Speech at the Audubon Ballroom Quotes

Shmoop will make you a better lover...of quotes

ALL QUOTES POPULAR BROWSE BY AUTHOR BROWSE BY SOURCE BROWSE BY TOPIC BROWSE BY SUBJECT

Source: Speech at the Audubon Ballroom

Speaker: Malcolm X

We didn't land on Plymouth Rock. The rock was landed on us.

Context

This line was spoken by Malcolm X in a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights, NY (March 29, 1964).

When Malcolm X says "the rock landed on us," he's not talking about Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson delivering the People's Elbow.

No, Malcolm X is talking about something even more painful than a wrestling maneuver. He's talking about slavery, and how Africans didn't choose to sail over to the United States—that they were "brought here against [their] will." This might be the ultimate rock vs. hard place battle.

Where you've heard it

You heard this when Denzel Washington paraphrased it as Malcolm X in the 1992 film Malcolm X. Of course Denzel got the role.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Add seven points to pretentious factor if you're white.