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Two Speeches
"It's impossible for a chicken to produce a duck egg.... The system in this country cannot produce freedom for an Afro-American. "Speeches and interviews from the last year of Malcolm's life.
Unknown Binding
First published April 1, 1990
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About the author
Malcolm X
126 books3,186 followersMalcolm X (born Malcolm Little), also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was an American Black Muslim minister and a spokesman for the Nation of Islam.
After leaving the Nation of Islam in 1964, he made the pilgrimage, the Hajj, to Mecca and became a Sunni Muslim. He also founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Less than a year later, he was assassinated in Washington Heights on the first day of National Brotherhood Week.
Historian Robin D.G. Kelley wrote, "Malcolm X has been called many things: Pan-Africanist, father of Black Power, religious fanatic, closet conservative, incipient socialist, and a menace to society. The meaning of his public life — his politics and ideology — is contested in part because his entire body of work consists of a few dozen speeches and a collaborative autobiography whose veracity is challenged. Malcolm has become a sort of tabula rasa, or blank slate, on which people of different positions can write their own interpretations of his politics and legacy.
After leaving the Nation of Islam in 1964, he made the pilgrimage, the Hajj, to Mecca and became a Sunni Muslim. He also founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Less than a year later, he was assassinated in Washington Heights on the first day of National Brotherhood Week.
Historian Robin D.G. Kelley wrote, "Malcolm X has been called many things: Pan-Africanist, father of Black Power, religious fanatic, closet conservative, incipient socialist, and a menace to society. The meaning of his public life — his politics and ideology — is contested in part because his entire body of work consists of a few dozen speeches and a collaborative autobiography whose veracity is challenged. Malcolm has become a sort of tabula rasa, or blank slate, on which people of different positions can write their own interpretations of his politics and legacy.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 15, 2024
SPEECHES, INTERVIEWS, AND HIS STATEMENT AFTER THE BREAK FROM THE NOI
The Introduction to this March 1965 pamphlet explains, “To help make the truth known about what Malcolm X really stood for, we have made available in this pamphlet two of his major speeches, plus the remarks he made at a symposium, the text of a radio interview, excerpts from a magazine interview and the text of the statement he made at the time of his break with Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam.”
He said at his March 12, 1964 press conference, “I am and always will be a Muslim. My religion is Islam. I still believe that Mr. Muhammad’s analysis of the problem is the most realistic, and that his solution is the best one… the best solution is complete separation, with our people going back home, to our own African homeland. But separation back to Africa is still a long-range program, and while it is yet to materialize, 22 million of our people who are still here in America need better food, clothing, housing, education and jobs RIGHT NOW… Internal differences within the Nation of Islam forced me out of it. I did not leave of my own free will. But now that it has happened I intend to make the most of it… I intend to use a more flexible approach toward working with others to get a solution to this problem… I’m not out to fight other Negro leaders or organization. We must find a common approach, a common solution, to a common problem. As of this minute, I’ve forgotten everything bad that the other leaders said about me, and I pray they can also forget the many bad things I’ve said about them.” (Pg. 3)
He continues, “I am going to organize and head a new Mosque in New York City, known as the Muslim Mosque, Inc… Our political philosophy will be Black Nationalism… Many of our people aren’t religiously inclined, so the Muslim Mosque, Inc., will be organized in such manner to provide for the active participation of all Negroes in our political, economic, and social programs, despite their religious or non-religious beliefs… Our accept will be upon youth: we need new ideas, new methods, new approaches… We want to see some new faces---more militant faces… We should be peaceful, law-abiding---but the time has come for the American Negro to fight back in self-defense whenever an wherever he is being unjustly and unlawfully attacked.” (Pg. 4)
In his April 8, 1964 speech on Black Revolution, he said, “I’m still a Muslim, that is, my religion is still Islam… but I’m also a nationalist, meaning that my political philosophy is black nationalism, my economic philosophy is black nationalism, my social philosophy is black nationalism… to me this means that the political philosophy of black nationalism is that which is designed to encourage our people, the black people, to gain complete control over the politics and the politicians of our own community.” (Pg. 5)
He observes, “It was stones yesterday, Molotov cocktails today; it will be hand grenades tomorrow and whatever else is available the next day. The seriousness of this situation must be faced up to. You should not feel that I am inciting someone to violence. I’m only warning of a powder-keg situation… if you ignore it or ridicule it, well death is already at your doorstep. There are 22,000,000 African-Americans who are ready to fight for independence right here… I don’t mean any non-violent fight, or turn-the-other-cheek fight. Those days are gone. Those days are over.” (Pg. 8)
He notes, “The civil rights struggle involves the black man taking his case to the white man’s court. But… It opens the door to take Uncle Sam to the world court. The black man doesn’t have to go to court to be free. Uncle Sam should be taken to court and made to tell why the black man is not free in a so-called free society. Uncle Sam should be taken into the United Nations and charged with violating the UN charter on human rights.” (Pg. 11)
He suggests, “America today is at a time … where she is the first country on this earth that can actually have a bloodless revolution… Historically you just don’t have a peaceful revolution. Revolutions are bloody, revolutions are violent… and death follows in their paths. America is the only country in history in a position to bring about a revolution without violence and bloodshed. But America is not morally equipped to do so.” (Pg. 14)
In his January 7, 1965 speech on ‘Prospects for Freedom in 1965,’ he said, “How in the world can a white man expect a black man to change before HE has changed? How do you expect us to change when you haven’t changed? … when the causes that made us as we are have not been removed?... Now, in speaking like this, it doesn’t mean that I am anti-American… or un-American… The government should feel lucky that our people aren’t anti-American… And the whole world would side with us, if we became anti-American.” (Pg. 22)
This brief publication will be of great interest to those studying Malcolm X.
