Since
the untimely transition of Malcolm X in 1965,
movement forces throughout the world have consistently
commemorated his birthday. Malcolm X was born on May 19,
1925 in Omaha, Nebraska.
It
was on February 21, 1965 that
Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in
Manhattan, New York by forces that were trying to stop
his impact on our movement. They were not successful.
He will forever remain our �Shining Black Prince.�
Malcolm
X is a man who should be studied carefully in our efforts
to examine a critical period in our history - the 1960s.
For it was during this period that Malcolm X became an
internationally known and respected African in America leader whose ideas
were widely discussed and debated.
It
was through the Nation of Islam,
under the leadership of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad,
that Malcolm X was given an opportunity to develop his
tremendous talents as a teacher,
researcher, orator and organizer.
Malcolm
X joined the Nation of Islam while in prison in 1952.
After his release in the mid 1950s,
Malcolm X became a full�time minister for the Nation of
Islam that became one of the most important organizations
in the history of African in America, people. From
his main base in Harlem, at Mosque Number 7, he launched his talents
on the world.
Malcolm
X was a revolutionary who presented a model of Black manhood
that shook the world. When Malcolm X finally left the
Nation of Islam, because of
internal differences, he decided
to take his first trip to Mother Africa. Malcolm spent
five weeks in Africa, from April 13th to May 21st,
1964.
This
trip helped reestablish our links with the movement to
reclaim �Africa for the Africans.�
Malcolm met many of the leaders and people of Africa. He visited Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, Lebanon, Nigeria, Ghana, Monrovia, Liberia, Senegal, Tanzania, Guinea, Morocco and Algeria.
This
trip and subsequent trips abroad helped Malcolm sharpen
his understanding of the worldwide system of white supremacy
as the number one enemy of African people throughout the
world. This has not changed.
After
leaving the Nation of Islam,
Malcolm began to broaden his organizing strategies by
attempting to reach out and work with many of the more
established civil rights organizations and movement tendencies
to create a common organizational vehicle. Malcolm began
building this vehicle through his establishment of the
Organization for Afro�American Unity (OAAU).
Malcolm
felt that a United Front was the necessary mechanism by
which the political consciousness of African people in
America could be raised. Also, he felt that this United Front would be the common voice we needed
to represent the Black Liberation movement in this country.
Many of us are still working to build this United Front
concept of organizing toward our liberation in America.
In
the spirit of Malcolm, let us
summarize his contributions:
1.
Malcolm
X was a concrete example that if you discipline yourself
and find a new outlook on life you can transform your
behavior.
2.
From
1952 - 1963, Malcolm X helped
the Honorable Elijah Muhammad build the Nation of Islam
into a powerful force.
3.
During
this same period, Malcolm became
the spokesman for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the
Nation of Islam, and thus, became a spokesman for the Black
Nationalist Movement in one of the most important periods
in our history - the period of the mid 1950s through the
1960s.
4.
In this
role, Malcolm articulated many important concepts and ideas that helped
strengthen the Black Nationalist Movement in this country, as well as in the Civil Rights Movement. His speech,
�The Ballot or the Bullet,� still rings in our ears. His
conception of the role of �House Negroes� vs. �Field Negroes�
is still with us today. And his coining he phrase, �By Any Means Necessary� are just a few of the ideas and concepts
that concretely impacted the Black movement.
5.
Malcolm
X defined Black Nationalism in simple terminology that
appealed to the Black masses when he said,
�the political philosophy of Black nationalism is that
Blacks should control the politics and politicians in
our own community... The economic philosophy of Black
Nationalism must be designed to re�educate our community
to the importance of controlling the economy in which
we live by owning and operating the businesses. The social
philosophy of Black nationalism is we must become socially
mature enough to realize the responsibility on us to elevate
the conditions and standards of our community to a higher
level.�
6.
Malcolm
X linked the Black struggle in this country with the struggle
of African people around the world.
7.
Malcolm
helped shape Black people�s pride in themselves and by
so doing, he exposed, by teaching,
that the greatest crime of white people was that they
taught us to hate ourselves. It was Malcolm�s spirit that
generated the Black Pride, Black
Studies, and Black Power phases
of our movement.
So, on the one hand, Malcolm helped internationalize
our struggle and on the other, he linked it up to the
mass struggle and issues that faced our people in America.
By taking this approach, Malcolm
was able to provide a basis for the continued historical
efforts to build worldwide African unity.
BlackCommentator.com Columnist, Conrad W. Worrill,
PhD, is the National Chairman Emeritus of the National
Black United Front (NBUF).
Click here to contact Dr. Worrill.
