Malcolm X Page #39

GROUPS OF BURNOOSED SUPPORTERS ON THE STREETS OF JEDDA, SAUDI

ARABIA.

BETTY'S VOICE

I arrived in Jedda, Saudi Arabia. I

have never witnessed such sincere...

INT. AUDUBON BALLROOM - NIGHT

Betty is reading Malcolm's letter to a LARGE AUDIENCE.

BETTY:

...hospitality and true brotherhood

as practiced here in the ancient

home of Abraham, Mohammad and the

great prophets of the Scriptures..."

INT/EXT. MECCA - DAY/NIGHT

-- Malcolm, wearing the garb of a pilgrim, walks with a VAST

THRONG OF OTHERS, similarly clad, around the Great Temple.

He wears two white towels, one over his loins, the other

over his neck and shoulder, leaving the right arm and shoulder

bare. He wears simple sandals. The other pilgrims are of

various colors:
from white, to yellow, to darkest black.

-- Malcolm and OTHER PILGRIMS kneeling together on a praying

rug.

-- Malcolm and SEVERAL WHITE PILGRIMS eating Muslim-style;

breaking a chicken and shaking it.

-- Malcolm and OTHERS walking around the Great Kaaba, a black

stone set in the middle of the Great Mosque. He falls to his

knees. WE SEE what he describes:

MALCOLM'S VOICE

Today, with thousands of others, I

proclaimed God's greatness in the

Holy City of Mecca. Wearing the Ihram

garb I made my seven circuits around

the Kaaba; I drank from the well of

Zem Zem; I prayed to Allah from Mt.

Ararat where the Ark landed. It was

the only time in my life that I stood

before the Creator of all and felt

like a complete human being.

INT. ELIJAH'S HOME - NIGHT

Elijah and a GROUP OF BLACK MUSLIM LEADERS. Bembry among

them, it looks like he is the number two man now that Malcolm

has been jettisoned. The Messenger lies in bed, he is having

a coughing fit, this is the worst condition he's been in. A

DOCTOR orders everyone out the room.

MALCOLM'S VOICE

You may be shocked by these words,

but I have eaten from the same plate,

drunk from the same glass and prayed

to the same God with fellow Muslims

whose eyes were blue, whose hair was

blond and whose skin was the whitest

of whites. And we are brothers, truly;

people of all colors and races

believing in One God and one humanity.

Once before, in prison, the truth

came and blinded me. It has happened

again...

INT. MALCOLM'S HOME - NIGHT

Betty is with Brothers Earl, Benjamin 2X, and the children.

There are now four including another BABY - GAMILAH

MALCOLM'S VOICE

In the past, I have permitted myself

to be used to make sweeping

indictments of all white people, and

these generalizations have caused

injuries to some white folks who did

not deserve them. Because of the

spiritual rebirth which I was blessed

to undergo as a result of my

pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca,

I no longer subscribe to sweeping

indictments of one race. I intend to

be careful not to sentence anyone

who has not been proven guilty. I'm

not a racist and do not subscribe to

any of the tenets of racism. In all

honesty and sincerity it can be stated

that I wish nothing but freedom,

justice and equality: life, liberty,

and the pursuit of happiness for all

people.

SHOT. Malcolm is bent over in prayer, lone figure in a huge

mosque.

MALCOLM'S VOICE

My first concern, of course, is with

the group to which I belong, the

Afro-Americans, for we, more than

any other, are deprived of these

inalienable rights.

SHOT. Malcolm on a plane headed home.

MALCOLM'S VOICE

I believe the true practice of Islam

can remove the cancer of racism from

the hearts and souls of white

Americans.

EXT. JFK AIRPORT - DAY

A TIGHT TWO-SHOT of Malcolm and Betty in an embrace. She

breaks from him and whispers: "Go ahead. I can wait now."

INT. JFK AIRPORT - DAY

A large PRESS CONFERENCE: mikes of every network, every

newspaper and wire service present. Malcolm sports a beard.

MALCOLM:

Let's begin.

REPORTER #1

Malcolm, you said on your trip abroad

you sensed a feeling of great

brotherhood.

MALCOLM:

As I recall, I pointed out that while

I was in Mecca making the pilgrimage,

I spoke about the brotherhood that

existed at all levels among all

people, all colors who had accepted

the religion of Islam. I pointed out

that what it had done, Islam, for

those people despite their complexion

differences, that it would probably

do America well to study the religion

of Islam and perhaps it could drive

some of the racism from this society.

Muslims look upon themselves as human

beings, as part of the human family

and therefore look upon all other

segments of the human family as part

of that same family. Today my friends

are black, brown, red, yellow and

white.

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