The Autobiography of Malcolm X

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   sagetrieb Teacher
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   Malcolm X fought for the rights of black people to enable them to free themselves from what he considered to be the yoke of white identity they could not escape if they lived in a dominant white culture.  His autobiography tells the story of why Malcolm Little changed his name to Malcolm X. He did this  as a statement of protest to the white society that took away his real name through slavery years ago. Malcolm believed in separatism, that black people need to assert their identity as black and can only do this by denouncing white culture. His story recounts his life as the son of a preacher who turned to drugs and crime, and eventually when to jail where he was introduced to the Nation of Islam. He hoped that by telling his story (albeit through interviews by another person) he would persuade others to believe in his views.  In other words, the autobiography is didactic in intent and proselytizes his ideas about the Nation of Islam and black identity.  His ideas are very different from those of Dr. Martin Luther King, and they were and remain very controversial.

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   Posted by sagetrieb on Tuesday October 30, 2007 at 6:24 PM