Malcolm's Last Speech Analysis

At the first glance, especially after reading the essential last speeches of Malcolm, there seems to be a tremendous overlap in his and Stokely’s theoretical and practical positions. Both strongly favor the empowerment of African Americans and other oppressed peoples around the world. While his early conceptual work echoes many of the central themes of Malcolm’s philosophy, Carmichael makes hardly any direct references to him in his writings or his speeches. As we will see later on, despite the at times broad conceptual overlaps, his thinking, at least until 1967, remains firmly grounded in the concept of U.S. pluralism. Carmichael, who ascribed as much, if not even more value to the symbolic than to the actual political importance of gaining the right to vote, did not cease to encourage people to organize their communities and change the institutionally racist structure by replacing White personnel with community-oriented members of the African American community. Stokely, who continued to struggle with the question to whether class or race would be the more viable choice to form lasting alliances, would eventually opt for the second option. Both Malcolm and Stokely promoted intellectual independence and reflection as key values of individual and group progress. The reminded their listeners that it was …show more content…
Most pronounced in his popular “House Negro” vs. “Field Negro” differentiation, Malcolm usually combined his critique of the African American elite with repeated calls for Black unity. However, from the very beginning, solidarity with other colonized people was central to this understanding of unity, as Malcolm reminded his listeners that they were all in the same boat and were fighting a highly interrelated struggle against White racism and