01x04 - Behind Closed Doors

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Greenleaf.

Gentlemen to what do I owe you this pleausre.

And if it has anything to do with that police officer, David Nelson, I can't help you.

The senate is launching an inquiry, James, into whether your church and others like it are taking advantage of your tax-exempt status.

Where's Basie Skanks?

One of the cops who works around here told me about a 15-year-old girl from the church.

Nothin' happened to Danielle.

I don't know what you're talkin' about.

I know that she changed her story.

Leave my family alone.

He never did anything.

So why did you say he r*ped you?

Tell that little side piece to stop textin' so damn much.

How did you two meet?

On our way to dinner, he pulled over and asked me to marry him.

We need to get help.

Like what, therapy?

Yes.

Got some big news last night.

Yeah, what about?

Charity and I are havin' a baby.

You said at dinner the day that we buried Faith that David Nelson never contacted you.

He hadn't, as far as I know.

I found a message on my phone this morning from him saying that he tried reaching you over and over again.

So, what do you want me to do?

Nothin'.

Pastor Greenleaf?

Back the blue, huh?

You could call it whatever you want.

That was just the Mayor's suggestion.

What matters to him is that at least one black church in Memphis show some support for the police in the midst of all this.

And you're approaching Calvary because Nelson is on the roll?

That's correct.

We're not asking you to honor officer Nelson specifically, of course.

But if you could honor the force in general and he could attend, well, the message would be clear enough for our purposes, anyway.

You knew this is what he'd come in here for?

Mm.

As I'm sure you know, bishop, Triumph Church is hosting this protest scheduled Friday night.

That boy's mother wasn't even a member till after that boy was k*lled.

We heard that as well.

And I heard the skanks went to her house and invited her personally.

I believe that is correct.

You don't find that cynical?

The Mayor doesn't find this cynical?

The Mayor thought, bishop, since pastor skanks has made a point of calling you out publicly for not yet taking a stand for or against David Nelson, you might see some advantage in this.

Not enough of one yet.

The Mayor thought that might be your assessment.

So...

And this is what?

A plat map of Calvary's property and the adjoining lot, currently held in trust by Memphis redevelopment.

They have an offer on the table.

But I know Calvary's expressed an interest in the past for a pool and community center, I think.

And the city said no.

And the city is prepared to change its mind, which makes this, we think, a very exciting time.

This Sunday would be great.

Gentlemen.

[Door opens]

Basie Skanks ain't got no pool.

No. He doesn't.

♪ Hey, man ♪
♪ all right ♪
♪ baby ♪
♪ uh-huh ♪
♪ uh-huh ♪
♪ well ♪
♪ uh-huh ♪
♪ ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪
♪ baby, baby ♪
♪ oh ♪
♪ baby ♪

Get that out to Dave, okay?

Mm-hmm.

All right. Ah, the woman at the well.

Go ahead, Daddy. Tell me my life.

It's about to get better. I gave some more thought about what you said about officer Nelson.

Really?

Give him a call.

Have him come in.

W... what changed your mind?

Where were you when I laid The Earth's foundations?

Just have him come in.

Today, if possible.

You don't seem to want to be here.

Am I wrong?

Nope.

But you came to therapy anyway.

Why?

Because she would have made my life a livin' hell if I didn't.

Is that true, Kerissa?

I most likely would have continued to ask him to consider coming.

Jacob, do you want a divorce?

I don't even know why we're here.

Kerissa?

N... no.

I don't want that at all.

So the two of you agree about that.

You just can't seem to agree about what kind of a relationship you wanna have while you stay married.

So, what's the essential problem?

Other women.

He knows I know.

And I know he knows I know. So...

You have extramarital affairs?

I'll take that as a yes.

So, why do you do that?

Answer the question, Jacob.

[Knocking] Pastor Sneed.

Missed you this morning, pastor.

Uh, the prayer requests. I'm sorry.

Oh, no need to apologize.

Uh, we'll get you in there next week.

It's all good.

Okay. What can I do for you?

I'm a little embarrassed to ask for your help with this.

