'Message to the Grassroots' by Malcolm X

American Rhetoric published a list of the Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century. Malcolm X delivered Top Speech #91 in Detroit MI on November 10, 1963.

Below is audio clip and text of the speech known as 'Message to the Grassroots'.

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I would like to make a few comments concerning the difference between the Black revolution and the Negro revolution. There's a difference. Are they both the same? And if they're not, what is the difference? What is the difference between a Black revolution and a Negro revolution? First, what is a revolution? Sometimes I'm inclined to believe that many of our people are using this word "revolution" loosely, without taking careful consideration [of] what this word actually means, and what its historic characteristics are. When you study the historic nature of revolutions, the motive of a revolution, the objective of a revolution, and the result of a revolution, and the methods used in a revolution, you may change words. You may devise another program. You may change your goal and you may change your mind.

Look at the American Revolution in 1776. That revolution was for what? For land. Why did they want land? Independence. How was it carried out? Bloodshed. Number one, it was based on land, the basis of independence. And the only way they could get it was bloodshed. The French Revolution -- what was it based on? The land-less against the landlord. What was it for? Land. How did they get it? Bloodshed. Was no love lost; was no compromise; was no negotiation. I'm telling you, you don't know what a revolution is. 'Cause when you find out what it is, you'll get back in the alley; you'll get out of the way. The Russian Revolution -- what was it based on? Land. The land-less against the landlord. How did they bring it about?Bloodshed. You haven't got a revolution that doesn't involve bloodshed. And you're afraid to bleed. I said, you're afraid to bleed.

[As] long as the white man sent you to Korea, you bled. He sent you to Germany, you bled. He sent you to the South Pacific to fight the Japanese, you bled. You bleed for white people. But when it comes time to seeing your own churches being bombed and little Black girls be murdered, you haven't got no blood. You bleed when the white man says bleed; you bite when the white man says bite; and you bark when the white man says bark. I hate to say this about us, but it's true. How are you going to be nonviolent in Mississippi, as violent as you were in Korea? How can you justify being nonviolent in Mississippi and Alabama, when your churches are being bombed, and your little girls are being murdered, and at the same time you're going to violent with Hitler, and Tojo, and somebody else that you don't even know?

If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it's wrong to be violent defending Black women and Black children and Black babies and Black men, then it's wrong for America to draft us and make us violent abroad in defense of her. And if it is right for America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country.

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Amazing to hear words that were spoken 51 years ago by Malcolm X. What are your thoughts as you listen or read his words?

Happy Birthday, Malcolm X

One of the points of transformation in my life occurred when I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X. I imagine that most Blackmen from my era recall reading this very thick book. Every Blackman could empathize with a brother that evolved from Malcolm Little to Detroit Red to Malcolm X to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Each of us hoped that we would be transformed as well in our lives.

My three children (ages 21, 17, 14) don't know very much about Malcolm X. There will come a time when I share this book with them as well. The messages that Malcolm taught us back in the day still need to be shared today in the 21st century.

As such, the Electronic Village is honored to recognize this heroic figure on the weekend of what would have been his 89th birthday. The legacy of Malcolm X has moved through generations as the subject of numerous documentaries, books and movies. I imagine that there was a surge of interest in 1992 when director Spike Lee released the acclaimed Malcolm X movie. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design. Most people recall the hospital scene in that movie.

However, it is often best to hear directly from Malcolm. Here are some YouTube clips of Malcolm that I thought you would enjoy:

