Perhaps the most significant era of social change in the history of the United States was during the civil rights movement. The movement was ushered forward effectively by many people of various racial and social backgrounds with conflicting philosophical foundations vying for dominance within the movement. Still, perhaps none of the leadership was as iconic and enigmatic as Martin Luther King, Jr. and his arch-nemesis Malcolm X. While the two leaders had somewhat differing visions for the future status of African-Americans in the United States by advocating radical yet diametrically opposed methodologies, they were moving toward a common goal: equal status and rights for African-Americans in American society. Contrasted with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s more academic and mystical vision of the Beloved Community, Malcolm X’s philosophical advocation evolved significantly throughout his life with momentous life events that shaped the evolution of his attitude.
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925. [1] The family moved to Milwaukee for a brief stay and then to Lansing, Michigan, to avoid the tension-filled environment Malcolm’s mother, father, and three older siblings endured for years. His father, Earl Little, worked as a freelance Christian minister while spreading “Garveyism,” a secular idea that promoted repatriation to Africa. Because of his vocal efforts, an underworld organization called the Black Legion, which operated similarly to the Ku Klux Klan, began to stalk Earl[2] and, according to Malcolm’s understanding, killed his father when Malcolm was only six years old. He recalled in his autobiography that following Earl’s death, “some…psychological deterioration” had plagued the family and destroyed their self-confidence.[3] His mother had eight children to feed and countless battles with creditors and life insurance companies, one that falsely claimed Malcolm’s father committed suicide to avoid paying out the policy.[4] Malcolm’s mother eventually caved into the pressure of the state welfare workers who inquired about her ability to provide for her children. Malcolm recalled that the monthly welfare check was a “free pass into his family’s home.”[5] Malcolm’s stealing habits developed over the years, and his internalized anger, expressed as yelling, was exhibited regularly in the home.[6] As a result, his mother’s mental health declined, and she was subsequently institutionalized, and Malcolm became a ward of the court to be raised in various foster homes.[7]
Malcolm, at some point between his childhood and his young adult life, after moving to Boston, developed an idea of a primal philosophy that humans operate under called “the Laws of the Jungle.” The conflict for men, according to Malcolm, existed between natural enemies and the classic Darwinist concept of survival of the fittest. A stoic attitude, something Malcolm cultivated from youth, was required for survival under these laws, focusing on the payoff and self-gain overall. This hostile philosophy would lead the future civil rights leader to prison in Massachusetts for burglary convictions, where Malcolm would be introduced to and join the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm’s material and egocentric focus in his younger years was also the primary reason he was opposed to religion (given the nickname “Satan” by fellow inmates for his short temper and aversion to teachings) until his family started writing him about the Nation of Islam as a means to reform himself. Malcolm was reportedly “intrigued” by the end of the letter when Reginald, Malcolm’s younger brother, who had given up the hustler life, wrote, “Don’t eat any more pork, and don’t smoke any more cigarettes. I’ll show you how to get out of prison.” [8] The proselytizing by Malcolm’s family and the experiences with reformed inmates in prison were the catalysts that led the future civil rights leader to join the ranks of the Nation of Islam.
According to Archie C. Epps III, former dean of Harvard, the younger Malcolm’s philosophy was the most significant motivating factor driving Malcolm’s advocation of violence that Black Moslems implement against systematic white oppression. Epps explained that this foundational philosophy was the reason for “describ[ing] himself as the angriest man on earth,” a state that the former dean “would not wish…on anyone.”[9] The philosophical conclusion that mankind is inherently motivated by his selfish interests was likely borne of his former underworld lifestyle as a gang member and his experiences with associations, including a gang leader of a Harlem hustler society that would later mirror the relationship he had with Elijah Muhammed, the Nation of Islam leader, later in his life.[10]
Upon being granted parole in 1952, Malcolm moved to Chicago and became a minister under Elijah Muhammed. He abandoned his “slave name,” becoming simply Malcolm X. Later in the decade, Malcolm would become the Nation of Islam’s chief orator and public face of the organization. Malcolm attempted to contact Martin Luther King, Jr. providing him with Nation of Islam articles and materials left with his secretary Maude Ballou. He sought an open forum to create a space where black leadership could explore the race problem, as Malcolm called it, but his motivations were more bent on King hearing Elijah Muhammed’s message. However, King never responded to Malcolm’s invitations, making his lack of response a clear message to Malcolm and the Nation of Islam. Malcolm gave a speech in 1963 criticizing King, stating, “The only revolution in which the goal is loving your enemy is the Negro revolution… that’s no revolution.” [11]
Malcolm became a renegade leader of the Nation of Islam and the black Islam movement in the United States. There were several events that, when carefully assessed with a critical eye, tell of Malcolm’s shift in personally-held beliefs, institutional teachings, and his own philosophical and methodological framework. In other words, key events during his tenure with the Nation of Islam initiated drastic changes to his held worldview as his life progressed, including after leaving the Nation of Islam and upon returning to the United States following his pilgrimage to Mecca. One example was evident in his conviction in speaking out after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, in which he famously said that the tragedy was one of “chickens coming home to roost,” adding that such an event “never did make me sad, they’ve always made me glad”[12] when comparing the killing of the president to deaths of African-Americans as a part of the civil rights movement. While the Nation of Islam condemned him for his disobedience, he kept his post as a minister and was prohibited from speaking for 90 days.
