👉 Select your preferred language subtitles in video settings ⚙️ I’ve seen this brother driving
a big pretty Cadillac one day. That's all it took.
I said, I want to do that. Where did he get that Cadillac?
How did he get that Cadillac? And he was dressed nice.
You know, his name was Fletcher Sawyer. I’ve seen Fletcher one day
driving down Oakwood in Detroit. And he had one of
the prettiest girls in his car. Ted, I've been driving
Cadillacs ever since, baby. Yes sir... My name is Larry Webster. I'm from Detroit, Michigan. I've been
in the hair field for 52 years. Me and my partner, Robert Davis, have been running the shop
for almost 32 years. I've never had anything
but a Cadillac. That's the only car I'll buy. I saw a '73 on Grashed,
when I was coming in. It was partly blue and white. Somebody took the hood off.
I guess they were doing some work on it. That's the last big motor
they put in that car. A 472. I started when I was 12 years old. I just started hustling
in the neighbourhood, doing everybody's hair. It really started down South for blacks. We couldn't go to barber shops,
there were no black barber shops. So, we had to make up chemicals
for ourselves. Like lye and potatoes. It would burn your scalp off,
but it'll straighten your hair. Then we started designing
with waves in it. It became a hell of a business. It's a <i>'man thing'</i> . Hair and shoes have always been
a <i>'man thing'</i> to us. I like shoes so much. All the guys
who wear shoes like me, I shine them for them. All of my friends in the barber shop...
most of them wear alligator shoes. We try to put on our goods and come to the barber shop
because it's the place to be. I always feel like I appreciate
these people coming to me to let me do their hair. I feel like I'm beholden to them.
So I always try to treat them right. They took care of me all my life.
I've never done nothing else but hair. Yeah, you've been doing it many years. What are you 84? 85? I'll be 85 next month. I turned 72
on the twenty-eight of this month. I was young
when I started doing your hair. You were real young. I had to stand on a Pepsi-Cola box
to get above you. Rob, can you see Jerome? Tell Jerome to come here. Bye-bye. See you later, okay.
Thank you! See you next time.
Happy holidays! I like it to be pumped.
I think Leroy wears it... You wear pumped, don't you Leroy? You wear a pump, don't you?
You see, I like the full pump. Sometimes Ted asks me:
<i>'How high do you wanna go?'</i> I say: <i>'Take it to the sky.</i>
The sky's the limit!' I guess I'm still stuck in the sixties. Sometimes I get myself
into trouble because I look
at a lot of women's asses. What I'm looking at is that
pendulum bouboum, bouboum, bouboum. So to me, that is the <i>Motown sound</i> . Those were the good old days.
- Yeah, those were peaceful days. There was nobody... You didn't have to
look over your back so much. Everybody was working in those days.
There were jobs, an income, ... These days you have to watch everything. Years ago you could get drunk
and lay down on the sidewalk and nobody would take your money.
- Nobody bothered you. You lie out there now, your pants would be gone,
your shoes would be gone... They might kill you, if you ain't
got nothing for them to take. This is the baddest area in the city. In the United States they say... It's alright during the day
but at night it goes off the hook. You better to be careful during the day.
- During the day too. But at night, I wouldn't go into the side streets. I don't even go to restaurants
at night time. So I just get on to the house. Robert is my partner,
he's my friend, he's my brother. You can ask me a question,
he'll answer it. We have a bond
that nobody can tear apart. How are you doing? Life in Detroit is hard but if you know how to survive, it's not that hard. If you know how to be
a people person and be honest, you can live long
and survive out here. But if you want to be
an asshole and be selfish... You won't survive... at all! So I learnt how to be funny and caring. I learnt how to talk to people,
treat them right, talk nicely to them. If you don't,
you'll just be another statistic that won't live to see 21. But I made it past 21.
I'm about to be 22. I'm proud, I'm happy.
I've got brothers that ain't seen 18. I've got friends, they didn't
even see 14. But they lived their lifestyle. You take care of this.
- Oh, I take care of this baby. A motherfucker scratches her,
you'll whoop some ass. I would be too! That's right. I just flipped one over.
- You did? I flipped because my brakes went out. I was out there racing.
I was getting drunk. As soon as I parked at the liquor store
and burned the rubber, the brakes went out. I jumped the car, hit the tree
and flipped over. We don't drive slow. You slow stroll in a Cadillac,
when you've got a Vette motor. I'm not riding slow. You're a young man.
