Malcolm X Letter Summary

He studied hard to get high grades and he was even elected as the class president. He was doing his best, until his teacher went up to him and told him that his dream to be a lawyer, is not possible all because he is black. Instead, he insisted him to become a carpenter. From then, something started to changed within him. Malcolm sees the limit to the white acceptance, and the inevitable truth of what life awaits for the colored. He starts believing that in the white society he was living in, there is no success nor future. Spike Lee never really focused on Malcolm's childhood in the film, except for this particular part. He chose this moment to highlight, because this scene single handedly explains why he hated whites, why he became a hustler, and why he became a civil rights activists. It was the hatred against the whites. From then, he stopped accepting the whites. This was the moment when Malcolm's view on integration between whites and blacks became possible, to impossible. The historical figure of Malcolm X’s philosophy started here, with the hatred of his enemy. Malcolm X in his speech, preached that the black man should have their own power, by separating themselves completely from the white society, similar to what his father was preaching. His childhood tragedy gave him the reason to fight for, and the belief for uniting the black race for separating them from the cruelty. Malcolm X we all know of, would have never existed without

Malcolm X’s narrative story about his interesting experience with learning to read and write while in prison was spectacular. Having the drive and want to completely copy an entire dictionary and practice reading it back to yourself is something different in itself. Not many people even like reading, but yet Malcolm wanted to apply himself and learn how to read and write. Not only that, but he never gave up either. After a few days of writing dictionary pages, and reading them he didn’t stop. This all began when an inmate at Charlestown Prison made Malcolm feel envious of his knowledge. Bimbi the inmate, caused all of this. It’s crazy to think that one person could impact another’s life so much.

Malcolm X believed in the theory of a “common enemy” . He deeply believed that in our world, regardless of what your race may be whether it was black , Asian , Indian, and whatever else that may fall in between or outside of those, that they all had a common enemy: which was the white man. And that's where the white man ever went that turmoil, greed, corruption followed

Who is Malcolm X? Answers tend to vary by person but in the “Autobiography of Malcolm X”, it really delved into the pivotal details of his life and readers like myself, went on an enthralling metaphorical journey to see the intriguing development of him as a child, a young adult, a convict, a follower, and ultimately a leader. For starters, Malcolm X was not born with the infamous and famous X. His birth name was Malcolm Little and the innocent Malcolm Little was very belittled (pun intended) in majority of his social environments. At a young age, he experiences the pain of losing his father. In retrospect, his father was just a dust in the wind. Malcolm’s dad was like many other socially active black males, who became inevitable victims that usually were murdered, lynched, burned, etc by the white men in their area. Now, to lose one parent is already tough for many individuals but Malcolm was only to be hammered with more bad news. His mother was sent away by government workers to a mental institution because his house was deemed “unstable” (this kind of stuff happened daily to many black families in similar housing situations like Malcolm was in). But Malcolm directed his energy elsewhere. He ends up taking initiative in school and whilst excelling, he ended up loving many aspects of education in America (or so he thought). He climbed his way to become first in rank in his class and even became class president but his dreams was simply crushed by many individuals. One of

Malcolm X was a black nationalist leader during the 1950’s and 1960’s encouraging to do all that is necessary for blacks to break free from white supremacy. This occurred during a very difficult time in Black history when the U.S government was predominately white

Malcolm X was one of the primary religious leaders and reformers of the 1960, where he fought for and ultimately gave his life for racial equality in the United States. His father was a reverend who believed in self-determination and worked for the unity of black people. Throughout Malcolm’s life he was treated horribly by white people, hence shaping his misconceptions of all white people and developing his strong belief in black separatism. It wasn’t until years later where he embraced his black identity and discovered all races could live and work together for a common goal, brotherhood.

Malcolm X was a public leader during the time of the civil rights movement. Malcolm was a public voice of the Black Muslim faith, he challenged the mainstream civil rights movement and the non-violent pursuit lead by Martin Luther King Jr. Malcolm wanted followers to defend themselves against the white aggression and he said to “by any means necessary”. He was born with the name Malcolm Little, and he changed his last name to X to show his rejection of his “slave” name. Malcolm became an influential leader of the Nation of Islam, which combined Islam with black nationalism which was placed to encourage young blacks to fight for equal rights. Malcolm was a determined leader and he was willing to take any means necessary to achieve equal rights for black Americans, but unlike King’s peaceful approach Malcolm wanted to take a violent approach and without King he may have been the head of the movement causing black Americans to all take a violent approach. A violent approach may not have worked well and would

