Malcolm: The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America
The biography Malcolm: The Life of a Man who Changed Black America was about the life and teachings of one Malcolm X. Malcolm’s father died when he was young, and his mother was locked up in a mental ward, so Malcolm grew up essentially taking care of all his siblings. Once he was out of school, he bounced around between major cities, particularly Boston and New York. He was a pimp and a drug dealer, and had a hard time keeping a job for long. Eventually he wound up in prison, and decided he liked prison life better than life outside, and began devoting all his time learning new things and becoming more well read. In prison, he adopted the Nation of Islam as a suggestion from his brother Reginald. The Nation of Islam is how Malcolm changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X, and is the root of all his political involvement. Malcolm was a firm believer that black people are the original people of the world and that they are superior to whites. He was considered the second most influential member of the Nation of Islam, and became so well at public speaking that he could control crowds with mere hand gestures. Eventually he left the Nation of Islam, but still remained muslim.
At one Senate debate on a civil rights bill, Malcolm made a speech, saying that if African Americans didn’t get full equality, then they should take up arms. After leaving Nation of Islam, Malcolm became Sunni Muslim officially. He took a pilgrimage to mecca, the traveled to Africa, the UK, and finally returned back to the US. Upon return, death threats and tensions grew within the Nation of Islam, and on February 21, 1965, he was shot in the chest. While he was still alive, Malcolm is credited with being one of the most influential African Americans. When he was in the Nation of Islam he really brought it to life, amassing many followers and raising the self-esteem of black Americans. He obviously had many concerns for African Americans and the turn out of the Civil Rights Movement.
This book relates to my thesis because Malcolm X was a witness to the actual Civil Rights Movement, and reading about his life and his experiences provided ample evidence about how black Americans were treated as second-class citizens in comparison to whites, and how they had practically no rights. My thesis states that part of the American experience is having rights without the freedom to use them, and multiple accounts of everyday life when he was growing up, or even when he was in the Nation of Islam, demonstrate how blacks had rights without the freedom to use them. Like segregation of train cars, or white employees making bigger tips, or even how blacks had worse jobs. In prison, Malcolm wanted to write letter to his friends and family, but he was given page length restrictions, and he then claimed that his freedom of speech was being limited. He also felt his freedom of religion was being restricted while in prison.Overall, throughout the life of Malcolm X, there were dozens of examples of rights and freedoms being limited.
At one Senate debate on a civil rights bill, Malcolm made a speech, saying that if African Americans didn’t get full equality, then they should take up arms. After leaving Nation of Islam, Malcolm became Sunni Muslim officially. He took a pilgrimage to mecca, the traveled to Africa, the UK, and finally returned back to the US. Upon return, death threats and tensions grew within the Nation of Islam, and on February 21, 1965, he was shot in the chest. While he was still alive, Malcolm is credited with being one of the most influential African Americans. When he was in the Nation of Islam he really brought it to life, amassing many followers and raising the self-esteem of black Americans. He obviously had many concerns for African Americans and the turn out of the Civil Rights Movement.
This book relates to my thesis because Malcolm X was a witness to the actual Civil Rights Movement, and reading about his life and his experiences provided ample evidence about how black Americans were treated as second-class citizens in comparison to whites, and how they had practically no rights. My thesis states that part of the American experience is having rights without the freedom to use them, and multiple accounts of everyday life when he was growing up, or even when he was in the Nation of Islam, demonstrate how blacks had rights without the freedom to use them. Like segregation of train cars, or white employees making bigger tips, or even how blacks had worse jobs. In prison, Malcolm wanted to write letter to his friends and family, but he was given page length restrictions, and he then claimed that his freedom of speech was being limited. He also felt his freedom of religion was being restricted while in prison.Overall, throughout the life of Malcolm X, there were dozens of examples of rights and freedoms being limited.