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Wes Morgan's Reviews > The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
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This is the life story of Malcolm Little, later Malcolm X, later El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. As are most white people in this country, I was led to believe that Malcolm X was just an angry, militant racist who wanted to kill white people in the same way that angry, militant racists in the South want to kill black people. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This book, more than any other I've read, opened my eyes to see how the innate racism in our country works and affects the people it is most sharply targeted at: African Americans. It's one thing to understand that it exists (amazing that this is still debated) and empathize with its victims, but quite another to see it through their eyes. Malcolm X, as he points out, grew up in the "tolerant" North. His battle was not with lynch mobs and Jim Crow laws, but with the death-by-a-thousand-cuts brand of racism that, I would argue, now constitutes the mainstream dynamic between blacks and whites in this country.
By the time he becomes a Muslim in prison, it's easy to see why he was angry (which he was) and why he fought back. The amazing thing, though, is that while the very book was being written, Malcolm X is undergoing a personal transformation that is leading him away from anger and hatred towards white people and towards a realization that it is the culture in America, and not inherent evil in white people, that creates the racism he's fighting against. This transformation costs him 12 years of his life's work, his house, his family's safety, and eventually his life.
There are aspects of Malcolm X's philosophy that I cannot empathize with, however. His view of women, in particular, represents an ironic denial of their humanity. You almost want to scream at the pages, "How can you not see that you're viewing women the same way white people view you!?" There are also some pretty strange religious ideas held by the Black Muslims in general (such as literally believing that white people are the devil, and we know it), but Malcolm ends up moving away from these by the end of his life in favor of more orthodox Islam as practiced by the majority of the world's Muslims.
I now believe, after having read this autobiography, that had he lived longer, Malcolm X would today be as revered as Martin Luther King, Jr. is. Ozzie Davis, Malcolm X's eulogist, said that he sometimes needed reminding that he was a man (something he suspected white people didn't need), and that Malcolm X did that for him, and for many other black people as well.
This book, more than any other I've read, opened my eyes to see how the innate racism in our country works and affects the people it is most sharply targeted at: African Americans. It's one thing to understand that it exists (amazing that this is still debated) and empathize with its victims, but quite another to see it through their eyes. Malcolm X, as he points out, grew up in the "tolerant" North. His battle was not with lynch mobs and Jim Crow laws, but with the death-by-a-thousand-cuts brand of racism that, I would argue, now constitutes the mainstream dynamic between blacks and whites in this country.
By the time he becomes a Muslim in prison, it's easy to see why he was angry (which he was) and why he fought back. The amazing thing, though, is that while the very book was being written, Malcolm X is undergoing a personal transformation that is leading him away from anger and hatred towards white people and towards a realization that it is the culture in America, and not inherent evil in white people, that creates the racism he's fighting against. This transformation costs him 12 years of his life's work, his house, his family's safety, and eventually his life.
There are aspects of Malcolm X's philosophy that I cannot empathize with, however. His view of women, in particular, represents an ironic denial of their humanity. You almost want to scream at the pages, "How can you not see that you're viewing women the same way white people view you!?" There are also some pretty strange religious ideas held by the Black Muslims in general (such as literally believing that white people are the devil, and we know it), but Malcolm ends up moving away from these by the end of his life in favor of more orthodox Islam as practiced by the majority of the world's Muslims.
I now believe, after having read this autobiography, that had he lived longer, Malcolm X would today be as revered as Martin Luther King, Jr. is. Ozzie Davis, Malcolm X's eulogist, said that he sometimes needed reminding that he was a man (something he suspected white people didn't need), and that Malcolm X did that for him, and for many other black people as well.
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Started Reading
December 1, 2007
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Finished Reading
December 3, 2007
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Sarita
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rated it 4 stars
Mar 17, 2008 10:24AM
Great and complete review.
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So very well stated. At the time of his assassination, Malcolm X had begun engaging in dialogue with Martin Luther King, Jr. to join forces based on common ground. That engagement made them a double threat to the white establishment in America.
at first he was a racist but when he knew about Islam correctly his idea changed
Okudugum en guzel biyografi
His life experiences molds his future. As part of the nation of islam, He was a Muslim with the wrong belief. Then later being 'silenced' by elijah mohammed, from the NOI he met mohammed Ali who followed the orthodox islam which was practiced in the east. After his visit to mecca, he realises that islam is the cure to racism for the afro American. Must read
Wes, your comments are quite accurate and are testament to your open-mindedness and growth, two qualities Malcolm also had in abundance.
The Nation of Islam is not true Islam. The biggest shame here is that they misappropriated the name to the confusion of everyone who doesn't look deeper for what the NOI teaches. Given the world's issues with Islam today, it is an even greater disservice!
I love that you pointed out the major changes Malcolm X was undergoing while this book was being written. That little fact truly adds to the importance of this book! It further proves how insightful it is.
You sir are a racsit!!This man wanted nothing for blacks to teach black, and employ blacks, build our neighborhoods up by helping our own, what was the problem tell his people don't need the white man do it yourself, yeah he was hateful...just like a white man not wanting the blacks to up lift themselves, all you see is hate
I'm not sure what you mean by his outlook of women. He was always, always respectful of his wife, his daughters, and in fact earlier he reminisces on the date he went out with Laura, and how he'd react negatively if someone who looked like a previous him were to ask his daughter like that, because no woman deserved that. I remember he said he slapped (?) his friend's girl in order to escape DEATH. And that was when he wasn't the transformed self. He always respected his elder sister, loved her, and always went back to her when he ultimately needed help - for a place to live, girls, and most importantly, Hajj.
Well, haweya, here's an interesting quote from the book: "All women, by their nature, are fragile and weak: they are attracted to the male in whom they see strength."
I am not necessarily saying this makes Malcolm a sexist, but he certainly had some strong opinions regarding gender roles, regardless of how he treated them.
Malcolm’s views on women evolved just as much as his views on race. Unfortunately his ideas evolved so quickly that many of his new ideas didn’t make it into the Autobiography. However, Malcolm didn’t die thinking women are “fragile and weak” and he put women in positions of power within his OAAU over male members, which caused his male followers to get upset. He also basically said female activists have more guts than the male activists. He believed all women should be given the opportunity to advance their education. There is zero credible evidence that he ever cheated on his wife, unlike Dr. King who had multiple affairs. While at Oxford, one of the white female students says Malcolm treated her as an equal and an intellectual whereas the other men at Oxford had been treating her as inferior for years. So how exactly was Malcolm X sexist? I think people should examine all the facts before drawing conclusions. Maya Angelou even said Malcolm was planning on taking both racism and sexism to the United Nations when he died. Let’s not forget he also helped women who were abused by Elijah Muhammad file paternity suits against him even though doing so put his life in danger even more. Malcolm even hired a powerful white female lawyer to do that for all those who accuse him of racism and sexism.
One major thing I should add: to me, Brother Malcolm showed more respect for black women and their struggles towards the end of his life than any of the male civil rights leaders.
Loved your comments. They give a fuller picture of an amazing man.
