Malcolm X Speech in Los Angeles (May 5, 1962)

(applause)

In the name of Allah,
the beneficent, the merciful

to whom all praise is due,

whom we forever thank for giving us
the honorable Elijah Mohammad

as our leader, teacher, and guide.

And I specifically, ladies and gentleman,
and brothers and sisters,

open up like that because I
am a representative

of the honorable Elijah Mohammad.

And were it not for him,
you and wouldn't be here today.

In order for you and me to devise
some kind of method or strategy

to offset some of the events
or the repetition of the events

that have taken place here
in Los Angelas recently,

we have to the root.
We have to go to the cause.

Dealing with the condition
itself is not enough.

- We have to get to the cause of it all.
- (crowd concurs)

Or the root of it all.

And it is because of our effort
toward getting straight to the root

that people often think
we're dealing in hate.

But first I would like to congratulate
and give praise to the negro,

so-called negro leaders
and so-called negro organizations

and, excuse me if I say so, it's hard
for me to just outright say negro

- when I know what that word really means.
- (thunderous applause)

The person whom you have
come to know as Ronald Stokes,

we know him as brother Ron.

One of the most religious persons
to display the highest form of morals

of any black person
anywhere on this Earth.

And as one of the previous speakers
pointed out, who knew him,

everyone who knew him had to give
him credit for being a good man.

A clean man, an intelligent man,
and an innocent man

when he was murdered.

The negro, so-called negro, organizations
and leaders should be given

great credit for their failure or refusal
to let the white man divide them

and use them, one against the other
during this crisis.

(thunderous applause)

As Reverend [Walkard] Wilson pointed out,
I think it was eight years ago today

that the Supreme Court handed down
the desegregation decision.

And despite the fact that eight years
have gone past, that decision

- hasn't been implemented yet.
- (applause from audience)

I don't have that much faith.

I don't have that much confidence.

I don't have that much patience.

And I don't have that much ignorance to--

(thunderous applause)

If the Supreme Court, which is
the highest law making body

in the country can't get
even eight percent compliance

within eight years because
it's for black people,

then my patience has run out.

(applause)

When black people who are being
oppressed become impatient,

they say that's emotional.

(murmuring)

Please, when black people who are being
deprived of their citizenship...

not only of their civil rights,
but their human rights,

become impatient, become fed up,
don't wanna wait any longer,

then they say that's emotional.

(laughter and applause)

The negro, so-called negro, leaders
and organizations should be praised.

They should be congratulated.

They should be complimented

because out of all of them combined,
the white man has not yet found

one who will play the role of Uncle Tom.

(thunderous applause)

But yet he has found no Tom, no puppet,
no parrot, who is still dumb enough

in 1962 to represent the injustices
that he is inflicting against our people.

(applause)

We don't care what your religion is.

We don't care what
organization you belong to.

We don't care how far
in school you went or didn't go.

We don't care what kind of job you have.

We have to give you credit
for shocking the white man

by not letting him divide you
and use you one against the other.

(applause)

In the past, the greatest weapon
the white man has had

has been his ability
to divide and conquer.

As Jackie Robinson pointed out beautifully
on the television last night,

4/5 of the world isn't white.

- Isn't that what Jackie said?
- (applause)

And if 4/5 of the world is dark,
how is it possible for 1/5

to rule, oppress, exploit, dominate,
and brutalize the 4/5

who are in the majority?
How did they do it?

Divide and conquer.

If I take my hand and slap you,
you don't even feel it.

It might sting you because
these digits are separated.

But all I have to do to put you
back in your place is bring

- those digits together.
- (applause)

This is what the white man
has done to you and me.

He has divided us.
And used us one against the other.

But today, thanks to Allah,
you can say thanks to God

or thanks to Jesus or thanks to Jehovah--
whatever you are...

(applause)

But as a follower of
the honorable Elijah Mohammad,

we have been taught
to say thanks to Allah.

And that's what Jesus said.
Jesus called on Allah.

He said, "Allah! [inaudible]"

I believe what's good for Jesus
is good for you.

If Allah was good enough for Jesus
to call upon, I think he

- should be good enough for you to call on.
- (man) That's right!