Um, there's a small office back where outreach ends and accounting begins, near the... the one with all the hymnals in the boxes.

That's the one.

Mm-hmm.

And as the only other full-time R.P. on staff besides yourself, what I was wond...

Oh. You want that office.

Unless the hymnals need it more.

Well, you know, that's not my purview, really.

Well, you are a Greenleaf. So you would know who to ask.

I don't know who to talk to, actually.

Well, uh, Darlene. Uh, she's the office manager.

Okay. I'll ask her.

Only if you feel it's deserved.

All right.

All right.

Have a great day.

You, too.

Open or closed?

Open. Thanks.

[Laughs]

[Indistinct conversations]

What's this?

Protest, Friday night. You should come.

Tell me if he drives by again.

All right, I will.

Hey. who's drivin' by?

Oh.

Uh, somebody lost.

We have, like, three oak mill roads around here.

Happens a lot. No big deal. What's up?

You have a second?

Yeah.

So if you can prove that the girl's second statement was false, you can get a D.A. To reopen the case?

Maybe.

There has to be what's called a "change of circumstance."

Who told you that?

I did some research.

How can I help?

Well, I assume there's some security cameras out at blue basin.

By the entrance. That's it.

In her first statement, she said that Mac took her there on April 7th.

Is there any way to look at the archive footage, see if they were there?

If it hasn't been deleted, yeah.

Thank you for your help on this.

Oh, you got it.

It's nice not to be completely alone with it all anymore, you know?

I should get back.

You know, I considered joining the force myself at one point in time.

Really?

When did you ever consider joining the force, Daddy?

Oh, not in Memphis. This is back in little rock.

My point is, the same desire animates both callings... to protect and serve.

I'd say you chose right.

Well, it wasn't a choice.

But I-I do acknowledge the lord's wisdom in directing me to the pulpit.

And when I see the mare's nest you're sitting in, I'm grateful for it.

I don't know if you're aware, David, but... may I call you David?

The Mayor has asked us to host a "Back the Blue" day this Sunday.

My lawyer said that might be what this was about.

The Mayor's made a request.

But before I say yes, I...

Well, I'd like to know what...

What really happened.

Yes.

Between us, if that's possible.

It's not. I can't talk about it.

Not even with complete assurance of pastoral confidentiality?

No.

You understand my position.

As much as you understand mine.

I understand the Mayor's quandary.

But I also wanna do the right thing.

Well, I'm sorry I can't give you the details.

I can say this...

I wish Kenny Collins was alive.

This is definitely not the best of all possible worlds for any of us...

Especially him.

Ah.

I wanna thank you for comin' in and settin' me straight, puttin' me on the right track.

Thank you.

God bless you.

Nice to meet you, pastor.

It's nice to meet you, too.

I thought you didn't wanna get mixed up in this business.

The way that you have.

I called and made a visit once.

Mm.

It was the right thing to do.

The right thing to do is to do what you said you was gonna do.

Like your yeses be yes and your nos be nos, Gigi.

Otherwise, folk won't know who the heck you are, most notably you.

Okay, Daddy.

Alexa, see if you can dig up those plans we had for the community center and pool.

I wanna see how far we got on that thing.

Alexa: On it.

May I?

Please.

You okay?

I've been better.

Yeah.

Mm.

I became a cop to protect kids like him.

And you have.

This was one mistake.

[Scoffs] A mistake.

Yeah.

Have you ever made a mistake?

A mistake as big as this?

Yeah. I have.

Have you seen Grace?

Grace?

Over there.

Thank you.

You should get home.

It's late.

I'm never goin' back there.

You'll leave Kerissa?

Maybe.

[Scoffs]

You'll never get divorced.

So what are you doing with me?

We're having fun.

Go home.

Go home.

Amen.

We have a couple of dozen cops on the rolls already, dear.

This didn't come outta nowhere.

Oh, no.

It came from somewhere.

I know exactly where it came from... Grace.

Grace had nothin' to do with this.

The Mayor's office called Mac.

It's not like we don't benefit from the bravery of these people.

