Malcolm X, an American Muslim Minister, and Human Rights Activist - Essay Example

and Number of the Teacher’s Malcolm X Introduction Malcolm X (1925-1965) was the African American social activist with revolutionary views on countering the subjugation and injustice meted out to fellow Black Americans. He is well remembered for his struggle to overcome racial segregation and discrimination. Malcolm X was one of the most influential public figures in America in the early 1960s which was a time of heated racial tension. Malcolm’s voice had a fresh, distinct and credible characteristic, and his rhetoric had a quality that disturbed many white Americans. “Malcolm X was seen as unifying or divisive, extreme or realistic, an agitator, or simply passionate” (Novak 25-26). In contemporary America, Malcolm continues to remain an American cultural icon; the decades since his murder in 1965, have “added layers of meaning to the symbolic legacy of Malcolm X” (Yousman 2). The history of Malcolm X is a complex one that is often incorrectly comprehended by scholars and popular writers, states Houck (285). Malcolm’s legacy remains alive in historical documents, through books, collections of speeches, Websites and movies based on his life (Novak 26). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to outline the biography of Malcolm X, determine his contribution to improving the life of the African American people and the Black community in the U.S, and the reasons why he is considered a great leader. A Short Biography of Malcolm X Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, the seventh of eight children. He was the son of a Baptist minister who was an active member of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association. He witnessed racist hatred closely, when hooded Klansmen burned the family home in Lansing, Michigan. In the early 1940s while living with his half-sister in Boston, Malcolm adopted the style of the zoot suit, popularized by African American hipsters. He lived off income earned in petty hustling, drug dealing and pimping. Malcolm X was arrested for burglary in 1946. He discovered the Nation of Islam in jail and converted to the Muslim faith. In 1952 he took the last name X, in rejection of the white man’s name (X 119). Malcolm X was a Muslim, a consistent Black nationalist, and a revolutionist of action (Ryan, 2008). Malcolm X became a minister within the Nation of Islam, his charisma and authority earning him national speaking engagements and television appearances during which he criticized the Civil Rights leadership focus on integration into white society instead of on building black institutions. Malcolm X was deeply interested in anti-colonial struggles in Africa; in 1959 he traveled to Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria and Ghana. The last among his many speeches, on November 1963, two days before he was assassinated, he delivered the speech “Message to the Grass Roots”, in which he addressed his fellow Africans on several issues (X 119). Malcolm X spoke about his concerns on the chief obstacles to racial equality in America, such as the uncompromising control which the white slave owners exerted, the need for a violent revolution on the part of the African Americans as opposed to their calm acceptance of the situation and their intention to “love these folks no matter how much they hate me” (X 122); the inspiration to fight against subjugation derived from Asia and Africa; the differences between “House Negro” and “Field Negro” in their outlook towards their own condition and towards their white masters; and his heart-felt call for racial separation, rather than racial integration which he considered impossible. Malcolm X’s Contributions Towards Racial Equality Malcolm X remains an influential voice in the quest for racial equality, though some critics fail to appreciate the totality of his contribution, or the inherent value of his rhetoric which was able to catalyse not only African Americans into increased awareness, but also the white Americans. According to Terrill (79) “Malcolm’s voice reverberates through contemporary American culture because many African-Americans may find themselves in a position similar to that which he occupied” and they see his beliefs as a viable model for confronting such situations. Contemporary race relations in America is characterized by tensions, hence analysing and critquing the rhetoric of Malcolm X as parrhesiatic or as truth-telling can continue to explain the life and philosophy of Malcolm X (Steeh et al 45). Further, his approach to the human problem inherent in the black man’s struggle against the white man’s racism, continues to be relevant till today. According to X and Haley (375), both races as human beings have the obligation and the responsibility of helping to correct Ameica’s human problem. Malcolm X worked for Black liberation believing that political organization and action were crucial for success. He sought to educate fellow Blacks through his speeches and newspaper columns on the right perspectives towards their subjugation by the whites (Benson and Cosgrove 51). Malcolm X emphasized that Black freedom should be won “by any means necessary” (Sales 79), by destroying slavery. He was