Good morning everybody :)
The end of the semester is near, I can feel it! By July 4th at the latest everything will be over and I can tell you - I am REALLY looking forward to that day!
This week we finally had our Culture Days in English. Everyone had to give a presentation on the essay he or she had written either about an American or an Irish topic. As I have always been interested in the Civil Rights Movement and the situation for blacks in the 1950s and 1960s I decided to write about Malcolm X. At the beginning, my knowledge of this person was modest, so when I started to do my research work I was more than surprised about what I found out. Throughout his life this man not only changed his name, he also changed his whole identity and convitions. To me, this was a fact that really caught my attention and I decided to write my essay on this topic.
This is what finally came out:
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| source: nbmbeaver.wordpress.com |
The Reinventions of Malcolm X
A life of
reinventions. This sentence characterizes the whole life of a
man who certainly took his place in history. Malcolm Little, Detroit Red,
Malcolm X, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Who hides behind all these names and why
did he change his identity, his convictions and attitudes several times
throughout his life? Malcolm X was a man who challenged the mainstream Civil
Rights Movement by choosing a different path and by encouraging black people to
defend themselves by “any means necessary”. This is what history tells
us, but in order to get a deeper understanding of the person Malcolm X, it is
necessary to have a closer look at certain events in his life -- turning points
-- which changed everything.
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| source: malcolmx.weebly.com |
Malcolm
Little was born in 1925 in Nebraska and even as a small child he experienced
what it meant to live in a society dominated by whites. His parents believed in
the philosophy of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, who considered
Pan-Africanism -- the belief in the independence of Africa and all colonial
states blacks lived in -- as the only solution to the problems
African-Americans were facing. Their ambitious effort in spreading Garvey’s
ideas finally destroyed the family: When Malcolm’s father was brutally
murdered, his mother was no longer able to cope with the situation and suffered
an emotional breakdown. These events had a strong influence on Malcolm who
developed a hatred for white people’s supremacy. When he further realized that
being black meant not being seen as a human being, this feeling even
intensified. The first turning point in Malcolm’s life was the moment when his
teacher told him that becoming a lawyer was “no realistic goal for a nigger”.
This sentence shattered his dreams. Gone was the good boy he had once been.
Malcolm dropped out of school and became famous as Detroit Red, a
hustler in the streets of Harlem who changed his appearance and tried to look
as white as possible.
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| source: atlantablackstar.com |
In 1946, this
new lifestyle came to an abrupt end when Malcolm was arrested for burglary and
sentenced to ten years in prison. In this hopeless period of his life, Malcolm
first came into contact with the philosophy of Elijah Muhammed, leader of the
Nation of Islam. In deep admiration for that man and his idea of establishing a
separate state for African-Americans, Malcolm spent hours reading and educating
himself and later became a member of the movement. By the time he was released
from prison Malcolm changed his surname to “X”, representing the lost identity
of black people in America. Maybe it was due to what he had experienced so far
that Malcolm became so successful and established such a strong audience among
urban blacks. People believed in his words because they could identify with
him. They believed him when he encouraged them to fight for their rights by any
means necessary and they believed in the truth of his words when he held one of
his emotional speeches criticizing both civil rights leaders like Martin Luther
King and white politicians. As a product of the modern ghetto, Malcolm
convinced his audience that the white man was the devil due to the crimes he
had committed on African-Americans and that there was no mercy left for them.
Malcolm X was
a loyal disciple of Elijah Muhammed and spread his message passionately, but
then things suddenly changed. Malcolm’s mighty, truly admired leader had
committed adultery and did not at all stick to principles he himself had
declared. This was the trigger that led Malcolm to rethink the whole movement
and to his decision to leave the Nation of Islam. His new life started when he
visited the holy city of Mecca on a spiritual Hajj and converted to orthodox
Sunni Islam. By the time of his return he had undergone the last significant
change. Malcolm came back with new convictions and a new name: El-Hajj Malik
El-Shabazz. Even though he was still convinced that racism was the origin of
all evil and that black people had to free themselves, his views became more
moderate.
“My pilgrimage broadened my scope. It blessed me
with a new insight. In two weeks in the Holy Land, I saw what I never had seen
in thirty-nine years here in America. I saw all races, all colors, --
blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans -- in true brotherhood! In unity!
Living as one! Worshipping as one! No segregationists -- no liberals; they
would not have known how to interpret the meaning of those words.”
In my opinion it is ironic that Malcolm X was
assassinated in 1965, just when he had finally found a moderate way of dealing
with racial segregation and inequality. No one knows what might have happened,
had he had more time. Throughout his lifetime he changed his views several
times, influenced by his surroundings and by what he experienced. Maybe it is
not enough to reduce his message to a strong hatred for white people. Even
though his ideas and politics were radical and he did not attempt to soften his
message, he gave people hope for a better future and I believe that hope is one
of the most important messages one can have.
Sources:
http://books.google.at/books?id=RownbjVryWIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=malcolm+x&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vNRwU6XEBa6A7QbQ2YGQCQ&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=malcolm%20x&f=false
http://www.malcolmx.com/about/bio.html
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/malcolm-x
http://www.colostate.edu/orgs/MSA/find_more/m_x.html
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/malcolmx/canalysis.html
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