• Who Are You? - A few simple questions that we are still asking today.
• An Early Interview with Malcolm X by Mike Wallace, where Malcolm explains the position of the Nation of Islam.
• You're Ready to do Something, Aren't You?" - "...many of you thought that we should go right on out then and make war on the white man. You wanted to do it yourself, didn't you? Cause you don't like the idea of white people shooting Black people down, do you? And you're ready to do something about it, aren't you?"
• The White Man Brings Drugs into Harlem - "Stealing runs rampant in Harlem. Gambling runs rampant in Harlem. All types of evils and vices that tear apart our community run rampant in Harlem. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad doesn't condemn the victim, he goes to work on the victim."
• The Problem is Still Here - is speech where Malcolm rejects the non-violent approach of Martin Luther King,
• Who Taught You to Hate Yourself? - "Who taught you to hate the color of your skin? Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair? Who taught you to hate the shape of your nose and the shape of your lips? Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet?"
• We are Africans, Not Americans - "Our forefathers weren't the Pilgrims. We didn't land on Plymouth Rock; the rock was landed on us."
• The Black Man's History - Malcolm X explains how the true history of Black people was erased during slavery and because Black people do not know their own past, thye have no confidence in themselves.
• House Negroes vs. Field Negroes - "Back during slavery, when Black people like me talked to the slaves, they didn't kill 'em, they sent some old house Negro along behind him to undo what he said."
• Our History was Destroyed by Slavery - Malcolm X appears on television in Chicago on March 17, 1963.
• You Will Never Get Protection from the Government - "You never will get protection from the federal government. That's like, King is asking Kennedy to go to Alabama to stand in the doorway, put his body in the doorway. That's like asking the fox to protect you from the wolf. "
• Roundtable Discussion - In a clip from a roundtable discussion, Malcolm X explains why the bourgeois, hand-picked Uncle Tom negro leaders will never solve the problem for the masses of black people.
• Malcolm X Explains Black Nationalism - "If you're interested in freedom, you need some judo, you need some karate--you need all the things that will help you fight for freedom...They can give us the back pay. Let's join in. If this is what the negro wants, let's join him. Let's show him how to struggle, let's show him how to fight. Let's show him how to bring about a real revolution. You don't need a debate. You don't need a filibuster. You need some action."
• Oxford University Debate - "I read once, passingly, about a man named Shakespeare. I only read about him passingly, but I remember one thing he wrote that kind of moved me. He put it in the mouth of Hamlet, I think, it was, who said, "To be or not to be." He was in doubt about something. Whether it was nobler in the mind of man to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, moderation, or to take up arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them. And I go for that. If you take up arms, you'll end it, but if you sit around and wait for the one who's in power to make up his mind that he should end it, you'll be waiting a long time. And in my opinion, the young generation of whites, blacks, browns, whatever else there is, you're living at a time of extremism, a time of revolution, a time when there's got to be a change. People in power have misused it and now there has to be a change and a better world has to be built and the only way it's going to be built is with extreme methods. And I, for one, will join in with anyone, I don't care what color you are, as long as you want to change this miserable condition that exists on this earth."
• Ballot or the Bullet was a speech by Malcolm X mostly about black nationalism delivered April 12, 1964 in Detroit, Michigan.
• By Any Means Necessary - "...our African brothers have gained their independence faster than you and I here in America have. They've also gained recognition and respect as human beings much faster than you and I."
• Return from Mecca (1 of 2) - "When I was on the pilgrimage, I had close contact with Muslims whose skin would in America be classified as white and with Muslims who would themselves be classified as white in America, but these particular Muslims didn't call themselves white. They looked upon themselves as human beings, as part of the human family and therefore they looked upon all other segments of the human family as part of that same family."
• Return from Mecca (2 of 2) - "African nations and Asian nations and Latin American nations look very hypocritical when they stand up in the United Nations, condemning the racist practices of South Africa and that which is practiced by Portugal and Angola, and saying nothing in the U.N. about the racist practices that are manifest every day against Negroes in this society."
• American Can't Solve Our Problem" - Malcolm X explains that it is necessary to take the problem of African-Americans to the world court in order to get them solved.
• 'I am probably a dead man already' - In an interview shortly before he was killed, Malcolm X declared, "I probably am a dead man already." He was aware of the fact that the NOI wanted him dead and understood that he was in serious danger.
• My Death Has Been Ordered - Malcolm X puts the blame for the firebombing of his home directly on the Nation of Islam and explains other ways in which his life is in danger.
• The assassination of Malcolm X - Silent clip of the Audobon Ballroom immediately after the assassination of Malcolm X on February 21, 1965.
• Mos Def Reads Malcolm X - Hip hop, rap and spoken word artist Mos Def reads Malcolm X's "Message to the Grass Roots" on November 9, 2006.

