Malcolm Xs Life in the Nation of Islam - Research Paper Example

Malcolm X Malcolm X BACKGROUNDs Malcolm X was one of the most influential, charismatic as well as controversial figures in the history of the African-American Civil Rights movement. This was the era of distrust, agitations and turbulence. America was at the peak of its prosperity and enjoyed unsurpassed power in the world stage. However, the human rights record of America was greatly objectionable. There was a wide scale discrimination against the blacks. The racial segregation was followed as a covert policy by the American Government, this was largely to do with the sentiment that , if the blacks attained higher levels of education and gained access to better amenities that were at par with the Whites, that could led to disastrous consequences for the whites. They would face large scale unemployment; lose the unskilled jobs and other avenues of income. There was also another school of thought that propagated racial hatred based on a completely different agenda. The period of the erstwhile 1950’s was notorious for the growth of the Neo-Nazi groups, groups proclaiming racial superiority, the rise of the Klux klux clan among others. They did a very good job of instilling the feeling of racial hatred and abomination in the minds of the average American. The sum total of this was that the divide between the blacks and the whites reached levels of extreme bitterness. Majority of the black population believed that the laws were loaded completely against them and favored the agenda of the whites. INTRODUCTION- Malcolm X was an adapted name of Malcolm Little. He was born in the year 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the forth child of a total of seven children. His father was an activist for the pan African Movement and also the area leader for an Indigenous organization called as the Universal Negro Improvement Association. His father taught him the values of black rights, the issue of self determination and the tenets of self reliance. He was also greatly influenced by Marcus Garvey. He grew up in an atmosphere of great friction. There were a lot white local groups who were against the black people and would cause a lot of troubles to the family including threats. One of the younger brothers of Malcolm X was lynched and killed violently by the members of a white supremacist group (Klux Klux clan). These early incidents shaped the mind of young Malcolm who would later grow up to hate the whites (Karim, 1971). Ultimately, the family had to shift to Milwaukee after repeated threats from the clan and later to Lansing, Michigan. In the year 1939, Earl Little (Father of Malcolm X) was killed in a road rage accident. Although the accident was supposed because of a careless driver, however, the reason for the killing was attributed to the various white supremacy groups (Karim, 1971). The thought process also gained momentum because a few days back, their house was also burned down by the same people. The family was further peeved at the fact that the money that they were supposed to get out of the life insurance was also not properly given to them. Malcolm’s father had two life insurance policies. However at the time of his death, the insurance of the higher denomination was denied to them on the count that his father had committed suicide, this pushed the family into a great amount of financial trouble and affected the mind of young Malcolm greatly (Breitman, 1971). Thereafter, Louise (Malcolm’s mother) suffered a nervous breakdown and was declared a mentally insane, this divided the complete family and the siblings were sent to various foster homes. Malcolm X moved to Boston where he lived for a while. The formative early years Malcolm X was one of the best students in the junior high and wanted to become a lawyer by profession. But even in his school, he faced a great deal of racial segregation, in Boston; he lived in an area called as Roxbury, which was predominantly an African American area of the neighborhood (Haley, 1999). He used to occasionally find work in the railroad. Later he moved to new areas and started to peddle drugs, laundering and pimping for his profession Jail and the Introduction to the Temple of Islam \In the year 1946, a series of dramatic evens happened that changed the face of the life of young Malcolm. He was caught for burglary. I order to be treated leniently, he told that he carried firearms, but later he was indicted for carrying firearms and was admitted tom the penitentiary for a period of eight ti ten years. This was the time that he got introduced to the idea of Temple of Islam, which transformed his life forever. Malcolm was introduced to the ideas of the group by his younger brother called as Philbert. He did not adapt to the idea of the brotherhood unless his brother Regnigald wrote to him about it. Thereafter, he quit smoking and stopped eating pork whenever it was served in the prison. In the year 1948, he was transferred to Norfolk County prison (Breitman,1965). There he began regular correspondence with Elijah and started to pray. He formally became a member of the brother hood and started to get indoctrinated in its teachings. Formal Inception In the year 1952, when he was formally released from the prison, he changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X. for him it was his way of denouncing the white heritage that was three in his blood. He started as the assistant minister of the Temple number one in Detroit and slowly rose in ranks to become the head of the Temple in Harlem. In the year 1950, he wrote a letter to President Truman that opposes the war in Korea. He also espoused the feelings of being a communist. All of these led to the FBI opening a file on him and keeping him under the surveillance. Another angle that they were studying is the possible link between him and the communist party that led to his rapid rise in ranks in the Nation of Islam. There was a public incident in the guise of John Hinton that led to the police putting on a full time surveillance on Malcolm