A Mixed Legacy
By Ayesha K.

Malcolm X was assassinated in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom twenty years ago on February 21, 1965. Born Malcolm Little, he discarded his last name, because he felt it was a “slave” name handed to his great grandfather by his white owner. Unlike Martin Luther King, Malcolm X wanted blacks to not only stand up for their rights, but also to demand a separate country for themselves. He thought King’s integration and assimilation policy smacked of low self-esteem and Malcolm X held the conviction that white America would never include blacks in their midst. His viewpoint, language and bravado made him a formidable force in the black struggle against racism and segregation. But despite allegations, he never advocated terrorism or violence, and while he held questionable views for many years, he displayed an ability to learn from experience and changing circumstances. Admired and feared, revered and loathed, Malcolm X always elicited a strong reaction. Even today, as scholars try to sift the truth from the lies, Malcolm X's past is a mixed, albeit powerful, legacy.

I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.

A Difficult Beginning

	Malcolm X Official Website
	PBS Documentary
	Malcolm X: The Movie

Malcolm X was born in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, one of a family of eight children. His father died in an accident, although his family contended that the Klu Klux Klan had murdered him. Malcolm’s mother, unable to bear the pressures of raising eight children on her own, had a nervous breakdown and had to be institutionalized. Her children were placed in foster homes and Malcolm found himself living in Philadelphia, a student in a predominately white school. His intelligence was evident even at that young age, when he continually stood first in his class. His favorite teacher, however, extinguished his academic fires when he approached him about becoming a lawyer. Malcolm's teacher bluntly told him that law was “no realistic goal for a nigger.” His academic inspirations snuffed, Malcolm left school and went to Boston. There, his good looks and debonair mannerisms, immaculate style, smooth talking and shock of red hair, made him somewhat of a young celebrity in underground circles. Between Harlem and Boston, Malcolm engaged in all kinds of petty crimes after hours – gambling, finding prostitutes for rich white customers, and even theft. It was the stealing that would put an end to his freewheeling career. Arrested in 1946 when trying to pawn a watch he had stolen from a house, he and his friend were sentenced to ten years in jail. They both realized that as first time offenders, the court has punished them more for having two white girls as their lovers and cohorts, than for their crime.

Nation of Islam
Young Malcolm, shocked by the sentence, found himself looking at ten years in jail at the age of twenty-three. He decided to spend his time in prison educating himself and could often be found in the prison library, pouring over everything from Plato’s Republic to mathematics and science. His superior oratory skills made him a stiff competitor when the Harvard and MIT students came to debate with the prison teams. It is said that prisoners who never showed any interest in classes, came especially to hear Malcolm debate. It is indeed surprising to hear Malcolm's speeches – his command over language, ability to form arguments and use of metaphors and analogies, not to mention references to history, philosophy and literature – are atypical of someone who has had no formal education after junior high school. His perseverance in improving himself and ability to change and learn from circumstances was a trait that would define him throughout his life.

And if Jesus were here in America today, he wouldn't be going to the white man. The white man is the oppressor. He would be going to the oppressed. He would be going to the humble. He would be going to the lowly. He would be going to the rejected and the despised. He would be going to the so-called American negro.

While at prison, Malcolm’s brothers urged him to join a new movement, called Nation of Islam, whose leader, Elijah Mohammad, advocated that blacks were equal to whites. The Nation of Islam had tremendous appeal for Malcolm, who associated Christianity with white supremacy and was looking for a place to house his spiritual allegiance. When Malcolm was released after seven years in 1952, he went straight to pay his regards to Elijah Mohammad. Three months later, Malcolm had joined the Nation of Islam as a minister.

Preacher with a Cause
Malcolm’s years at the Nation of Islam were undoubtedly one of the most important in his life and unfortunately, because he died so young, are often considered most telling of his political philosophy. Now Malcolm "X", he became the voice of the Nation, preaching Elijah Mohammad's message from city to city. In just a few years, Malcolm succeeded in taking the membership of the cause from 500 to over 30,000. His charisma and intellect charmed everyone from street vendors to intellectuals, and he debated his points on television, in the newspapers and in front of thousands at rallies. But while Elijah Mohammad preached that God would care of everything eventually, Malcolm continually pushed the boundaries, urging blacks to stand up for their rights and fight back, emotionally and physically. His aggressive anti-white philosophy perturbed the CIA, the civil rights movement, moderate blacks and even Elijah Mohammad who tried to restrain him. But it was difficult to contain Malcolm and his vision for a new country for blacks in the American continent.

