Malcolm X Page #34

COED:

Mr. X, I've read some of your speeches

and I honestly believe a lot of what

you say has truth to it. I have a

good heart. I'm a good person despite

my whiteness. What can the good white

people like myself, who are not

prejudiced, or racist, what can we

do to help the cause?

CLOSE - MALCOLM

He stares at her.

MALCOLM:

Nothing!

CLOSE - COED

She is absolutely crushed and runs away in tears.

INT. HARVARD LAW SCHOOL - DAY

Speaking to a packed STUDENT AUDIENCE.

MALCOLM:

...My high school was the black ghetto

of Roxbury. My college was the streets

of Harlem, and I took my masters in

prison. If you look out the window --

SHOT MALCOLM'S OLD GANG HANGOUT

MALCOLM'S VOICE

-- you can see my burglary hangout.

I lived like an animal. Had it not

been for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad

I would surely be in an insane asylum

or dead.

ANGLE - The audience carefully listening.

MALCOLM:

Mr. Muhammad is trying to get us on

God's side, so God will be on our

side to help us fight our battles.

When Negroes stop getting drunk,

stop being addicted to drugs, stop

fornicating and committing adultery.

When we get off the welfare, then

we'll be MEN. Earn what you need for

your family, then your family respects

you. They'll be proud to say "That's

my father." She's proud to say "That's

my husband..." Father means you're

taking care of those children. Just

'cause you made them that don't mean

you're a father. Anybody can make a

baby, but anybody can't take care of

them. Anyone can go and get a woman

but anybody can't take care of a

woman. This is the type of teaching

that the honorable Elijah Muhammad

teaches us so we can build the moral

fiber of our people.

SHOT OF REPORTERS IN AUDIENCE

Beginning to scribble furiously.

MALCOLM:

I can see the gentlemen of the press,

also the FBI and CIA are with us.

Get it straight 'cuz if I said, "Mary

had a little lamb," they'd write

Malcolm X lampoons poor Mary.

Loud laughter from the audience. But this response is

overwhelmed by the response of ANOTHER, LARGER AUDIENCE.

INT. MONSTER RALLY - NIGHT

Malcolm is talking before an all-black audience. It is the

largest rally yet; the hall is packed to the rafters.

MALCOLM:

We have built temples in Boston, in

Detroit, in Atlanta, Philadelphia,

Washington -- 100 temples in fifty

states. From a handful we have grown

to scores of thousands.

VARIOUS SHOTS OF THE RALLY

HAWKERS selling The Messenger, faces of Fruit of Islam near

the podium; Lorraine, Sidney, Earl, Benjamin, and Bembry.

For the first time a new note is seen in Bembry's face:

reserve bordering on resentment. When others around him cheer

Malcolm, Bembry is cool.

Sidney notices this from his father, but makes no comment.

MALCOLM/HIS VOICE

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches

us that God is now about to establish

a kingdom on this earth based on

brotherhood and

([...])

against peace, his history on this

earth has proved that. Nowhere in

history has he been brotherly toward

anyone. The only time he has been

brotherly toward you is when he can

use you, when he can exploit you,

when he can oppress you, when you

will submit to him. And since his

own history makes him unqualified to

be an inhabitant or a citizen in a

kingdom of brotherhood, the Honorable

Elijah Muhammad teaches us that God

is about to eliminate that particular

race from this earth. So since they

are due for elimination, we don't

want to be with them.

ANGLE - CROWD

CLOSE - MALCOLM

MALCOLM:

If the so-called Negro were American

citizens we wouldn't have a race

problem. If the Emancipation

Proclamation was authentic, you

wouldn't have a race problem. If the

13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to

the Constitution was authentic, you

wouldn't have a race problem. If the

Supreme Court desegregation decision

was authentic, you wouldn't have a

race problem. All of this is

hypocrisy. These Negro leaders have

been telling the white man everything

is all right, everything is under

control. And they've been telling

the white man that Mr. Muhammad is

wrong, don't listen to him. But

everything Mr. Muhammad has been

saying is going to come to pass is

now coming to pass and now the Negro

leaders are standing up saying that

we are about to have a racial

explosion. We're going to have a

racial explosion and that's more

dangerous than an atomic explosion.

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