Prospects for Freedom: Then and Now

Yesterday, in celebration of Malcolm X's birthday,  I read his speech Prospects for Freedom in 1965. Delivered just a few weeks before X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom, the speech was insightful--compelling audience members to think about the actions of the U.S. government, various civil rights leaders and then, question how much freedom has really been allotted to the everyday man and woman. And is freedom achievable without peace?

In the speech, X argues that 1964 was the year of "illusion and delusion." He points out that while the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed, several incidents occurred in the same year (notablethe murders of civil rights workers Chaney, Scherwner and Goodman and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party being denied participation in the 1964 Democratic Convention proceedings) that should make African-Americans really question the notion of freedom and if it had indeed, really been achieved. And if it hadn't been achieved, what should African-Americans do to make sure that freedom and peace could in fact be achieved?

One of my favorite lines from the speech is actually at its beginning: ...you can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom. You can't separate the two—and this is the thing that makes 1965 so explosive and so dangerous. 

And his ending is just as powerful as the beginning. X declares:

Black people in 1965 will not be controlled by these Uncle Tom leaders, believe me; they won't be held in check, they won't be held on the plantation by these overseers, they won't be held on the corral, they won't be held back at all....So in 1965 we should see a lot of action. Since the old methods haven't worked, they'll be forced to try new methods.

Thinking about the great hope that African-Americans had during the Civil Rights Movement makes me wonder what are our prospects for freedom in 2014? Have we achieved enough peace to truly be free as Malcolm contended?