X as well as the other members of the group. He married Betty X in the year of 1955 and went on to have six children with her. The last two were born after the death of Malcolm. Rise of Malcolm X There was a rapid rise in the fortunes of Malcolm X. during one of the visits of Fidel Castro. He was so impressed by Malcolm that he wanted to have a private meeting with him and invited him over to Cuba. His political fortunes also rose, as he met a large number of other people including, Abdul Nasser, Kennteh Kandua of the African League. Teachings of Malcolm X at the Nation of Islam Malcolm X taught a lot of hate against the white people. His personal experiences that he had had, growing up as a child, also greatly contributed towards his point of view. He propagated that the whites were basically an evil race. Their main job was to inflict pain on the lives and the psyche of the African -Americans. Therefore, they should not be treated nicely. They should be treated with vain and disdain. He also propagated tat the black people were the original inhabitants of the earth and the white people were the usurpers of their land. He also told that the white race was the descendants of the devil and their primary aim was to spread hatred and problems against the people of the other ethnicities and the races (Breitman, 1965). He also foretold that the white race was facing an imminent end and their injustices shall be reciprocated in hell. While the Civil Rights Movement fought for the unification and the integration of the people of both the races, the Temple of Islam wanted the total segregation of the black people as they were superior. He wanted the establishment of a seperate country for the African-Americans. This would be a contingency step unless the African Americans could return to Africa. The return to Africa was necessary as this was the cradle of the civilization or the starting point of the world. He was against the non violence being spread by the civil rights people. He believed in the policy of retribution and wanted the black community to answer back in kind. If there was even a semblance of violence on behalf of the whites, that should be answered back in equal measure without any soft corner being exhibited. He was completely against the civil rights Movements and was of an extremist view. He called the March to Washington in the year 1963 as a big farce that did not have any value for anyone. The Temple of Islam believed that the white people were a creation by an evil scientist called Yakub who wanted to spread hate and malice into the world. As a member of the Temple of Islam, he was also completely against the religion of Christianity (Haley, 1999). He believed that Christianity was meant for the white people and was of no use to the black people. He propagated that it did nothing to stop the impending racial vendetta of the whites. On the other hand, Islam was the religion of the blacks and had traditionally been more supportive. His pilgrimage to Mecca and the change in the views His eventual travel and pilgrimage to Mecca changed the outlook of the man. He was no longer the hate monger that he earlier. He did not spew venom at the whites, but instead became more reconciliatory towards them. Upon the assassination of President Kennedy, Malcolm X made some very instigatory remarks. The Temple of Islam, which had issued a public condolence to the Kennedy family, did not take it too kindly. He was censured afterwards for speaking for another ninety days. Therefore, the shining star of the movement was given the cold shoulder. Shortly, thereafter he left Temple of Islam. He traveled extensively to various countries that included Nigeria and many other African nations. He also changed the ideas that he had whilst he had been a member. He empathized with the people of the third world and their struggle (Clark, 2002). Earlier, he was completely against capitalism, but later he espoused more universal values that were not completely against the capitalism. He no loner wanted the integration of all the black states but wanted a common forum of understanding between them, there were also deeper concerns in him about the overall well being of the people rather than following a complete cycle of hatred. CONCLUSION Malcolm X was a divisive figure, partly because of his eccentricity ands partly because of the values that he stood for. He was a person whom people only loved or hated. His autobiography was named by the Times magazine to be one of the most influential books of the twentieth century. His work with the black American people was iconic. He addressed the problems of the black American people of the Northern and the Western states more than the other Civil Rights people. He addressed to the basic problems of the African –Americans and made them go to the roots. He was also primarily responsible for the spread of Islam amongst the black community in America. His doctrines had a far reaching effect and led to the formation of many right wing groups during the twentieth century. There were a large number of books and stories written after him. He became a counter culture icon among the African-American community. It influenced a whole breed of people who followed his ideas and sought the rights of self –determinism (Clark, 2002). There was a renewed interest in his legacy in the early eighties and nineties because of the books and movies that came out which looked at his life and works. He was also used as an icon by many of the underground bands and culture groups. Therefore, Malcolm X continues to be an inspiration in many contrasting ways to the African-Americans, whose relevance can never be put into doubt. References Breitman, G. (1989). Malcolm X speaks: selected speeches and statements. CA: Pathfinder. Clark, S. (2002). Malcolm X talks to young people: speeches in the United States, Britain, and Africa. CA: Pathfinder. Haley, A. (1999). The autobiography of Malcolm X. NY: Ballantine Books. Karim, B. (1971). The end of white world supremacy: four speeches. NY: Arcade Publishing. Read More