Rufus Jones for President (1933)

Ethel Waters: Mother of Rufus Jones

Photos 

Quotes 

• Mother of Rufus Jones : Don't chu worry, honey. O' Sinbad Johnson shure is gonna be sorry when he find out what a great man you is.

  Rufus Jones : Is I goin' to be a great man, Mammie?

  Mother of Rufus Jones : You shure is. You goin' to be - President!

  Rufus Jones : Me?

  Mother of Rufus Jones : Shure. They has kings your age. I don't see no reason why dey can't have President. Besides, the book says anybody born here can be a President.

  Rufus Jones : Ain't dat sumptin.

• Mother of Rufus Jones : I'm gonna tell your Pappy on you!

• Mother of Rufus Jones : Yes, sir, honey, you shure is gonna be President. I can see you now.

• Henry : Do you need me, Mammie?

  Mother of Rufus Jones : No, I don't need you.

  Henry : Why, I'm going.

  Mother of Rufus Jones : Where?

  Henry : I'm going to lick that Sinbad Johnson!

  Mother of Rufus Jones : You go and kick him on the shins for me!

• Mother of Rufus Jones : [singing]  Just like a cloud, That's dark and dense, You have a silver lin-ing, All God's children, They got wings, Honey, you is too...

• Mother of Rufus Jones : I am also rarin' to take up wit you'all some matters of the most inconspicuous 'mportance. First, we'll add to our official family, a Commissioner of Poultry.

  Black Senator : Eh, what is de duties of de Commissioner of, eh, Poultry?

  Mother of Rufus Jones : Oh, eh, its de duty to see that all the pad locks is furst removed from de coops.

  Black Senator : Right! 'Cause when a chicken is in a hurry, he don't wanna be bothered with no pad lock.

• Mother of Rufus Jones : [singing]  Once we wore bandanas, Now we wear Parisian hats, Once we were barefoot, Now we're sporting shoes and spats, Once we were Republicans, But now we're Democrats...

• Mother of Rufus Jones : [singing]  We also drink our gin, puff our reefers, when we're feelin' low, Then we're ready to step out and take charge of any so-and-so, Don't stop for law, nor traffic, when we're rarin' to go...

• Mother of Rufus Jones : [singing]  We just live for dancin', We're never blue and forlorn, 'Cause it ain't no sin, To laugh or grin, That's why we schwarzes were born...

• Black Senator : Wait a minute! Wait a minute! What's the idea? Why you've got all the Senators going to sleep up around here. Let's give them sumthin' to wake them up!

  Mother of Rufus Jones : [singing]  Creole babies walk along with rhythm in their thighs, Rhythm in their feet, In their lips and in their eyes, Where do highbrows find the kind of love that satisfies? Underneath our Harlem moon...

• Rufus Jones : Wats de matter, Mammie? Is you blue?

  Mother of Rufus Jones : [singing]  Am I blue? Am I blue? Ain't these tears, In these eyes tellin' you? Tellin' you! Am I blue? Why, you'd be too, If each plan, Wit your man, Done fell through...

• Mother of Rufus Jones : We have now constituted a Watermelon Investigator. It will be his duty to plant the watermelon vines near the fence instead of in the middle of the patch.

  Henry : Oh, but, Presidentists, its gonna take a long time to do all of this. So, what shall we do in the meantime?

  Mother of Rufus Jones : Remove the fences.

• Mother of Rufus Jones : [singing]  White folks call it madness, But we call it hi-de-ho, Underneath our Harlem moon...

• Mother of Rufus Jones : [singing]  Was I gay? Until that day?

• Mother of Rufus Jones : [singing]  We don't pick no cotton; Pickin' cotton is taboo, All we pick is numbers, And that includes you white folks too, 'Cause if we hit, Then we pay our rent on any avenue, if we hit...