Malcolm X Speech on Nationalism and Freedom

We look at other parts of this earth upon which we live, we find that black ground red and yellow people in Africa and Asia are getting very independence. They're not getting it by singing, we shall overcome. No, they're getting it through nationalism. There is nationalism that brought about the independence of the people in Asia. There is a nation in Asia gained its independence through the philosophy of nationalism. There is a nation on the African continent that has gotten its independence brought about through the philosophy of nationalism. And it will take black nationalism that to bring about the freedom of 22 million Afro-Americans here in this country where we have suffered colonialism for the past 400 years. The first is much of colonial power as England will ever work. America is just as much of colonial power as France ever was. In fact, America is more so of the colonial power than they because she's a hypocritical colonial power behind. What is 20? What do you call second-class citizenship? That's colonization. Second-class citizenship is nothing but 20th century slavery. How are you going to tell me you are a second-class citizen? They don't have second-class citizenship in any other government on this earth. They just have slaves and people who are free. Well, this country is a hypocrite. They try and make you think they say you're free by calling you a second-class citizen. Now are you a nothing but our 20th century slave. Minister Malcolm U of the Grette of the Therah, all kinds of movements and Harlem growing that you and I don't know about. Oh yes, frustration itself has been sufficient. All that was necessary to make Negroes realize the importance of banning together. The banning together and what kind of movements. Different kinds of movements. All kinds of movements. They remain almost invisible. They remain almost unknown. But yet they are there. When I say invisible, I mean invisible in the sense that their existence is unknown. In a matter of how much you try and track them down, you can't find them. Never try and find them through the Negro leaders. The Negro leaders are famous as apologies. If you recall one of the most famous Negro leaders in 1959 was asked by you about the Black Muslim movement. And he said he knew nothing about it. In the next moment you flashed a picture on the screen with him shaking hands with me. So if you will recall. So this is their policy. This is their attitude or their reaction. They never know what's going on in the Negro community. And what form will the activities of these various so-called invisible movements take? Well, this is summer. An example, commission of mercy. Almost every statement that commission of mercy makes would give you the impression that he's encouraging the police, rank and file policemen, to take whatever method or measures necessary to hold the Negroes in check. He feeds the type of statistics to the white public, to make them think that Harlem is a complete criminal area that everyone is prone to advance. This gives the police the impression that they can then go and brutalize the Negroes or suppress the Negroes or even frighten the Negroes. Whenever something happens, 20 police cars converge on one area. This doesn't frighten the Negroes. So it means that someone is either misinforming commission of mercy and making him use tactics this year that he would not use four years ago or the former police can't even use. And this force that is so visible in the Harlem community creates a spirit of resentment in every Negro. They think they're living in a police state and they become hostile toward the policeman. They think that the policeman is there to be against them rather than to protect them. And these stops, these frustrations, these apprehensions automatically are sufficient to make these Negroes begin to form means and ways to protect themselves in case the police themselves get too far out of line. I'm no politician. I'm not even a student of politics. I'm not a Republican nor Democrat nor an American. I've got this enough to know. I'm one of the 22 million black victims of the Democrats. One of the 22 million black victims of the Republicans and one of the 22 million black victims of Americanism. And when I speak, I don't speak as a Democrat or a Republican nor an American. I speak as a victim of America's so-called democracy. You and I have never seen democracy. All we've seen is hypocrisy. We open our eyes today and look around America. We see America not through the eyes of someone who has enjoyed the fruits of Americanism. We see America through the eyes of someone who has been the victim of Americanism. We don't see any American dream. We've experienced only the American nightmare. We haven't benefited from America's democracy. We've only suffered from America's hypocrisy. And the generation that's coming up now can see it. And are not afraid to say it. If you go to jail, so what? If you blame, you will burn in jail. And the North as well as the South. Stop talking about the South. And as long as you South of the Canadian border, you are South. Don't call Governor Wallace the Dixie Governor. The only is a Dixie Governor. Twenty-two million black victims of Americanism are waking up. And they're gaining a new political consciousness, becoming politically mature. And as they become developed this political maturity, they're able to see the recent trends in these political elections. They see the whites so evenly divided at every time they vote. The race is so close. They have to go back and count the votes all over again. And that which means that any black, any minority that has a black vote that's picked together is in a strategic position in the way you go. That's who gets it. You're in opposition to determine who goes to the White House and who stay in the Doll House. You're the one who has that power. You can keep Johnson in Washington, D.C. or you can send him back to his Texas current patch. You're the one who sent Kennedy to Washington. You're the one who put the President Democratic administration in Washington, D.C. The whites were evenly divided. It was the fact that you threw 80% of your votes behind the Democrats that put the Democrats in the White House. When you see this, you can see that the Negro vote is the key factor. In the spite of the fact that you are in a position to be the determining factor, what do you get out of it? The Democrats have been in Washington, D.C. only because of the Negro vote. They've been down there four years. They're all other legislation. They wanted to bring up. They've brought it up and gotten it out of the way. And now they bring up you. And now they bring up you. You put them first and they put you last. Because you're a child.