Malcolm X – The House Negro and the Field Negro

https://youtu.be/7kf7fujM4ag this modern house negro loves his master

he wants to live near him he'll pay
to understand this you have to go back three times as much as the house is
to what young brother here referred to worth
as the house negro just to live [ __ ] master and then brag
and the field negro back during slavery about i'm the only negro out here
there was two kind of slaves there was i'm the only one on my job i'm the only
the house negro in the field negro the one in this school you
house negro nothing but a house negro
they lived in the house with master they and if someone come to you right now and
dressed pretty good say let's separate
they ate good because they eat his food you say the same thing that the house
what he left negro said on the plantation
they lived in the attic or the basement what you mean separate from america
but still they live near their master this good white man where are you going
and they love their master more than the to get a better job than you get here
master loved himself i mean this is what you say i ain't left
they would they would give their life to nothing in africa that's what you say
save their master's house why you left your mind in africa
quicker than the master would on that same plantation there was the
the house negro if the master said we got a field negro
good house here the house negro said yeah, the field negro those were the masses
we got a good house here whenever the there was always more negroes in the
master said we he said we that's how you field than there was negroes in the
can tell a house negro house
if the masters if the master's house the negro in the field caught hell
caught on fire he ate leftovers
the house negro would fight harder to put in the house they ate high up on the
the blaze out then the master would hull
if the master got sick the house negro the negro in the field didn't get
would say what's the matter boss we nothing but what was left of the insides
think breathed it of the hog
[Music] they call them shetlands nowadays
he identified himself with his master in those days they call them what they
more than his master identified with were guts
himself that's what you were a gut eater
and if you came to the house negro and and some of you are all still gut eaters
said let's run away [Applause]
let's escape let's separate the field negro was beaten from one
that house negro would look at you and until night
say man you crazy he lived in a shack in a hut
what you mean separate where is there a he wore cast off clothes
better house and he hated his master i say he hated
than this where can i wear better his master
clothes he was intelligent that house negro
than this where can i eat better food loved his master but that field negro
than this remember
that was that house negro in those days they were in the majority and they hated
he was called a house [ __ ] the master
and that's what we call him today when the house caught on fire he didn't
because we still got some house [ __ ] try and put it out that field negro
running around here
Malcolm X – The House Negro and the Field Negro

prayed for a win thing to you in the street

for a breeze when he want to put knots on your head
when the master got sick to feel negro and take advantage of you and don't have
prayed that he died to be afraid of your fighting back
if someone come to the field negro and to keep you from fighting back you get
said let's separate let's these old religious uncle toms
run he didn't say where are we going he to teach you and me they're just like
said any place is better than him novacaine suffer peacefully
[Applause] don't stop suffering just suffer
you got field negroes in america today peacefully
i'm a field negro as reverend clique pointed out let your
the masses are the field negroes when blood flow in the streets
they see this man's house on fire you this is a shame and you know he's a
don't hear these christian preacher if it's a shame to
little negroes talking about our him
government is in trouble you know what it is to me
they say the government is in trouble because nothing in our book the quran
imagine a negro our government as you call it quran teaches us to
i even heard one say our astronauts suffer peacefully
they won't even let him near the plant our religion teaches us to be
and our astronauts intelligent
our navy that's a negro that's out of be peaceful be courteous
his mind obey the law respect everyone
that's a negro that's out of his mind but if someone puts his hand on you send
just as the slave master in that day them to the cemetery
used tom the house negro that's a good religion
to keep the field negroes in check in fact that's not all old-time religion
the same old slave master today has [Applause]
negroes that's the one that ma and paul used to
who are nothing but modern uncle toms talk about
20th century uncle times to keep you and an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
me in check tooth
keep us under control keep us passive and a head for a head and a length for a
and peaceful life
and non-violent that's tom that's a good religion and then anybody
making you non-violent it's like when no one resents that kind of religion
you go to the dentist being taught
and the man is gonna take your tooth but a wolf who intends to make you his
you're gonna fight him when he start meal
pulling this is the way it is with the white man
so they squirt some stuff in your jaw in america
called he's a wolf and you're a sheep
novoking to make you think they're not anytime a shepherd a pastor
doing anything to you teach you and me not to run from the
so you sit there and curse you got all white man
that novocaine in your jaw and at the same time teachers don't
you suffer peacefully fight a white man
blood running all down your jaw he's a traitor to you and me
and you don't know what's happening don't lay down our life all by itself
because someone has taught you to suffer no preserve your life
peacefully the white man do the same it's the best thing you got and if you
Malcolm X – The House Negro and the Field Negro

