Malcolm X

Paper Summary:

In this examination of "The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley", by Malcolm X and Alex Haley, the author highlights many pertinent points from the book and about the life of Malcolm X. The author tells us that the book looks at the era in which Malcolm X lived as a time when racism was running rampant in the United States. As a result of his experiences Malcolm X became an angry activist who hated everything that white society represented. The paper describes how Malcolm X himself became a racist and he believed that all whites were evil, after his conversion to Islam. The author delves into this further pointing out what made Malcolm X change his way of thinking to become a well known civil rights activist, who is still thought of in a positive light today. Finally the paper reiterates the major changes that Malcolm X went through during his life to make him a key leader of the black civil rights movement in the United States.

From the Paper:

"Malcolm continued to have a great loyalty to Muhammad, even when Muhammad became too old to actively participate in Nation events. Malcolm then became more and more active in the groups decision making processes. It was at this time that Malcolm and Muhammad noticed that have had some differences in ideology. While they both wished to fight for black rights, Muhammad's goal was to create a completely separate black nation-state that would have a different economy and culture than the rest of the country. Malcolm, however, believed that this would only happen if they took care of the poor black people living in ghettos first. Malcolm wanted the group to become more involved with politics and to change America as a whole, rather than just trying to separate black America from white America. These differing philosophies, as well as Malcolm's growing influence led to Muhammad trying to have Malcolm killed. While this was very difficult for Malcolm, it led to another change in philosophy for him."

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• Term Paper # 143239 : "Malcolm X's Rhetoric"

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