Since the so-called negro community
has shocked the white man

by resisting all efforts to divide us,

I think that you and I
should continue to shock him

by singing and working together in unity.

Despite religious, political, economic,
or educational, or social differences,

let us remember that we are not brutalized
because we're Baptist.

We're not brutalized
because we're Methodist.

We're not brutalized
because we're Muslim.

We're not brutalized
because we're Catholics.

We're brutalized because
because we are black people in America.

(applause)

Here your mother is being raped
and you're not supposed to be emotional.

Your woman bleeds,
your woman can't walk the street

without some cracker
putting his hands on her--

- and you're not supposed to be emotional!
- (applause)

If you say that you're fed up,
if you teach the negro

- but don't even know their own name--
- (woman) That's right!

Why? Because he took took it away from her.

Please, please. 20 million black people
don't even know their own language.

Why? Because he took it away from us.

20 million black people who
don't even know their history

of their ancestors.
Why? Because he took it away from us!

And if you try and tell him
how thoroughly and completely

they can rob, he says
you're teaching hate.

(applause)

[That's something __________ want.]

(murmuring)

Today we're coming out college, you're
coming out of the leading universities.

You're trying to go in a good direction.

But you don't which direction to go in.

And if somebody tries to take you
right to the root of your problem

they say that that man a hate teacher.

If I ask why should
the Senators in Washington--

and, then again, if we tell you that negro
are being hung on the tree,

or being shot down illegally, unjustly...

and those negros should do
something to protect themselves

you say you're advocating violence.

The white man is tricking you!
He's trapping you.

He doesn't call it violence when he
lands troops in South Vietnam.

- (applause)
- Please, please, please!

He doesn't call it violence
when he lands troops in Berlin.

When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor,
he didn't say get non-violent.

He said, "Praise the Lord,
but pass the ammunition."

(applause)

But when someone attacks you,
when someone comes at you with a club,

when someone comes you with a rope,
when someone comes at you with a gun,

despite the fact that you've done nothing
he tells you, "Suffer peacefully."

- (murmuring)
- "Pray for those who use you to spite me."

[inaudible].

And how long can you suffer
after suffering for 400 years?

(applause)

So I just wanna play up
that little point right there

because he said that we
play on your emotions.

And when you turn
on your television tonight,

or your radio, or read the newspaper,
they're gonna tell you in that paper

that I was playing on your emotions.

Imagine you, a second class citizen.
That's not getting emotional!

It's getting intelligent.

And as far as your mayor is concerned,
I see [audible].

A man named Jordy,

who has been slandering the Muslims,

a professional liar--
a professional liar.

(applause)

Who has mastered the art
of using half truths.

Put in the paper that they break
into our religious place of worship

and got records that they can use to prove
that most of us have criminal records.

You can't be a negro in America
and not have a criminal record.

(thunderous applause)

Martin Luther King has been to jail.

- (applause)
- Please.

James Farmer has been to jail.

Why, you can't name a black man
in this country who was sick and tired

of the hell that he's [catching]
who hasn't been to jail.

Charged him with being seditious.

- They put Moses in jail!
- (woman) Yeah!

- They put Daniel in jail.
- (woman) Yeah!

Why, you haven't got a man of God
in the Bible that wasn't put to jail

when they started speaking up against
exploitation and oppression.

(applause)

They charged Jesus with sedition.

- Didn't they do that?
- (crowd concurs)

They said he was against Caesar.

They said he was discriminating
because he told his disciples,

"Go not the way of the gentiles,
but rather go to the lost sheep."

He discriminated!
Don't go near the gentiles,

go to the lost sheep.
Go to the oppressed.

Go the downtrodden.
Go to the exploited.

Go the people who don't
know who they are,

who are lost from the knowledge
of themselves and who are

strangers in a land that is not theirs.

Go to those people!
Go to the slaves.

Go the second class citizens.
Go to the ones who are suffering

the brunt of Cesar's brutality.

And if Jesus were here in America today,
he wouldn't be going to the white man.

The white man is the oppressor!
He would be going to the oppressed.

He would be going to the humble.
He would be going to the lowly.

He would be going to
the rejected and the despised.

He would be going to
the so-called American negro.

(applause)