got to give it up and other parts of the country local

let it be even stephen leaders
the slave master took tom and dressed begin to stir up our people at the
him well grassroots level
and fed him well and even gave him a this was never done by these negroes
little education a little education whom you recognize
gave him a long coat and a top hat of national statute they controlled you
and made all the other slaves look up to but they never incited you or excited
him then he used tom to control them you
the same strategy that was used in those they controlled you they contained you
days they kept you on the plantation
is used today by the same white man as soon as king failed in birmingham
he take a negro so-called negro and make negros took to the streets
him prominent king got out and went out to california
build him up publicize him to a big rally and raise about
make him a celebrity and then he becomes i don't know how many thousands of
a spokesman for negro dollars come to detroit and had a march
and a negro leader and raised some more thousands of
[Music] dollars
[Applause] and recall right after that wilkins
i would like to just mention one thing attack king
else quickly and that is accused king in the core of starting
the the uh method that the trouble everywhere and then making the
white man uses how the white man uses naacp get him out of
these jail and spend a lot of money and then
big guns or negro leaders against the he accused king and core of raising all
black revolution the money and not paying it back this
they're not a part of the black happened
revolution they're used against the i got it in documented evidence in the
black revolution newspaper
when martin luther king failed to roy started attacking king and king
desegregate albany georgia started attacking roy and
the civil rights struggle in america farmers started attacking both of them
reached its low point and as these negroes of national stature
king became bankrupt almost as a leader began to attack
plus even financially the southern each other they began to lose their
christian leadership conference control of the negro masses
was in financial trouble plus it was in and negros was out there in the streets
trouble period they was talking about we gonna march on
with the people when they failed to uh washington
desegregate by the way and right at that time
albany georgia other birmingham had exploded and the negroes
negro civil rights leaders of so-called in birmingham remember they also
national stature exploded
became fallen idols they began to stab the crackers in the
as they became fallen idols began to back and bust them upside the head yes
lose their prestige and influence they did
local negro leaders begin to stir up the that's when kennedy sent in the truth
masses down in birmingham
in cambridge maryland gloria richardson so and right after that kennedy got on
in danville major uh danville virginia the television and said
Malcolm X – The House Negro and the Field Negro

this is a moral issue that's when he the very a matter of hours went by
said he's going to put out a civil they had a meeting at the carlisle hotel
rights bill in new york city the carlisle hotel is
and when he mentioned civil rights bill owned
and the southern crackers started by the kennedy family that's the hotel
talking about they were going to kennedy spent the night
boycott it or filibustered in the negro at two nights ago belongs to his family
start talking about what a philanthropic society headed by a
we're going to march on washington march white man named steven courier
on the senate march on the white house called all the top civil rights leaders
march on the congress and tie it up together
bring it to a halt at the carlisle hotel and told them
don't let the government proceed they that by you all fighting each other
even said they were going to go out to you're destroying the civil rights
the airport movement
and lay down on the runaway and don't and since you're fighting over money
let no airplanes land from white liberals
i'm telling you what they said that was let us set up what's known as the
revolution council for united civil rights
there was revolution that was the black leadership
revolution this form this council and all the civil
it was the grass roots out there in the rights organizations will
street belong to it and we'll use it for
scared the white man to death scared the fundraising purposes let me show you how
white power structure in washington dc tricky the white man is
to death i was there and as soon as they got it formed they
when they found out that this black elected uh
steamroller was going to come down on uh whitney young as the chairman and who
the capitol you think became the co-chairman
they called in wilkins they called in stephen courier the white man a
randolph millionaire
they called in these national negro powell was talking about it down at the
leaders as you respect cobo today
and told them call it off this is what he was talking about powell
kennedy said look you're all letting knows what happened
this thing go too far randolph knows it happened wilkins knows
an old tom said boss i can't stop it what happened king knows it happened
because i didn't start it every one of that so-called big six
i'm telling you what they said they said they know what happened
i'm not even in it once they formed it with the white man
much less at the head of it they said over it
these negroes are doing things on their he promised them and gave them 800
own 000 to split up between the big six
they're running ahead of us and that old and told them that after the march was
shrewd fox over they'd give them seven hundred
he said well if you all aren't in it thousand
i'll put you in it more a million and a half dollars
i'll put you at the head of it i'll split up between leaders that you've
endorse it been following
i'll welcome it i'll help it i'll join going to jail for crying crocodile tears
it for
Malcolm X – The House Negro and the Field Negro