And what if it was Jacob?

What if it was Jacob, James?

This hero sh*t down in cold blood?

Would you still be rushin' to hang blue banners on the cross like this, would you?

No.

Because he is somebody's son.

I'm aware.

But that doesn't mean that an objective person couldn't see both sides of the situation.

You know, I never thought I'd say this, but thank god for the deacons' board.

Why?

Because they'll never let you do this.

[Laughs] The deacons don't run this church.

You're right.

God does.

But obviously you're not in the mood to listen to him, either.

Don't these protests have a habit of turning into riots?

Yeah. I'm sure there'll be a ton of cops.

Oh, I'm sure there'll be a ton of cops there, too.

That's what I'm worried about.

Mom, lots of kids from school are going.

Do you know the facts of the Case?

I know an innocent kid is dead.

Mm-hmm.

What if the cop is innocent, too?

This isn't a vigil, honey.

They're calling for a grand jury.

This man could go to jail for an honest mistake.

Do you really wanna be a part of makin' that happen?

Are you saying I can't go?

If it was a vigil, like I said, that would be one thing.

But... Yeah.

I guess I am.

Okay.

I'm sorry.

I have to finish my homework.

I'm sorry.

Yeah. I heard you.

Shut my door, please.

Yeah.

[Exhales]

So do you need a ride for tonight?

I can't come.

Why not?

Her mom thinks it's too dangerous.

Too dangerous or too ghetto?

Morris, you can't say ghetto dressed like that.

[Laughter]

It's my school uniform.

Too dangerous.

So your mom thinks it's more dangerous to protest than it is to let a state-sponsored k*ller like David Nelson go unpunished?

Honestly, I don't know what my mom thinks.

Well, what do you think?

I know what I think... you had options.

[Both laugh] See ya.

[Sighs]

He's not even full-time.

He just spends all this time here since he got fired from that frame shop.

But if the office is empty...

It's not. It's full of hymnals.

Why are you being like this?

Why are you?

Grace, you don't owe that clown an office.

Just tell him to leave you be.

Well, god loves him. You don't have to.

Hey. Can I speak with you for a second?

Hey. Yeah. Come in.

Darlene.

Good morning, brother Kendall.

So you saw the security footage.

I did.

He was there the day she said he took her there.

So that proves that Mac's been doing all the things that we...

Yeah. But you can't see if anybody else was in the car.

And he had plenty of reason to go there.

It's church property.

There's a lake. He likes to fish.

It's not the silver b*llet you were lookin' for.

I'm sorry.

What's that?

Remember the truck you heard me talkin' about yesterday, the one that drove by the gate a few times?

Yeah. The lost guy.

Yeah. He came back. who was it?

We don't know.

He just sat there for a few minutes.

And then he drove away.

But he left this behind.

What is it?

Pictures of Faith.

You told anyone else?

No. Not yet.

Just when you think things can't get any worse.

Whoever did this wants money.

I assume. There's a number.

We should call the police.

Mnh-mnh.

I don't wanna do that.

Not yet, anyway.

Why?

'Cause I wanna talk to him.

And how did it make you feel when you heard the story about how the deacons got together?

Sad... Because we had love once. at least I think we did. I did.

And how did it make you feel?

Oof. He was too drunk to care.

Kerissa, let Jacob answer.

Jacob, I know that some feelings can be scary to express because we're afraid it'll blow up our whole lives.

But Jesus wasn't joking when he said the truth will set you free.

How did you feel when you heard the deacons talk about how much they loved each other?

[Scoffs] It's like being married to a 6-year-old.

Say something!

[Chuckles] It was a fuel leak.

There was no intention to deliberately insult the man.

When senator banks mentions being insulted, he doesn't mean just one missed lunch in Nashville.

We haven't sent his office any of the documentation they asked for.

We're not legally required.

As of this moment, we are.

What's going on?

We're being audited.

[Chuckles]

Are you as lost as I am? Please tell me you are.

I wanna go downtown.

To the protest?

Yeah.

It's just too stupid that we're not there.

