Exploratory Draft for Malcolm X

My trouble questions Malcolm X’s ideal society and his ways of progressing towards that. This all started when Malcolm was introduced to the Nation of Islam: which during his imprisonment was at a time of his own weakness. So when his brother came to him and told him of this religion that taught that the white man was the devil, of course Malcolm wanted to believe that! Of course it seemed perfect to blame all of his problems on the entire race of the very man that placed him in jail! And from that point on, Malcolm educated himself, preached, and taught others with this filter of the devil white man always in his mind.

            Islam–at least the way it was practiced in America during Malcolm’s time–was a religion driven by pure hate. It was driven by the ridiculous idea that the black man was the “superior race” and that they should never forgive the white man for destroying their past, present, and future. And instead of finding peace and a way to live in harmony, people of the Nation of Islam believed that blacks and whites should live in total separation and isolation from one another.

–now, one thing interesting to note here is that it seems as if Malcolm is oblivious to the fact that black and white are not the only to races in the world. He seems to have this idea that it’s the white man on top and the black man at the bottom, no room for anyone else. So it’s only when he goes to Mecca that he not only embraces the idea of true brotherhood, but broadens his scope to see people of all races living together–

Malcolm was devoted to spreading these teachings during his time as a member of the Nation. So clearly, his ideal society was a world in which there was a segregated equality–and that’s putting it nicely. I’m not really even sure what Elijah Muhammad and his followers would do to the white race if they could... to say the least, they would definitely not support integration.

What I’m troubled by is the fact that I don’t think this type of world would be at all positive for society to move forward as a whole. As a citizen of the very diverse, integrated community of New York City, it’s hard to imagine a subway car where I don’t have an African-American woman to my right and an Asian man to my left; an Indian girl with a Caucasian mother standing up, a Hispanic man with his little grandson sitting down. If Malcolm X got what he wanted, would I be sitting on a train with only people of my race, the following train separate for another? This just doesn’t seem realistic.

It should most certainly be acknowledged that Malcolm was treated poorly by the American “white man’s” system for much of his childhood. And it is true that for much of America’s history the black man was enslaved and looked down upon by whites. And it is true that for absolutely no good reason the American black man was treated unfairly, unjustly, and cruelly for a long time. Looking down at my own hands as I write this, I feel ashamed to have “white skin”–I didn’t chose the color of my skin; no one does–and it’s strange to be a part of this group of people that (being very general) is known for being so cruel to others in the past when I didn’t do anything. And there are so many other people just like me that just so happen to have white skin but would never dream of being so harsh.

Anyway, what I want to make clear is that I think Malcolm, and people like him, had every right to be angry at the American white man’s oppressive “system.” But pushing America into a purely segregated society was not right, is not right.. So it becomes challenging to draw the line between excusable anger and simply overall effectiveness on and well being for a society. And when people of all colors come together they create world of so many different cultures, ethnicities, beliefs, and ways of life in which they can learn from one another and progress so much. So despite the negligence that Malcolm experienced, this is what he should have fought for. Not wasting his time trying to reverse the roles and have the black man be in control as a spitting image of the white man that once did the same. He argues that there’s no point in trying to achieve equality because the white man will always have superiority, but how much better would society be vice versa? Not at all better. So it’s not even about the color of your skin! It’s about equality between everyone no matter anything, and a world in which there is not a dominating, superior group of people.

Although Malcolm does eventually realize this idea of harmony in Mecca, he could have been a much more effective, positive leader for more of his life if his mission was changed. With all the power and respect that Malcolm truly did have for a big part of his life, think about how much more he could of changed–and even how much more respect and support he would have gotten, from both races–if his attitude was towards peace and equality between everyone.