Such a blatant disregard for orders disseminated through the Nation’s hierarchical structure by Malcolm left the impression that, despite the demands laid out by Elijah Muhammed, he would do what he felt most ethical. Malcolm made it clear that he would say what he felt needed to be heard to put reality in perspective for the civil rights movement and the United States as a whole. To Malcolm, speaking what he believed was true was more critical than blindly complying with leadership demands.
Malcolm’s personal beliefs that varied from the organization’s general message were not the only gripe Malcolm had with the Nation of Islam and Elijah. In addition to his comments about President Kennedy’s death not being sanctioned by the Nation of Islam, Malcolm felt more needed to happen about the 1962 confrontation that unfolded outside a mosque between Nation members and LAPD. He spoke again against Elijah’s orders when, on April 27, 1962, “Two Muslim brothers [were] questioned by Los Angeles police while unloading suits from a car in front of their mosque. A scuffle [lead] to gunfire and seven members of the Nation of Islam [were] wounded, and one man, Ronald Stokes, [was] killed by police.” On May 20, 1962, Malcolm X gave a speech in Los Angeles about the incident from April. His closing words signaled his general sentiment, “The white man is intelligent enough. If he were made to realize how black people really feel and how fed up we are without that whole compromising sweet talk: stop sweet-talking him; tell him how you feel. Tell him…what kind of hell you’ve been catching. Let him know if he’s not ready to clean his house up…he shouldn’t have a house. It should catch on fire and burn down.” [13] The burning anger and frustration in Malcolm’s words were evident: he was tired of how the American black community was treated and felt the Nation of Islam Muslims should stand against the oppressive nature of the white supremacist system. The philosophy of Malcolm became apparent as a result of the incident: action, and violent response, must be taken in daily life to see results.
In addition to Malcolm’s blatant disregard for institutional orders, his advocation for action against what he perceived as wrongdoing in society and within the organization became more apparent. Besides the evident mounting jealousy brewing behind the scenes due in significant part to Malcolm’s practical oratory skills on behalf of the Nation of Islam, which stole the limelight from Elijah, Malcolm also left the group. He began speaking out against the alleged pedophilic practices of the group’s founder, which, many would argue, violated the gangster code he once lived by. This turning point after leaving the group and providing a reasonable explanation showed that he had, indeed, evolved beyond previously held inclinations to uphold the gangster code in the face of sinister and amoral behavior by the group’s founder Elijah Muhammed. In June of 1964, the “Nation of Islam file[d] [suit] to reclaim possession of Maclom’s house in Queens, NY. After a court appearance regarding the eviction, Malcolm divulge[d] explosive secrets” about the nature of his departure from the organization. During a press conference, Malcolm asserted that he had expressed in a newspaper article that there was an “effort to take [his] life back in January.” Malcolm explained that “at that time, the Muslims denied it.” When he was asked why they were threatening his life, Malcolm explained that the motivation was driven by his telling “the real reason that [he] is out of the black Muslim movement…the real reason is that Elijah Muhammed, the head of the movement is the father of eight children by six different teenage girls who were his private, personal secretaries.” The civil rights leader said that Elijah’s son was the first person to make him aware of this atrocity. Malcolm stated that if these transgressions came to the knowledge of the black Muslim movement, the followers would leave the Nation of Islam to follow Malcolm X. He went on to explain that his violation of Elijah’s orders about not speaking on the assassination of JFK was “used as a pretext to take [him] down.”[14] Even though Malcolm changed his mind on what was important in terms of his code of ethics, he stood by wholeheartedly in the face of extreme adversity to uphold what he believed to be true. This was most certainly the case in not only speaking out about the pedophiliac tendencies of Elijah to the detriment of the teachings but also the fact that before making such statements, he left the organization.