Where's your mom?

I don't know.

S... somewhere being a drag.

Well, Jesus healed on the sabbath.

I don't know what that means.

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission.

Mark, chapter three, verse five.

[Inhales deeply, exhales slowly]

[Tapping buttons]

Man: Yeah?

Is this the person who left The Flash drive outside of Greenleaf?

who's asking?

Her sister. How did you know her?

Everybody knew Faith, some better than others.

How much do you want?

5 grand.

Where can we meet?

Oh, we're not meetin' anywhere, bitch.

I'm gonna tell you where to drop the cash... listen to me.

You want the money? You tell me where to be.

Bishop, it is with a heavy heart that I pitch my tent across from yours in the field of battle.

Lord knows we have been comrades in many a fight.

Deacon Sykes, can we...

No. You started something here, pastor.

You're gonna let me finish.

Go ahead.

I prized your counsel.

But when you decided to invite the police to our church without so much as consulting the deacons...

Connie, I called this meeting.

After the fact.

You flouted the law of god.

The church has deacons for a reason... checks and balances.

You seem to be only interested in the checks.

Well, the good news is, I don't have to answer to you.

Don't you want to?

Aren't we all in this together?

Basie Skanks is speaking at that protest tonight on behalf of the innocent.

Doesn't that sound like what a follower of Jesus ought to be gettin' up to in this mess?

Connie, the man is a member of our church.

And from the time I've spent with him, I've understood him to be a good man who made a mistake.

Bishop, if you go through with this and let those ruffians parade up and down the aisles of our church with g*ns at their sides, I am gonna stand up in the middle of service and walk right out and invite every other Christian to follow me.

That is your prerogative.

I stand by my decision.

[Exhales]

Mm.

Mama?

Yes, baby?

Can I bother you a second?

You're not botherin' me. Come on.

[Chuckles]

Look at Faith.

Yeah.

I've got some good news.

Well, an angel must have sent you 'cause I could certainly use some.

I'm gonna have a baby.

That's wonderful.

Yeah.

Oh.

That's such good news.

Such good news.

Remember when I went to Macy's last week to buy you that scarf?

Mm-hmm.

The security guard followed me around the whole time.

Then, the sales clerk, so busy flirtin' with me, she couldn't even ring me up.

Are you tryin' to make me jealous?

No.

[Chuckles]

What I'm tryin' to say is to both those people, I'm just a body.

Yeah?

I'm not a person.

And then when I asked you what you were doin' with me when you knew I'd never leave Kerissa, and you said, "having fun," that just made me feel like I was nothing but a body to you, too.

I know I'll probably never leave Kerissa.

But I wish I could.

And I guess I just wish you wish I could, too.

I do.

I do.

But that it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt to hear you jackin' off your ego, saying things out loud that you never intend to act on, things I wish you'd do.

I'm really here.

I know you're really here.

Then don't say things like that.

I don't beg you to leave your wife.

I live in reality with you.

I know what this is.

And that's okay.

Okay?

Okay.

[Sighs]

Hey...

Thank you for telling me how you feel.

[Whispers] I like it when you do that.

Crowd: Black lives matter! Black lives matter!

Don't let 'em tell you any different!

Your life matters! My life matters! Amen!

Amen! Amen! Amen!

Black lives matter! Black lives matter!

We are not here asking for revenge. No!

We are here demanding justice...

Yes!

Justice for Kenny Collins.

Justice!

Justice for Walter Scott.

Yes!

Justice for Eric Garner.

Yes!

Justice for Tamir Rice and justice for the thousands of others unjustly cut down by an army of the powerful by the powerful of the powerful and for the powerful in a w*r that ain't over yet.

It is far from over. You know why?

Why?

Because black lives matter.

With crowd: Black lives matter!

Black lives matter! Black lives matter! Black lives matter! Black lives matter!

Your parents know you're here?

They think we're at the movies.

Come on.

Black lives matter! Black lives matter! Black lives matter! Black lives matter! Black lives matter!

Maybe he lost his nerve.

Wouldn't be the worst thing.

