Malcolm X - " By Any Means Necessary "They call me "a teacher, a fomentor of violence." I would say point blank, That is a lie. I'm not for wanton violence. I'm for justice. I feel that if white people were attacked by Negroes - if the forces of law prove unable, or inadequate, or reluctant to protect those whites from those Negroes-then those white people should protect and defend themselves from those Negroes, using arms if necessary. And I feel that when the law fails to protect Negroes from whites' attack then those Negroes should use arms, if necessary, to defend themselves....I am speaking against and my fight is against white racists. I firmly believe that Negroes have the right to fight against these racists, " by any means necessary."
From the Autobiography of Malcolm X, pgs. 373-374
You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom. Published in Malcolm X Speaks, Ch. 12, 1965
Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat some of what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an American. Being born here in America doesn't make you an American. "The Ballot or the Bullet," speech, April 3, 1964
I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don't believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn't want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, but I'm not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn't know how to return the treatment. Malcolm X - Speech Dec. 12, 1964
It's just like when you've got some coffee that's too black, which means it's too strong. What do you do? You integrate it with cream, you make it weak. But if you pour too much cream in it, you won't even know you ever had coffee. It used to be hot, it becomes cool. It used to be strong, it becomes weak. It used to wake you up, now it puts you to sleep. "Message to the Grass Roots," speech, Nov. 1963 (published in Malcolm X Speaks, ch. 1, 1965)
The common goal of 22 million Afro-Americans is respect as human beings, the God-given right to be human being. Our common goal is to obtain the human rights that America has been denying us. We can never get civil rights in America until our human rights are first restored. We will never be recognized as citizens there until we are first recognized as humans.
Malcolm X - "Racism: the cancer that is Destroying America," in Egyptian Gazette (Aug. 1964).
The negro revolution is controlled by foxy white liberals, by the Government itself. But the Black Revolution is controlled only by GOD.
Speech Dec. 1, 1963, New York City http:// http://www.malcolmx.org/
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - I Have A Dream
When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
America has given the Negro People a bad check which has come back marked "Insufficient Funds."
But there is something I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: " We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of GOD'S children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank GOD Almighty, we are free at last!"
From the speech "I have a Dream" - Martin Luther King 1963 http://www.drmartinlutherkingjr.com/
Now in 2008, what Malcolm X and Dr. King believed and spoke of still holds true. We have come very far as a race yet in many ways we are still slaves. This country is still reaping from our sweat and blood without the effort of physical slavery because we are containing ourselves. This is why no nationality treat us with respect because from watching us themselves and listening to the views such as Dee Lee CFP. When I received the email that's circulating throughout the Internet it hurt and angered me at the same time. However, I had to ask myself if they are wrong? I had to admit that she did her homework about most of us, but not all us. We see everyday in our community: Ignorance, Greed, and Selfishness.
Is Ignorance our primary weapon of containment? I wonder what great man said that "The best way to hide something from Black People is to put in a book?" They believe that few of us read consistently, if any.
Is Greed another powerful weapon of containment? Apparently the word consumer was created just for us because we are primarily considered a "consumer people", they believe we function totally by greed and I quote "They continually want more, with little thought for saving or investing." Would we rather buy some new sneaker than invest in starting a business? Jay Z, P Diddy, Oprah, Lil Wayne and many others of the accomplished blacks would beg to differ. As a matter of fact....they don't beg for anything. But to play down their accomplishments as well as others they call them fools....because no matter how much money they make they feel that this is still not "status"; because the vast majority of our people are still in poverty. This is where the Selfishness as they see it, falls into place since it has been ingrained in our minds since slavery and they feel is the major way they can continue to contain us. One of our own, Dubois said that there was a innate division in our culture. A "Talented Tenth" he called it. They feel he was correct in his deduction that there are segments of our culture that has achieved some "form" of success. Dee Lee wrote that "The Talented Tenth" missed the fullness of his work because they didn't read/comprehend that they where responsible to aid The non-talented ninety percent in a better life. She named the Talented Tenth the "Buppie Class"(black yuppies) - ones that look down on their own people or aids them in a condescending manner.
In 2008 that holds true in every nationality/culture, not only in the black culture. I don't see them aiding what they call "white trash," their own people that rank higher than blacks in illiteracy. As a matter of fact blacks with all of their social ills has embraced and welcomed white trash into our neighborhoods and families. Black people have sustained throughout history as strong people regardless of what has been done to us, because we are GOD's people. No we are not perfect but as with any other race in any other country "we all have bad seeds."
The coldest thing about all of this is Ms. Lee and the like are now in the underground railroad hiding in the darkness awaiting their time too once again be free. But I digress. Editor PFP. Copyright 2008 Material. Unauthorized Reproduction Is Prohibited.
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