Research Paper on Malcolm X: Father of Black Nationalism & Separatism Movement

Introduction

Malcolm X, born 19th May 1925, was a black American who is vividly remembered as the father of Black Nationalism and Separatism movement in the 1960s in the United States. Malcolm hailed from Nebraska and his parents named Malcolm Little. His family later moved to Lansing where his father was killed by a car. At age six his widowed mother resorted to cooking street food and later sent to an insane asylum after she persistently requested justice for her deceased husband. With no parents, Malcolm and his siblings were sent to foster homes (Doherty & Johnson p. 25). Records revealed that Malcolm was a bright student but his dreams of becoming a lawyer were squashed when his teacher told him he can only be a lawyer. With his dreams destroyed, Malcolm entered the life of crime and was later sent to jail where he met Elijah Muhammad and converted to Islam (Breitman p. 35). As a Muslim, he became a vocal and instrumental personality in the fight for civil rights in America. Some of the most common philosophies of Malcom X were Separatism and Black Nationalism (Taylor p. 184).

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Black Nationalism

Throughout his public life as a civil rights activist, Malcolm X was the most visible proponent of Black Nationalism. The black nationalism ideology was an act of defiance against the multiracial and nonviolent approach adopted by other rights activists like Martin Luther King in the 1960s. according to the tenets of black nationalism, the overarching problem facing black Americans were beyond the Jim Crow policies and that main cause of racism in America included the lack of citizenship right in for blacks in America. The lack of fundamental citizenship right was codified into law since the America's independence and had been enforced systematically since then through political, legal and social means (Elliot p. 4). Malcolm X's ideologies were popular and resonated well with all black people including those in the Northern cities like New York City.

Separatism

Although many scholars conflate black nationalism and separatism as one ideology, analyses of Malcolm X speeches and letters show that the two are different. The philosophy of black separatism was coined by Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X only made it popular. Elijah taught that the white man was a devil and that black people had been brainwashed into following white man's way of life. Separatism challenged black folks who warmly welcomed assimilation ideas that standardized white people, their fashion, bodies, and way of life. In one instance, Malcolm was quoted saying, "Now you're not satisfied unless you can talk like white folks, unless you can walk like white folks, unless you eat and sleep like white folks. You are a White-Black man. White on the inside and Black on the outside. You're not this and you're not that. And don't nobody want you because you don't want yourself" (Groppe p. 440). It is argued that assimilation ideas were one of the major ideas that Malcolm hated the most. In his biography, Malcolm is quoted showing the interviewer a picture of him as a young adult with conked hair, a style adopted by many black men at that time seeking to assimilate and look like the white man.

One of the reasons that made Malcolm and his separatism philosophy popular so fast was how he challenged everyday struggles faced by black Americans. While explaining the need to separate, Malcolm refers to the incident when he first conked his hair as the first and big step towards self-degradation. Malcolm says "when I endured all of that pain, literally burning my flesh to have it look like a white man's hair. I had joined that multitude of Negro men and women in America who are brainwashed into believing that the black people are 'inferior'-and white people 'superior'-that they will even violate and mutilate their God-created bodies to try to look 'pretty' by white standards" (Yancy p. 234). It is because of such statements that led to the birth of phrases like "black is beautiful" and "black power." However, there are only a handful of scholarly material that praise Malcolm X as antiracist, with some literature admonishing him as racist and violent (Branham p. 120).

Overall, both black nationalism and separatism were just philosophies that informed Malcolm X's stand in the fight against racism in America. Both philosophies were anchored on such ideologies as black business, black identity, self-respect, self-defense, and racism. It is important to note that his ideologies were not static as he later came to embrace other ideologies like Pan Africanism after visiting Mecca and African countries.

