Malcom X's "Message to the Grassroots" speech was very meaningful. This speech was a long and in depth message about how the "negroes" are treated horribly and unequally by white people. He talks about how the white man is the common enemy and must be stopped. He wants everyone to be treated equally, "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 'cause you're a Baptist, and you don't catch hell 'cause you're a Methodist. You don't catch hell 'cause you're a Methodist or Baptist. You don't catch hell because you're a Democrat or a Republican. You don't catch hell because you're a Mason or an Elk. And you sure don't catch hell 'cause you're an American; 'cause if you was an American, you wouldn't catch no hell. You catch hell 'cause you're a black man. You catch hell, all of us catch hell, for the same reason." This is a quote from Malcom X's "message to the grassroots speech and really gets his point across. After doing research on the topic of this speech I learned about how bad the hardships of African Americans were, I had not previously understood that. I had listened to Malcom X's speech but I truly learned after the research, that indeed, Africa Americans were treated very unequally. I learned about the Jim Crow laws and about how everyone was "separate but equal," but this really was meant to make African Americans not equal to whites. I learned about the racial caste system that was created. The research I did showed me the true meaning behind Malcom X's "Message to the Grassroots" speech, white people were treating African Americans like they were not even people, like they were new-age slaves. 

  In "Message to the Grassroots," Malcom X uses real life examples to prove his statement, that the white man is the common enemy. Examples of African Americans being treated unequally was basically the segregation of public life, such as whites and blacks having to use different water fountains, bathrooms and just having to even live in different places. They had to sit in the back of the bus and even could not eat at some restaurants. I had known that blacks had to use different bathrooms, use different bathrooms and eat at different restaurants, but I learned from research that there was a lot more to it than that. Blacks could not show affection towards anyone in public. If a black male offered a handshake to a white male, it would imply that they were socially equal so therefore that was not allowed. Some things were even more extreme such as the fact that if a black male offered a handshake or anything like that to a white woman then it would be deemed as rape. Rape is a lot more than shaking someone's hand to say hello, white people found anyway they could to put African Americans lower than them. There was basically a racial caste system created. The laws that enacted all of this were the Jim Crow laws. (http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm).  In addition to the Jim Crow laws there was also just socially accepted rules of life. If a black and white person were both at an intersection than the white person always had the right of way, no matter what circumstances. Blacks never received titles such as Mr. or Mrs., they were called by their first names, but no blacks were allowed to call whites by their first names. Malcom X said in this speech, "So we are all black people, so-called Negroes, second-class citizens, ex-slaves. You are nothing but a [sic] ex-slave. You don't like to be told that. But what else are you? You are ex-slaves. You didn't come here on the "Mayflower." You came here on a slave ship  --  in chains, like a horse, or a cow, or a chicken. And you were brought here by the people who came here on the "Mayflower." You were brought here by the so-called Pilgrims, or Founding Fathers. They were the ones who brought you here". In this quote he is talking about how African Americans were treated like they were nothing compared to whites. This quote goes back to what I learned about how African Americans, while not still slaves, were treated exactly like them, just through different methods. It had just become known in society that whites were above African Americans and that African Americans were basically just occupying space in the white mans world. 

On top of just being treated badly in society, African Americans were constantly in fear that the KKK would come and murder them, and their family for not being white. The KKK had many ties with businesses, politics and religion, so it was hard for African Americans to escape it and be treated equal. They used intimidation and violence to get the point across that whites dominate blacks. African Americans were not only in fear that they would not get a job, or that they would not find a home, or that they would not be able to afford food to feed their family, they were in fear constantly that they would be tortured and murdered by the KKK. (Racism and birth of the KKK during the early 20th Century, Karen Bang). Listening to Malcom X's speech, I heard about African Americans having it bad, but not until my research did I really understand how horrible things were for them. 

The huge problem with it all was the fact that there were actual laws in place to set the majority of these rules. So if African Americans wanted to stick up for themselves then they would just be beaten and imprisoned for it. The way the laws were written was to make them sound official but also put them in a way that blacks could be discriminated. Also every southern state had taken in these racist laws so there was no way for African Americans to escape them. All of African Americans civil, public and private rights were constantly being violated. They had all of their respect denied from them. (http://www.kawvalley.k12.ks.us/brown_v_board/segregation.htm).

The main thing I learned from doing this research was that there was much more to it than just what Malcom X said. I learned about all of the hardships they endured, the fact that they were constantly in fear. I learned the true meaning behind this speech, that African Americans were not just treated poorly, but they were terrorized and treated like specs of dirt. I learned why Malcom X felt like the white man was the common enemy. Malcom X said in his speech, "We have a common enemy. We have this in common: We have a common oppressor, a common exploiter, and a common discriminator. But once we all realize that we have this common enemy, then we unite on the basis of what we have in common. And what we have foremost in common is that enemy  --  the white man. He's an enemy to all of us. I know some of you all think that some of them aren't enemies. Time will tell." Time did tell in the end. African Americans were fed up and finally won the civil rights battle and today are just as equal as whites. It all just shows that if you stick up for what you believe in, then you will succeed no matter what you go through to find that success. 

 

