Malcolm X: Fight for Freedom & Equality - Essay Sample

Introduction

Malcolm x was an American minister who is widely known for his advocacy of civil rights. He is mostly known because of his fight for black men rights. Some of the people considered Malcolm as a person who was fighting for equality among the whites and blacks, whereas others accused him of spreading racism and inciting violence in America (Malcolm and Alex 5). However, Malcolm X got mostly recognized for his fight against racism against black people. The current paper discusses Malcolm X, his achievements, and the impact that he made historically, and those that are of essence today.

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Malcolm X gets considered as one of the persuasive leaders in the world (Malcolm and Alex 6). Malcolm X is known to have brought a change from victimization and oppression of the black community through revolution and rebellion.

Through his journey, he was able to gather an insight historically and politically, which, combined with his leadership and persuasion skills (Malcolm and Alex 6). By the time of his death, he is known to be the most dangerous figure in America's history of confrontations with the ruling class. Many years later, the life of Malcolm X remains informative to us about the history and culture of America.

Malcolm X was born in 1925 in Omaha. During his mother's pregnancy with him, she got attacked by the Ku Klux clan as they were trying to evict his family from the town (Malcolm and Alex 6). The reason was that Malcolm's father had called a meeting for black people, supporting Marcus Garvey's movement, which was termed as "back to Africa."

Malcolm's family relocated to Michigan, where he experienced one of the brutalities against black men when his family's residence was burnt down by the Black Legion movement. Later on, the body of Malcolm's father got found, whereby he had been hacked to death. His family was profoundly affected, and his mother went mad since he was left with eight children to look after in extreme poverty.

Malcolm was forced to live in a foster home. However, he was a bright student in school and was even made a class president at his seventh grade, in a majority white school (Malcolm and Alex 7). In school, Malcolm experienced the real definition of racism. He suggested that he wanted to be a lawyer, but his white teacher told him off. The teacher said that despite being a bright student that was liked by most people, he could not be a lawyer in America since he was a nigger.

Malcolm helped in the spread of Islam among the black community in the USA, and this increased his popularity. The popularity led to the start of attacks by the nation of Islam towards him for speaking nontheological words (Perry 101). In one of his addresses, he stated that the assassination of president john Kennedy was as a result of racism, and these remarks led to his separation with the nation of Islam.

In 1963, there was a massive march to Washington by the minorities, advocating for equality. Malcolm was behind the movement, which led to the emergence of war (Malcolm and Alex 6). Additionally, Malcolm went around the continents seeking for support of other countries to help in eradication of racism in America. During a United Nations meeting in New York, Malcolm announced that he was going to struggle for equality in the country. He talked with people of all races, and even the African countries which had just gained independence to help him raise his grievances to the UN.

One famous quote by Malcolm was that "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has freedom." Malcolm said this during an agitated time, accompanied by protests against police brutality (Perry 103). The protestants demanded that the lives of black people also mattered just like that of the white. Many people stated that Malcolm X and the black protestants were supposed to show respect to those in power and protest respectably. Malcolm however, according to his quote, told them that one could not expect individuals to calmly engage whereas they didn't feel free.

Another Malcom's quote was, "Who taught you to hate the color of your skin? Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair? Who taught you to hate the shape of your nose and the shape of your lips? Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet?" The quote mainly directed to the minority communities for hating themselves (Perry 103). Marcus tried to show them that all people were equal and no particular race is superior to another. The quote applies even today and helps us see the beauty in everyone.

Malcolm made an impact on history, and the effect is still alive today. He helped in reducing racism in America because of some of the matters that he advocated for, such as voting rights for all races, which is enjoyed today (Perry 105). However, racism is still not entirely eradicated in America. Some few racial discriminatory instances are reported currently in this nation. Research has shown that these instances are mainly as a result of the way parents and society raise children. When kids are taught not to be racist, and that racism is wrong that way, we can together kick-out racism in the country.

Works Cited

Malcolm, X., and Alex Haley. The autobiography of Malcolm X. Royal National Institute for the Blind, 2013. https://sep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/monkeynote/pmMalcolmXSample.pdf

Perry, Theresa. Teaching Malcolm X: Popular culture and literacy. Routledge, 2014. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315021874