If a dog is biting a black man, the black man should kill the dog, whether the dog is a police dog or a hound dog or any kind of dog. If a dog is fixed on a black man when that black man is doing nothing but trying to take advantage of what the government says is supposed to be his, then that black man should kill that dog or any two-legged dog who sicks the dog on him.

Malcolm’s dreams of a new nation state seemed far-fetched and unattainable. But he continued to insist that "as Muslims, we believe that separation is the best way and the only sensible way, not integration." He followed everything that Elijah Mohammad preached to the letter – he was on time, he wore suits, respected women and was celibate till he married. Despite his commitment to the Nation, Malcolm ever-rising popularity stirred both admiration and envy in the Nation. Meanwhile, a series of events began to create a distance between Malcolm and the Nation. In a conversation with the saviour’s son in 1963, Malcolm claimed to have learned that Elijah Mohammad had fathered eight children with six different girls who worked in the Nation of Islam. Devastated and hurt by what he believed was the truth, Malcolm found his trust and faith deeply shaken.

Estrangement and a New Start
When Malcolm discussed his revelation with some other members of the Nation, it only furthered the misgivings that Elijah Mohammad harboured against Malcolm. When Malcolm made politically incorrect comments about the assassination of J.F.Kennedy, despite instructions from Elijah Mohammad to stay away from the topic, he was immediately “silenced” for three months by the Nation. This meant he could not speak in public on behalf of the Nation for that period. Malcolm, still attached to the Nation and its founder, hoped that he could patch things up, but a meeting with Elijah Mohammad confirmed that the Nation had no place for him anymore.

Uninspired and disillusioned, Malcolm decided to take a trip to Europe, the Middle East and Africa to find a new source of inspiration and camaraderie. In particular, Malcolm's pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964 affected him profoundly. He returned a new man, saying that he had said prayers with his “blond blue-eyed brothers” in Mecca and realized that he had made a mistake to call all white men devils. Many marvelled at Malcolm’s political courage in admitting his mistakes, and promising to take steps to amend them. Malcolm now advocated human rights and considered minority issues "not a Negro problem, [but] a problem of humanity."

Our problem is not an American problem, it's a human problem. It's not a Negro problem, it's a problem of humanity. It's not a problem of civil rights, but a problem of humanity.

He set up a new organization, which he called the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and set about preaching his later ideals, which won Malcolm many new friends. However, he began receiving death threats and even though there was no proof, Malcolm suspected that they came from the Nation of Islam. A bomb on February 14, 1965 destroyed his house but his family managed to escape unhurt. Unfortunately, he was not so lucky the following week when making a speech at Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom. Three armed gunman came right through the crowds and riddled Malcolm X with bullets, killing him on the spot.

Twenty Years On
After all this time, Malcolm X stands a hero to some and a villain to others. His lasting legacy lies mainly in the energy and self-confidence that he gave to the soul of his community. His stature compared to Martin Luther King is mixed; people argue that had Malcolm X lived longer, he would have wielded far more influence than he does now. They believe that Malcolm X would have built upon his new humanitarian and civil rights ideas, and would be perceived less as a radical revolutionary and more as a true visionary. But despite his early death, there is little doubt of the man’s intelligence, his genuine commitment to his people and his brave vision for a world where minorities are equal and prosperous. After Malcolm X's death, Martin Luther King continued the civil rights movement till he himself was also assassinated by a white supremacist in 1968. The movement received a great boost when President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race. The Nation of Islam still exists today under the direction of Louis Farrakhan.

To have once been a criminal is no disgrace. To remain a criminal is the disgrace. I formerly was a criminal. I formerly was in prison. I'm not ashamed of that. You never can use that over my head.