Calling all Grassroots!
Message to the Grassroots
Listening + Reflection Session w/ Boggs Center
Calling all visionaries, changemakers, and revolutionaries as we offer many opportunities to gather with us in the coming weeks in the spirit of groundbreaking events that transpired 60 years ago.
1963 was a pivotal year in bending the long ark toward freedom and justice. It is a year that gave new voice to our longings for democracy. And it was a year where the violence to protect white supremacy was without restraint. Among many moments in 1963 also came Malcolm X’s speech, “Message to the Grassroots”. The speech was delivered on November 10, 1963, at the Northern Negro Grass Roots Leadership Conference, which was held at King Solomon Baptist Church here in Detroit.
Join us as we will host folks nationally and internationally to listen to this monumental speech, followed by conversation and reflection.
Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, 2-4pm
3061 Field St., Detroit, MI 48214
Save the Dates!
Messages from the Grassroots
Commemorating 60th Anniversary of Malcolm X's Speech
The Center is also organizing two Study Circles, October 14 and 21, and plans a larger public gathering as a “Message from the Grassroots” highlighting the visionary work being done in our city and in places around the country. Join the Boggs Center in a Study Circle as we mark the occasion and reflect on what we are called to do now. We will read and discuss Malcolm's speech together with commentary on its significance and the challenges it poses to us all today. Will we see you there?
Study Circle 1
Saturday, October 14, 2023, 2pm-4pm
In-person and virtual options
Study Circle 2
Saturday, October 21, 2023, 2pm-4pm
In-person and virtual options
Learn more + register
Additional upcoming events
Grassroots Open House
Friday, November 10, 2023
Various sites across the city - more details soon!
Messages FROM the Grassroots: National Perspectives
Saturday, November 11, 2023, 2pm-4pm
Wayne State University auditorium
Additional Resources
Wanting to deepen your understanding of happenings from 1963 in preparation for our discussion circles? Here are some of the most critical moments of that year included:
The Woolworth Sit-in lead by students and faculty from Tougaloo College. They were brutally attacked by a mob with police support
The shooting of SNCC workers in Greenwood Mississippi
Dr. Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Brigham Jail
The Children’s Crusade in Birmingham and the violent attacks by police, dogs, and fire hoses on demonstrators
The organization of civil liberties workshops by Ella Baker and Anne Braden
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The blocking of the doors to the University of Alabama by Governor George Wallace to prevent two African American students, Vivian Malone, and James Hood, from entering. Also known as, The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
The Beatings of civil rights workers in the Winona Jail by police
The murder of Medgar Evers in the driveway of his home in Jackson Mississippi
The bombing of 16th street Baptist Church killing Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley
The SNCC voter registration drive in Arkansas begins
Reflections on Malcolm X's "Message to the Grassroots"
Jimmy Boggs “Beyond Malcolm X” (1977)
Audre Lorde “Learning from the 60s” (1982)
Grace Lee Boggs “Let’s Talk About Martin and Malcolm” (2011)