Why was Malcolm X important ?

[steve2470]

Last edited Mon Sep 14, 2015, 07:08 AM - Edit history (1)

I confess, I don't know the complete answer to that question. To kick us off, here's wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X#Legacy

Legacy

Malcolm X has been described as one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history.[239][240][241] He is credited with raising the self-esteem of black Americans and reconnecting them with their African heritage.[242] He is largely responsible for the spread of Islam in the black community in the United States.[243][244][245] Many African Americans, especially those who lived in cities in the Northern and Western United States, felt that Malcolm X articulated their complaints concerning inequality better than the mainstream civil rights movement did.[95][96] One biographer says that by giving expression to their frustration, Malcolm X "made clear the price that white America would have to pay if it did not accede to black America's legitimate demands."[246]

In the late 1960s, increasingly radical black activists based their movements largely on Malcolm X and his teachings. The Black Power movement,[55][247] the Black Arts Movement,[55][248] and the widespread adoption of the slogan "Black is beautiful"[249] can all trace their roots to Malcolm X.

In 1963 Malcolm X began a collaboration with Alex Haley on his life story, The Autobiography of Malcolm X.[111] He told Haley, "If I'm alive when this book comes out, it will be a miracle",[250] and indeed, Haley completed and published it some months after the assassination.[251]

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was a resurgence of interest in his life among young people. Hip-hop groups such as Public Enemy adopted Malcolm X as an icon,[252] and his image was displayed in hundreds of thousands of homes, offices, and schools,[253] as well as on T-shirts and jackets.[254] This wave peaked in 1992 with the release of the film Malcolm X,[255] an adaptation of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

In 1998 TIME Magazine named The Autobiography of Malcolm X one of the ten most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century.

I'd say he was extremely important. A very interesting guy. What are your thoughts ?

[merrily]

1. I don't think his perspective could have been understood by many

at that time, regardless of how clearly he spelled it out.

[Warpy]

2. If you haven't read his autobiography, READ IT.

I guarantee it will give you a very different picture of the man.

It's hard to think of what might have been had he not been assassinated.

[steve2470]

3. I'll order it today, excellent idea, thank you nt

[wilsonbooks]

5. It is a great book

I count it in the top ten most important books that I have read and I have read a lot of books.

[Warpy]

6. I do, too, and I qualify as a compulsive reader

[wilsonbooks]

9. Another political book that would be on my list would be Truman

http://www.amazon.com/Truman-David-McCullough/dp/0671869205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442184773&sr=1-1&keywords=truman


He reminds me of Bernie. They both say what they mean and mean what they say and don't let anybody intimidate them.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

20. I agree.

It's a very powerful book. Plus Malcolm was very articulate and explained his positions clearly and with patience.

[Rex]

4. Ask yourself why it was so important to assassinate MLK, X, JFK and Robert Kennedy

in such a short period of time. Those 4 men were going to change the future of America. Very powerful groups were going to have none of that.

So they were slaugheterd to maintain the status quo. Had the decision not come down to kill them, America would be radically different right now imo.

[hfojvt]

7. I have, of course, no real way of know what it was like before him

or without him.

I think it is too bad that he seems to be more important to the left than Martin is.

Seems to me that most people who love him so much are always promoting violence and hatred.

If that is his legacy, then he seems to be "important" in a negative way.

[roody]

16. Have you read the autobiography?

[JustAnotherGen]

17. He's actually more important to Capitalist Black Americans

Seriously- the guy got making a buck in America. Not being weak and dependent. Striving for affluence for oneself and ones community.

http://www.blackstarnews.com/us-politics/justice/malcolm-x-liberation-through-creating-black-businesses.html

And then what happens? The community in which you live becomes a slum; it becomes a ghetto. The conditions become rundown. And then you have the audacity to complain about poor housing, in a rundown community. Why you run it down yourself when you take your dollars out!

And you and I are in a double trap. Because, not only do we lose by taking our money some place else and spending it, when we try and spend our money in our community, we're trapped because we haven't had the sense enough to set up stores and control the businesses of our community.

The man who's controlling the stores in our community is a man who doesn't look like we do. He's a man who doesn't even live in the community. So you and I even when we try and spend out money in the block where we live, or the area where we live we're spending it with a man who when the sun goes down takes that basket full of money in another part of the town.

