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Malcolm X Intro Draft

In the Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told by Alex Haley, Malcolm goes on a pilgrimage to Mecca and completes the Hajj, a religious journey within Islam that all Muslims are urged to make. He returns from Mecca having gone through a completely transformative experience during which many of his beliefs about the American white man shift. Malcolm’s change is often understood as a very simplistic duality: as if he leaves America hating the white man and comes back loving him.

However, it seems troubling and unlikely that a person’s ideals and beliefs could change so diametrically over such a short period of time. And when looking deeper within Malcolm’s metamorphosis, it’s clear that his change isn’t (wasn’t?) that simple. So it becomes interesting to investigate what it is (was?) that Malcolm did realize after Mecca.
                The assumption that Malcolm hated the white man, somehow instantly changed, and began to love him is one that is very shallow and limited. And not looking more closely at his transformation means not giving Malcolm enough credit for the depth and sophistication of his change. What Malcolm did realize, in fact, was something much deeper than the black man versus the white man; beyond skin color. He rethinks America’s systems and comes to understand that it’s power that seperates and oppresses people. Through Malcolm’s journey in Mecca we notice that the lack of equality in America is due to the uneven distribution of power, and that it is not the color of their skin that makes the white man evil, it is their dominance in the economic, political, and social system. It is the white man’s deeply rooted idea that he is the superior that caused discrimination and prevented equality. Clearly, Malcolm’s transformation was one of great complexity that deserves to be explored.

Malcolm X: Exploratory Draft Reflections

Riya:

Claim: Different occurrences and influences during Malcolm's life caused his views on the white man to constantly change.

Question: How did Malcolm's views on the white man change so often?

Trouble: Malcolm seems to have so many different opinions on the white man that change throughout the course of his life.

Status-Quo: Malcolm should have a concrete idea and opinion on the white man,

Fine Tuned: If Malcolm should have a concrete idea on the white man, but he seems to have so many different opinions that change constantly throughout the course of his life, how did//what influenced these views to change so often?

Precious:

Claim: It is important to learn about Malcolm's past to understand how he became the prestigious man that people look up to today.

Question: How was Malcolm able to become a role model in his later years when his past was full of crime and mischief?

Trouble: It seems strange that Malcolm became this whole different person with the "dangerous," per se, past that he had.

Status-Quo: If a leader promotes something, it would seem strange if their past contradicts their teachings.

Fine Tuned: If a leader promotes something, their past should not their teachings, (and?) but Malcolm X had a past full of crime and mischief, than how is it that he became the prestigious role model that he was/is?

Myself:

Claim: Being the powerful and influential leader that he was, Malcolm could have changed the world for the better if his teachings promoted unity and equality between all people, as oppose to his idea that in fact enforced having a superior race.

Question: Was Malcolm's belief in a world with a segregated equality the most positive, progressive, and effective way for society to move forward?

Trouble: Malcolm wasted his time as a powerful leader promoting ideas that were, in the long run, negative for society as whole.

Status-Quo: Malcolm spent so much of his life passionately teaching and spreading his ideas against the white race, that were fired by the morals of the Nation of Islam.

Fine Tuned: If Malcolm spent so much of his life passionately teaching and spreading his ideas against the white race, but he wasted his time as a powerful leader promoting ideas that were, in the long run, negative for society as whole, then were Malcolm's beliefs in a world with a segregated equality the most positive, progressive, and effective way for society to move forward?

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.

Proposal for Malcolm X

I am interested in writing about Malcolm X's tactics as a leader, because I want question whether his ideal society and his ways of progressing towards that really was the most realistic, effective, and positive way for a society to move forward. This is important because as a citizens of the very diverse community of New York City, it's hard to imagine the world that Malcolm X strived for for most of his life–a separated society where there is a segregated equality, where people live solely with their own race and don't interact with groups of other races out of pure hate. One ways to consider this is to think about and question how Malcolm X would really feel if he saw such a society; if he would really feel proud that his vision came true, and that it is truly how people should live their lives.

Intro to Mecca

For years now, Malcolm has lived under the beliefs of the Nation of Islam with this concrete idea of Islam being a segregated religion. He was taught that black men were the superior race and that the idea of blacks and whites living together was simply ridiculous and impossible. Therefore, this religion did not teach peace in America, it encouraged pure hate of other races. To Malcolm, these teachings were the basis of the Islam he knew.

However, during his pilgrimage to Mecca, Malcolm begins to realize something that was probably unimaginable to him before. He comes to this foreign land with this mistaken idea of what Islam is–as a religion that teaches separation between the races. But when he sees the brotherhood, the unity of all people living together as one in Mecca–the home of Islam–Malcolm is troubled. Contrary to what he saw and believed in America, the thought that Islam allowed people of all colors to live in harmony was shocking. Yet, beneath this surprise, his questioning of this strange reality, there is joy for Malcolm. There is anger that he's lived under the wrong assumption but there is joy because he realizes that brotherhood is possible. After seeing this unification of all people, Malcolm comes to believe that having a single religion, such as Islam–as practiced in Mecca–, is the key to unifying people despite their race; an idea that previously escaped him due to his stereotypical label of the "devil white man."

Weekly Reflection: 9/16 - 9/19

This past week, we read, took notes on, and discussed the first two chapters of the Autobiography of Malcolm X. It was really interesting to revisit the beginning of the book after reading the whole text over the summer. I noticed themes, patterns, and ideas that I didn't notice before, and had a few connections, troubles, and questions about the reading.

In the beginning of the week, we started off our discussion on Malcolm X thinking about a quote that he says towards the end of the book: "My whole life has been a chronology of changes." As a class, we talked about the word choice of "changes." Chronology means a timely sequence, so I wondered what mood Malcolm intended for "changes" to have. After reading the first chapter, it became clear that these changes seemed more like devestations. In the first few pages, Malcolm talks about the constant tension between his mother and father. He describes his father's death–a murder by a white hate clan–which occurred when Malcolm was just five years old. He describes his family's downhill spiral; his mother left a widow with no source of income, with multiple children to take of. His mother's unstability, anxiousness, and insanity. His family's separation, by white welfare state workers, his numerous foster homes and reform schools he gets shipped of to. So right of the bat, it's as if there's a soundtrack to the beginning of his life that just goes boom, boom, boom–each boom a shattering, huge, painful "change." I didn't realize the full force of this until I read it the second time, and I really understood the jagged childhood he was raised with.

I tried to connect this to Malcolm's personality, drive, and actions that he reveals later in the book. I saw how everything he fought for was backed up by a truly personal event. His entire childhood, at least how he sees it, was destroyed by the white man. Although I don't agree with every claim, idea, and belief Malcolm has, I see his motivation and connections, and I have compassion for him.

That being said, I noticed when Malcolm really started paying attention to racism. After going to Boston to visit his half-sister Ella–a proud black women, as he describes her–for the first time in his life, he sees true black pride and spirit. And when he comes back home, he begins to notice little things that he never noticed before–comments from peers, elders, and teachers that, although not intentionally, were insults to black people. Instead of treating like every day talk–as it was for most of the whites where he lived–he begins to turn and look back whenever someone calls him "nigger." And when his teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, shuns him from his dream of being a lawyer, saying that Malcolm must be practical and strive for a carpenter or so, he really shuts Malcolm down. This is the turning point in Malcolm's views on racism–not when his father dies from white extremists. That is a trouble that I hope to further explore in the days ahead.