Feel like I'm about to lose mine.

[Branches cr*ck]

Let me handle this, okay? Breezy?

Look. I thought I told you to come alone.

Hey, don't worry. He's just a friend.

Yeah. Well, where the money at?

I brought $500.

Bitch, I said 5 grand. You think you slick.

Hey!

Listen.

You can walk away right now and have nothing, or you can tell me everything you know about my sister and have $500. All right?

Look. She'd do anything to get high, all right?

That's all she cared about.

Videos?

Videos, webcams, whatever.

Are any of them online?

Not yet.

Do what you want.

$500 is all you're gonna get.

Well, can I have it, then?

Did you ever try this with Faith?

Try what?

thr*aten to show these pictures or whatever videos to my family if she didn't pay you?

Oh, that wouldn't make no sense.

Look, she didn't have no money.

Hey.

Do you know why she k*lled herself?

Look, she didn't even know why.

Have I not made that clear to you?

Look, you look into that girl's eyes, wasn't nothin' there.

That's not true.

You just couldn't see it.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, same difference.

Now, I wanna bring... bring up the older brother of our young Kenny Collins, Mr. Marlon Collins.

Come on and say a few words, son.

[Cheers and applause]

All I want is for the man who k*lled my brother to be charged...

Yeah!

Charged like anyone who pulled that trigger would be charged.

Woman: That tonight from Triumph Church where hundreds of protesters congregated to call for the...

[TV turns off]

You two are lucky nothing got out of hand at that thing.

You know what a mess that would've been, right?

We're sorry.

How'd you even get down there?

Uber.

You know, this cousin of yours is a cautionary tale.

You can't just do everything she says.

It was her idea to go.

I was just encouraging her to follow her dreams.

If that's my sin, so be it.

Mm-hmm.

How was it?

Sad.

Yeah.

The last thing he said before he d*ed was, "I'm sorry."

He was holding the paramedic's hand, and he just...

He kept saying, "I'm... I'm sorry."

And he hadn't done anything wrong.

Hmm.

Are you gonna tell our moms?

No.

Lord knows I did my share of disobeying in my time and for reasons a lot less righteous than this.

But... Don't do it again.

We won't.

Okay.

Hey, Zora. Let's go, sweetheart.

We're leaving for church in five minutes.

Looking good, man. How you doin'? You good?

[Chuckles]

Lookin' sharp, dude.

Just so we're clear, I give.

What do you mean?

Therapy.

We don't have to go.

Why? Like it.

Jacob, you don't even talk.

Well, just because I don't talk doesn't mean I'm not gettin' something out of it.

I wanna keep going.

Why? Give me one good reason.

You know, you work with kids all day.

So you think it's always up to you when things start and stop.

But you gotta check in. I'm really here.

Zora, come on, baby. It's time to go.

What's gonna happen, you think?

People gonna walk out in droves?

I have no idea.

They take their church very seriously.

Then again, they take their church seriously.

There you are. Mayor's looking for you.

Noah, this is David Nelson.

Heard of him. Noah Kendall.

I'll take you to your seat.

Thank you.

See you after?

Yeah.

That's your research assistant?

Yeah. Noah...

It's none of my business.

We hear a lot of talk today about black lives matter.

But it seems like most of the time, what folks are sayin' when they say, "black lives matter," is that black deaths matter.

Congregation: Yeah.

And they do.

Now, from what I've gleaned from my readin' just this mornin', the coroner's report indicates that poor Kenny Collins passed away en route to the hospital.

Now, that means that officer Nelson, who's here with us today along with dozens of his fellow officers, Officer Nelson... [Congregation murmuring] who had an unblemished record until the night in question and must have, upon discovering Mr. Collins was in fact unarmed felt that he'd made a terrible mistake.

[Congregation murmuring]

He spent more than a few minutes with Mr. Collins as they waited together for that ambulance, 12 1/2 to be exact.

[Murmuring, affirming]

And to put a fine point on it, for those 12 1/2 minutes, officer Nelson's eyes were the only eyes god was lookin' through at that innocent boy as he suffered.

