"The Day of Jerusalem's Fall"
In a sermon deli… Read Full Bio ↴from wikipedia
"The Day of Jerusalem's Fall"
In a sermon delivered shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, Wright made comments about an interview of former U.S. Ambassador Edward Peck he saw on Fox News. Wright said:
"I heard Ambassador Peck on an interview yesterday. Did anybody else see him or hear him? He was on Fox News. This is a white man, and he was upsetting the Fox News commentators to no end. He pointed out — did you see him, John? — a white man, he pointed out, ambassador, that what Malcolm X said when he got silenced by Elijah Muhammad was in fact true — America's chickens are coming home to roost."
Wright spoke of the United States taking land from the Indian tribes by what he labeled as terror, bombing Grenada, Panama, Libya, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, and argued that the United States supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and South Africa. He said that his parishioners' response should be to examine their relationship with God, not go "from the hatred of armed enemies to the hatred of unarmed innocents." His comment (quoting Malcolm X) that "America's chickens are coming home to roost" was widely interpreted as meaning that America had brought the September 11, 2001 attacks upon itself. ABC News broadcast clips from the sermon in which Wright said:
"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye... and now we are indignant, because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought back into our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."
Later, Wright continued :
"Violence begets violence. Hatred begets hatred. And terrorism begets terrorism. A white ambassador said that y'all, not a black militant. Not a reverend who preaches about racism. An ambassador whose eyes are wide open and who is trying to get us to wake up and move away from this dangerous precipice upon which we are now poised. The ambassador said the people that we have wounded don't have the military capability we have. But they do have individuals who are willing to die and take thousands with them. And we need to come to grips with that."
Skit 1
Lowkey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
was in fact true,
America's chickens…are coming home to roost.
We took this country by terror,
away from the Sioux, the Apache, the Arowak,
the Comanche, the Arapahoe, the Navajo. Terrorism.
We took Africans from their country to build our way of ease
and kept them enslaved and living in fear. Terrorism.
non-military personnel. We bombed the black civilian community of Panama
with stealth bombers and killed unarmed teenagers and toddlers,
pregnant mothers, and hardworking fathers.
We bombed Qaddafi's home and killed his child.
Blessed are they who bash your children's head against a rock.
We bombed Iraq. We killed unarmed civilians trying to make a living.
We bombed a plant in Sudan to payback for the attack on our embassy,
killed hundreds of hardworking people, mothers and fathers
who left home to go that day not knowing that they would never get back home.
We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki,
and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon
and we never batted an eye. Kids playing in the playground,
mothers picking up children after school, civilians, not soldiers,
people just trying to make it day by day.
We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians
and Black South Africans and now we are indignant
because the stuff we have done overseas
is now brought right back to our own front yards.
America's chickens are coming home to roost.
violence begets violence
hatred begets hatred
and terrorism begets terrorism
In Lowkey's Skit 1, he samples a speech made by Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, in which he quotes Malcolm X. The lines in question are "what Malcolm X said when he got silenced by Elijah Mohammed was in fact true, America's chickens…are coming home to roost." Malcolm X had made this statement in response to the assassination of President Kennedy, and what he meant was that the violence that America had inflicted upon other countries was now coming back to haunt them. Lowkey goes on to list examples of American imperialism, from the displacement of Native American tribes and the enslavement of Africans to the bombing of civilian populations in Panama, Grenada, Iraq, and Sudan.
What Lowkey is highlighting is the hypocrisy of the United States government, which presents itself as a bastion of freedom and democracy but has a long history of committing atrocities both at home and abroad. By using the phrase "chickens coming home to roost," he is suggesting that the violence and terrorism that the US has perpetuated throughout the world will eventually come back to harm its own citizens. He employs a powerful rhetorical device, listing specific examples of US aggression, which makes the message all the more resonant.
In conclusion, Lowkey's Skit 1 is a searing indictment of American imperialism and a warning that the country's actions will have consequences. By quoting Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan, Lowkey is situating his lyrics in a broader historical context of Black radical thought.
Line by Line Meaning
What Malcolm X said when he got silenced by Elijah Mohammed was in fact true, America's chickens…are coming home to roost.
The statement made by Malcolm X about America is now coming true, indicating that the consequences of the country's violent and aggressive actions are returning to haunt them in their homeland.
We took this country by terror, away from the Sioux, the Apache, the Arowak, the Comanche, the Arapahoe, the Navajo. Terrorism.
The United States took control of this land through violent tactics against various tribes such as the Sioux, Apache, Ararwak, and Navajo, ultimately regarded as terrorism.
We took Africans from their country to build our way of ease and kept them enslaved and living in fear. Terrorism.
The forced migration of Africans to work as slaves in America was an act of violence and terrorism, aimed at keeping them under control.
We bombed Granada and killed innocent civilians, babies, non-military personnel. We bombed the black civilian community of Panama with stealth bombers and killed unarmed teenagers and toddlers, pregnant mothers, and hardworking fathers.
The United States government bombed Granada and Panama, killing innocent people, including babies, teens, and pregnant mothers, due to their lack of support for the government's agenda.
We bombed Qaddafi's home and killed his child. Blessed are they who bash your children's head against a rock.
The United States military bombed the home of Qaddafi, killing his child. This is similar to what Psalm 137:9 said that those who bash children's heads against rocks will be blessed.
We bombed Iraq. We killed unarmed civilians trying to make a living.
The bombing of Iraq led to the demise of innocent civilians who were trying hard to make a living by being unarmed.
We bombed a plant in Sudan to payback for the attack on our embassy, killed hundreds of hardworking people, mothers and fathers who left home to go that day not knowing that they would never get back home.
The United States bombed a plant in Sudan to seek revenge for the embassy attack, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of hardworking people who left their homes that day, not expecting that they would never return.
We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye.
The United States used nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in the deaths of more people than the ones in New York and the Pentagon. They did this without displaying any form of remorse or regret.
Kids playing in the playground, mothers picking up children after school, civilians, not soldiers, people just trying to make it day by day.
Innocent people, mostly just civilians trying to live their life, such as kids playing in the playground and mothers picking up their kids after school, were affected by the bombings and attacks of the United States without being related to any military organizations.
We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and Black South Africans and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards.
In the past, The United States supported the acts of state terrorism against the Palestinians and Black South Africans, but now they are unhappy because the same acts are coming back to haunt them domestically.
America's chickens are coming home to roost. violence begets violence hatred begets hatred and terrorism begets terrorism
The violent tactics used by America to gain superiority over other countries have come back to haunt them. This event has created a continuous cycle of violence, hatred, and terrorism that never subsides but instead dips the United States deep into guilt and further violent trends.
Contributed by Christopher K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.