My first report was a This I Believe entitled, “I
believe in the power of influence.” As I reflected on my writing, I changed my
mind and decided to base my next two reports on Malcolm X. This report is about the evolution of Malcolm X’s philosophy through time frames and influential
periods of America.
This “by
any means” philosopher otherwise known as Malcolm X, is often portrayed as
violent and radical. Truth be told, his philosophy changed through his journey
through time periods.
Malcolm
X’s early philosophy, I will entitle “The Philosophy of Malcolm Little.” This
time period takes place from this birth in 1925 to the early 1960’s during his
stint with the Nation of Islam. Malcolm Little’s philosophy was essentially a philosophy
of grinding and hustling. It was almost criminal at times. It included a deep
sense of distrust. This ideology could be related to the philosophy of Huey
Newton and the Black Panthers. When Malcolm left prison, he began to hate two
common foes of many people during that time period, the police and informants.
He also began to develop a mentality that the only person he could trust in the
world was himself. This is from this birth to 1945 right before his arrest in
Boston.
After leaving prison and
becoming knowledgeable about the Nation of Islam, Malcolm shifts his contempt of police and informant’s to Christianity and the white majority. I call this
the “Philosophy of X” Alongside fellow Nation of Islam leader Elijah Mohammed,
he preaches the message that the white man is the devil and that blacks are
brainwashed. Among this time period, events such as “Rosa Park’s Stand” and the
murder of Emmett Till, for example, are events that are taking place. As he sees
these events taking place ideas such as Black Separatism, self-reliance, and
small-scale black capitalism begin to grow on him. Malcolm’s philosophy has
shifted from a sense of selfishness to a sense of unity, self-reliance,
freedom, justice, and equality by any means. In my next report I will discuss
the final and last evolution of Malcolm's philosophy, his transitional period.
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