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Malcolm X's Legacy

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Malcolm X's Legacy
Malcolm X’s legacy to the struggle for black equality in the USA went far beyond focusing on solely equality. Malcolm X hardly forgot the fact that he was the ‘servant’ and not the ‘master’ of the black nation’s aspirations and dreams. Malcolm X resisted the objective of integration and encouraged blacks to build their own society. ‘We can never win freedom and justice and equality until we do something for ourselves’.[i] He felt they should shield themselves against violence, ‘by any means necessary’. Malcolm X confronted the United States to protect its own hypothetical qualities. He held up a mirror for the country to scrutinize itself, now was the reflection showing too much for some white individuals in America?

Malcolm X still remains a powerful force and is marketed in countless business events and is fashionably labelled on clothing. His life and legacy can be seen via movies and documentaries, for example the famous film by Spike Lee. Malcolm X’s popularity can be seen through poems. ‘He was the sun that tagged the western sky and melted tiger- scholars while they searched for stripe.’[ii] Sonia Sanchez, a play writer wrote a poet in contribution to Malcolm’s assassination, and the above shows a line from her poem. Malcolm X advocated education, respect, freedom and equality. These things are natural to the structure of the elevated American Dream that at times seems indefinite.

The years between 1946- 1952 highlight Malcolm’s time in prison, which marked the beginning of astonishing alterations he experienced in exploring the truth regarding himself and his relation to firstly, black religion, secondly, unity and black freedom and lastly black consciousness. Malcolm infatuated a composed superiority; he fixed his prospect on the racial goals to be achieved and practised them with invariable passion. This distinct mindedness is particularly true of the period when, under the curse of Nation of Islam leader, Elijah Muhammad’s system of evil by


Bibliography: ➢ Ali. N (2000) Quotations [Online]. Available: http://www.malcolm-x.org/quotes.htm. Last accessed 22 Jan 2012 ➢ Carson ➢ Cone. H. J (1992) Martin & Malcolm & America, A dream or a nightmare ➢ Dyson ➢ Francis. M (2010) Malcolm X’s Complex Legacy [Online]. Available: http://www.theroot.com/views/malcolm-xs-complex-legacy ➢ Haley ➢ Patterson. C (1995) The Civil Rights Movement ➢ Patterson [x] Alex Haley, The autobiography of Malcolm X, P501 [xi] David Patterson & Susan Willoughby, Civil Rights in the USA, 1863- 1980, P164.
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