So we are trapped, trapped, double-trapped, triple-trapped. Anywhere we go we find that we are trapped. And any solution that someone comes up with is just another trap.

But the political and economic philosophy of Black nationalism -- the economic philosophy of Black nationalism shows our people the importance of setting up these little stores and developing them and expanding them into larger operations.

Woolworth didn't start out big like they are today they started out as a dime-store. And they expanded, and they expanded, and they expanded until today they are all over the country and all over the world and they are getting some of everybody's money....

General Motors, the same way, they didn't start out like it is. It started as a little rat race operation and expanded and expanded until today it's where it is right now. And you and I have to make a start and the best place to start is right in the community where we live.

So our people not only have to be re-educated to the importance of supporting Black business but the Black man himself has to be made aware of the importance of going into business. And once you and I go into business, we own and operate, at least the businesses in our community, what we will be doing is developing a situation wherein we will actually be able to create employment for the people in the community.

And once you can create some employment in the community where you live it will eliminate the necessity of you and me having to act ignorantly and disgracefully, boycotting and picketing some [White man] some place else trying to beg him for a job.

- See more at: http://www.blackstarnews.com/us-politics/justice/malcolm-x-liberation-through-creating-black-businesses.html#sthash.V3vveNY7.dpuf


There is nothing violent there except for economic violence - and so far as I know I thought the Left was about prosperity from the ground up as opposed to the top down.

Doesn't get much more ground up than by encouraging people to be self sufficent and stop waiting around and begging for someone to give you an economic opportunity.

[erpowers]

8. Alternative To Civil Rights Movement

I think there were a number of people who did not agree with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent stance. Malcolm X gave an alternative to that stance. Malcolm X promoted the idea that if white people attacked black people, black people should attack white people. In addition, Malcolm X also took on the media in the 60s. He claimed the media was portraying blacks in a negative light. Finally, Malcolm X pushed black people to support black owned businesses and to create their own businesses.

[lunatica]

10. On a very personal level for me

I felt that MLK Jr embraced all people of all races who believed Black people should have all the same rights from top to bottom, but I felt pushed out by Malcolm X because it seemed he didn't think we cared or could comprehend and he seemed to feel contempt for white people. We were too ignorant to understand or too privileged or whatever.

It was decades before I felt I could be part of a Civil Rights movement that included everyone. But thanks to whatever it is, maybe the national push back from the election and re-election of President Obama and Ferguson, MO made us brothers under the skin again.

I always admired Malcolm X, but I felt it was sad that those of us who aren't racist were kept at bay as if we were part and parcel of the racists.

[BarstowCowboy]

30. Maybe Malcolm thought cooperation from Whites could be misinterpreted as whites "giving" freedom

I can understand your feelings of alienation, but it was Malcolm X who was quoted as saying, "Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it." My sense is that Malcolm knew it would mean more to Blacks if their movement was completely run by Blacks, and that that precluded participation by well intentioned Whites. Maybe he was concerned that having Whites involved in the struggle would give outsiders the impression that whatever Blacks achieved was given to them.

[artislife]

35. This is a good point. nt

[lunatica]

43. You're probably dead on

I believed it was something like that, but I was a teenager at the time and still in school. It seemed after that that the different races kept to themselves and no one mixed with other races because they would be called traitors to their race. There was a lot of pent up anger, not that it wasn't justified. By the time my son was in high school every group and sub-group were only mixing with their own kind. I found it very sad because I was lucky enough to go to high school in Fayetteville, NC at the same school all the Ft. Bragg army children went so we were all races mixed together (white, Black, Porto Rico, etc.) and strangely enough we all got along pretty well. It's strange that the races got along well in the very heart of the South, but the high school I went to was different, because the "army brats" went there.

Now I'm glad to see Blacks reaching out to explain what institutional racism is. I'm glad to see Black Lives Matter disrupting town halls and campaigning. I'm glad to see that the marches in Ferguson were multi-racial too. It's been decades and we really do need to unite behind this.

[H2O Man]

11. Recommended.

That’s a wonderful question, and there is no one person with the complete answer. But after you read his autobiography, there are a couple dozen others books relating to Malcolm. The single most important would be Manning Marable’s 2011 “A Life of Reinvention: Malcolm X.” (I have well over 20 books, by and about him, including several of his speeches. I have movies of his speeches. I also have six 33-LP recordings of his speeches -- and it is essential to listen to, or watch on YouTube, to understand the unique power of Malcolm’s public presentations.

