Malcolm X’s 83rd Birthday

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, 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 peoples pride in themselves and by so doing, he exposed, by teaching that the greatest crime of white people was 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.