The Introduction to this March 1965 pamphlet explains, “To help make the truth known about what Malcolm X really stood for, we have made available in this pamphlet two of his major speeches, plus the remarks he made at a symposium, the text of a radio interview, excerpts from a magazine interview and the text of the statement he made at the time of his break with Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam.”
He said at his March 12, 1964 press conference, “I am and always will be a Muslim. My religion is Islam. I still believe that Mr. Muhammad’s analysis of the problem is the most realistic, and that his solution is the best one… the best solution is complete separation, with our people going back home, to our own African homeland. But separation back to Africa is still a long-range program, and while it is yet to materialize, 22 million of our people who are still here in America need better food, clothing, housing, education and jobs RIGHT NOW… Internal differences within the Nation of Islam forced me out of it. I did not leave of my own free will. But now that it has happened I intend to make the most of it… I intend to use a more flexible approach toward working with others to get a solution to this problem… I’m not out to fight other Negro leaders or organization. We must find a common approach, a common solution, to a common problem. As of this minute, I’ve forgotten everything bad that the other leaders said about me, and I pray they can also forget the many bad things I’ve said about them.” (Pg. 3)
He continues, “I am going to organize and head a new Mosque in New York City, known as the Muslim Mosque, Inc… Our political philosophy will be Black Nationalism… Many of our people aren’t religiously inclined, so the Muslim Mosque, Inc., will be organized in such manner to provide for the active participation of all Negroes in our political, economic, and social programs, despite their religious or non-religious beliefs… Our accept will be upon youth: we need new ideas, new methods, new approaches… We want to see some new faces---more militant faces… We should be peaceful, law-abiding---but the time has come for the American Negro to fight back in self-defense whenever an wherever he is being unjustly and unlawfully attacked.” (Pg. 4)
In his April 8, 1964 speech on Black Revolution, he said, “I’m still a Muslim, that is, my religion is still Islam… but I’m also a nationalist, meaning that my political philosophy is black nationalism, my economic philosophy is black nationalism, my social philosophy is black nationalism… to me this means that the political philosophy of black nationalism is that which is designed to encourage our people, the black people, to gain complete control over the politics and the politicians of our own community.” (Pg. 5)
He observes, “It was stones yesterday, Molotov cocktails today; it will be hand grenades tomorrow and whatever else is available the next day. The seriousness of this situation must be faced up to. You should not feel that I am inciting someone to violence. I’m only warning of a powder-keg situation… if you ignore it or ridicule it, well death is already at your doorstep. There are 22,000,000 African-Americans who are ready to fight for independence right here… I don’t mean any non-violent fight, or turn-the-other-cheek fight. Those days are gone. Those days are over.” (Pg. 8)
He notes, “The civil rights struggle involves the black man taking his case to the white man’s court. But… It opens the door to take Uncle Sam to the world court. The black man doesn’t have to go to court to be free. Uncle Sam should be taken to court and made to tell why the black man is not free in a so-called free society. Uncle Sam should be taken into the United Nations and charged with violating the UN charter on human rights.” (Pg. 11)
He suggests, “America today is at a time … where she is the first country on this earth that can actually have a bloodless revolution… Historically you just don’t have a peaceful revolution. Revolutions are bloody, revolutions are violent… and death follows in their paths. America is the only country in history in a position to bring about a revolution without violence and bloodshed. But America is not morally equipped to do so.” (Pg. 14)
In his January 7, 1965 speech on ‘Prospects for Freedom in 1965,’ he said, “How in the world can a white man expect a black man to change before HE has changed? How do you expect us to change when you haven’t changed? … when the causes that made us as we are have not been removed?... Now, in speaking like this, it doesn’t mean that I am anti-American… or un-American… The government should feel lucky that our people aren’t anti-American… And the whole world would side with us, if we became anti-American.” (Pg. 22)
This brief publication will be of great interest to those studying Malcolm X.
March 21, 2021
He was a truly great speaker and a man of integrity
October 26, 2025
"It's impossible for a chicken to produce a duck egg.... The system in this country cannot produce freedom for an Afro-American." Speeches and interviews from the last year of Malcolm's life.
Most of the speeches and excerpts from interviews in this book will not be found in any of the book-length collections of Malcolm X speeches that Pathfinder Press has published over the years.
I also recommend Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power.
Most of the speeches and excerpts from interviews in this book will not be found in any of the book-length collections of Malcolm X speeches that Pathfinder Press has published over the years.
I also recommend Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews