Malcolm X Questions, by Marwah Ayache

Malcolm X’s description of his childhood sounds frightening. When his mother was pregnant with him, members of the Ku Klux Klan came on horseback to his home in Omaha, Nebraska. They had guns and wanted his father, Earl Little, to come out. Little’s mother said he was not home, and the Klan members stated that they wanted him to get out of town because of the “trouble” he was causing. They smashed the windows of the house. The Ku Klux Klan did this because Earl Little was a supporter of Marcus Garvey, who preached that African Americans should leave America to return to their land of origin.

This incident influenced the family’s decision to move, once Malcolm was born, to Lansing, Michigan. When Malcolm was four years old, a racist group called the Black Legionnaires set his childhood home in Lansing on fire because his father wanted to start a business and move out of the black district (Haley and X The Autobiography of Malcolm X; Lee Malcolm X). Because African Americans were not allowed to live in Lansing, Malcolm’s family decided to move to a farm two miles from the town (Harley and X The Autobiography of Malcolm X).

Malcolm’s mother had a profound effect on him as a child. His mother had fair skin because her mother was raped by a white man. One of the reason she married Malcolm’s father was because of his darker complexion. She hated her own complexion and wanted her own children to have some color. His father treated his wife and children, except for Malcolm, harshly; Malcolm believed that was because he had the lightest skin out of all his siblings. His father was murdered when he was young. Malcolm’s family and friends believed he was attacked by the Black Legionnaires, who laid his body across the streetcar tracks to be run over. However, authorities considered it an accidental death.

After this event, a welfare official visited the family. This welfare official considered Malcolm a thief because he was forced to steal food because the family was too poor to buy it. This social worker took Malcolm and his siblings away from their mother; this destroyed the family because it caused Malcolm’s mother to have a breakdown that sent her to a mental hospital. Malcolm was put in a detention center and was put in the custody of another family. The other kids at school called him derogatory names and talked about him like he was not even there. His teachers were also cruel to him. His English teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, told Malcolm that his goal of becoming a lawyer was “unrealistic” because of the color of his skin. Instead, he advised Malcolm to become a carpenter (Haley and X The Autobiography of Malcolm X; Lee Malcolm X).

Malcolm was first introduced to the Nation of Islam while he was serving his prison sentence. He began receiving letters from his family about the religion. However, Malcolm did not care or listen to them. He did not seem eager to learn. One of Malcolm’s family members, Reginald, understood him better than the rest of the family, and took a different approach with him. He told Malcolm that he could get out of jail quicker if he quit smoking and quit eating pork. Even though Malcolm did not understand this concept, he went along with it because he trusted Reginald. This decision was the first step towards becoming a Black Muslim. Later on, Reginald visited Malcolm and told him about the doctrines of the Nation of Islam. Afterwards, everyone else in the family wrote about the religion to Malcolm (Haley and X The Autobiography of Malcolm X).

Malcolm X was converted to Islam and the Black Muslims while he was in prison. He met a man named Baines in jail, who was involved in the Black Muslim Movement. He began teaching Malcolm about Islam and the movement itself. He also encouraged Malcolm to learn how to read and write again. One Malcolm was converted, he promised not to touch the white man’s poisons (his drugs, his liquor, his swine, and his women) since the body is temple that must be purified. Baines told him that he must be an outstanding example for those who need it. Malcolm X promised not to commit actions such as adultery, fornication, lying, cheating, or stealing. Baines explained to him that submission was key to Islam, which was why Muslims turned towards Mecca five times daily to pray.

Malcolm was hesitant at first to pray with Baines because he did not know what to say. Baines explained that people who pray admit their guilt and implore Allah’s forgiveness, which is the hardest and the greatest thing to do. In addition, he told Malcolm X to tell Allah about the time he picked someone’s lock to rob their house. Malcolm X was able to pray after he received a letter from Elijah Muhammad. In the letter, Elijah Muhammed welcomed Malcolm personally to the faith (Lee,Malcolm X). Elijah Muhammed was the spiritual leader of the Black Muslim movement. Black Muslims believed that Elijah Muhammed was a messenger sent from Allah.

There were many different characteristics of the Black Muslim movement. One characteristic was their stance against the white man. This movement blamed white men for all the problems and oppression that African Americans had to go through; they believed the true nature of the white man was wickedness and that all white men were devils. The movement preached that African American must love themselves. The Black Muslim believed they were part of a tribe called the Shabazz. In addition, Black Muslims believed that the world belonged to them. The Black Muslim movement preached that they were Africans living in America. They also preached that some African Americans still had the slave mentality. The Black Muslim movement looked down on African Americans who preached nonviolence and to pray and love the enemy. Finally, the Black Muslims believed that Islam was the only way out from sins like adultery, drugs, alcohol, fornication, gambling, etc. However, many people during this time believed the Black Muslim movement taught= black supremacy and hatred (Lee Malcolm X).       

