It seems unlikely that he would have devoted time to pursue his education. On the contrary, he may have continued his life of criminality. However, once he was incarcerated, he was removed from his life of crime. With nothing better to do in jail, Malcolm became a voracious reader, giving himself the education he had not attained in the outside world. It was during Malcolm's incarceration that he heard from his brother Reginald, who had recently converted to the Nation of Islam. Malcolm pursued learning about the Nation of Islam, beginning contact with Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. In addition, Malcolm's street life helped him understand that violence was not a solution. He saw that violence had not been beneficial to his family; although his father was ready to meet the white arsonists with a gun, his father was still eventually murdered and his family destroyed. Furthermore, though Malcolm was not actively involved in a high-level of violence while he was on the street, he was able to understand that it created a futile cycle, which would only perpetuate the oppression of African-Americans. In fact, while many white Americans perceived Malcolm X as a violent threat, he did not believe that a violent revolution was the best solution to America's race issue. On the contrary, his incarceration led him to appreciate a right that he forfeited with his conviction; the right to vote. He stated, "The polls are one place where every black man could fight the black man's cause with dignity, and with the power and the tools that the white man understands, and respects, and fears, and cooperates...
It is doubtful that he would have come to that conclusion if he had not been incarcerated, or had not experienced, firsthand, the impact of a life of crime and violence. Not that it would be accurate to ever describe Malcolm as a pacifist. He stated that, "it's a crime for anyone who is being brutalized to continue to accept that brutality without doing something to defend himself" (Haley, p.366). He clarified his position by saying, "If it must take violence to get the black man his human rights in this country, I'm for violence" (Haley, p.367).
..I never will forget how shocked I was when I began reading about slavery's total horror. It made such an impact upon me that it later became one of my favorite subjects when I became a minister of Mr. Muhammad's. The world's most monstrous crime, the sin and the blood on the white man's hands, are almost impossible to believe." (Malcolm X, p. 1) It was upon these revelations that Malcolm
Malcolm X: Director Spike Lee's Portrait Of An American Hero Malcolm X was not a man who could be easily characterized and the same is true for Spike Lee's 1992 film. Malcolm X was a labor of love for Lee, who was only thirty-five at the time of the film's release. Lee had been a young child when Malcolm X was assassinated, so his knowledge of the man was not based
Even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. noted that the Emancipation Proclamation promised more than it delivered. Both men knew that America had a long way to go before true freedom for African-Americans could be realized. Malcolm X dealt drugs and hung out with the underground African-American artists and musicians during the Harlem Renaissance, one of the greatest periods in African-American cultural history. This section of Malcolm X's Autobiography is one
He began receiving death threats and his house was burned down. On February 21, 1965, Malcolm was shot dead while delivering a speech in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom. Malcolm was shot 16 times. Three men were convicted for the shots and they were all members of the Nation of Islam. The funeral service was attended by a very large number of people and thousands of people came to pay their respects
..That's why black prisoners become Muslims so fast when Elijah Muhammed's teachings filter into their cages by way of other Muslim convicts. 'The white man is the devil' is a perfect echo of that black convict's lifelong experience." Prison solidified Malcolm X's -- and in his view, all African-Americans' -- position in society, and his faith clarified the predicament and gave an avenue both of understanding and of redress. Everyone's childhood, family,
Malcolm X, the most influential Black Muslim leader, was a man whose views and personality underwent so many changes that the final version of him bore little or no resemblance to the original one. In the book, 'Autobiography of Malcolm X', Alex Haley has highlighted all the changes that his political and social ideologies encountered and this helps us understand the complex multi-faceted personality of the man who had a
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