Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, is perhaps one of the most renowned and influential political figures in United States history. Malcolm X’s viewpoints were at times divisive and controversial, but he also incited passion in both his supporters and opponents. His goal, much like the goal of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., was to transform America into a country where all races and socio-economic classes would be afforded the same basic rights and opportunities that Caucasians, males especially, had enjoyed for so long. As Malcolm X strove to change American society, he underwent an internal, personal character transformation that ultimately molded who he was and consequently he was able to make such an impact on the world. A character transformation occurs through life experiences, and the traumatic events in Malcolm X’s life were significant in shaping his ideology. The Autobiography of Malcolm X provides a unique insight into such events and allows the audience to understand Malcolm’s perspective on his various experiences. While American history books may reflect or teach about the Malcolm X who was a leader within the Nation of Islam and who played a pivotal role in the 1960s black power movement, often such textbooks do not reveal his boyhood or adolescence where he began to formulate such an ideology. For instance, few people aside from those who have studied Malcolm X’s life in considerable detail or those who have read his autobiography, are aware that Malcolm X’s father was brutally murdered by the Ku Klux Klan or that his mother suffered from a severe mental breakdown which resulted in Malcolm and his siblings being placed into the state welfare system. The Autobiography of Malcolm X provides a chronicle of his views toward both African-American and Caucasian culture. Malcolm dictates how his view of “Negro” culture evolved from a sense of shame and diminishment when he was younger, to later in his life when he had immense pride in his people.
During the 1930s and 1940s when Malcolm X (or Malcolm Little as he was known as then) was growing up, the notion that African-Americans were less valuable or less worthy than Caucasians was deeply embedded into African-American culture. Black entitlement was a concept that was typically only recognized by radicals and “progressives”, and so at the time, there was not a great sense of self-worth within the African-American community. Malcolm as a young child was also convinced of this idea, as a quote from his autobiography reveals:
Back when I was growing up, the ‘successful’ Lansing Negroes were such as waiters and bootblacks. To be a janitor at some downtown store was to be highly respected. The real ‘elite,’ the ‘big shots,’ and the ‘voices of the race,’ were the waiters at the Lansing Country Club and the shoeshine boys at the state capitol. (8)
Though Malcolm aspired to be a lawyer, such professions within the black community were unheard of and so there was certainly a lack of ambition. While Malcolm was dissuaded by others to abandon his dream; however, he was not wholly submissive of it. The pride at this time that African-Americans felt was in their physical stature. That is, African-Americans in general did not have confidence in their intellect, but rather only their physical body. Malcolm reveals this when he says:
He did such a job on my reputation in the Negro neighborhood that I practically went into hiding. A Negro just can’t be whipped by somebody white and return with his head up to the neighborhood, especially in those days, when sports, and to a lesser extent show business, were the only fields open to Negroes, and when the ring was the only place a Negro could whip a white man and not be lynched (29).
Essentially, the playing field was seen by Malcolm and African-Americans alike as one of few opportunities to be equal or even better than a white person. Malcolm and other young African-Americans like him, who aspired to rise above their community standards in order to attain their dreams provided a healthy, inspirational example to future generations of African-Americans.
Similar to this idea that Negroes were inferior in terms of education and social-class, the knowledge that African-Americans held of their native homeland, Africa, was miniscule and tainted. In history classes, the teaching of African-American culture and history was essentially non-existent, as Malcolm indicates when he says:
Later, I remember, we came to the textbook section on Negro history. It was exactly one paragraph long. Mr. Williams laughed through it practically in a single breath, reading aloud how the Negroes had been slaves and then were freed, and how they were usually lazy and dumb and shiftless (35).