Malcom X had many personal characteristics that lead him to a leadership role with the Black Muslims. To begin with, Malcolm was very intelligent and devoted to the Nation of Islam. This is what attracts Elijah Muhammed’s attention. Malcolm would go to many rallies to preach and promote the beliefs of Black Muslims from his knowledge of the religion. Also, he was able to inspire and command many people. Many Black Muslims enjoy hearing his speeches during rallies or sermons. When he went to go get Brother Johnson from jail and bring him to the hospital, he had a whole group of Black Muslims with him to do this. He also inspired another man to join the Black Muslims after this event occurred. Finally, he was very persistent and strong. When he went to go get Brother Johnson from jail, he demanded that he would be able to see him and that he get medical attention immediately after he saw him because of his injuries.

However, a few events lead to Malcom X’s split with the Black Muslims in the mid-1960s. Elijah Muhammad is told that the ministers believe that Malcolm is getting too much press. In addition, they believe that Malcolm thinks he is the nation of Islam, has aspirations to lead the nation, become rich off the nation, and is only a benefit to himself. Elijah Muhammed likes what Malcolm is doing for the Black Muslims movement and does not agree with the ministers at first, but he eventually believes it since he becomes increasingly jealous of how popular Malcolm gets. However, Malcolm is unaware of this growing jealously. In addition, Malcolm leans that Elijah Muhammed is facing paternity charges from two former secretaries who charge that him is the father of their children. While Malcolm X finds it hard to believe at first, he investigates the situations and finds out the truth. He learned that Elijah Muhammed was the father of the children, but he had told these two women how much he loved Malcolm and thought he was a great minister. However, Elijah Muhammed also confided in them that he thought Malcolm would leave him someday and turn against him, which made Malcolm dangerous.

This is when Malcolm realizes that he believed very strongly in Elijah Muhammad, even more than Elijah did himself. As a result, Malcolm never suspected that Elijah Muhammad was a conscious fraud. All the two women wanted was for Elijah Muhammed to provide for the children. Then, Malcolm learns about what the minister feels about him and hears from Elijah Muhammed owning up to his accusations. This is when Malcolm begins to feel betrayal. After Malcolm says the wrong thing at an event, he is “silenced” for 90 days by Elijah Muhammed and cannot make a statement to the press. This is when Elijah Muhammed begins to get sick and the Black Muslims being to harass Malcolm X’s home by making calls. Malcolm finds out from one of his Black Muslim brothers that he was sent on a mission to put a wire in Malcolm’s car so that the car would explode once he turned the ignition. This is because the ministers had said that Malcolm was spreading lies about Elijah Muhammed, a hypocrite, a traitor, and that he should stop speaking. This is the moment where he decides to leave the Black Muslim movement (Haley and X The Autobiography of Malcolm X; Lee, Malcolm X).

Once he split from the organization, Malcolm realized that he was his own person who can speak and act for himself. After the split, Malcolm decides to have a press conference to clear the air. Malcolm states that he will speak his own ideas and think his own thoughts, not the ideas and thoughts of Elijah Muhammed. Malcolm wants to use a more flexible approach towards working with other people to get to a solution. He states that he forgot every bad thing he said about other leaders and asks that they do the same; Malcolm believes that they need to work together. He also is planning on building and leading a new mosque known as Muslim Mosque Incorporated, which will provide a religious base and spiritual force to built the moral fiber of the community. Malcolm changed his political party to black nationalism, which means that he wants to control the politics of our community. He believes there cannot be black/white unity until there is black unity first. Malcolm X decides to go visit Arabia and the city of Mecca to to fully understand Islam. The most significant result of the trip was the effect it has on Malcolm’s attitude towards race. Malcolm realized that racial problems had to do more with attitude than with color. During the trip, Malcolm was most impressed with the strong sense of brotherhood among pilgrims of different races since this was the exact opposite of what he was use to in America. However, he is being followed by American CIA agents during his trip (Haley and X The Autobiography of Malcolm X; Lee, Malcolm X).

Malcolm begins to get death threats over the phone. His house gets attacked by someone who threw a molotov cocktail bomb through the windows and the house catch on fire. Malcolm believes that it the Black Muslims, but they believe it is a publicity stunt by Malcolm X. Malcolm worries about the safety of himself and his family. Malcom does get a gun. He feels like he has to change his way to make people feel comfortable. His advisors suggest that he be armed, but he refuses. Eventually, Malcolm ends up believing that the Nation of Islam is not working alone in what they are doing to him. Malcolm was constantly aware of of threat against his life. He was well aware that Elijah Muhammed wanted him dead, and several attempts were made to kill him before one was successful. He is shot several times while giving a speech in front of his white and children. He leaves behind a legacy of bring one of the brightest hopes and a brave, young champion people to many people. According to the movie, Malcolm’s legacy is so big that he is considered Afro American, which is what he wanted all his people to be. There are many people who do not like Malcolm X and do not think he should be talked about in history since they look down upon certain moments of his life. However, others argue that many people did not truly know who Malcolm X was and really understand why he should be honored (Haley and X The Autobiography of Malcolm X; Le, Malcolm X).

                                                                 References

Haley, Alex, and Malcolm X. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York City: One World                    Books, 2015. Kindle edition.

Lee, Spike. Malcolm X. Performed by Denzel Washington. 1992. City: Warner Bros. Studio,                    2005. Amazon Prime Video.