There are, of course, at least three important phases in his amazing life. The first two are the best documented as far as the public is concerned. The third remains less well-known. A few authors, such as Marable, go into fascinating detail. And there is a book of the released FBI files, which is important. And I’d be happy to share my thought on others, if you are interested, as you read them, or are looking for one in a particular area of his life.

In the final year, Malcolm and Martin Luther King communicated through a Chicago lawyer. Both were positively influence by the other, and were considering opportunities to identify shared goals -- even if they worked in different ways, including breaking bread with separate groups and individuals.

In my opinion, Malcolm was the single most important American prophet.

[steve2470]

15. Malcolm resonates with me

I've heard his speeches, now I need to read his autobiography.

[ancianita]

12. He was a prophet, the embodiment of agency, from his name to his clear vision for African Americans.

His power continues to lie in his demand that America live up to its claims and promises of equality for all.

[kwassa]

13. Malcolm X was a brilliant man.

MLK couldn't happen without X.

Malcolm was the bad cop to MLK's good cop. Malcolm reminded white people what the alternative was to peaceful protest of MLK. In my opinion, Malcolm made Martin successful.

Malcolm was also an extremely intelligent man afraid of no one. PBS did a great documentary on him. Listen to him speak. As others have said here, the autobiography is excellent.

[steve2470]

14. thanks for your feedback and wonderful sig line! nt

[JustAnotherGen]

18. He really was super intelligent

I wonder - if his father hadn't been murdered by the Klan - and he had both parents -

What path would he have taken?

We'll never know. But his legacy remains.

[steve2470]

19. yes he was, I love to listen to his speeches and interviews nt

[Eleanors38]

21. He knew the value of community and why it needed defending.

[JEB]

22. One of the most influential people on my thinking.

And I'm an old white guy. Brilliant mind in a sea of dross.

[craigmatic]

23. He was important because he spoke about dignity, self-sufficiency, and self defense for black people

at a time when the emphasis was on integration and non-violence. Very few people could be like King but Malcolm spoke for the concerns of the average black person. Really they were 2 sides of the same coin. I'd argue that we need more emphasis on Malcolm rather than King because blacks need to be economically empowered in their own communities rather than trying to join whites because if we've learned anything in the last 50 years it's that there aren't enough resources available for everyone and every other minority group practices group economics and we should too. We should police ourselves, have own own businesses, and not be so willing to assimilate into the dominant culture and really that's all Malcolm and the NOI was saying back then.

[loyalsister]

24. Redemption

"To the real question, How does it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word.” ― W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk

For the sake of safety and as a shaming device employed by the dominant majority, Black children and youth have been taught that they are a problem. Malcom X's story of redemption and proclamation of the beauty of Blackness was necessary to counter the conventional understanding of Blackness as a problem.

[Omaha Steve]

25. I've been to his birthplace in Omaha

[steve2470]

26. any other comments ? nt

[proverbialwisdom]

28. Zero. Instead, here's a photo of strollers & moms & NOI members at a rally at the Santa Monica Pier.

Last edited Wed Sep 16, 2015, 12:42 PM - Edit history (1)

Friday, July 03, 2015[center]





MORE: http://abc7.com/news/hundreds-protest-california-vaccine-bill-in-santa-monica-/827140/[/center]
Another rally is planned outside the CDC in late October to support Senior Scientist Dr William W Thompson.

Incidentally, the book is AMAZON #1 New Release in Preventive Medicine (updated hourly). Click on banner link at Amazon to check out #2.

[steve2470]

31. ?????????? nt

[proverbialwisdom]

33. 2015 vs the era in which he lived. Just info. (nt)

[proverbialwisdom]

39. Related.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017292640

[Bonobo]

27. He would have angered the exact same people that Cornel West angers x 1,000. nt

[lovemydog]

37. I disagree.

I'm very familiar with both of their writings and lectures. I don't want to argue about it in this thread, which is about Malcolm X. But I want to voice my disagreement.

[Recursion]

40. I very much disagree, though I like both West and X (nt)

[Nevernose]

29. I love teaching his story to kids: it's about the power to change oneself

Not to mention the world. The heavily abridged version of his life? He was one of the top in his high school class, but told to be a carpenter instead of a lawyer because he was black. So he changed. He became a two bit criminal, obsessed with flashy girls and flashier clothes, and not really thinking about systems of power; he ended up in prison. So he changed, this time to the embodiment of the angry side of the Civil Rights movement, as well as cleaning up his personal life so he could be an example of success, but he became a bigot. So he changed. He became an advocate for integration and peace, finally standing WITH Martin Luther King instead of in juxtaposition. He became the kind of man most of us would want our sons to be.

