leynes's Reviews > The Autobiography of Malcolm X

I worked for 8 hours on this video and I am very proud of it. I would love for you to see how this review of Malcom's autobiography translated into video form: https://youtu.be/DfFtCEtarCY :)

Five Lessons We Can Learn from Malcolm X
Similarly to my review of Audre Lorde's Your Silence Will Not Protect You, I will talk about the lessons I took from Malcolm's autobiography, instead of talking about what I liked and disliked about it. I hold Malcolm in high esteem and getting this personal insight into his life, thoughts and struggles, is something that I will never forget. I absolutely love his autobiography and can recommend it wholeheartedly... but let's start with the lessons.

#1 Read
Yep. Read, kids, read. It's as simple as that. After dropping out of school, Malcolm X moved to Boston to live with his sister Ella, where he got acquainted with the city’s criminal underground, ultimately falling into a life of crime. He was arrested on larceny charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Prison would play a huge role in the creation of “Malcolm X,” as it was there that Malcolm found faith. Malcolm’s enlightenment was in large part spurred on by his immersion in reading.

“I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity–because you can hardly mention anything I’m not curious about. I don’t think anybody ever got more out of going to prison than I did. In fact, prison enabled me to study far more intensively than I would have if my life had gone differently and I had attended some college. I imagine that one of the biggest troubles with colleges is there are too many distractions, too much panty-raiding, fraternities, and boola-boola and all of that. Where else but a prison could I have attacked my ignorance by being able to study intensely sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day?”

“The ability to read awoke inside of me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.”

While in prison, he spent long hours devouring books, using a slither of light that entered his cell during the night to carry on reading into the small hours of the morning. He read a range of authors including Englishman H.G. Wells, sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois, geneticist Mendel, and historian Will Durant. Having forgotten much of his elementary education by the time he found himself in prison, Malcolm first focused on self-education, initially by way of reading, writing and memorizing the dictionary. The long hours Malcolm spent in this process paid hugely, as he went on to become a masterful communicator, so gifted in speech.

#2 Admit Your Mistakes
Malcolm went through a few seismic shifts within the short 39 years of his life. Going from a promising student in his early years, to a dropout and full time hustler, prison forced Malcolm to reexamine his life. His path lead him initially to the Nation of Islam, ultimately rejecting it and opting to convert to orthodox Islam, partly inspired by his experience in Mecca while performing the Hajj. On realizing that rabble-rousing and hate speeches had no part to play in the teachings of real Islam, nor had it any benefit in promoting healthy societies, Malcolm publicly and vocally rescinded the radical views that he had for years been promoting.

“Despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who tried to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it.”

He never failed to challenge himself in search for the truth, and I applaud that.

#3 Don't Write Anyone Off
In his lowest of days, Malcolm was using drugs just to keep functioning; he helped transport prostitutes to clients, and was eventually caught and put in prison for theft. He describes himself at this time as being animalistic and cutthroat, ready to die for no reason at all. Professor Michael Eric Dyson makes the point that had he been murdered at 25, he would have been just another forgotten about criminal.

“Don't strike the puppet. Strike the puppeteer.”

He eventually built his way out of his foul situation, and deserves a lot of respect for it. If we cannot help change the environments of the oppressed, we should at the very least avoid being dismissive and judgmental of them. Malcolm himself in his autobiography lamented how the hustlers that he used to engage in criminality with might have been mathematicians or brain surgeons had the environment not been as rigged against them from their early childhood.

#4 Refuse To Be Defined By Others. Define Yourself!
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little. However, he opted to drop “Little” from his name at the age of 25, reasoning that it was the surname his ancestors acquired during slavery days. He replaced it with “X,” to represent the unknown.

#5 Use Your Anger For Good
Malcom wasn't one for inaction: “Everything I’ve ever felt strongly about, I’ve done something about.” And he wasn't afraid of letting out his anger: “Yes, I'm an extremist. The black race here in North America is in extremely bad condition.” Yet, Malcolm also understands that he is seen by millions as a symbol. He must demonstrate that anger can be productive, empowering, and serve as a way to connect to others. When he talks about horrific events in his life such as the death of his father, the institutionalization of his mother, and the betrayal he experienced by the Nation of Islam, he knows that he is A) justified in his anger, but also B) that he must use his anger to fuel his hunger for action and creating change.

“I learned early that crying out in protest could accomplish things. My older brothers and sister had started to school when, sometimes, they would come in and ask for a buttered biscuit or something and my mother, impatiently, would tell them no. But I would cry out and make a fuss until I got what I wanted. I remember well how my mother asked me why I couldn't be a nice boy like Wilfred; but I would think to myself that Wilfred, for being so nice and quiet, often stayed hungry. So early in life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.”

Vilified by his critics as an anti-white demagogue, Malcolm X gave a voice to unheard African-Americans, bringing them pride, hope and fearlessness, and remains an inspirational and important figure in the fight for equal rights.

Reading Malcolm's autobiography shook me. I felt so connected to him and his fight. I laughed. I cried. I smiled. I screamed. Malcolm was many things—controversial, angry, loud, hungry, ambitious, confident—but above all, he was real, and he was humble.

“And if I can die having brought any light, having exposed any meaningful truth that will help to destroy the racist cancer that is malignant in the body of America—then, all of the credit is due to Allah. Only the mistakes have been mine.”

Thank you for everything, Malcolm. Rest in Power.