Question
Here is the question : IN A 1964 SPEECH IN NEW YORK, MALCOLM X SAID, “WE DIDN’T LAND ON” WHAT?
Option
Here is the option for the question :
- The moon
- Our feet
- Time
- Plymouth Rock
The Answer:
And, the answer for the the question is :
Explanation:
In a fiery, Easter night speech from the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, Malcolm X detailed the plight of Black Americans who, generations before, were brought to the United States against their will. Malcolm X declared, “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock. We were hit by the rock.
Malcolm X was a prominent Muslim minister and human rights activist. In 1964, he delivered a speech in Manhattan proclaiming that African Americans “didn’t land on Plymouth Rock – Plymouth Rock landed on us!” The statement was a rejection of the Pilgrims’ arrival at Plymouth as the origin story of the United States. Malcolm X argued that this narrative erased the genocide and oppression of Native peoples, as well as the immense suffering of Africans under slavery and racism.
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in 1925. He became a member of the Nation of Islam in 1946 and quickly rose to become one of its most influential leaders. Malcolm X rejected the integrationism of Martin Luther King Jr. in favor of Black empowerment, autonomy and even separation. He believed Black Americans should be proud of their identity, history and rights – not assimilate into a white-dominated society.
Malcolm X was a forceful critic of racism in all its forms. He condemned not just the oppression of Black people but also the erasure of their history, identity and role in building the U.S. For Malcolm X, the Pilgrims at Plymouth were symbolic of a false and whitewashed origin story. One that ignored the genocide of Native tribes, the enslavement of Africans, and the systemic racism that would shape America for centuries.
In “Plymouth Rock” speech, Malcolm X declared:
“We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us! We were here long before the Pilgrims. You know that. You know that you can’t even write Amurican history truthfully, not without including Black people in it. So it’s time now for Black people to start writing our history…from the start, from Africa, right up through now.”
Malcolm X saw the nation’s history as one of oppression, not liberation. And he refused to legitimize any narrative that erased Black suffering or identity in the name of unity. For Malcolm X, empowerment came through pride in roots and heritage – not assimilation into a system that had exploited Black lives for centuries.
Though controversial, Malcolm X was a pioneering voice calling for Black empowerment, autonomy and a reclaimed history. His fiery rhetoric inspired activists for generations, confronting racism in all its forms – both overt and institutional. Malcolm X rejected the pilgrims at Plymouth as symbols of a false unity and truncated history. He declared that Black identity, rights and agency were not granted by white society, but innate and timeless.
Malcolm X was a radical leader, championing separation over integration and Black power over performative inclusion. But his vision was one of justice, purpose and truth. Rejecting illusions of unity to empower communities and reclaim history – not divide them. Malcolm X gave voice to struggles that still resonate today. His revolutionary spirit shall never be silenced.
Malcolm X proved that implacable opposition to racism could be both radical and righteous. His famous “Plymouth Rock” speec