So Farrakhan had him killed.

[proverbialwisdom]

32. Invitations to the 20th anniversary of the #MillionManMarch on 10/10/15 have been extended to ALL.

https://twitter.com/TheMillionManM/status/643813291987329028

Million Man March ?@TheMillionManM
11 hours ago

Surprised that Will & Jada gave 150K to #JusticeOrElse? This doc shows that Michael Jackson gave 100K in '95. http://themillionmanmarch.org

Incidentally, the theme "Justice or Else" refers ONLY to nonviolent economic boycott.

http://www.justiceorelse.com/supporters

Organization / Endorser

A Black Education Network
Alliance of Concerned Men
Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations
Association of Black Psychologists
Beats, Rhymes and Relief
Black Administrators in Child Welfare
Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association
Black Girls Rock
Black Law Enforcement of America
Black Psychiatrists of America
Black Tea Party
California Alliance of African American Educators
Capital Cause
CCHP (Clergy for Community Wealth Preservation)
Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions (Formerly Incarcerated Professionals)
Destiny Power & Puose
Fathers Inc.
IBW institute of The Black World
International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters
JustLeadership
Justice League NYC
King of Kings Foundation / Fuertado Brother
Mothers in Charge
NAACP DC
National Alliance of Black Clergy
National Association of Black Social Workers, Inc.
National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice
National Bar Association
National Black United Front
NNPA (National Newspaper Publishers Association)
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity
Returning Citizens Affairs
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference
The Gathering for Justice
The Source Magazine
Trayvon Martin Foundation
Universal Zulu Nation
Urban Cusp

From: https://twitter.com/JusticeOrElse/status/643832431359864832

Just info.

[proverbialwisdom]

45. Washington Post article on the history of tomorrow's #MillionManMarch in D.C. and more.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-million-man-march-its-effect-may-be-debatable-its-significance-is-not/2015/10/09/5fde11cc-67a4-11e5-8325-a42b5a459b1e_story.html

The Million Man March: Its effect may be debatable. Its significance is not.
By Michael A. Fletcher
October 9 at 7:19 PM

Justice or Else!

That is the provocative name Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has given Saturday’s rally marking the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March.

<>


Oct. 16, 1995: Aerial view of the Capitol during the Million Man March. Boston University researchers
funded by ABC-TV estimated the crowd to be 837,000, plus or minus 20 percent. Charles Pereira/Associated Press

Much has changed since, an evolution perhaps best symbolized by the trajectory of one man who attended the Million Man March: Barack Obama. Then, he was a fresh-faced Illinois state Senate candidate; now, of course, he occupies the White House.

<>

“It is because of continued injustice that people are crying out for justice,” said Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., the former NAACP chief who directed the Million Man March and is serving as a consultant to Saturday’s rally. “It would be incorrect to say we have made no progress. But it would be equally incorrect to say all is well.”

<>

“All we’ve got to do is go back home and make our communities a decent and safe place to live,” Farrakhan said. “And if we start dotting the black community with businesses, opening up factories, challenging ourselves to be better than we are, white folk, instead of driving by using the N-word, they’ll say: ‘Look. Look at them. Oh, my God — they’re marvelous.’?”

It was the kind of message that some activists denounce these days as blaming the victims of the nation’s checkered racial history for their plight. But it also resonates with black Americans across the political spectrum, from Clarence Thomas — who has praised Farrakhan — to Obama. Not for a moment would they endorse Farrakhan’s separatism, or his anti-Jewish rhetoric, or the Nation of Islam’s dizzying cosmology. But for them and many others, his self-help message hits home.

“What I saw was a powerful demonstration of an impulse and need for African American men to come together to recognize each other and affirm our rightful place in the society,” Obama said in an interview with the Chicago Reader after the 1995 march. “There was a profound sense that African American men were ready to make a commitment to bring about change in our communities and lives.”

<>

This time, women are invited and the families of black men killed by police have been asked to appear before the gathering.

