Let's Talk About Malcolm X (And My Reflection on His Influence)
Who is Malcolm X? Β°ββ.ΰ³ΰΏ*:ο½₯Β°ββ.ΰ³ΰΏ*:ο½₯
Malcom X, born Malcolm Little, was a Black revolutionary and a prominent leader during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s of American culture. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 19, 1925. This was a year before moving to Wisconsin and Michigan two years afterward. Originally, Malcolm grew up in an impoverished community with his siblings, his mom, Louise Little, and his dad, Earl Little (both Marcus Garvey supporters). From a young age, Malcolm experienced nothing but traumatic grief and hardships -- truly understanding what it's like to be a victim/product of your circumstances. After moving to Michigan, Earl Little died a mysterious death that was alleged to be a "streetcar accident", although Malcolm would confirm it was a local KKK chapter that killed Earl. Following his death, Louise struggled to care for the Littles, so she mentally broke down, leading to her institutionalization into a mental hospital -- leaving Malcolm and his siblings to be split due to the foster care system.
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We all know that later down the line, his tough upbringing would lead him to his significant time in jail, receiving word of praise about the religion of Islam from four of his siblings who'd already converted, so he'd convert from Christianity to Islam as well as denounce his last name to replace it with "X." This eagerness for change would be one of the main attitudes Malcolm is still known for-- which is well expressed in many of his speeches-- including "By Any Means Necessary." When Malcolm gave this speech on June 25, 1964, through motivating the audience's desire for change, two ideas he encouraged were the self-preservation of African Americans and the unification of our community. Through this speech, he pushed the beliefs that (1) because the U.S. Constitution grants every American the right to bear arms, African Americans should have as much right as anyone else to exercise the Second Amendment, (especially when the threat and exercise of racial violence and crime against them has been so normalized and unpunished within American history for around a century at this point), and (2) because American rights were supposedly made for all American citizens yet not inclusively applied to everyone, it's up to the African American community to look out for one another and ensure each other's proper justice, treatment, and wellbeings as a collective because our differences don't mean anything to outsiders who only see our status and melanin.
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Although Christians at the time may have disagreed with the notions Malcolm was referring to in response to the racial injustice that was going on at the time, I don't necessarily disagree with the points he was emphasizing because I see the Christian perspective in that, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s reinforcement of peace. Listening to his speech, I really took away two things that I knew would be misunderstood by others, just because a Black man was saying what he felt was the truth: the Black community should have respect for ourselves enough not only be moved to empathize with each other in our ostracism but act compassionately, and understand we were created so intentionally that we deserve to defend ourselves and our legacy. No, as a Christian, I don't believe that God only created communities like the Black community so we can only be unified with the Black community. But that's not what Malcolm was necessarily saying. I believe between him and King, they're both alluding to God's character, unintentionally or not, because Jesus wasn't a protesting pacifist. He was radical. Once He was allowed to start His ministry, He didn't let people misinterpret His Father's Word and commandments any longer, nor did He leave any room for interpretation: He defined the truth as the truth was plainly stated (Matthew 5). Not only this, but He showed what it means to have righteous anger βnot to lash out at others βbut to show His respect for God's Holy Temple and to understand that He knows it's being abused and misused, expressing His anger at the injustice happening (John 2:13-17). But Jesus' righteous anger was also for those in Jewish/Roman low-status society who were also being mistreated and dismissed: His compassion showed up through His interactions and fellowship with them (in the Gospels). In this manner, Malcolm was just expressing it's time the Black community acts on their righteous anger in a unified manner that appreciates what the world can't understand about African Americans. Do I necessarily believe his view is better than King's? I'm not sure, to be honest, because of how King has always been praised, and because I personally love how King's Letter from a Birmingham JailΒ embodies a Christian approach to injustice, but they're more similar than people realize.
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However, one thing I wholeheartedly agree on is the second half of what Malcolm X finishes his speech with-- a truth that has been true for way too long: "...Or we will continue to be a defenseless people at the mercy of a ruthless and violent, racist mob," reemphasizing his belief in self-preservation. When I think of a moment Black people finally decided to unite in their righteous anger, I think about Emmett Till. Because Carol Bryant, a female store owner in the south, lied about how a fourteen-year-old Black boy from Chicago interacted with her, Emmett would be falsely depicted as a "disrespectful pervert" and, thus, kidnapped by Carol's husband and brother-in-law in the middle of the night, horribly abused and beaten to death until his body was left to rot in a body of water without anybody else around, Black or white, there to defend a defenseless young boy at the hands of two violent, racist men apart of a much bigger societal mob. When I remember that Mamie Till, and so many others who personally knew Emmett, had to hear on the backend how he died and how he was barely recognized, i couldn't begin to imagine such rage wrapped in loss, such fury wrapped in grief, and such sadness wrapped in a desire for justice when so many people from Chicago drove as many hours as they needed to to witness the trial in Mississippi or driving to Chicago just to see Emmett's open-casket funeral.. a boy mangled and unrecognizable from the hands of pure hatred.
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As much heartbreak and losses as communities like the Black community have faced ever since our ancestors were forced over to America, forced to be submissive and intimidated, Malcolm did have a point. Why say self-defense is violent when Black people are just choosing to respect the temples God created lovingly-- their bodies and their beings? Self-defense can go as far as Moses Wright, Emmett's uncle, when he declared the truth and honestly accused Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam of murdering Emmett, choosing not to cave into fear because the reality behind Emmett's tragedy was much more important to him. Anger can fuel righteous justice, as shown by Mamie, when she decided to nationally show the world what happens when they choose to dehumanize anybody who isn't up to their standards, including a young boy who had so much living to do. This wordless stance can be just as effective and morally right as protesting and testifying because it's not from a place of hate-- but hurt. For a people as mistreated as minorities, the opportunity to defend ourselves is not essentially violent, but cathartically healing because when you've been oppressed and belittled for so long, you finally see God's hand upon your heart calling you to walk in His courageous confidence, to witness Him change who truly defines minorities and their legacies.
So, do I believe exercising American rights is just as morally right as peaceful protesting? Yes, depending on where your heart posture is in it. If it's to imitate the hate of your oppressors and intimidation of the world, no. But, if it's to redefine how people see your place in the world from honesty and love as much as respect for yourself and others, then yes. That's why some voices are more memorable than others, because these voices aren't conceding, they're correcting. As King says, "to love is to hold accountable," and that powerful, brave choice of accountability is what makes people listen. That's what made people listen to Malcolm. He grabbed the attention of people like Jesus did, and walked in being the change as much as he talked about it. These are admirable, even if controversial, so I wouldn't walk away from this conversation demonizing him, because he's seen firsthand how the world can demonize you first.
