(Delivered on the steps of Martin Luther King, jr's burial sight in Atlanta, GA on April 5, 2002).
For nearly thirty year, Americans suffered a great injustice. We were made to believe, excuse me tricked and deceived into believing Doctor/Reverend Martin Luther King, jr. was the most important civil rights leader. Today, we must face the truth that King, jr. was not the man we thought he was.
So we have come here today to correct those misleading notions. Think of the solution as a nation coming together to experience a joyful emotion, the truth. When the nation was attacked by terrorists on September 11, there were two things that we were yearning for. Those two things were justice and the truth. Today, nothing has changed. We are still in search of justice and the truth.
It would be fatal for us, Americans, to consider Martin Luther King, jr. as the only important civil rights leader. That erroneous belief must be destroyed. We must recognize other significant civil rights leaders like Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and Andrew Young.
Now lets take Malcolm X into consideration. Malcolm X was a man that Martin Luther King, jr. did not want to compromise with. If Mr. King was truly focused on our rights, he would of thought of ways to join forces with Malcolm X to accomplish greater goals. Instead King's unmindful ways caused them to work separately even though they were fighting for the same cause.
Martin Luther King, jr.'s problem with Malcolm X was that Malcolm X wanted to confront the situation. Malcolm X often said, "by any means necessary." This statement shows Malcolm X's willingness to sacrifice for the purpose of the greater good.
While Malcom X wanted us to contend with the problem, Martin Luther King, jr told us " to turn the other cheek." Basically, he told us to lay down and let people walk all over is. While Martin told us to be patient and wait for our turn, Malcolm X strived for results.
We cannot have a partial handle on the truth.