Malcolm X Project Review Essay

“Ignorance of eachother is what made unity impossible in the past. Therefore we need enlightenment… Light creates understanding, understanding creates love, love creates patience, and patience creates unity.”(Malcolm X, Advice to the Youth of Mississippi) Time, it seems, has a way of putting a shadow over those who were once so prominent and so demanding that they permanently etched themselves into the minds of anyone willing to lend an ear to their desperate pleas. What we as a generation do not understand is the pain and sorrow that people of other ethnicities, races, and religions have experienced throughout history. For those not willing to speak, he was their voice; the beaming light through the narrowest of cracks that continued to shine, to inspire, and to awe. For some he was Malcolm Little, for others, Malik Shabazz. To many he was simply referred to as hope. Malcolm X was a minister, a human rights activist, and political rights leader for the Nation of Islam in the mid-1900’s. Malcolm may have been a controversial character, but one aspect of this man stands true: he reinvigorated a race that had long been dormant, and reminded them that they are not powerless in the fight against racism.

When Malcolm X refers to freedom in the final sentence, he is referring to being at liberty. He is saying that he is no longer constrained by his lack of education and his inability to read. Malcolm X carefully studied the dictionary to solve the problem of his own illiteracy. Having risen from a world of thieving, pimping, and drug pushing to become one of the most articulate African Americans. What an enormous frustration he must have felt writing numerous letters that fell on deaf ears. Knowing that he had something to say but not being able to convey it in letters. According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, thirty-two million adults in the U.S. cannot read. That is fourteen percent of the Population. These numbers are astonishing! Furthermore, nineteen percent of high school graduates cannot read. There are many benefits that come with being able to read and write. Some of these include economic security, access to health care, and the ability to actively participate in public life. Malcolm X went behind bars partially because of negative educational opportunities. He ends up finding freedom when he learns of the connections between culture and education that society has denied him. He did this by copying and studying the pages of the dictionary, page by page. He would also stay up at night reading, and was careful to make sure that the guards at the prison did

He had specific goal for his reading and learning although he spent seven years in prison. His goal was to serve the black man in term of Black and White separatism in the 1950’s in United States. His meaningful goal led to great reading and learning of certain subjects, such as Black history, Genetics, slavery, Chinese world history and philosophy. Constantly, he says, “You will never catch me with a free fifteen minutes in which I’m not studying something I feel might be able to help the black man (X 85). Moreover, Malcolm’s education is really an educational experience. Unlike Mark’s education, Malcolm had to begin his fundamental education by learning the vocabulary. Henceforth, he daily spent numerous hours on reading books to gain knowledge and understanding. He himself did that spectacular job without any specific guidance, except for his curiosity only. He said, “I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity-because you can hardly mention anything I’m not curious about” (X 85). On the other hand, reading for the sake of knowledge was a significant way to help Malcolm feel a sense of freedom in spite of being in prison. Truly, the more he read, the freer he felt. He concludes that “I don’t think anybody ever got more out of going to prison than I did. In fact, prison enabled me to study far more intensely than I would have if my life had gone differently and I had attended some college.” (X 85)

I think that everyone in my group gave good and valuable input. I could tell that some deep thinking went into the write-up of people’s jobs. Everyone came to class prepared and I could tell that Kelly, Nicole and Emma put a good effort into thoroughly completing their jobs. We had no problem discussing anything that involved the book. The discussions went really well. I think that the fact that we all had our own thoughts and opinions about the different events that occurred in the book, and even the book itself is what made our discussions so benefiting. We all found the book enjoyable to read, though we wouldn’t typically choose this type of book for ourselves. A Long Way Gone was different for all of us and even though we all really liked the book, its themes and plot were kind of new to us. Still, we had no problem discussing it. Over all, everything involving the book went smoothly. I felt as if I had plenty of time to read that weeks chapters and do my job by the time it was due. Nicole, Kelly and Emma also came to class prepared, having read all of the needed chapters and done their job

The next years of Malcolm's life began a downward spiral into drugs, drinking, and gambling. He ultimately landed as a hustler in Harlem, New York. With shrewd wit and intelligence, Malcolm adjusted quickly to the street life and became known as Detroit Red because of his straightened head of red hair and his light complexion. Once police are aware of his lifestyle and survival is no longer possible, he moves back to Boston, where he had previously stayed for a short time, with his sister, Ella. He had referred to her as one of the proudest black women he had ever known. His criminal activity eventually caught up with him again, and Malcolm ended up in prison in 1946. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 years of incarceration for theft

The history of the United States has in it much separation or segregation due to race. For a long time our country has seen racism as a large problem and this has caused ethnic groups to be looked down upon and forced into a lifestyle of difficulties and suppression. Due to this, races, particularly African-Americans, have been forced to deal with unequal opportunity and poverty, leading to less honorable ways of getting by and also organizations that support change. Malcolm X is one strong example of an African American man who became apart of a group acted against it, uniting people to promote the advancement of colored people and change. Malcolm's thoughts towards race and civil right in the previous years were displayed in a less