Even in instances where Negro culture was spoken of, it was typically in a derogatory way, which led to ignorance about traditional African culture by not only the Caucasian community but the African-American community as well. Malcolm as a child was also ignorant of his homeland and once said, “I somehow never thought, then, of the black people in Africa. My image of Africa, at that time, was of naked savages, cannibals, monkeys and tigers and steaming jungles” (10). Later, as he began to educate himself more about his culture and its history, he became more aware of the true description of Africa and even visited the continent on several occasions. One aspect of his black power movement was to educate the African-American movement about their native culture and to essentially renounce Caucasian culture which he believed was imposed upon them during slavery. It is for this reason, among others, that he considered Christianity a form of “white slave culture” and thus immersed himself in the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm X’s character and ideology radically evolved over the course of his life, however, one constant was his defiance and stubbornness. If Malcolm felt as if an injustice was occurring, he was outspoken against it and he was a firm believer that actions spoke louder than words and thus would often act upon it. This aspect of his personality was evident even when he was young, as he once defies his teacher by placing a thumbtack on his seat and continuing to wear the hat. It was this action that caused him to be expelled and consequently enrolled in “reform school”. One quote in particular by a “white state man” named Mr. Maynard Allen made an impact on Malcolm X and so he inscribed it in his autobiography:
He [Mr. Allen] talked as he drove along, saying that my school marks showed that if I would just straighten up, I could make something of myself. He said that reform school had the wrong reputation: he talked about what the word “reform” meant-to change and become better. He said the school was really a place where boys like me could have time to see their mistakes and start a new life and become somebody everyone would be proud of (31).
It was also within this time period that Malcolm became aware of how white people perceived him. He was of the understanding that even the most liberal, progressive Caucasians who strove for equality on behalf of African-Americans still did not see him as an equal. This is why the chapter in his autobiography which explains this revelation is appropriately called “Mascot” and why Malcolm says, “But it has historically been the case with white people, in their regard for black people, that even though we might be with them, we weren’t considered of them. Even though they appeared to have opened the door, it was still closed. Thus they never did really see me” (33).
It is for this reason that later in his life while he was preaching for black empowerment, he was also advocating for a “black separatist” ideal. That is, he was firmly opposed to the full integration of white and black society, and while he was advocating for black equality he wanted “separate but equal” societies. At one point, he even called for the secession of black America from the United States. He was hence skeptical of assistance from white people during his movement and his targeted audience was the African-American community. Despite African-Americans being his targeted audience, he nevertheless had a profound impact on white America, as well. These controversial viewpoints are what alienated much of white America as well as those in the African-American community who were advocating for integration and who renounced violence, a method that Malcolm X deemed acceptable in order to achieve their goals.
There was a period in Malcolm X’s life that was plagued by sin, when he was using hard drugs such as cocaine, he was violent, and he was a thief, among other things. Thus, this period played a pivotal role in his life, because it was a transition period between adolescence and the adult that he eventually became. A quote that reveals how his life was during this period says, “Looking back, I think I really was at least slightly out of my mind. I viewed narcotics as most people regard food. I wore my guns as today I wear my neckties. Deep down, I actually believed that after living as fully as humanly possible, one should then die violently” (160). While this time period may have been important in his life, it is also one of confusion and redundancy, and for that reason one should focus on his life both before and after his incarceration. Upon reflection of his prison sentence, Malcolm once said:
Any person who claims to have deep feeling for other human beings should thing a long, long time before he votes to have other men kept behind bars-caged. I am not saying there shouldn’t be prisons, but there shouldn’t be bars. Behind bars, a man never reforms. He will never forget. He never will get completely over the memory of bars (176). Perhaps the most important experience that Malcolm had while in prison, was meeting a Negro prisoner named “Bimbi”, who was “the first man I had ever seen command total respect…with his words” (178). This was a revelation to Malcolm, that someone could make an impact through their words, and it was shortly after this instance that he took up the Nation of Islam and became staunchly religious. He thrust himself into the black empowerment movement and began his life’s work of inspiring the African-American community to have pride in itself.
Malcolm X was a transformative figure in American history who made a deep impact on modern American society. While Malcolm X may have been controversial and divisive at times, he also had a turbulent childhood and life that allowed him to experience many of the things he preached of. Malcolm, though always defiant and always outspoken, emerged as a man who had a greater sense of pride in his community and culture following prison. While serving time in prison does not necessarily reform everyone, Malcolm truly emerged as a new person with a new perspective on life. His autobiography provides important insight into his “journey of transformation” and allows for more understanding of his ideology.
