| The life of Malcolm X is rife with contradictions. Early in his life he was the hippest of street-wise hustlers with an unflinching pragmatism. A little later in life he depicts himself as a slightly holier-than-thou-art apostle of Elijah Muhammed. But, there are two characteristics which are consistent throughout his life: passionate activism and self-preservation. These characteristics lead him to a third and most significant doctrine by which he lived and died. In his own words, "I'm a human being first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole" (p. 373). The passionate activism and self-preservation are constant throughout his life. They are the fuel that fed the flame of evolution from juvenile delinquent to street hustler to prison over-achiever to dedicated Black Muslim to enlightened pacifist with race-accepting attitudes. From his early childhood Malcolm learned that he wanted to get something, buttered biscuits for instance from his mother, he had to put up a fuss to make it happen. Because of this he later realized, "I had learned that if you want something you had to make some noise" (p. 8). In the years that followed Malcolm's family was split up by the state and he found himself in a detention home. In this time, also, he had the famous experience of a white teacher telling him that he should not dream of being a lawyer but be realistic and plan to be a carpenter. He took the message that his black skin made him less than welcome in some parts of the world. In these adverse conditions though, Malcolm took the initiative to write a letter to his aunt Ella in Boston and say that he wanted to go there to live. Now, it is true that Ella did all the work to make this possible, such as official custody transfer, but it was Malcolm's refusal to accept things as they were and resulting activism that made that move to Boston possible. In hindsight he realized, "No physical move in my life has been more pivotal or profound in its repercussions" (p. 39). Once in Boston, Malcolm quickly went through one of his first evolutions. He became wise to the big city streets of Boston. The man who trained him in his first job there - shining shoes - taught him that, "The main thing you got to remember is that everything in the world is a hustle" (p. 51). In the times that followed Malcolm sold food on train cars, ran numbers, sold drugs, funneled men to prostitutes and madames, and a number of other hustles. He excelled at making things happen through his optimism and persevered through his savvy sense of self-preservation. He referred to regularly, hourly jobs as "slaves" and avoided them. And, he was learning along the way. While selling food on a train car he got into the habit of cussing and cursing a lot, especially at customers who were servicemen. When one such servicemen stood up drunk and announced he was going to fight Malcolm. Malcolm responded that he would fight, but that the servicemen was wearing too much clothes. He kept saying things like this until the servicemen was standing half-naked causing much laughter throughout the train car. Other servicemen eventually got him out of the way to stop the humiliation. Malcolm's conclusion: "I would never forget that - that I couldn't have whipped that white man as badly with a club as I had with my mind" (p. 81). Also, there is an underlying strand of self-preservation here. Malcolm is consistently described as tall and skinny; the servicemen is described as "big and beefy" and was clearly not alone. If a fight had actually ensued, the only question was how bad it would have turned out for Malcolm. When all of Malcolm hustles - now in both Boston and New York - had become less safe, he got into burglary. With his trusted friend Shorty, his white woman Sophia, and Sophia's sister they went through a methodical system of finding vulnerable rich, white homes, carrying out the robbery, and then moving the stolen goods off to a "fence" who would pay them for the materials and re-sell them at a profit. Through periods of heavy work and then laying low while the scene cooled off they were successful at this new hustle, for a while, until they were caught in the store of a fence. Although he was convinced and sentenced to ten years in prison, of which he actually served seven, he quickly grew past the early, self-destructive anger that consumed him. In this first year of prison he "was physically miserable and as evil-tempered as a snake" (p. 155). Soon, though, he began practicing his correspondence skills and reading books from the prison library. He also became active in prison hustles: betting on games of dominoes or taking bets on baseball games or prizefights. After a transfer to a nicer prison, Malcolm began reading voraciously and even got involved in weekly debates. He reflected that, "My reading had my mind like a steam under pressure. Some way, I had to start telling the white man about himself to his face. I decided I could do this by putting my name down to debate" (p. 187). After he had been in prison for two years he got a letter from his brother Reginald instructing him not to eat any more pork or smoke any more cigarettes. These had been two staples throughout his life, especially in prison. But, he kicked the nicotine habit and stopped eating the pork because Reginald claimed this would get him out of prison. He did not know that they were only conditioning him for conversion to Black Islam. But, when Reginald visited him in person and told him all about Elijah Muhammed and his teachings, it did not take long for Malcolm to become interested and begin following the