AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X

Autobiography of Malcolm X

Autobiography of Malcolm X

Introduction

The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As told to Alex Haley is based on a series of interviews Haley conducted with the black civil rights leader not long before his death. It follows up Malcolm's personal development as one of the most charismatic, outspoken, and influential African-American civil rights leaders of the sixties. Born the son of Earl Little, a Baptist preacher and civil rights activist, on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm and his family experienced racism in various shapes and forms from an early age on (Haley, Alex, 1964).

Analysis

This was the final triumph of Malcolm X and the resolution that makes his life story into a classic American tale: that in the end, he was able to move beyond the chrysalis of his racial hatred and emerge an integrated enlightened being. I'm sure most everyone has either read this book or seen Spike Lee's excellent biopic, so we need not rehash the story too thoroughly. Anyway, what matters are the essentials? Malcolm little was a street punk when he was exposed to the Nation of Islam in prison. This exposure, and the racial pride and anger that went with it, lead him to educate himself and get involved with the Nation, where he became one of the most effective spokesmen and organizers.

A confrontational proponent of racial separatism and black self-reliance, during the Civil Rights struggle, he was yin to Martin Luther King's yang (or as I read somewhere, he was the Old Testament figure, King was a figure from the New)--the constant reminder to whites that if King's nonviolent methods failed to produce results, millions of righteously resentful young black men were waiting in the wings. But, when Malcolm X made a hadj ...