Just Like Them, Just Like Us (Cast of Boys Like Us Version)

This is a sample of my one act play Boys Like Us

“Just Like Us, Just Like Them”

KOREY It was the night that changed our lives forever. April 19, 1989. The moment when that night became our nightmare. It started with a group of teenagers about 15 or maybe 40 of them including us. All Blacks and Latinos teens horse playing’ around the park. Just being boys enjoying ourselves until a group of teens we never met beat up a homeless man right in front of us. It was the moment that everyone knew our names: Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana Jr., Antron McCay, and Me (Korey Wise). All five of us were ages 14 to 16.

YUSEF A white woman jogging through Central Park at night was found naked, gagged, and tied. We never saw this woman, nor have we ever met this woman.

RAYMOND Of course, we were all there in the park. Blacks and Latinos Teens alike. Including us. Five of us Kids. We never thought this would happen to us. Why us? We were young boys from Harlem until we faced an unthinkable crime we were accused of.

ANTRON Who knew? That this would be us. Who knew? That this is how we will end up for the rest of our lives.

CENTRAL PARK FIVE BOYS The rest of our lives, The rest of our lives, The rest of our lives, The rest of our lives.

YUSEF Waiting. We spent the rest of our lives waiting. Waiting for the world to know. We are innocent. We spent our years behind bars waiting for them to believe. We waited for the moment to be free. We waited for a change.

KEVIN You too would feel the same way if you were in our shoes. We’re innocent yet no one believes us. And yet No one seemed to care to believe us. Look at us! Who will believe us? Are they saying we’re guilty because we were at the park? Or they are saying that because of what we are. Is it crime to be black? Look at us! If we were white would they do the same thing? Our families know us. They know we’re not like that. They know we shouldn’t be treated like we’re criminals. They know we are not that.

HAYWOOD Who could ever forget about us?

BOYS The Scottsboro Nine.

HAYWOOD All nine of us! All of us here.

HAYWOOD (CONT'D) We were just like them. So young. So innocent. So helpless. Never knew we would be involved in this type And we were given the name.

BOYS The Scottsboro Boys.

HAYWOOD 90 years ago, we were on the Southern Railway train on our way to Memphis to look for work. I was catching a ride on the train with Eugene, Andy, and his younger brother, Leroy.

CLARENCE And when I mean “we”. Me and Charlie. We were sitting next to them. I didn’t know them.

CHARLIE I left behind 10 siblings in rural Georgia. I came along with Clarence to find work to provide for my family.

OZIE I was on board. I was riding alone.

WILLIE I was suffering an illness needed money for my medication. So I hopped on the railway train.

OLEN And me, I was traveling alone. We were all sitting on the train until a group of white teen hobos hop on the train.

SCOTTSBORO BOYS We all didn’t know each other.

LEROY We were all sitting in the train until a group of white teen hoboes walked along the train tracks back toward the station.

WHITE HOBO TEEN I said get off the white men train.

(HAYWOOD pushes and throws a punch at WHITE HOBO TEEN. SCOTTBORO BOYS sees the fight and CHARLIE, and ANDY joins in and fights the They start to fight. FADES TO BLACKOUT. Lights up at the SCOTTSBORO BOYS and WHITE HOBO TEENS standing next to the SHERIFF#1.)

WHITE HOBO TEEN Sheriff, those are negros attacked us on this train.

SHERIFF #1 So which one of you are the ones who attacked this young man on the train? Huh?

HAYWOOD I did, Sheriff.

SHERIFF #1 And who are you, boy?

HAYWOOD Haywood Patterson, sir.

(SHERIFF #2 enters with VICTORIA PRICE and RUBY BATES both dressed in overalls. VICTORIA sees the SCOTTSBORO BOYS.)

VICTORIA (pointing at the Scottsboro Boys) That’s them!!! That’s them, Sheriff!!!

CHARLIE What did we do?

CLARENCE Until they pointed at us and claimed that we raped them. And we never met them.

SHERIFF #1 What happened young lady?

RUBY Those negros…. They raped us. We were raped by them.

VICTORIA All of them. (wails) They shoved their knives at our throats and forced us to have sex with us. Me and my friend Ruby.

CLARENCE They ain’t true. They are lying. We didn’t even touch you.

VICTORIA (wails) Yes you did all of you.

(The SCOTTSBORO BOYS start arguing with VICTORIA and RUBY.)

SHERIFF #1 Enough! (to Victoria and Ruby) Don’t worry, Miss, I’ll handle this.

HAYWOOD Sir we didn't do anything.

SHERIFF #1 Now come on all of you! All y’all. Y’all are under arrest.

(The SCOTTSBORO BOYS are stunned. Spotlight on HAYWOOD PATTERSON.)

HAYWOOD And just like that. We were just like them before their time came.

LEROY Their history was just like ours but only different except we were in time era where black people were afraid to have ropes hanging around our necks.With a white foot on my black hand that changed our lives to black fist on a white face. We were nine to five.

ALL Nine to Five, Nine to Five, Nine to Five.

SCOTTSBORO BOYS We are the nines.

CENTRAL PARK FIVE We are the fives.

ALL And this is our story.

HAYWOOD Our story filled with accusation, discrimination.

ALL and Exoneration.

CENTRAL PARK FIVE (glance at the Scottsboro Boys) We were just like them.

SCOTTSBORO BOYS (glance at the Central Park Five) And they were just like us.

CENTRAL PARK FIVE We survived.

SCOTTSBORO BOYS We died.

COMING SOON BOYS LIKE US

BOYS LIKE US is a one act play explores in imaginary dream where the Central Park Five (Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana Jr., Antron Mccay, Yusef Salaam, and Korey Wise) meets Scottsboro Boys (Haywood Patterson, Clarence Norris, Charlie Weems, Ozie Powell, Willie Robertson, Eugene Williams, Olen Montgomery, Andy Wright, and Leroy Wright) a group African American young boys ages 12 to 19 from the 1930s who were accused of raping two white women. In the dream, 14 boys start to befriend each other and share the horiffic events that led them behind bars.