- Yeah, I'm 21. So you're gonna go fast. I've got a black 47 Fleetwood. All metal body with the steel
on the bottom, Whitewall tires, ... Why are you driving this
if you've got that? Let me buy this from you. I can't get rid of that baby.
That's my baby there. It sounds like it. I wipe on that,
just like it's my girl. This used to be
a beautiful neighbourhood. It breaks my heart. You can leave one block
of beautiful houses and go to a second block and it looks like someone threw a bomb. See the block here.... Every house is gone, see. It wasn't our fault. It was the banks. The banks did it all. Trying to be greedy. They had talked homeowners,
who really couldn't afford a loan, into getting a second mortgage
on their homes. Then they gave them loans
with high interest rates. When it came to a hit, they had to go. You know, they put them out. What started it, was the riot. In '67 we had that big, old riot. We lost a lot
of property and businesses. We never came back from that. It was hard to come back. Nobody wanted to invest in the city,
because of the riot. The economy went down.
All the car manufacturers moved out. So, it became a real disaster. We were the only city in all of the United States
to go into bankruptcy. I worked on the line for 30 years,
when they were building the Mustang. The Mustang car is a tradition. I used to buy them, myself. I used to buy a Mustang every 2 years. The Mustang kept us in work. I made good money,
but that's a thing of the past now. Everything else: the housing market, ... People could no longer
purchase cars like they used to. We were the blessed generation. The generation that is coming along now... I didn't need an education
to be in Ford's. The kids today need a degree. Every job out there uses a computer. These are the changes. Times change. There are things that
you can't do anymore. My mother told me...
She said: <i>'We're all we've got and if we don't
protect ourselves'</i> <i>'we're going to be an extinct race.'</i> <i>'If we keep on playing
with the people like we do.'</i> It's just not the race. Caucasian, 100%
are half of them in there. No. No. In Jackson prison right now,
it is 95% black. Trust me. They'd lock up these young black boys,
like they're white... They're not being taught.
- Yes, OK, but... If no one teaches you to do
the right thing, what do you expect? Most of them,
nobody tells them anything. What about that stupid law?
We cannot whoop our kids. Whooping? We used to get beaten. You can't raise a black kid
like a white kid and expect him to do right. I don't tell my son
to go sit in the corner. Not mine... But if I would get that belt,
he would be a better person. In fact, today he is a better person.
- It worked for me. I couldn't imagine telling my son
to go sit in the corner. Time out! What the hell do you mean?
I'm gonna beat your ass! Everything those kids do is ugly! They walk ugly... They dress ugly.
- They listen to ugly music... They sit ugly, they drive ugly...
Everything they do is ugly! There's nobody around to tell them:
<i>'Pull your pants up'</i> <i>'and cut off that ugly music!'</i> Hey, hey! Let them go about their business. I'm more scared of the police
than of killers with guns. You never know
what can happen out here. You could just be talking reckless
to a cop and you can lose your life. My brother was shot
when he was 14 years old... By the police. All this shit you see on the news
about cops killing black kids and beating them up
or setting them up... Fuck the police!
Period. Mike was telling me that HW needs to act his age. Mike?
-Yeah, Money Mike. They went out at the weekend
and HW got high. He's kind of crazy,
especially when he gets high. He was in jail all his life. I know, that's what I told Mike.
He doesn't know how to act. I don't care how much you talk to him,
he's never going to learn. He is 71, going on 72.
- He's been out for 10 years or more. He has been out for
about 15 years. I'm proud of the little boy. He's the champ! He can box and fight, but he's
too old now, with all those bullets in him. He's old now
but still thinks he can fight. I saw Russell one day
and he said: <i>'He's got nine lives!'</i> I said: <i>'What are you</i>
talking about, Russell?' He said: <i>'Man, he just took 6!'</i> Six bullets?
- Six bullets. And he was lying out in the snow
and he kept telling himself... <i>'I ain't going to die!'</i> And that saved him
because he was full of that shit. That saved him. You're about as good as Ted and Larry.
You keep on doing what you're doing. I keep pretty ladies in my seat. Where's the Cadillac?
- In the shop. What's wrong? They bust my back window
and mashed up my dash. They broke into your car?
- Yeah. Where?
- On the Westside. There was blood all over the car, on the dashboard,... All they had to do
was open the glove compartment. They pried it open and pulled
the dashboard down on the... Did you have any money in there? Yes, I had $200 petty cash for my gas, that I keep in the little arm rest. Give him back his money! He's got your money. I ain't no thief. I'm a player. What are you talking about!