He saw educated prisoners achieve a certain celebrity status and desired these skills as well as status. Malcolm X describes these inmates and the status they possessed: “There were a sizeable number of well-read inmates, especially the popular debaters. Some were said by many to be walking encyclopedias. They were almost celebrities” (212). He envied these educated men and became determined to grow to be educated. In pursuing his self-taught education, “Malcolm X emerged as the leading spokesman for black separatism, a philosophy that urged black Americans to cut political, social, and economic ties with the white community” (intro 210). Not seeking the prestige or degree for his education, his efforts made him a leading advocate for the civil rights and liberties of African Americans and a leading spokesperson for the Nation of Islam.

In Baca's essay “A Homemade Education,” he explains that Malcolm X taught himself to read and write by copying the dictionary word for word; he began with letters and words which would later piece together to make sentences and paragraphs and eventually well thought out speeches such as “The Ballot or the Bullet”. During Malcolm X’s life span, he faced the hardships of a racist society and through the use of language he was able to become a prominent figure during the era the civil rights movement. All things considered, African Americans during this time did not have multiple opportunities for education, so Malcolm X Writing liberated his soul by allowing him to express his emotions and experiences to a greater audience. Language would not only free Malcolm X’s soul, but countless amounts of others as well, through the words he delivered with his advancements of the abolishment of segregation

While Martin Luther King’s letter addresses the white moderates and Malcolm X’s speech addresses members of the African American community, they each seek to improve the lives of African Americans by engendering shame in their audience. Dr. King makes his audience feel shame about not living up to both their religious and moral obligations to the movement. By invoking the biblical doctrines of Christianity and Judaism, the rhetoric of the letter makes the audience feel as though they are failing to live according to their faith. He begins to do this in the second paragraph of the letter. There, Dr. King connects himself with Christianity by revealing that he is the president of the SCLC and affiliated

Malcolm X is an extremely critical figure that contributed in shaping American social life. He was a famous man who articulated the struggle, anger, and beliefs of African Americans. He was a radical man who fought for change despite the situation. His struggle for equality for the black nation landed him in prison. While in prison, Malcolm was able to study, and earned a college degree. However, most importantly while in prison, Malcolm X was introduced to the Islam faith by one of the prisoners. He received teachings from the Muslim faith, which made him realize that, his people were being oppressed and abused by the whites. While out of prison, he went to visit honorable Elijah Muhammad and later on went around preaching Elijah

The speech by Malcolm X that was given at the King Solomon Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan on April 12, 1964 was a very emotional speech that was intended to motivate the African American community to vote. Malcolm X uses pathos very successfully in this speech. He believes the key to change the situation in the black community is the Negro vote. He believes the government has failed the black people and that they are a victim of the Democracy. Malcolm X believes that African Americans will gain there independence by electing an African American. He believes in gaining control of the economy will help the African Americans be prosperous and control their future. This use of logos by Malcolm X is the most important part of defending

Malcolm X was a muslim, black man who cared very much about gaining equal rights. He was, in a way, an extremist. Though only taking action when he felt necessary, when he did take action, it often had drastic effects on the people and events occurring around him. Unlike Martin Luther King or other leading civil rights activists, he did not believe in peaceful protest. He believed in “whatever means necessary” to accomplish his goals. Because of his strong efforts and his unmatched determination, Malcolm X, formally known as Malcolm Little, changed the course of the civil rights movement. If not for him, the events that played out to cause the eventual conclusion of the struggle would have been forever altered.

David, I concur with your assessment on Malcolm X’s letter. In addition to your point, I attribute this feeling of being stifled to his social upbringing. Losing his parents at an early age and growing up in several foster homes, could have affected his ability to express himself and develop any educational habits. Reading your point on public schools, inspired me to find out what school he went too. I discovered that his white foster parents sent him to a primarily white high school where he excelled academically and was elected class president. Furthermore, he aspired of being a lawyer, but a teacher shattered his ream by telling him to be realistic and try to become a carpenter. This comment brought me back to thinking about why he felt

Malcom X was a man who believed in black supremacy, he believed that blacks and whites should stay separate. In 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated by three Black Muslims that became jealous because of the fact that Malcolm became a great influence. This selection from A Homemade Education is basically a short description of how Malcolm X learned how to read. Malcolm X did not learn to read like normal kids, he learned while in Norfolk Prison Colony. With him being in prison it allowed him to focus and he gradually learned how brutal slavery was.