and ain't nothing but frank james and they didn't integrate it they
jesse james infiltrated it they
and what you call it brothers joined it became a part of it took it
soon as they they got the setup over
organized and as they took it over it lost its
the white men made available to them top militancy
public relations they ceased to be angry they ceased to
experts open the news media across the be hot
country at their disposal they ceased to be uncompromising why it
and then they begin to project these big even ceased to be a march it became a
six picnic
as the leaders of the march originally a circus
they weren't even in the march nothing but a circus with clowns and all
you was talking this much talk on haston you had one right here in detroit i saw
street is hasting street still here it on television
on hasten street you were talking to with clowns leading it white clowns and
march talk on linux avenue black clowns
and down on uh what you call it filler i know you don't like what i'm saying
mall street but i'm gonna tell you anyway
in central avenue and 32nd street and because i can prove what i'm saying if
63rd street you think i'm telling you wrong you
that's where the march talk was being bring me
talked but the white men put the big six martin luther king and eight philip
ahead of it randolph and james farmer and
made them the march they became the those other three and see if they'll
march deny it
they took it over and the first move over a microphone no it was a sellout
they made after they took it over it was a takeover when james baldwin
they invited walter ruther a white man came in from paris they wouldn't let him
they invited a priest uh talk
a rabbi and an old white preacher because they couldn't make him go by the
yes a whole white preacher script
the same white element that put kennedy brought lancaster where this beast and
in power baldwin were supposed to make
labor the catholics they wouldn't let baldwin get out there
the jews in liberal protestants because they know baldwin liable to say
same clique that put kennedy in power anything
joined they controlled it so tight they told
the march on washington it's just like those negroes what time to hit town
when you got some coffee it is too black how to come where to stop
which means it's too strong what you do what sign to carry what song to sing
you integrate it with cream what speech they could make and what
you make it weak speech they couldn't make
if you pour too much cream in you won't and then told them to get out of town by
even know you ever had coffee sundown
it used to be hot it becomes cool and every one of those times we're out
it used to be strong it becomes weak of town by sundown
it used to wake you up now it'll put you now i know you don't like mine saying
to sleep this but i can back it up
this is what they did with the march on it was a circus a performance that beat
washington they joined it anything hollywood
Malcolm X – The House Negro and the Field Negro

could ever do the performance of the loved negroes and fooled a whole lot of
year negro and the six negro leaders should get
ruther and those other three devils a
should get a an award too
uh academy award for the best actors for the best supporting cast
because they acted like they really
Malcolm X – The House Negro and the Field Negro

QUESTIONS

1. Explain the main differences between a house negro and a field negro

A house negro A field negro

2. Why can the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement can be compared to a house negro,
according to Malcolm?
3. Malcolm’s criticism of MLK: sum up the main points.
4. What is the take-home message of this speech?
5. Can we consider this to be a hate speech? If so, why?