Eulogy delivered by Ossie Davis at the funeral of Malcolm X
Faith Temple Church Of God
February 27,1965
"Here - at this final hour, in this quiet place - Harlem has come to bid
farewell to one of its brightest hopes -extinguished now, and gone from us
forever. For Harlem is where he worked and where he struggled and fought -
his home of homes, where his heart was, and where his people are - and
it is, therefore, most fitting that we meet once again - in Harlem - to
share these last moments with him. For Harlem has ever been gracious
to those who have loved her, have fought her, and have defended her
honor even to the death.
It is not in the memory of man that this beleaguered, unfortunate, but
nonetheless proud community has found a braver, more gallant young champion
than this Afro-American who lies before us - unconquered still. I say the
word again, as he would want me to : Afro-American - Afro-American Malcolm,
who was a master, was most meticulous in his use of words. Nobody knew
better than he the power words have over minds of men. Malcolm had
stopped being a 'Negro' years ago. It had become too small, too puny, too
weak a word for him. Malcolm was bigger than that. Malcolm had become
an Afro-American and he wanted - so desperately - that we, that all his
people, would become Afro-Americans too.
There are those who will consider it their duty, as friends of the Negro
people, to tell us to revile him, to flee, even from the presence of his
memory, to save ourselves by writing him out of the history of our
turbulent times.
Many will ask what Harlem finds to honor in this stormy, controversial and
bold young captain - and we will smile. Many will say turn away - away
from this man, for he is not a man but a demon, a monster, a subverter
and an enemy of the black man - and we will smile. They will say that
he is of hate - a fanatic, a racist - who can only bring evil to the cause
for which you struggle! And we will answer and say to them : Did you ever
talk to Brother Malcolm? Did you ever touch him, or have him smile at you?
Did you ever really listen to him? Did he ever do a mean thing? Was he
ever himself associated with violence or any public disturbance? For if
you did you would know him. And if you knew him you would know why
we must honor him.
Malcolm was our manhood, our living, black manhood! This was his meaning to
his people. And, in honoring him, we honor the best in ourselves. Last year,
from Africa, he wrote these words to a friend: 'My journey', he says, 'is
almost ended, and I have a much broader scope than when I started out,
which I believe will add new life and dimension to our struggle for freedom
and honor and dignity in the States. I am writing these things so that you
will know for a fact the tremendous sympathy and support we have among
the African States for our Human Rights struggle. The main thing is that
we keep a United Front wherein our most valuable time and energy will not
be wasted fighting each other.' However we may have differed with him - or
with each other about him and his value as a man - let his going from us
serve only to bring us together, now.
Consigning these mortal remains to earth, the common mother of all, secure
in the knowledge that what we place in the ground is no more now a man -
but a seed - which, after the winter of our discontent, will come forth
again to meet us. And we will know him then for what he was and is -
a Prince - our own black shining Prince! - who didn't hesitate to die,
because he loved us so."
end
***
Quote of the Day
June 10, 2007
'I hope that you will treasure the approaches and ways
of thinking that you have learned more than the facts
you have accumulated. For you will never discover a
scarcity of facts, and these facts will be presented in
such a way as to veil the ways of thinking embedded in
them. And so to reveal these hidden ways of thinking,
to suggest alternate frameworks, to imagine better ways
of living in evolving worlds, to imagine new human
relations that are freed from persisting hierarchies,
whether they be racial or sexual or geopolitical - yes,
I think this is the work of educated beings. I might
then ask you to think about education as the practice
of freedom. '
Angela Davis
Professor, University of California,
Santa Cruz
Commencement address at Grinnell College
***
Brahmanism: This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause
you pain if done to you.: Mahabharata 5:1517
Christianity: All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do
ye even so to them.: Matthew 7:12
Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother what
which he desires for himself. Sunnah
Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.:
Udana Varga 5:18
Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowmen. That is the
entire Law; all the rest is commentary.: Talmud, Shabbat 31:a
Confucianism: Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not unto others
that you would not have them do unto you.: Analects 15:23
Taoism: Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's
loss as your own loss.: T'ai Shag Kan Ying P'ien
Zoroastrianism: That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto
another whatsoever is not good: for itself. : Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5
***
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the
citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a
double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the
mind...And when the drums of war have reached a fevor pitch and the
blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no
need in seizing the rights of the citizenry, Rather, the citizenry,
infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of
their rights unto the leader, and gladly so. How do I know? For this is
what I have done. And I am Caeser." William Shakespeare
***
"Quotes That Make You Think." by RexBarker
"I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts."
-- Will Rogers
"Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It
takes a touch of genius--and a lot of courage--to move in the opposite
direction."--Albert Einstein
"In order for three people to keep a secret, two must be dead."
-- Ben Franklin
"Anatomy (n): something everyone has, but which looks better on a girl."
-- Bruce Raeburn
"I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of
liking them."-- Jane Austen
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go."
-- Oscar Wilde
"Why don?t you write books people can read?"-
- Nora Joyce, to her husband, James
"Few things are harder to put up with than a good example."- Mark Twain
"Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's
not why we do it."-- Richard Feynman
"When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never
tried before."-- Mae West
The two greatest obstacles to democracy in the United States are, first,
the widespread delusion among the poor that we have a democracy, and
second, the chronic terror among the rich, lest we get it."
- Edward Dowling, Editor and Priest, Chicago Daily News, 28jul41
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