[Scattered applause]

And I have to believe that those eyes were filled with infinite mercy...

[Murmuring continues]

And infinite regret. Amen.

Congregation: Amen.

Are you listenin' to me? Can you hear me?

[Scattered applause]

The crisis we're facin' today as I see it goes so much deeper than one of cops versus civilians...

Yes.

...So much deeper.

The crisis today is the moments of life.

All black folks who are livin' today...

Are still not understood by some people to be of the same substance and value as those of other people, mowin' their grass on a Saturday afternoon, watching the Sun set over the ocean for the first time, singin' in your car, settin' at the table with your granddaughters...

[Congregation affirming]

Just being a human being!

Yes!

Yes.

These... these black deaths that we hear about every day now...

Go on, now.

Are tolerated because the black experience in the minds of many is still a thing of meager value.

[Cheering]

And finally, and I'm here to remind our guests, the brave men and women who police our streets...

[Cheering]

...and god bless them all sincerely for doin' a job I know I'm not brave enough to do myself.

Those people you're sh**t' out there aren't shadows.

They're people.

They're real.

They're not characters in some video game.

[Shouting indistinctly]

Black lives matter. Black lives matter!

Black lives matter. Black tears matter.

Black feelings, black hopes, black regrets, black breakfast, black lunch, black dinner matters, whatever we're doin' with our lives.

And until all of us, black, white, rich, poor, cop or kid knows this with certainty...

Feels the full value of black life, like a Pearl of great price heavy in your hand...

We'll never see an end to these terrible tragedies.

Amen.

♪ Where the grapes of wrath are stored ♪
♪ he has loosed the fateful lightning ♪
♪ of his terrible, swift sword ♪
♪ his truth is marching on ♪
♪ glory, glory, hallelujah ♪
♪ glory, glory, hallelujah ♪
♪ glory, glory, hallelujah ♪
♪ his truth is marching on ♪

Yes!

♪ He has sounded... ♪

Touch your neighbor and say, "black lives matter."

[Cheering]

Touch your other neighbor and say, "you matter to me."

Here at Calvary, we're family.

Isn't it nice to know somebody out there loves you?

Say, "amen," somebody.

Amen!

♪ Our god is marching on ♪

[Song fades]

Pastor Sneed.

Hi. You got a second?

Indeed I do. What a message today.

Mm, and what a response.

Oh, the gospel... no pleasing the people.

The bishop bidding on that.

You know, look at all of these.

Prayer requests?

You bet.

Most of them are for the bishop's soul, but no matter.

We're gonna lift him up to the lord, and just...

Well, here we are.

Where?

Your office.

Where'd the hymnals get to?

That's not your problem, pastor.

[Chuckles]

You don't know what this means, that you would do this for me.

Let's assume that's true. After you.

I'm gonna get a lot done in here.

I'm sure of it.

So I'll see you Monday?

Well, you know where to find me.

Open or closed, pastor?

Closed.

Well, all I can say is, "bravo."

I know some folks walked out, but all the major papers were there.

Skanks and banks can...

Take that show on the road. [Laughs]

Well, they'll be off the front page as of tomorrow, I predict.

And you know who's gonna be there?

You.

The truth is, we all doubled up on our blood pressure meds.

But the news cycle puts its own dogs down.

Until the next time.

Excuse me?

This can't happen again.

You've gotta get those boys in hand.

We did you a favor here.

Don't make us regret it.

We did each other a favor, James.

I don't want your land.

Just do a better job.

k*ll fewer of our children, and we'll be fine.

You know what? You're right.

We should all do our best to make sure we never come here again.

Gentlemen.

♪♪
♪ every step ♪
♪ every step ♪
♪ of the way ♪
♪ of the way ♪
♪ I found grace ♪
♪ if I leave ♪
♪ leave ♪
♪ oh, I'll follow ♪
♪ follow ♪
♪ change my pace ♪
♪ I get tired ♪
♪ tired ♪
♪ and lonely ♪
♪ lonely ♪
♪ lose my way ♪