Branham, Robert J. "I Was Gone on Debating": Malcolm x's Prison Debates and Public Confrontations." Argumentation and Advocacy, vol. 31, no. 3, 1995, pp. 117-137. doi.org/10.1080/00028533.1995.11951606

Branham's article provides detailed information on the early life of Malcolm X before joining the Nation of Islam and after being converted. The article illustrates how Malcolm X utilized debates as a way of addressing the public. Through debates, Malcom would confront and challenge other civil rights leaders, organizations, and ideologies. A strength of this article is how it clearly shows the reader the transition from prison as a trainee in a debate to an enigma and powerful figure that his movement became. The author utilizes information from first account witnesses who attended Malcolm's debates, analyzes his philosophies, and concludes that he contributed positively to the shaping of political agenda at that time.

Taylor, Ula. "Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam: Separatism, regendering, and a secular approach to Black power after Malcolm X (1965-1975)." Freedom North: Black Freedom Struggles Outside the South, 1940-1980. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2003. 177-198.

Taylor's article talks about how Malcolm X built a strong and dynamic movement for civil rights of the black people in America. Taylor shows how Malcom X's philosophies changed the discourse of civil rights in America from liberalism to black nationalism. Through the Nation of Islam, Malcolm extended the rights movement from Muhammad's ideology of economic self-sufficiency to activist nationalism. Taylor demonstrates how Malcolm built a strong movement by advocating for self-defense by all means necessary especially in an era when the government was openly racist. In the beginning, the Nation of Islam had 16 temples but that number had increased to more than 50 temples in just five years by 1960 and membership had increased by five times.

Elliott, Richard. "Malcolm X's Analysis of Citizenship & Rights for Black Americans." Available at SSRN 3403265 (2019).

Elliot's article presents a detailed analysis of Malcolm X's ideologies by examining his speeches and letters. The author starts by explaining evolution of Malcolm, from his childhood in foster care to life in crime to life as a Muslim and civil rights advocate. From the analyses, the author shows how Malcolm formulated his ideologies around the issue of citizenship and economic prosperity. One of the strengths of the article is how the author adopts a unique approach, different from the majority of scholars on this subject who focus on antiracism wholesomely, by breaking down how Malcolm understood the causes of systematic racism and how they had been embedded in the political and legal framework of America. In addition, Elliot shows the fluid and dynamic nature of Malcolm philosophies by illustrating his adoption of Pan Africanism after touring Mecca and Africa.

Yancy, George. "Whiteness and the Return of the Black Body." The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, vol. 19, no. 4, 2005, pp. 215-241. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25670583.

Yancy's publication is one of the few articles that show how racism in America was manifested through demeanor of the black body. In particular, the author illustrates how white hegemony used the white body as the standard and racism undermined the cultural, material power, and symbolic significance of black body. The author achieves this goal by analyzing several speeches of Malcolm X and other antiracism advocates. By using Malcolm X's speeches, Yancy shows how the famous orator empowered the black folks to defy the ontic standard imposed on them by the whites and embrace and pride themselves for who they are. The scholar further shows how appreciation of the black body led to demystification of the white body and in turn courage to fight against the racist policies.

Works Cited

Branham, Robert J. "I Was Gone on Debating": Malcolm x's Prison Debates and Public Confrontations." Argumentation and Advocacy, vol. 31, no. 3, 1995, pp. 117-137. doi.org/10.1080/00028533.1995.11951606

Breitman, George. The Last Year of Malcolm X: The Evolution of a Revolutionary., 1967. Print.

Doherty, Anne, and Timothy V. Johnston. "Collecting to the Core: Malcolm X." Against the Grain 27.1 (2015): 25.

Elliott, Richard. "Malcolm X's Analysis of Citizenship & Rights for Black Americans." Available at SSRN 3403265 (2019).

Groppe, John D. "From Chaos to Cosmos: The Role of Trust in 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X.'" Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 66, no. 4, 1983, pp. 437-449. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41178273.

Taylor, Ula. "Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam: Separatism, regendering, and a secular approach to Black power after Malcolm X (1965-1975)." Freedom North: Black Freedom Struggles Outside the South, 1940-1980. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2003. 177-198.

Yancy, George. "Whiteness and the Return of the Black Body." The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, vol. 19, no. 4, 2005, pp. 215-241. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25670583.