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Remember Malcolm X?
Malcolm X was one of the most important figures in the American civil rights movement. Charismatic, brave, and fiercely intelligent, he was not afraid of speaking the truth, at a time when speaking the truth and taking a moral stance was probably going to get you killed.
If Malcolm X was alive today, I wonder how he’d feel. He was about more than standing up for the rights of African people, he was about standing up for the rights of people, period. Sadly there are still people who are oppressed. At this moment, the most oppressed people on earth are a population that he cared greatly about.
Last night I heard a speech that could have been made this week, and it would have been incredibly relevant. But it was made over half a century ago, by Malcolm X. I’ve transcribed the speech below and I’ve posted the YouTube link. X was a powerful orator, so the speech is worth reading and also listening to, to experience the weight of his delivery.
“The Palestinian struggle is not just a cry for justice, it’s a blistering battle for the most fundamental human rights, that every living soul on this planet should inherit by birthright. It’s an unyielding resistance against the oppressive suffocating grip of occupation and the callous denial of the most basic human dignity.
