To many of you here at the Harvard Law School Forum this evening, this sounds ridiculous; to some it even sounds insane. But these 20 million black people here in America now number a nation in their own right. Do you believe a nation within another nation can be successful? Especially when they both have equal education?
Once the slave has his master’s education, the slave wants to be like his master, wants to share his master’s property, and even wants to exercise the same privileges as his master even while he is yet in his master’s house.
This is the CORE of America’s troubles today; and there will be no peace for America as long as 20 million so-called Negroes are here BEGGING for the rights which America knows she will never grant us.
Even this limited education America has granted her ex-slaves has already produced great unrest ... and Almighty God says the only way for America to ever have any future peace or prosperity is for her 20 million ex-slaves to be SEPARATED from her ... and it is for this reason that Mr. Muhammad teaches us that we must have some land of our own.
If we receive equal education, how long do you expect us to remain your passive servants, or second-class citizens? There is no such thing as a second-class citizen. We are FULL CITIZENS or we are not citizens at all.
When you teach a man the science of government he wants an equal part (or position) in that government ... or else he wants a government himself. He begins to demand equality with his master.
No man with equal education will serve you. The only way you can continue to rule us is with a superior knowledge, or by continuing to withhold equal education from our people.
America has not given us equal education, but she has given us enough to make us want more ... and to make us demand equality of opportunity ... and this is causing unrest ... plus international embarrassment ... thus the only solution is immediate SEPARATION.
As your colleges and universities turn out an ever increasing number of so-called Negro graduates with education equal to yours, they will automatically increase their demands for equality in EVERYTHING else. This equal education will increase their spirit of equality and make them feel that they should have EVERYTHING that you have, and their increasing demands will become a perpetual headache for you ... and continue to cause you international embarrassment.
In fact, the same Negro students you are turning out today will soon be demanding the same things you now hear being demanded by Mr. Muhammad and the Black Muslims.