<>

Compare and contrast with off the charts rancor: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027069607

[proverbialwisdom]

46. RE: Bro Tony Muhammad speech. Informed people know better. Everyone else will recoil, I'm guessing.

What a garbled and nonsensical misrepresentation of the current controversy. Was it nerves? Brain freeze? Something else? Damaging, nonetheless. Others sat out. Wrong venue for a complex subject? IMO, Bro Tony Muhammad should've been painstakingly accurate or bailed, too.

[proverbialwisdom]

34. Will Smith, Tell Me Why: "Tell me why did Malcolm & Martin depart from us." (@2:42)

Tell Me Why Live performance / Will Smith feat. Mary J Blige with lyrics

UNIVERSUMSGAMMLER
Uploaded on 11 Jun 2009

"Tell Me Why"

Lady´s and Gentlemen...this called Tell Me Why
and it goes a lttle bit something like this

(INTRO) - Why, why, why, why, why. Why

(CHORUS)

I really wish I could explain it baby (why),
It's just the world is kinda crazy baby (why),
Ain't no pretty way to paint it baby (why),
[ VERSE 1 ]
Don't cry, dry your eyes
September 11th, I woke up about 7am, west coast time, French toast and my
Turkey bacon, taking my time, awakin', turning my TV on
To my surprise, saw what everybody in the world saw
Me & my children, images were chillin'
My son said, "Daddy were there people in that building?"
A cold sweat, frozen with a lump in my chest
I heard his question, couldn't bring my lips to say "Yes" to him
That night at my son's side, he cried & prayed
For the one's who died in the World Trade
His palms to God, seeds and qualms with God
He just kept on pressin' me, wanna know why
Then one week later our bombs were dropped
We seein' them on CNN, they just won't stop
The infrared images of brutal attack
He said, "Daddy now we killin' em back"; (right, right)

CHORUS - (2x)

(BRIDGE - Mary J. Blige)
Mmmmm, souls are captured
Dreams are stolen, hearts are broken
Evil blatantly rewarded
Hate surrenders, Love exalted
Hope elated, negativity is shorted
Why is the bomb always getting the last word
& why did her uncle have to molest her
& why did all them cops have to be shootin' to kill
& why did all them priests have to act so ill
Tell me why did James Byrd Jr. have to be touched
Tell me why did Malcolm & Martin depart from us
Tell me why did that sniper make the little boy shoot
& why does human life always denied for loot
Tell me why did Mandela have to live in a cage
Why did my brother Sterling have to die at that age
Tell me why did Reginald Denny deserve his fate
& why the f*@k can't love seem to defeat hate
Tell me why is it so hard for all the children to eat
Why did Pac & Biggie Smalls have to fall in the street
Tell me why did Jam Master Jay have to go that way
Please what am I supposed to say to my kids when they say 'Why?'

CHORUS - (2x)

(VERSE 3)
Can't explain it baby, life is just really crazy
I mean if it's world wars or the life of a little baby
We got more stores than they got rice under Buddha lazy
You live four scores & still it be driving you crazy
But for me I try to see the bright side
Sometimes it'd be like the goodness be tryin' to hide
Then try to flee, but it can't it's deep inside
Sweetie, you be the light for the others, make 'em believe in God

BRIDGE - Mary J. Blige

[proverbialwisdom]

38. Malik Shabazz (6 mo ago) wrote, "If you like this video don't forget to thumbs up & please share."

Click through to YouTube (lower right corner) for additional comments.

Malcolm X's Daughter Exposes Farrakhan (The Extended Clip)

By Malik Shabazz
Uploaded on 9 Jan 2012

1,412,283 views

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan admits in a 60 Minutes interview and reported on CBS Evening News that his incendiary rhetoric played a role in the 1965 assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X.

<>

Not a subject I know anything about.

[lovemydog]

36. Self-determination, pride, sharp wit and love.

[steve2470]

42. wonderful! nt

[Recursion]

41. DuBois once said that you cannot understand American history separate from Black History

And I would argue that you cannot understand 20th century Black History separate from the biographical history of Malcolm Little.

He was an excellent thinker and writer, of course, but there were better black thinkers and writers during his lifetime (which stretched from Garvey to King). His autobiography is worth reading, but that's not what makes him important. His actions, his searches for and creations of identities, made his life and person a symbol (the "X" should be a clue there). I'm usually skeptical of biography as parable, but this is one case where it really works.

[steve2470]

44. very last kick nt