Message to the Grassroots notes

 Speech begins with Malcolm framing black folks (he uses negroes) as America’s problem
because we are not wanted – once black folks realize that then you can properly
strategize
o Then frames unity amongst black folks
 “What you and I need to do is learn to forget our differences. When we
come together, we don’t come together as Baptists or Methodists. You
don’t catch hell because you’re a Baptist, and you don’t catch hell
because you’re a Methodist . . . and you sure don’t catch hell because
you’re an American; because if you were an American, you wouldn’t
catch hell. You catch hell because you’re a black man.”
 Unity is because black folks have a common oppressor
 References Bandung conference in 1954 – says gains are made once they
don’t allow whites to organize with them
 Argues black disagreement should be handled privately
o Brings the question of is there a difference between a black revolution and a
Negro revolution
 Argues revolution is for land, and is carried out through bloodshed
 Cites American, French and Russian revolutions – later cites
Chinese, Mau Mau, and Algerian – then cites Cuba,
 Then shows black folks have bled in American wars (Korea and
WWII) and at home by USA government
 “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 are going to get violent
with Hitler, and Tojo, and somebody else you don’t even know?”
 No such thing as non-violent revolution
 Says negro revolution is non-violent
 Black revolution is black nationalism
 Shows negro vs black nationalism through the house negro vs
field negro analogy
 Modern house Negro Malcolm frames as an integrationist
 Says field negroes are the masses
 Notes that the white man uses field negro as a big gun against
revolution
o Cites King’s failure to desegregate Albany as example
o SCLC is in financial trouble and people lose faith
o Local leaders are not gaining control and not national
leaders
o Cites Roy Wilkins attacking King and CORE (Congress of
Racial Equality) of starting problems and relying on NAACP
to clean them up
 In fighting means they no longer have control over
masses
 In Birmingham blacks stop nonviolent organizing,
begin talking about a march on Washington
 Kennedy sends troops to Birmingham and puts out
civil-rights bill – whites threaten filibuster – blacks
respond with shutting down congress and laying on
airport runways to stop airplanes – Malcolm cites
this as black revolution and states it is the
grassroots
o Kennedy wants negro leaders to call off the march
 Can’t because this is the grassroots organizers
 Cites meeting at Carlyle Hotel of Stephen Currier
and top civil rights leaders and they set up Council
for United Civil Rights Leadership
 Fund-raising purposes
 Whitney Young and Currier the co-chair
 Gives 800,000 to split amongst big 6
organizations and after march they would
receive 700,000
 Then takeover the march
 Shows that whites joined the march/took it
over did not integrate it – says march
became a circus