!"...This "Wait" has almost
always meant "Never"...We must come to see...that "justice too
long delayed is justice denied." We have waited for more than 340 years
for our constitutional and God-given rights.
The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike
speed toward the goal of political independence, and we still creep on at horse
and buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. I guess it is easy for those who have never
felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, `Wait.'"
(Prisoner
9112 is visited by her young daughter
who is brought in by a POLICE OFFICER)
GIRL
(Runs to
mother, can't hug her because of bars)
Mama!
9112
Hi, how are you doing?
GIRL
Good. I miss
you. When are you coming home?
9112
(Glances
nervously at OFFICER)
Soon, I hope.
GIRL
I hope so.
(GIRL
almost cries)
9112
Don't cry. It'll
be okay.
GIRL
But I miss you. I
want you home.
9112
I will be.
(Reaches
and takes GIRL's hand)
When I get out, we'll do something special. Anything you want.
GIRL
Really?
9112
You name it, we'll do it.
GIRL
Anything?
9112
Nothing's too good for my girl.
GIRL
Could we go to Funtown?
(Pause)
9112
(Reluctant)
Uh...sure, honey, sure.
GIRL
(Excited)
Really, mama? Oh, thank you, mama!
9112
You'd better go.
GIRL
I love you, mama.
9112
I love you, too.
GIRL
Thank you.
(GIRL
exits. 9112 is sad)
OFFICER
You can't take your daughter there. Funtown's for
whites only. You know the rules.
9112
I had to tell her something.
OFFICER
I can't understand you people. Lying to your children.
(Exits)
9112
I don't understand how you can keep our children from
happiness! If we got money, how come we
can't go to your stupid Funtown?! We're not your slaves anymore. We're people just like you.
(9112
sits in tears. KING continues sadly)
KING
"You suddenly find your tongue twisted and your
speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she
can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on
television, and see the tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told
that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see
the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky,
and see her begin to distort her little by unconsciously developing a
bitterness toward white people...
...you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son
asking in agonizing pathos: `Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so
mean?'...
...you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs
reading `white' and `colored'; when your name becomes `boy' (however old you are)
...you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mother and
fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim...you have seen
hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalized and even kill you black brothers
and sisters...
...There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs
over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice
where they experience the blackness of corroding despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our
legitimate and unavoidable impatience."
SONG: God's Got an Army???
(2113,
5341, and 3442 are gathered. 6332 stands
alone. 9112 joins
them)
9112
Will we ever be free?
2113
Someday we will be.
Someday.
6332
Someday ain't soon enough.
2113
It has to be.
6332
It can't be. We
need action now. We can't wait for it to
come to us. We have to demand it and
take it. We have to be in control.
5341
But how? There's nothing we can do.
2113
There is a way.
6332
It sure ain't your way.
2113
But it is Dr. King's way and it will work. Dr. King will see us through.
6332
But when? When will it happen? I want to see it work now.
2113
There's no other way.
6332
Then we'll have to fight.
2113
You're hate will destroy you.
6332
My hate is what helps me to survive.
(Prisoners
go silent as KING speaks)
KING
"...there are two types of laws: there are just and
unjust laws...How does one determine when a law is
just or unjust? A just law is a man-made
code that squares with the moral lay or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of
harmony with the moral law...Any law that uplifts human personality is
just. Any lay that degrades human
personality is unjust. All segregation
statues are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the
personality...
...I hope you can see the distinction I am trying to
point out. In no sense do I advocate
evading or defying the law as the rabid segregationists would do. This would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do it
openly, lovingly (not hatefully as the white mothers did in New Orleans when
they were seen on television screaming, foul words), and with a
willingness to accept the penalty. I
submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust,
and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience
of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest
respect for law."
(6332
calls out angrily)
6332
How can any law be just if its
made by the whites?
2113
If the law is moral and good...
6332
I don't believe any of that. He's just a law breaker like the rest of us.
2113
He only breaks the bad one.
6332
Well so do I.
2113
You don't listen do you.
6332
I heard all I needed to.
5341
So why is Dr. King in here anyway? What did he do?
6332
Let's ask.
(Calls)
Hey, policeman!
Hey, I want to talk to you.
OFFICER
(Comes
out)
What do you want?
6332
I got a question.
OFFICER
What is it?
6332
Why's Dr. King in here?
OFFICER
He had a parade without a permit.
6332
That's it.
OFFICER
It's enough.
2113
They just didn't want to have to hear Dr. King, that's
all.
(OFFICER
exits)
Disappointed?
6332
They sure have some dumb laws, don't they?
SONG:????
(Music
fades as KING speaks)
KING
"We can never forget that everything Hitler did in
Germany was `legal'...[and] it was `illegal' to aid
and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany.
But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time I would
have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal...I
believe I would openly advocate disobeying [this law]. I must make [a confession] to you, Christian
and Jewish brothers...I must confess that over the last few years I have been
gravely disappointed with the white moderate.
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great
stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Councilor
or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the withe
moderate who is more devoted to `order' than to justice...who constantly says,
`I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of
direct action'; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for
another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advised
the Negro to wait until a `more convenient season.' Shallow understanding from
people of ill will. Lukewarm
acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."
(6322
speaks out angrily)
6322
How can we expect the whites to help us? If their church won't even help, who will?
2113
Some want to help.
6322
I haven't seen many.
2113
They are there.
SONG: ??working together -
something about unity???
(KING
begins as music fades)
KING
"Maybe I expected too much [from the white
moderate]. I guess I should have
realized that few members of a race that has oppressed another race can
understand or appreciate the deep groans and passionate yearnings of those that
have been oppressed and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must
be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action. I am thankful, however, that some of our
white brothers have grasped the meaning of this social revolution and committed
themselves to it. They are still small
all too small in quantity, but they are big in quality...[They]
have marched with us down nameless streets of the South. They have languished in filthy roach-infested
jails, suffering the abuse and brutality of angry policemen.' They, unlike so
many of their moderate brothers and sisters, have recognized the urgency of the
moment and sensed the need for powerful `action' antidotes to combat the
disease of segregation...
(Pauses
then continues)
...I had the strange feeling...several years ago that we
would have the support of the white church...I came to Birmingham with the hope
that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of
our cause...I had hoped that each of you would understand...But again I have
been disappointed. I have heard numerous
religious leaders of the South call upon their worshippers to comply with a desegregation
decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers say,
`Follow this decree because integration is morally right and the Negro is your
brother'...In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and
economic injustice, I have heard so many ministers say, `Those are social
issues with which the gospel has no real concern'..."
(KING
sadly lowers his head)
(6322
and 2113 are alone. The others have
left)
6322
(Speaks
angrily)
If can't trust the church, who can you trust.
2113
Not all churches are bad.
6322
Most of the white ones are. They don't care about helping others, they
only care about themselves.
2113
Some care.
6322
Not many.
2113
If only they read their Bibles.
6322
Did you know Jesus was a black man?
2113
What's that?
6322
He sure wasn't white.
Not where he came from. They're
all dark skin where he's from.
2113
Maybe that's why they don't listen to Jesus.
6322
"Love thy neighbors" and all that doesn't work
anyway.
2113
It isn't easy, but we should try.
6322
I could never love them.
2113
Then they'll never love you.
SONG: ??song about loving one
another...??
(KING
speaks again when music fades)
KING
"...The contemporary church is often a weak,
ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound.
It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo...[It
wants to keep] things as they are...I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual
church, the church within the church, as the true ecclesia and the hope of the
world...I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized
religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined
us as active partners in the struggle for freedom...Yes, they have gone jail
with us. Some have been kicked out of
their churches...But they have gone with faith...These men have been the leaven
in the lump of the race...They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark
mountain of disappointment.
(Pause,
grows more confident)
I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in
Birmingham, even if our motives are presently misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in
Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is
freedom. Abused and scorned though we
may be, our destiny is tied up with the destiny of American."
(KING
stops. 6322 sits,
2113 stands above him)
6322
I'm not America.
2113
We're all America.
This is just as much our country as it is ours. As long as God is in heaven, America belongs
to us.
6322
We're from Africa.
We don't belong here.
2113
They're from Europe.
We've been here just as long as they have.
(6322
doesn't argue)
The first Americans weren't white anyway. They were Indian. If anyone is more American, they are.
(4306
joins them)
4306
How come we are treated like we belong here?
6322
Cause we're still slaves in their eyes.
2113
Then we have to show them we're something more.
SONG: America or
something like that?????
(Music
fades and KING speaks)
KING
"Now is the time to lift our national policy from
the quicksand of racial injustice to solid rock of human dignity...Oppressed
people cannot remain oppressed forever.
The urge for freedom will eventually come. This is what happened to the American
Negro. Something within has reminded him
of his birthright of freedom; something without has reminded him that he can
gain it."
SONG: "This Train" begins with 2113, then 4306
and 5341 join him; 3442 and 9112 starting singing after that until everyone
except 6322 is singing.
(OFFICER
enters angrily)
OFFICER
Quiet in here!
(Runs up
to 2113 and pushes him down)
I said quiet!
(Singing
stops. Silence)
What are you looking at?
(Pushes
9112 aside, 4306 goes to her)
I don't want to hear anymore out of you all.
5341
Sir?
OFFICER
What is it?
5341
What about our dinner?
It's late tonight.
OFFICER
Well it ain't coming at all
now.
(Silence
as OFFICER leaves)
6322
(Stands
above 2113)
That's your America.
2113
(Gets up
and faces him)
No, that's yours.
(Walks
away)
(KING
speaks again)
KING
"I don't believe you would so quickly commend the
policemen if you would observe their ugly and inhuman treatment of Negroes here
in city jail; if you would watch them push and curse old Negro women and young
Negro girls; if you would see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys;
if you will observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food
because we wanted to sing our grace together.
I'm sorry that I can't join you in your praise for the police
department."
(KING
pauses as 6332 goes to 2113)
6322
Do you think we will ever win?
2113
I don't know.
6322
Will it only get worse?
2113
Things will change; they have to. Our time has come.
6322
But how long will it take.
2113
It will be slow.
6322
I feel like I've been waiting too long already. I want to see it before I die.
2113
Me too, brother, me too.
(KING
speaks again)
KING
"Never before have I written a letter so long (or
should I say a book?). I'm afraid that
it is much too long to take your precious time.
I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been
writing from a comfortable desk, but what else is there to do when you are
alone for days in the dull monotony of a narrow jail cell other than write long
letters, think strange thoughts, and pray long prayers?
(Slight
pause)
If I have said anything in this letter that is an
overstatement of the truth and is indicative of an unreasonable impatience, I
beg you to forgive me. If I have said
anything in this letter that is an understatement of the truth and is
indicative of my having a patience that makes me patient with anything less
than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me."
SONG: "We Shall Overcome" is sung by all to
close the play.
END OF PLAY
Free MONOLOGUES for 1 Actor
Free Monologues for one TEEN Actor
Free SHORT Stage Play Scripts and SKITS
Free FUNNY Short Stage Play Scripts and COMEDY Skits
Funny Comedy Monologues
Free DUOLOGUES for 2 Actors
Free Monologues for KIDS
Short Plays for CHILDREN
Small cast plays for CHILDREN