White society _hates_ to hear anybody, especially a black man, talk about the crime the white man has perpetrated on the black man. I have always understood that’s why I have been so frequently called “a revolutionist.” It sounds as if _I_ have done some crime! Well, it may be the American black man does need to become involved in a _real_ revolution. The word for “revolution” in German is _Umwalzung_. What it means is a complete overturn-a complete change. The overthrow of King Farouk in Egypt and the succession of President Nasser is an example of a true revolution. It means the destroying of an old system, and its replacement with a new system. Another example is the Algerian revolution, led by Ben Bella; they threw out the French who had been there over 100 years. So how does anybody sound talking about the Negro in America waging some “revolution”? Yes, he is condemning a system-but he’s not trying to overturn the system, or to destroy it. The Negro’s so-called “revolt” is merely an asking to be _accepted_ into the existing system! A _true_ Negro revolt might entail, for instance, fighting for separate black states within this country-which several groups and individuals have advocated, long before Elijah Muhammad came along.
When the white man came into this country, he certainly wasn’t demonstrating any “nonviolence.” In fact, the very man whose name symbolizes non-violence here today has stated:
“Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles over racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it. Our children are still taught to respect the violence which reduced a red-skinned people of an earlier culture into a few fragmented groups herded into impoverished reservations.” “Peaceful coexistence!” That’s another one the white man has always been quick to cry. Fine! But what have been the deeds of the white man? During his entire advance through history, he has been waving the banner of Christianity … and carrying in his other hand the sword and the flintlock.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
