Malcolm X delivers a provocative speech comparing the historical dynamics of house and field slaves to the modern civil rights movement. He challenges the philosophy of non-violence, causing a deep internal conflict for Louis as he reflects on his father's profession and his own activism.
MALCOLM X: Back during slavery, there were two kinds of negroes, there was the house negro and the field negro. The house negro lived better than the field negro. He ate better, he dressed better, and he lived right up next to his master. Then you had the field negro who hated the master because they caught hell and felt the sting of the lash. And today you still have house negroes and field negroes! The same old slave masters today have house negroes, who are nothing more than 20th century Uncle Tom’s keeping us passive in non-violence.
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