“So early in my life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.” -Malcolm X
In the 7th grade, my teacher assigned the class a one sentence response to a question: What is the difference between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.? For the life of me, I could not figure out the answer after learning about them both. As my friend Jazmyn walked to the teacher’s desk to hand in her assignment, I whispered, “Hey Jazmyn. What’s the answer?” She said, “Malcolm X promoted violence while Martin Luther King Jr. promoted non-violence.”
Malcolm X, also known as Malcolm Little, was born on May 19th, 1925. He is one of the most misunderstood activists in American history. Because of the way he was portrayed in the media and history books, growing up, I viewed Malcolm X as a racist, violent, radical, militant who promoted hatred. Before his assassination, Malcolm predicted in his autobiography that the media would portray him this way.
“When I am dead–I say it that way because from the things I know, I do not expect to live long enough to read this book in its finished form–I want you to just watch and see if I’m not right in what I say: that the white man, in his press, is going to identify me with “hate”. He will make use of me dead, as he has made use of me alive, as a convenient symbol, of “hatred”–and that will help him escape facing the truth that all I have been doing is holding up a mirror to reflect, to show, the history of unspeakable crimes that his race has committed against my race.” -The Autobiography of Malcolm X
After reading his autobiography and doing my own research, my opinion of Malcolm X completely changed. The facts and quotes in his autobiography helped me understand him better and showed how he transformed from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X to Al-Hajj Malik El Shabazz. Today I will share many of the things I learned from reading his autobiography; however, I recommend everyone to read his book before establishing an opinion about him.
First, in his autobiography he talks about the adversity he faced growing up, which educated him on the type of society we live in. Malcolm was first exposed to the realities of society while he was still in the wound. While his mother was pregnant with him, members of the Ku Klux Klan harassed his family at their home because his father was a civil rights activist. Furthermore, in 1931 when he was 7 years old, his father was killed by white supremacists. His mother was distraught, and she was sent to a mental institution, which left no other choice but for Malcolm and his siblings to be separated and placed in foster homes. Not only this, but also Malcolm dropped out of school at the age of 15 a year after his English teacher told him to pursue carpentry instead of law because it was unrealistic for a black male to become a lawyer. As a result, the streets, crime, and drugs called his name which eventually led him to serve a 6 year prison sentence from 1946 to 1952. During his time in jail, Malcolm began his transformation. He was introduced to the Nation of Islam, a group of Black Muslims who embraced Black Nationalism, and he officially became a leader for the Nation of Islam after his release from prison in 1952. This is when he officially changed his last name from Little to X and began to preach his famous ideology “by any means necessary.” Changing his last name to X symbolized the shredding of his slave name, and the X representing the unknown African name lost after slavery. Although, his phrase “by any means necessary” became popular, it was also misunderstood.
Malcolm stated: “We declare our right on this earth … to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.” -Malcolm X
This phrase is what led many people to believe he advocated violence. However, the phrase was misunderstood, which is explained in his autobiography.
“Malcolm X never advocated violence. He was an advocate of cultural and social reconstruction-until a balance of equality was shared, ‘by any means necessary.’ ‘By any means necessary’ meant examine the obstacles, determine the vision, find the resolve, and explore the alternatives toward dissolving the obstacles.” -The Autobiography of Malcolm X
As Malcolm continued to be a leader for the Nation of Islam, he made militant proposals to establish an independent Black nation, which involved violence. While he was a leader in the Nation of Islam, he disagreed with the views of Martin Luther King Jr., opposed integration, and called the white man the devil. However, Malcolm split away from the Nation of Islam in early 1964 after learning that his mentor, the honorable Elijah Muhammad, had not been following his own teachings and after Muhammad had suspended him for responding to President John F Kennedy’s assassination as “chickens coming home to roost.” What many people fail to mention is the last part of Malcolm’s transformation after he separated from the Nation of Islam. Malcolm had an epiphanic moment after converting to traditional Islam and traveled on a spiritual journey to Mecca. He had second thoughts on his previous beliefs and changed his name to Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz which was his new Islamic name.
“In the past I permitted myself to be used… to make sweeping indictments of all white people, the entire white race, and these generalizations have caused injuries to some whites who perhaps did not deserve to be hurt. Because of the spiritual enlightenment which I was blessed to receive as the result of my recent pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca, I no longer subscribe to sweeping indictments of any one race. I am now striving to live the life of a true Sunni Muslim.” -Malcolm X’s (Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) Letter from Mecca
Unfortunately, the world was not able to see this side of Malcolm for long, as he was assassinated on February 21st, 1965, by three members of the Nation of Islam. Now that I am older, I realize that Malcolm X is one of the most important activists in American history. He was an outstanding orator who was simply trying to wake people up to what was going on in our society. Although, he did say some radical statements while he was a leader in the Nation of Islam, he clearly changed his views after his spiritual journey. Malcolm X didn’t sugar coat anything. He was bold, daring, and spoke nothing but the truth. He wanted people to realize the X that was his last name was the same X that is on the backs of every Black person in America because we are targets.
“Malcolm X poured his energy and anger into speaking the truth about the plight of African Americans. He spoke with a rare passion and eloquence. He became a worldwide hero. A symbol of strength and defiance. He wasn’t shy about telling us where society was going wrong.” -The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Malcolm X made people feel uncomfortable because the conversation of race makes people run. But, if it is never addressed, it will never be changed.The most important thing we can learn from Malcolm X is to be bold because if we want change, we better make some noise.
This article was originally published on November 30th, 2017 on Tumblr.