Malcolm X

Produced By: naRWS 200

T/Th 3:30-4:45

Six Point Summary

• 1 Malcolm X• 2 Muslim Minister, Public Speaker, ex-hustler• 3. Learning to read• 4.1965• 5. Grove Press • 6. He illustrates his own life through which he

attempts to impress upon his readers the need to become more self-reliant and to break the social constraints and the expectations of society.

The Actual Thesis

• Malcolm X, a Muslim minister and black activist, who co-wrote his auto-biography, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, including the article, Learning to Read, written in 1965, illustrates his own life through which he attempts to impress upon his readers the need to become more self-reliant and to break the social constraints and the expectations of society.

What Will Be Covered

• Malcolm X’s life and Works by Mylena

• Context of The Publication by Alyssa

• The Larger Conversation by Jessica

• Malcolm X’s Political And Social Goals by Elton

What is Context?

• the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs : environment, setting- Merriam-Webster

Why Does Context Matter in this Case?

• The context for our presentation makes a huge amount of difference.

• If we couldn’t define what civil rights was for Malcolm X, general equality and the ending of black slavery. This would be far from the definition of civil rights today, or even twenty years ago.

Sub-Topics

• Civil Rights

• Self-Reliance

• Education

• Human Dignity

Context of PublicationWhat was happening in the 1960s?

Vietnam War (1959-1975)

• With the United States at war, it fueled activists to get their opinion out about their own issues occurring at the time (civil rights).

• A country in turmoil sets the stage for someone with an opinion to speak up.

• Even though it didn’t have to do with black civil rights, the war created an environment in which it was easy to be

outspoken.

Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have a dream” speech (1963)

• In the height of the civil rights movement, Malcolm X was influenced by significant other fighters who shared their own opinions.

• Catered to black Muslims-Black people must rely on themselves and control their own struggle -Educate and organize (Ryan, 1)

Context of Publication

President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• “The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The law also provides the federal government with the powers to enforce desegregation…the act specifically prohibited discrimination in voting, education, and the use of public facilities.”

• “In 1964 only two southern states (Tennessee and Texas) had more than 2% of their black students enrolled in integrated schools. Because of Title VI, about 6% of the black students in the South were in integrated schools by the next year.”

(Brunner & Hanney 1)

Context of Publication

Political Goals• Self-Reliant thought

– "I am not a Republican nor a Democrat, nor an American, and got sense enough to know it.”-Malcolm X

– "I'm the man you think you are.... If you want to know what I'll do, figure out what you'll do. I'll do the same thing -- only more of it."

• Human Dignity (or lack of) – "I'm not going to sit at your table and watch you eat, with nothing on my plate, and call

myself a diner. Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat some of what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an American.... No I'm not an American, I'm one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy.... I'm speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of a victim. I don't see any American dream; I see an American nightmare.“

– "We black men have a hard enough time in our own struggle for justice, and already have enough enemies as it is, to make the drastic mistake of attacking each other and adding more weight to an already unbearable load."

• Education– "Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for

it today.“– "Without education, you're not going anywhere in this world.“– "My alma mater was books, a good library.... I could spend the rest of my life reading, just

satisfying my curiosity."

• Civil Rights should belong to all– "The common goal of 22 million Afro-Americans is … to obtain

the human rights that America has been denying us. We can never get civil rights in America until our human rights are first restored. " -Malcolm X

– “I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.” -Malcolm X.

• Be self-reliant work for what you have, including your freedom– “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or

justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it.” –Malcolm X– “If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your

vocabulary.” -Malcolm X.

Social Philosophy

MALCOLM X: My personal economic philosophy is also black nationalism, which means that the black man should have a hand in controlling the economy of the so-called Negro community, he should be developing the type of knowledge that will enable him to own and operate the businesses and thereby be able to create employment for his own people, for his own kind. And the social philosophy also is black nationalism, which means that instead of the black man trying to force himself into the society of the white man, we should be trying to eliminate from our own society the ills and the defects and make ourselves likable and sociable among our own kind.

Finishing Up

• Malcolm encourages his readers to persevere, be self-reliant and educate themselves.

• It is important that every individual rise above the expectations of society and strive for excellence in a society full of mediocrity and hindering labels.

• Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.