by Krashlia » Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:30 am
Malcolm X-
He gets a bad rap because, in comparison to the apparently benevolent MLK Jr., His ideology of Black Nationalism comes off as divisive and hateful and overly broadly disparaging. At some points, the proposition of acting violently against society just adds to the sense that theres no way he could be supported by the well meaning.
But, it sort of makes sense if you saw it a different way. Like this: He was born in a world of rights, that on the surface promised to every member the guarantee that their rights are theres and will be respected by governing authority. But, personal experience showed him that this was not true. Yeah, Something stood in the way. Its uncomfortable to say, but hear me out.
Lets say that you were in church and some kids from a local mosque defaced your church. You bring your complaint to the muslims from that mosque and they nod respectfully, but do nothing. It happens again, and you're rather annoyed which makes them rather annoyed, and no suspects were named and no damages paid. It happens again and again until one day, you catch the bastards in the act and give them what for. But, as a result, the people of the local mosque react with utmost offense. "How dare you do that to our boys, you Christian criminals!" Weren't you the one in the right for acting as you did, and the Mosque in the wrong for doing nothing except attacking you when you defended yourself? In this scenario, the Mosque identified themselves as unneighborly, unjust, and probably hostile. In short, they became an Outgroup. Its okay to be violent with them because they never respected what was yours to start with.
In like manner, Malcom X took white people and white society to be an outgroup. They were hostile to black people, willing to use covert and overt means to kill black leaders and movement members and subvert and destroy black political projects meant to help, apparently resented when they showed any independence of self-sufficiency, and stood in the way of rights. If someone kept getting in the doorway of your house, you'd be totally justified in beating them, to death even. So he promoted Black Nationalism, and all the uglier implications that came with Nationalism was sanctioned. Because, in his reasoning, again, you shouldn't have to be nice to a people who violate your rights and apparently hate you. Also He converted to Islam because he wanted a greater gulf between himself and the outgroup, and saw Christianity as white religion meant to keep black people accepting of oppression. He went on to join Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam, and tried to encourage other Black Nationalist or Black Liberation groups to join his project because he thought it didn't matter who helped him, it just had to be done.
You know how the story ends. A trip to Mecca proved to be rather revelatory about how the rest of the world saw the color issue (irrelevant or indistinguishable compared to them), he had come to understand that maybe he had something in common with white people, and maybe he was not right in his ideas of universal hostility to them. But, for that change of heart, he was assassinated by another member of the very weapon he created.