The Hurricane

The dialogue between Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and Lesra Martin from the movie "The Hurricane", 1999. The movie is based on a true story; a black boxer serving a sentence for something he did not do, a triple murder that was patched up by the New Jersey Police. The book, "The Sixteenth Round" was written by Rubin Carter in 1973; Carter was released in 1985.

-You see 'em much, your folks?

Yeah, but sometimes it's hard though. Yeah, well-

-Yeah, it's hard. You give them hope.

Yeah, I guess.

-You do. You give 'em hope because you have transcended, Lesra. It is very important to transcend the places that hold us. You know that? You've learned to read. You've learned to write. Writing is- It's magic. You feel that sometimes?

Yeah, I guess I do. Mm-hmm.

-When I started writing, I discovered that I was doing more than just telling a story.
See, writing is a weapon, and it's more powerful than a fist can ever be. Every time I sat down to write, I could rise above the walls of this prison. I could look out over the walls all across the state of New Jersey, and I could see Nelson Mandela in his cell writing his book. I could see Huey. I could see Dostoyevsky. I could see Victor Hugo, Emile Zola. And they would say to me, "Rube, what you doin' in there?" And I say, "Hey, I know all you guys."
It's magic, Lesra.