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“THE AMERICAN Negro is a unique creation; he has no counterpart anywhere, and no predecessors. The Muslims react to this fact by referring to the Negro as 'the so-called American Negro' and substituting for the names inherited from slavery the letter 'X'” (James Baldwin in The Fire Next Time).
May 19 was the centennial of the birth of Malcolm Little of the US. Malcolm was always proud of his mother, Louise Little, who was born in Grenada. Both his parents were involved in the island’s local chapter of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association.
This Caribbean ancestral connection would have certainly made Malcolm’s works and actions even more relevant among Caribbean immigrants and regional activists of the 1960s and 1970s.
At the age of 20, Malcolm was convicted of burglary and sent to prison in 1946. While in jail he was exposed to the Nation of Islam and modified his name to Malcolm X. He was paroled in 1952 and would soon emerge as one of the most charismatic and vociferous leaders of the 1960s.
Malcolm took a direct, no-nonsense approach and criticised the oppressive political situation in the US, “The real criminal is the white man who poses as a liberal – the political hypocrite. And it is these legal crooks, posing as our friends, forcing us into a life of crime and then using us to spread the white man’s evil vices among our own people.”
In 1960, Malcolm X held the portfolio of national minister of the Nation of Islam, and began publishing a widely read newspaper, Mr Muhammad Speaks. This Harlem-based publication provided coverage of global events including anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles.
Malcolm had been accused by supporters of the Civil Rights Movement and others as being a divisive demagogue and racist. However, these descriptions often obscured the positive impact of the Nation of Islam among the depressed blacks in slums and ghettos. Indeed, Malcolm and the Nation of Islam attempted to inculcate self-esteem, a sense of identity and pride.
The immediate benefit of this lesson in self-esteem and collective consciousness, to the Civil Rights Movement, was to transform blacks who were becoming more psychologically and emotionally empowered to withstand setbacks and racism.
Malcolm disagreed with Rev Martin Luther King Jr who followed a philosophy of non-violence and integration. In contrast, a radical Malcolm wanted immediate results, reforms, and preached, “…Anybody who teaches the Negro to turn the other cheek is committing a crime” of ignoring the white injustices against blacks.
In New York, in April 1964, Malcolm made a stirring speech which was critical of King’s non-violence, “Revolution is never based on begging somebody for an integrated cup of coffee. Revolutions are never based upon love your enemy, and pray for those who spitefully use you…Revolutions are based upon bloodshed…”
At a public gathering in Harlem, New York in June 1954, Malcolm boldly clamoured for radical change, “The white man has taught us to shout and sing and pray until we die, to wait until death, for some dreamy heaven-in-the-hereafter, when we’re dead, while this white man has his milk and honey in the streets paved with golden dollars here on Earth.”
This fiery approach of Malcolm was not unjustified and there was a dire need to continuously remind racists and conservative elements in the US of the strong, determined voice of change. And he advised blacks in Harlem, “…much of what I say might sound like it’s hate but it’s the truth…The best thing to put the white man to fright is the truth.” It was unfortunate that Malcolm initially viewed the sociopolitical reforms as agonisingly slow.
After his break with the Nation of Islam, in March 1964, and a trip to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Malcolm returned with an enlightened view of the race problem in the US. His modified perspective was evident in the launching of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) in 1964. The objective was to elevate the freedom struggle from civil rights to a higher position of human rights. The OAUU was willing to work with other groups that had similar goals.
The controversial Federal Bureau of Investigation had a Counter Intelligence Program (Cointelpro) during 1956-1971. It deviously sought to infiltrate and destroy organisations that were deemed subversive. Declassified files reveal that Cointelpro deepened the division between the Nation of Islam and Malcolm. The result would be the assassination of the enigmatic Malcolm in 1965.
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