Speech delivered by Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla at the event celebrating Malcolm X's Centennial

Speech delivered by Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla at the event celebrating Malcolm X's Centennial. New York. September 2025

Malcolm X

I thank the Riverside Church for granting us this opportunity to pay homage to Malcolm X on his One Hundredth birthday, and to do so among friends and comrades.

This church brings warm memories of notable occasions. Cubans and Americans have met in this building in a spirit of dialogue, solidarity and friendship.

The Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz spoke here in the year 2000 and President Miguel Díaz-Canel spoke in September of 2018.

As in other occasions, our delegation is here in New York, at this time of the year, to attend the UN General Assembly, where we have the responsibility of raising the voice of Cuba.

It is our aim to call attention on the dangers currently faced by the international community, on the threats to peace and security, on the attempts by the powerful to conduct international relations with the use of force and coercion.

We will put emphasis on the central role of the UN in world affairs and on the importance of protecting and promoting its democratic and intergovernmental nature.

We will express our firmest solidarity with the people of Palestine and we will condemn in the strongest terms the genocide being committed by Israel.

We will reiterate our rejection of the unjustified and aggressive military buildup in the Caribbean Sea.

We will also put emphasis on the problem of climate change and the need to transform the current international order, to achieve one that is sustainable and that better serves the interests of the countries of the South.

We will denounce the US policy of aggression against Cuba and the economic warfare that it carries out against the Cuban people.

We will be following a very heavy agenda during the coming days, dealing with the many complex issues of a world in conflict. I can assure you that Cuba will be very active and that we will not be silent.

But it is always a pleasure for us to greet and pay tribute to this city, and to members of its communities, especially Harlem.

For Cuba, it is an honor and a duty to join the effort in recalling the significant role played by Malcolm X in the history of the United States during the second half of the 20th century, and to highlight his legacy for the benefit of those who struggle for freedom and justice, and against exploitation, racism and alienation, here in the US and in many parts of the world.

Malcolm preached to the poor, to the forgotten, to the marginalized, to those enslaved in their own country. He encouraged them to open their minds and to look at the world free form the shackles of oppression.

He also preached to the peoples of Africa that struggled against colonialism and to the victims of imperialism. He was an active supporter of the cause of liberation in Africa.

Cuba´s presence in Africa and the Caribbean countries has been based on historical and cooperative ties, particularly in the areas of health, education and technical cooperation. We share a history of struggle but also a present and future of cooperation with the peoples of those countries. Cuban doctors have been present in Haiti since 1998, providing humanitarian assistance and free medical care in times of crisis.

He believed, as we say today, that a better world was possible, and that it was worth the effort to struggle in trying to achieve it.

In his relatively short but active life, he carried with him the dramatic history of the United States, especially for African Americans. He boldly addressed the injustices faced by his family and his community under the prejudice of racism and class differences.

Influenced first by the teachings of Marcus Garvey and having embraced the faith of Islam, Malcolm became a formidable voice of the oppressed and the forgotten.

He came to understand the social and economic essence at the root of inequality and its manifestation in racial divisions, political corruption and exploitation.

Malcolm lost his life as a martyr of those circumstances, but he did not fall quietly. He left this world fighting and undefeated.

In Cuba, we treasure a fond and respectful image of Malcolm. We recall his gesture to the leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro when he invited and welcomed him to Harlem, and his words of admiration for the Cuban Revolution.

He is a symbol of the promising opportunities in developing relations between the people of Cuba and the people of the United States.

To his daughters and relatives, to the people of Harlem and New York, to all those in the US that struggle for justice, we convey a message of solidarity and sympathy.

To the memory of Malcolm X, we convey our most profound respect.

Thank you very much.

(Cubaminrex)

Source

• MINREX

Tags

• Cuba
• Malcolm X
• Riverside Church
• New York

Categories

• Ministro
• Discursos del Canciller cubano

Relaciones Bilaterales

• Estados Unidos de América