Malcolm X on Afro-American History

Reading speeches from various leaders in American History provides a really helpful context to the times and the social strife that a particular group of people feel in the community.  I think there is none better than Malcolm X, though I am also partial to my hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  In this RA favorite read, I learned a great deal of the issues that Malcolm X felt the African American community was facing in his speeches from Harlem called Malcolm X on Afro-American History.  From the pulpit of a rented hall in Harlem before his tragic death, Malcom X presents the struggles of a community in a society that has very little respect and much hatred by many in the white community.  He provides a historical perspective on the African heritage and how the issues that occurred in the Congo are directly tied to the current (1950-60s) of the African American community.  Here is one powerful paragraph from his speech:

As long as the Black man in America thinks of himself as a minority, as an underdog, he can't shout but so loud; or if he does shout, he shouts loudly only to the degree that the power structure encourages him to. He never gets irresponsible. He never goes beyond what the power structure thinks is the right voice to shout in. But when you begin to connect yourself on the world stage with the whole of dark mankind, and you see that you're the majority and this majority is waking up and rising up and becoming strong, then when you deal with this man, you don't deal with him like he's your boss or he's better than you or stronger than you. You put him right where he belongs. When you realize that he's a minority, that his time is running out, you approach him like that, you approach him like one who used to be strong but is now getting weak, who used to be in a position to retaliate against you but now is not in that position anymore.

Malcolm X is not afraid to present his beliefs through the lens of the experience of the black man, and how African Americans cannot feel sorry for their plight instead must work to change it. Malcom X provides an overview for a new power struggle facing society. He believes that the world is getting smaller and that global issues will surface in all places around the world (A man ahead of his time!).  His section on the “trap of racism” has excellent depth and knowledge of the world as he experienced it.  Knowing one’s ancestry is critical for good reason, not having it be repeated again. While not everyone will agree with the way he writes, he spends a good deal of time explaining his historical connections and uses good references for his beliefs.  This is an important read for anyone interested in American history.  We all need to understand so that history is not repeated again.  A short read that will make you think and realize that we can’t allow senseless acts of death like Malcolm X to be forgotten.