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Autobiography of Malcolm X Book response
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“I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m
for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m
a human being first and foremost, and as such I’m for
whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.”
(Haley, 350) These were Malcolm X’s words summing up
the main aim of his life full of struggle and searching for
the human equality.
The book “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” was
written by a journalist Alex Haley, who co-operated with Malcolm
X for several years. During long interviews, Malcolm X was
telling Haley about his life, he edited and confirmed every
chapter of the future book.
Malcolm Little was born and brought up in the first half of
the twentieth century – the time when racism was legitimate
in the USA, especially in the South. His family constantly
experienced persecution. White people killed Malcolm’s
father and his mother was sent to a lunatic asylum. Undoubtedly,
due to these circumstances Malcolm spent his youth, drinking,
taking and selling drugs and sending white people to black
parlor houses. He realized bitterly that he could do nothing
to improve the condition of black people but he was convinced
that they should withstand white people and their help. When
he was working in the Harlem ghetto he used to blame white
people in all troubles of the black and preferred not to see
the misdeeds of his friends. He was firmly convinced that
this was white society that limited the opportunities of African
Americans. For example, Malcolm considered Sammy the Pimp
to have enough dexterity to be a prominent businessman, but
he could not put his skills to good use in Harlem. “All
of us—who might have probed space, or cured cancer,
or built industries—were, instead, black victims of
the white man’s American social system.” (Haley,
100)
Malcolm’s criminal activities stopped when he was arrested
in Boston and sent to jail. That was a crucial moment because
he regenerated and began a new chapter in his life. Having
seen the life in Harlem in all its horrible details the reader
can realize what drastic changes Malcolm experienced in prison.
There he was converted to Islam that was preached by the organization
the Nation of Islam. Under the influence of the faith, he
stopped taking drugs and after the release from prison became
an assistant in Detroit temple of the Nation of Islam. It
was the time when he changed his last name “Little”
for “X”, using the letter to stand for the last
name of his African forefathers. While working for the Nation
of Islam Malcolm X increased his animosity towards white people.
All his life he had been discriminated and humiliated because
of the color of his skin and therefore he revenged himself
upon white people for this eternal subjugation. His perception
of racism altered – he began to conceive it as not the
personal attack but as the confrontation of two worlds, black
and white. This issue was no more a personal problem for him
but a problem of national and international levels. Besides
his perception of racism became more complex comparing with
his views as an adolescent. Due to his faith, Malcolm X managed
to revalue his life and all his experience: “all of
our experiences fuse into our personality” (Haley, 150)
When Malcolm X met the leader of the Nation of Islam Elijah
Muhammad, he became first an assistant minister at the temple
and then a Minister who was traveling around America, converting
more and more people into Islam. The organization expanded
and got fame around the world. Malcolm X became more and more
popular not only throughout the USA but beyond the Muslim
society as well. Though Malcolm admired Elijah Muhammad and
saw him more than a god than a person, after twelve years
of fruitful co-operation and mutual understanding Elijah Muhammad
disappointed Malcolm by his behavior and his decisions. After
the assassination of the President John F. Kennedy, it turned
out that Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm had different views on
the relation of the organization to politics. While Elijah
Muhammad thought that they should be separate, Malcolm X insisted
on the participation of the Nation of Islam in politics. Thus,
Malcolm X had to leave the organization but he never stopped
protecting interests of black people. Being extremely famous,
he decided to found his own organization “Muslim Mosque,
Inc.” in Harlem.
In 1964, Malcolm X resolved to go to Mecca in Saudi Arabia
and to make a trip to the Middle East and Africa. During his
pilgrimage, he became a Sunni Muslim. This period of Malcolm
X’s life was marked by another turning point. That journey
had a great impact on Malcolm as he saw another Islamic world,
without racial division. Having seen this version of Islam,
he realized that it differed from the one he had preached
during his life and he tried to find there the solutions of
racial problems in America. “America needs to understand
Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its
society the race problem.” (Haley, 256) His attitude
towards white people also changed, he saw whites who were
not involved into racism. For instance, while being at the
airport in Saudi Arabia Malcolm saw many Muslims around him
who had different languages, colors of skin and customs but
were peacefully co-existing. Malcolm X experienced radical
change of his opinion. He broadened his perspective on the
race relations and realized that it was a vital issue not
only for the black in America but throughout the world. Finally,
his views upon the problem were molded and Malcolm saw the
solution in worldwide co-operation.
Throughout the book, one can see the development of Malcolm
X’s views that helps readers to realize that Malcolm
X was not simply a violent revengeful leader of African Americans
but a contradictory personality who was trying to improve
the life of his race in the entire world.
“Autobiography of Malcolm X” is considered one
of the most important non-fiction books of the twentieth century
as it gives the true reflections of a significant person that
played a key role both in the development of the influential
organization the Nation of Islam and in the struggle against
the oppression of African Americans.
Bibliography:
1. Haley Alex, Malcolm X. The Autobiography of Malcolm X,
Ballantine Books, 1989.
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