- He went back to his old ways. 30 years ago. I'm one of the best
when it comes to getting into cars but I don't do that anymore, Larry.
I'm a changed man. I take my mama to church every Sunday. You know I'm a changed man.
Thank God for that! Come, give me a kiss. Victory is mine. Victory is mine. Victory today is mine.
All mine! I told Satan get me behind. Victory today is mine. Amen. This is joy. This is joy.
Thank God for joy! I thank Him for his goodness today. I thank Him for his grace today. I thank the Lord.
Who else did that for you now? No one else took our sins
and nailed it to the cross. Hallelujah! All praise His name
and we give Him the praise. Amen.
He ought to be known all over the world. And when they call His name let them know that God is good. And what His mercy is doing to
all the generations. Amen.
Thank you my brother. Why are you here?
You want to say something for the Lord? Jesus loves me. No matter what I've done,
Jesus still loves me. I might have broken every
commandment in the Book but Jesus still loves you, brother. Praise God! You might be an addict,
but Jesus still loves you. He will never forsake you. He will never leave you. God loves you that much! Hallelujah!
He will come down into your situation. God bless you!
Amen. Thank you my brother
and God loves you too! I was praying one day,
and God asked me a question. He asked me if I would go out
and hunt for souls. That is why I'm out here. It doesn't matter if a crowd comes.
It doesn't matter. I'm just giving His word. A lot of people are down,
they are frustrated. One reason why I need to be here,
is to build up the people. To let them know, this neighbourhood
is as important as any neighbourhood. This area here is 48205. They say it's one of
the baddest area's in the United States. I heard it was safer to live in Bagdad than it is here. I run a couple
of assisted living facilities where we take care of the homeless, veterans, people from
the prison entry programs, ... We try to provide housing for them. Care, shelter, financial programs. You look like you could use some. These houses are used, as you see on the news,
for young girls who are snatched up. They find them in these buildings. Raped... They've got dog fighting rings,
drugs, guns... This is my little circle on this block.
This is where I maintain. This is where I get my money.
This is where I get my business. This is where I take care of my people. Every man is on his own around here. Detroit is going to be
better than it was before. I saw two or three changes to this city. The riot. The Depression. And we came back from that. And we are going to come back from this. If I do what I want to do... Just keep being a good guy,
like I am, I won't be changing tires
in two years... I already own 2 houses. I'm only 21 years old.
I already take care of my parents. I already take care of my child. Two years from now,
Detroit's won't be like this. There are too many opportunities here. He's worth nine figures, right? That's what he's worth.
That ain't the cash that he's got. He's got shares in Versace. Is Versace ever going to stop selling? Hell no!
- OK then. This man gets 3 million dollars a month
off his investments. Would you tell him that? Here's a man who got 500 dollars for his first pro-fight.
500 dollars! And he just walked away
with a cheque in his pocket, for 103 million dollars. Did he just get that
10 million as a training fee? The average boxer is never even
going to get that in his whole career! If he gets 10 million to pay his camp... No, no! If I'm getting a 103 million... Right... And then I get
10 million beforehand... Why can't he keep the 10? It doesn't work like that! We all deserve bonuses! Yeah, but you don't get
a million dollar bonus for showing up two hours
every day for six weeks. You don't!
- Why not?! OK...
- Why not?! Oh man...
Here is 50 cents. That's enough pennies in there
to buy you some more sense. I started getting high when I was 14.
- Me too. By the time I reached 32,
I'd had enough. Me too. I always knew that somewhere
down the line it would kill me. God gave me a chance and made me quit
and put me in the hospital. How many years ago you gotten out? From '87 until now. From '87. So you got about 27, 28.
- Almost 30. What was your drug of choice? My drug of choice was marijuana. And then it went to shooting. The next 20 years, that was my thing. How's your liver? It's great! We've seen this city go
from good to bad, but I always believed in this city
and I always will! I'm a Detroiter.
I'm not going anywhere. I'll be the last one to cut off
the lights and lock the door. The barber shop is everything.
The barber shop is our country club. This is where
all the boys come and meet. When we leave here we're in a little better shape
because our hair is done. Hopefully me and Larry live forever,
and that's what we're gonna do... Because if we've got one strand of hair
on our head... It will be waved. It will be curled.