teachings. He even began to write to Elijah Muhammed daily. This second evolution further points to the activism, passionately pursuing these unusual requests from his brother, and self-preservation to fuel it. When he was released from prison, he went to live with his brother Wilfred in Detroit and there became involved with the organization of Black Muslims. He was a very active worshipper and eventually rose to the rank of assistant minister. Later he became a minister and was sent to other places, under Elijah Muhammed's direction, to organize more Mosques. There were plenty of other people, convicts and non-convicts alike, who were all dedicated followers of Elijah Muhammed. But Malcolm rose above them in prominence and even confidence before Elijah Muhammed because of his activism. He was an energetic recruiter and an innovative motivater. But, because he understood that all that he preached came from Elijah Muhammed, he followed to the letter all that was taught - self-preservation. Gradually he grew from having small living room meetings, to opening new places of worship, to organizing huge stadium rallies where he and Elijah Muhammed would speak, and also organizing caravans of people to attend them. He became an apparent second in command to Elijah Muhammed, and surpassed him in notoriety. As he describes it, "Only by being two people could I have worked harder in the service of the Nation of Islam...I had helped bring about the progress and national impact such that no one could call us liars when we called Mr. Muhammed the most powerful black man in America" (p. 295). But, his character caused him to feel a bit of dissatisfaction despite this progress: "If I harbored any personal disappointment whatsoever, it was that privately I was convinced that our National of Islam could be an even greater force in the American black man's overall struggle - if we engaged in more action" (p. 295). Perhaps it was also his character that lead to a difference of opinion with Elijah Muhammed in the wake of President Kennedy's assassination. Following the assassination, Elijah Mohammed instructed all Black Muslim ministers to not talk to the press about the event at all. But, when Malcolm was asked he could not hold back. According him , "Without a second thought I said what I honestly felt - that it was, as I saw it, a case of 'chickens coming home to roost'" (p. 307). In response to this statement on the event of JFK's assassination, Elijah Muhammed silenced Malcolm. He was not so speak to the press or to any other Muslim. Soon after Malcolm perceived that Elijah Muhammed had approved talk of assassinating him. "I went few places," he said, "without constant awareness that any number of my former brothers felt they would make heroes of themselves in the Nation of Islam if they killed me" (p. 323). Having thus broken from the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammed. After public clamor to find out what his next move would be he announced, "'I am going to organize and head a new mosque in New York City. It will be the working base for an action program designed to eliminate the political oppression, the economic exploitation, and the social degradation suffered daily by twenty-two million Afro-Americans" (p. 323). But, in preparation for this huge undertaking, Malcolm decided to take the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj; to visit Mecca. It was on this pilgrimage that Malcolm's last and strongest beliefs were formed. A number of events there changed the tune of his old mantra, "White man is the devil." One of the most profound, he remembers by writing, "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land - every color, and class, and rank; high officials and beggar alike - all snored in the same language" (p. 350). Upon arriving in the Arab world, Malcolm had a lot of trouble with travel arrangements but was helped extensively by a white Muslim who was familiar with his reputation. The next morning "was the start of a radical alteration in my whole outlook about 'white' men" (p. 340). Upon returning to America from this pilgrimage he made an announcement which shocked many people: "In the past, yes, I have made sweeping indictments of all white people. I never will be guilty of that again - as I know now that some white people are truly sincere, that some truly are capable of being brotherly toward a black man" (p. 369). He would go on to say it very clearly that, "I have learned that not all white people are racists" (p. 374) and ultimately he would give the quote that was shown early in this paper: "I'm a human being first and foremost , and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole" (p. 373). I believe that these statements are the reason that Malcolm took the time to write this book. All the pages written before this were written toward this point; it is in this acceptance and universal cooperation where Malcolm found his ultimate passion. But, it was the ideals of passionate activism and self-preservation that lead him there. His life, as shown, exhibits these values at every turn and even in these final statement. For, what better reason to promote tolerance than if it is going to improve the conditions of yourself and those around you, and what better motivation for people to get active about it than if it is going to promote all of humankind! **All cited quotes come from The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told By Alex Haley. Return to Writing Ryan's Race-related Issues page Return to Writing Ryan's main page |
| Malcolm X: A Revolutionized Revolutionary by Ryan Cofrancesco |