[INTRO — CHOIR / ORGAN] CHOIR: Tell the people who you are. MALCOLM: I know who I am. CHOIR: Tell the people what you found. MALCOLM: I know what I found. CHOIR: Tell the people where you're going. MALCOLM: I'm going forward. [DRUMS HIT] [VERSE 1] I came out with a name and a letter where the old name had been, X for the history erased, X for the unknown within. But a question became a mission, and a mission became a call, Now I'm standing in the temple telling brothers: "Stand tall." I know what it means to be hungry, I know what it means to be lost, I know what it means when a man has forgotten what he costs. So I speak to the brothers on the corner and the cell, To the ones who've been told they're nothing, that they're destined for a hell. I tell 'em discipline is freedom, I tell 'em knowledge is a key, I tell 'em straighten up your shoulders— you were born to be somebody. [PRE-CHORUS] And when the room goes quiet, I can feel the whole thing turn. A man who knows his purpose is a man who cannot be burned. [CHORUS — HUGE] I know who I am! I know what I believe! I know where I came from, I know what I need! I got a name, I got a people, I got a purpose and a voice! And every man who finds his mind has got a reason to rejoice! I know who I am! I know what I believe! Stand up! Stand up! Stand up with me! [VERSE 2] Temple doors opening, crowd growing by the week, I could look a man in his eyes and tell him what he needed to hear. Not because I had a script— because I had been there. I had slept beside the darkness, I had breathed that poisoned air. So when I talked about redemption, I wasn't talking from a throne. I was talking as a man who had clawed his way back home. And then Betty came beside me, quiet strength beside the fire, She could see beyond the minister, see the man behind the choir. We built a family together, made a home inside the storm, Five little girls and a father trying to teach them to be strong. And somehow, through the speeches, through the temples, through the press, I started seeing my reflection in the people I could reach. [CHORUS] I know who I am! I know what I believe! I know where I came from, I know what I need! I got a name, I got a people, I got a purpose and a voice! And every man who finds his mind has got a reason to rejoice! I know who I am! I know what I believe! Stand up! Stand up! Stand up with me! [VERSE 3 — RAP / BUILDING] Now the newspapers want me, now the cameras want a quote, Now they're asking how I got here, how a convict learned to float. From the cell to the pulpit, from the pulpit to the page, From a man they called a criminal to a man they cannot cage. Every speech another spark, every city another crowd, I could feel the weight of thousands when I raised my voice aloud. I wasn't speaking just for Malcolm, I was speaking for a people who had spent too many centuries being told that they were lesser. And I believed that I had found it— the answer underneath the pain. A system. A structure. A doctrine. A name. Everything fit. Every question had a place. Every wound had an explanation. Every enemy had a face. [BREAK — CHOIR] CHOIR: Do you know? MALCOLM: I know. CHOIR: Do you see? MALCOLM: I see. CHOIR: Do you believe? MALCOLM: Completely. [BRIDGE — GOSPEL] I used to wonder if my life meant anything. Now every morning feels like evidence. Every brother that I reach, every sister that I meet, Every person who stands taller after hearing me speak— That's the proof. That's the purpose. That's the reason I survived. Maybe God didn't give me the easy road. Maybe He gave me the road that made me Malcolm X. [FINAL VERSE — FULL POWER] So let the cameras come closer, let the microphones be raised, Let the nation hear a man who has walked through fire and changed. I don't need to hide my past— it's the foundation that I stand on. I don't need to beg for entrance— I have learned to build my own. From Boston to the temples, from Harlem to the headlines, I am no longer asking if I'm worthy of my own life. I am Minister Malcolm. And I have found my voice. [FINAL CHORUS — MASSIVE] I KNOW WHO I AM! I KNOW WHAT I BELIEVE! I KNOW WHERE I CAME FROM, I KNOW WHAT I NEED! I GOT A NAME! I GOT A PEOPLE! I GOT A PURPOSE AND A VOICE! AND EVERY MAN WHO FINDS HIS MIND HAS GOT A REASON TO REJOICE! I KNOW WHO I AM! I KNOW WHAT I BELIEVE! STAND UP! STAND UP! STAND UP WITH ME! [OUTRO — CHOIR FADES] CHOIR: Tell the people who you are... MALCOLM — QUIETLY: I know. CHOIR: Tell the people what you found... MALCOLM: I know. [ORGAN HOLDS] MALCOLM: I thought I had the answer. [ORGAN CUTS]