Media and NY Times attributed the ringleader and creation of this phantom hate group to Malcolm X. Formally Malcolm X stated, “I considered all Negroes my ‘Blood Brothers,’ and that Negroes are banning together!” He said in one of his speeches, “That Harlem is living in a police state?” and was asked, {“Mr. Malcolm you have suggested that they are all kinds of movements in Harlem growing that you and I don’t know about?”} Malcolm replied “Oh yes, frustration itself was sufficient and all that was necessary to make Negros realize the importance of banning together-and Negros are banning together.”{“Banning together in what kind of movement?”} (Malcolm continuing) “Different kinds of movements-all kinds of movements, and they remain almost invisible they remain almost unknown-but yet they are there.” “When I say invisible I mean invisible in the since that their existence are unknown.” “And no matter how much you try to track them down-you can’t find them. And never try to find them through the Negro leaders.” “The Negro leaders are famous as an apologist.” “As you recall one of the most famous Negro leaders in 1959 was asked by you about the Black Muslim movement, and he said he knew nothing about it, and the next moment you flashed a picture on the screen with him shaking hands with me (Referring to Roy Wilkins).”-“So this is their

(In 1959, the NY Times had inscrutably perpetrated an all-out attack, constantly printing editorials accusing the Nation of Islam of preaching hate the need for race war and violence)

Lansing did not hold many opportunities of any kind for a young black man then, so without a particular plan, Malcolm X went to live with his half-sister, Ella, in Boston. Malcolm X looked, and almost immediately found trouble. He fell in with a group of gamblers and thieves, and began shining shoes at the Roseland State Ballroom. There he learned the trades that would eventually take him to jail dealing in bootleg liquor and illegal drugs. Malcolm X characterized his life then as one completely lacking in self-respect. Many journalists would emphasize Malcolm X’s “shady” past when describing the older man, his clean-cut lifestyle, and the aims of the Nation of Islam. In some cases, these references were an attempt to damage Malcolm X’s credibility, but economically disadvantaged people have found his early years to be a point of commonality, and Malcolm X himself was proud of how far he had come. He spared no detail of his youth in his autobiography, and used his Nation of Islam ideas to interpret them. Dancing, drinking, and even his hair style were represented by Malcolm X to be marks of shame and self-hatred. Relaxed hair in particular was an anathema to Malcolm X for the rest of his life; he described his first “conk” in the autobiography this way: “This was my first really big step toward self-degradation: when I endured all of that pain of the hair-straightening chemicals, literally burning my flesh to have it

Malcolm X developed the Black Muslim philosophy. The Muslim community in the United States could identify with their leader and other Muslim members. The Black Muslim time marked a period in which certain unique values and practices that were familiar only to the black people in the United States. They can be reference to certain specific values and principles which could not be found in other Muslims.

The 1950's and 1960's were a time of racial turmoil throughout most of the United States. Segregation between blacks and whites was still in full effect, African Americans had to drink from different water fountains, eat at different restaurants, and even shop at different stores than their Anglo "neighbors". Many people and organizations fought valiantly for equality in the U.S. such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King jr. and the NAACP. The roles they played were critical in the civil rights movement were critical, the actions they took included peaceful demonstrations and marches, public speeches, and boycotts such as the one that took place in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. One man stands out among all of these leaders though, Malcolm X.

The history of the world has had its encounters with separation and segregation when it comes to race. For a long time the world has seen racism as a large problem and this has caused ethnic groups to be looked down upon or forced into a lifestyle of difficulties and suppression. Due to this situation, races, in particularly African Americans, have been forced to deal with unequal opportunity and poverty, leading to less honorable ways of getting by and also organizations and support change. Malcolm X is an example of an African American man who fell into this type of hate and acted against it. Malcolm X united people to promote the advancement of African Americans and change when it comes to his own race.

There have been many people throughout United States History who have greatly influenced the nation, including Malcolm X. Malcolm X both positively and negatively affected American society. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history, while being a tremendous public speaker and human rights activist, specifically advocating for the rights of African Americans. However, numerous individuals view him as controversial figure due to the widespread portrayal of Malcolm X as a violent and racist character often considered to be the opposite of Martin Luther King, Jr. Overall, it is clear that Malcolm X is one of the most significant people in United States history because of his various positive

I think that you have a really nice plan started. There are a couple things that I noticed could be improved. In your first paragraph, where you are giving the summaries, I think that you could add some more important details. I know that you have some of these at the end of your plan, but I think they would make more sense to the reader if they were in the summary section. For Malcolm X, maybe you could talk a little bit more about his learning in prison, because that is one of the main focuses of his excerpt. For Mike Rose, maybe you could add a little bit more about his thoughts on how society effects the opinion of education. Also, I like that you compared the two to Freire, however, I think that if you are going to include

Something I learned during this project was how important and crucial the Columbian/American Exchange is and how it shaped the world we live in today. Before this project, I had barely heard of the Columbian/American Exchange and I thought that the only thing that Christopher Columbus did was discover the New World. While it is true that Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, there was a lot more that happend