Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970)

Raymond St. Jacques: Coffin Ed Johnson

Photos 

Quotes 

• Coffin Ed : White guys?

  Gravedigger Jones : White guys? They had on masks. How did you know they were white?

  Lo Boy : [crying]  Oh Lordy, help me!

  Coffin Ed : I'm asking you. How do you know they was white?

  Lo Boy : They run white, dammit.

• Coffin Ed : What the hell do the attorney general, the state department, or even the President of the United States know about one god-damn thing that's going on up here in Harlem?

• Gravedigger Jones : Hey, Ed!

  Coffin Ed : What is it?

  Gravedigger Jones : Look at this. Cotton, from inside the meat truck.

  Coffin Ed : One thing for sure, it ain't drugstore cotton.

  Anderson : What is it?

  Coffin Ed : It's raw, unprocessed cotton. Like from a bale.

  Gravedigger Jones : Ohhh, it's a long time since I've seen cotton like that.

  Coffin Ed : Digger, you ain't never seen no raw cotton before. You were born and raised right here in New York, just like me.

• [Drunken man stumbles up during riot at police station] 

  Man : Well, ain't this the "Goin' Back to Africa Rally"?

  Coffin Ed : No, baby, it is the "Goin' Home Rally".

• Gravedigger Jones : Another fine mess you got us into!

  Coffin Ed : I got us into? Shut up and shoot!

• [people outside police station demanding O'Malley return their money] 

  Coffin Ed : Digger and I will do our damnedest to get your money back. We promise.

  Rioter : Promises! Hell with promises!

  Gravedigger Jones : Anybody out there ever hear of Coffin Ed or the Gravedigger make a promise we didn't keep?

  [Crowd gets quiet] 

  Coffin Ed : Now, we may have broken some heads, but we never broke no promises.