While there were explosive moments of evolution in Malcolm’s thoughts throughout his life, nothing was quite as transformational as his pilgrimage to Mecca. In a letter from Mecca, Malcolm X (with his new Muslim name of Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) outlined an apparent change of heart: “Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this ancient Holy Land…” he explained that Islam purified the soul of white Muslims and that, in light of the religious experience, he was “forced…to rearrange much of [his] thought-patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of [his] previous conclusions,” a task he said that “was not difficult.”[15]
After Malcolm returned to the United States from the Hajj, he appeared on CBC-TV in an interview for the media outlet’s “Front Page Challenge” just weeks before he was assassinated. The interview provides the best look at the pinnacle of Malcolm’s philosophical foundation. After years of life experience and struggles, Malcolm reveals what he has learned about the Nation of Islam, the nature of oppression, racism, and segregation. He plainly stated that he was “against any form of segregation and racism” and that he believed in Elijah’s black separatist message only insofar as he genuinely believed that Elijah believed in the message he promoted. He expresses a profound collective understanding that went beyond the beliefs held as a Nation of Islam member. According to Malcolm, there is a certain oneness that the Jews, Christians, and Muslims all worship the same God, the Creator of the Universe. Malcolm’s acceptance of orthodox Islam, rather than adhering to the Nation of Islam sect, allowed him to be a guest of King Fiasal of Saudi Arabia.[16] The problem for black Americans, according to Malcolm’s most evolved view before his untimely death, was a human issue rather than one of civil rights.
The journey of truth for Malcolm X ended prematurely and, according to Martin Luther King, Jr., “occurred at a time when Malcolm X was…moving toward a greater understanding of the nonviolent movement.”[17] Had Malcolm X survived longer than his unfortunate assassination, he perhaps would have reconciled fully with the vision of the nonviolent black civil rights movement. Regardless of his trajectory, the evolution of Malcolm’s philosophy is one of honesty, integrity, and, in the legend’s own words, keeping “an open mind, which is necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search for truth.” The story of Malcolm X’s philosophical evolution is one of moving from frustration and anger due to one’s circumstances to a place of grace due in large part to a search for truth and understanding.
Sources
[1] “Malcolm X.” Biography May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965. Last modified 2021. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/malcolm-x .
[2] Natambu, Kofi. The Life and Work of Malcolm X. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. https://archive.org/details/lifeworkofmalcol0000nata/. p. 2
[3] “Malcolm X.” Biography May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965. Last modified 2021. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/malcolm-x .
[4] Natambu, Kofi. The Life and Work of Malcolm X. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. https://archive.org/details/lifeworkofmalcol0000nata/. p. 9–10
[5] Ibid. p. 12
[6] Ibid. p. 14–15
[7] “Malcolm X.” Biography May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965. Last modified 2021. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/malcolm-x .
[8] Natambu, Kofi. The Life and Work of Malcolm X. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. https://archive.org/details/lifeworkofmalcol0000nata/. p. 128
[9] Schell, Jessica C. “Epps Speaks on Malcolm X.” The Harvard Crimson, November 6, 1992. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1992/11/6/epps-speaks-on-malcolm-x-phad/.
[10] Ibid.
[11] “Malcolm X.” Biography May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965. Last modified 2021. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/malcolm-x .
[12] “Malcolm X Scores U.S. and Kennedy”. The New York Times. December 2, 1963. p. 21.
[13] Smithsonian Channel. “Malcolm X’s Fiery Speech Addressing Police Brutality,” Feb 16, 2018. YouTube video, 2:48. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_uYWDyYNUg.
[14] Smithsonian Channel. “Malcolm X’s Explosive Comments About Elijah Muhammed,” Feb 23, 2018. YouTube video, 1:43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pibigIqFkj8.
[15] X, Malcolm. “The Pilgrimage to Makkah.” Malcolm X’s (Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) Letter from Mecca. Last modified 6, 2021. http://islam.uga.edu/malcomx.html .
[16] CBC. “Malcolm X on Front Page Challenge, 1965: CBC Archives | CBC,” Apr 7, 2010. YouTube video, 7:48. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7IJ7npTYrU.
[17] “Malcolm X.” Biography May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965. Last modified 2021. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/malcolm-x .