Happy Birthday Malcolm! Today El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz would be 89 years old. I thought many villagers would enjoy to share some of his speeches and thoughts over the course of his life.

Many in the current generation only know of the man through the phrase, 'By Any Means Necessary'. He was much more complex and interesting than that simple phrase.

Anyhow, I would love to hear village voices on Malcolm X. What did you think of the man? Did you read his autobiography? What say u?

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Malcolm X: Our Own Black Shining Prince

On this date, February 21, in 1965, El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X) was assassinated. I was six years old at the time. I didn't have a conscious idea of who the brother was or what he meant to our people and our nation. I learned about him as a young man when I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Like many brothers in America ... I don't sit with my back to the door as a result of reading that book.

More importantly, I learned what it meant to have a strong inner determination and character to rise above your surroundings and your situation to truly do wonderful things for your family, your community, your nation and our world. In my view, Martin Luther King, Jr would never have been as effective if there had not been a Malcolm X.

49 years ago, Malcolm X was taken from us.
I encourage all Villagers to take time and remind yourself about the impact that this one man had on our life and times. Ossie Davis gave a 2-1/2 minute eulogy of Malcolm X that is some of the most powerful words ever uttered about the essence of the man. Here is part of it:

"There are those who will consider it their duty, as friends of the Negro people, to tell us to revile him, to flee, even from the presence of his memory, to save ourselves by writing him out of the history of our turbulent times. Many will ask what Harlem finds to honour in this stormy, controversial and bold young Captain - and we will smile. Many will say turn away - away from this man, for he is not a man but a demon, a monster, a subverter and an enemy of the Black man - and we will smile. They will say that he is of hate - a fanatic, a racist - who can only bring evil to the cause for which you struggle! And we will answer and say to them:

'Did you ever talk to brother Malcolm? Did you ever touch him, or have him smile at you? Did you ever really listen to him? Did he ever do a mean thing? Was he ever himself associated with violence or any public disturbance? For if you did - you would know him. And if you knew him - you would know why we must honor him.'

Malcolm was our manhood ... our living Black manhood!"

You can hear the words from Ossie himself on this YouTube clip:






And we will know him than for what he was and is - A Prince - our own Black Shining Prince - who didn't hesitate to die, because he loved us so.

Villagers, what is your memory of Malcolm X? How did you first learn about this brother?

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Mapping the Life of El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X)

I admire El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X) and the impact that he had on people of African descent. As such, I was pleased to see a Malcolm X exhibit on Second Life.

Drumbeats from Black Threads told us about the efforts of Moraine Valley Community College to analyze this autobiography in detail. The students of this community college map the life of Malcolm X, in geographic terms, based on the information provided in his autobiography.

Alex Haley’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X is at once inspirational, controversial, and historic. It is a novel that has had far-reaching success selling millions of copies and influencing Americans of all races and creeds.



This “autobiography” relates the life story of Civil Rights leader Malcolm X, who came of age in the segregated America of the 1940s and 1950s. He embraced religion while in prison and sought to free his people “by any means necessary.” By the end of his life, Malcolm X was one of the most prominent African American leaders. While on a journey to Mecca, he began to preach a more inclusive ideology that emphasized cooperation and understanding. The Autobiography of Malcolm X provides a valuable glimpse of America. More importantly, it is the story of one man rising up against oppression and learning, through his own experiences, how America might redeem itself.

Villagers have shared thoughts on the birth and death of Malcolm X in the past. I would love to hear from you again today. What is your lasting memory of El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X)?