Martin is the perfect hero who preached non-violence and love, and Malcolm the perfect villain who served as his violent counterpart, preaching hate and militancy. The result is not just a dishonest reading of history, but a dichotomy that allows for Dr King to be curated to make us more comfortable, and Malcolm X to be demonised as a demagogue from whom we must all flee. Hence, illegitimate forms of reconciliation are legitimised through King and legitimate forms of resistance are delegitimised through Malcolm X.
Malcolm was never violent, not as a member of the Nation of Islam, nor as a Sunni Muslim. But Malcolm did find it hypocritical to demand that black people in the United States commit to non-violence when they were perpetually on the receiving end of state violence. Malcolm knew that his insistence on this principle would cause him to be demonised even further and ultimately benefit the movement of Dr King, which is exactly what he had intended.
Just weeks before his assassination, he went to Selma to support Dr King and willingly embraced his role as the scary alternative. In every interview, in his meeting with Dr Coretta Scott King, and elsewhere, he vocalised that the US would do well to give the good reverend what he was asking for, or else. Malcolm had no problem playing the villain, so long as it led to his people no longer being treated like animals. And while King may have been steadfast in his commitment to non-violence, the thrust of Malcolm fully served its purpose.
Both have a secure place in history. I merely want to show that however much the disciples of passive resistance detest violence, they are politically impotent without it. But it was not just that Malcolm and Martin had complementary strategies to achieve black freedom, they also spoke to different realities. Malcolm spoke more to the Northern reality of black Americans who were only superficially integrated, whereas Martin spoke to the Southern reality where even that was not possible.
Malcolm also spoke to the internalised racism of black people that was essential to overcome for true liberation. While he may not have always advocated peace, he helped to empower people to stand up or their rights, and helped to make American society better. Haley, Alex.
Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York City: Grove Press, Estate of Malcolm X. Essays on Heroism. Watch our short introduction video for more information. Ilse Bing was known as the queen of the Leica. Our gallery features art in the theme of heroism. All artworks in our commercial free, age-appropriate Gallery are contributed by professional and student artists as well as curated from art institutions around the world.
Learn more about sponsorship opportunities! Malcolm X U. The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff. Run by his estate. When he was younger Malcolm and his family suffered racist abuse from a group called the Ku Klux Klan - they had to move around a lot to avoid this racist, violent group to avoid getting hurt.
When he was six years old his father was killed in what many believe was a deliberate racist attack. These childhood experiences inspired him to join the civil rights movement. The rights of a person in a society are called their civil rights. Civil rights include things like the right to freedom, the right to education, the right for adults to vote, and the right to a fair trial.
For a long time in the US, African Americans were denied their civil rights. They were forced into being slaves and were bought and sold for money, in the same way animals and property were bought and sold. Life as a slave was extremely hard and very difficult to imagine now. Most slaves were treated appallingly by their white owners and had no rights at all. Many had to change their name - sometimes to that of their owner. Though slavery was abolished or ended in England in , and in America in , black people still weren't treated fairly because of laws - or rules - of segregation keeping black and white people separate.
This mistreatment of black people, or anyone considered non-white, led to the civil rights movement in the s - when African Americans began to resist this inequality. They wanted to be treated the same way as white people.
Huge protests of tens and often hundreds of thousands of people, put pressure on the government to change unfair, racist laws. Famous civil rights leaders at that time included Martin Luther King Jr. Malcolm wanted to fight for the rights of black people because of the racist abuse he and his family had suffered. He spoke passionately at rallies - big gatherings - and events and lots of people listened to his messages.
We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us. But his message was different to that of Martin Luther King Jr. Unlike Martin Luther, who encouraged non-violent protests, Malcolm X said that black people should protect themselves "by any means necessary". And he also disagreed with Martin Luther King Jr's ambition of an America where black and white people lived together - Malcolm didn't believe in that vision and wanted a separate nation just for black people.
Malcolm X had a difficult childhood and felt like he had no real opportunities. His father was killed when he was young and Malcolm's family didn't have a lot of money and he turned to crime.
He was sent to prison for being caught with stolen goods. You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom. When he was in prison, his brother sent him a letter about a political and religious group he'd joined called the Nation of Islam.
0コメント