concerned about the self-image of the race and its influence on Black self-help efforts in every area. Restoration of racial dignity through the race’s social and cultural elevation, and a psychological and ultimate return to African roots was his goal. By Black nationalism Malcolm X wanted the Black man to control radio, newspapers, and the television for his communities. He firmly believed that freedom for the Blacks was possible only by fighting for it; that Black people should rely on themselves and control their own struggle, and they needed to be cohesive as a group, with unity amongst themselves before seeking to establish unity with the whites; and they had the right to self-defense in the face of racist attacks (Sales 79). In the view of Foucault (133), the problem was not in changing people’s consciousness or what was in their heads, but the difficulty lay in the political, economic, and institutional regime promoting a new politics of truth. Malcolm X worked towards improving the life of African Americans throughout his career. In the 1950s and 1960s he struggled to reveal alternate “truths” about African Americans. He voiced his concerns, that African-Americans should be politically involved rather than isolated, also economically viable and self-sustaining rather than burdensome. He believed that African Americans were not a race of people incapable of taking care of themselves, but that they were institutionally oppressed by white power structures (Novak 27). Malcolm X’s death on February 21st, 1965 when he was gunned down by assassins when he was about to give a speech in Harlem, New York, was a stunning blow to the Black liberation movement (Ryan, 2008). “The American ruling class were to discover, however, that the ideas and solutions that Malcolm X popularized cannot be buried as easily as the man” (Ryan, 2008). His central position in the whole civil rights movement is readily proved by the fact that even after his death, people from every conceivable position still remember and look up to his ideologies. This includes militant groups like the Black Panthers who honor him as a patron saint, white racists who state that his approach is proof that Negroes do not want integration, well-known Black leaders who consider him as a dangerous fanatic, and the liberal white meliorists who highlight his “last, little-known, little-heeded renunciation of racism” (Hoyt 107). Over the crucial decades from the 1930s to the 1970s Malcolm X’s own life depicted the changing and fluctuating progress of the Blacks in American life. Conclusion This paper has highlighted the work of Malcolm X, the African American civil rights activist for Black liberation. It is concluded that he was a great leader, passionatelly calling for an awakening and motivating action among his fellow African Americans for attaining their rights to freedom and dignity. Malcolm X encouraged race separation rather than integration which he believed was not possible by the racist white regime. In Malcolm X’s fight for equality and freedom, he stressed on Black nationalism and a psychological orientation towards their homeland Africa. He encouraged Blacks to return to their homeland, and begin a new life as a free people. In this respect, his ideologies are similar to the African American Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) who encapsulated his ideologies in the slogan “Africa for the Africans” (Hill 658), and struggled against injustice to fellow Blacks in the form of subjugation and discrimination. The tragic shortening of Malcolm X’s life in his prime, adversely affected the Black liberation movement and slowed down the achievement of the goals envisioned by him. Works Cited Benson, Michael and Cosgrove, Martha. Malcolm X. The United States of America: Lerner Publications, 2005. Foucault, Michael. Truth and Power. Power=Knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings 1972-1977. Ed. Charles Gordon. York: Pantheon, 1980. 109-133. Houck, Davis W. “By Any Means Necessary”: Re-reading Malcolm X’s Mecca conversion. Communication Studies, 44 (1993), 285-298. Hill, Robert A. (Ed.). The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers. The United States of America: University of California Press, 1995. Hoyt, Charles A. The Five Faces of Malcolm X. Negro American Literature Forum, 4.4 (Winter 1970), 107-112. Novak, David R. Engaging Parrhesia in a Democracy: Malcolm X as a Truth-teller. Southern Communication Journal, 71.1 (2006), 25-43. Ryan, Joe. Malcolm X: Fighter for Black Liberation. 2008. Retrieved from: http://www.geocities.com/youth4sa/malcolm.html Sales, William W. From Civil Rights to BlackLliberation. Massachusetts: South End Press, 1994. Steeh, Charlotte, Bobo, Lawrence, Schuman, Howard & Krysan, Maria. Racial Atttitudes in America: Trends and Interpretations. Michigan: Harvard University Press, 1998. Terrill, Robert E. Colonizing the borderlands: shifting circumference in the rhetoric of Malcolm X. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 86 (2000), 67-85. X., Malcolm. Message to the grass roots. American Identities. Eds. Lois P. Rudnick, Judith E. Smith and Rachel Rubin. The United States of America: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. 119-125. Read More