Maloclm X

"The price of freedom is death."

Malcolm X together with Martin Luther King were the leaders of the African-American movement in the 50s and 60s to reclaim their rightful rights after decades of struggles. Malcolm rose from his background of criminality to one of the most powerful and persuasive black leader in 20th century America. He fought hard for a race that had been marginalized and oppressed for hundreds of years by the white American majority. Malcolm believed that the black people should acquire their rights with “Any means necessary” stressing the importance of fighting for the oppressed in Islam’s teachings.

Roots
Malcolm Little was born in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, to Earl Little and Louise Helen He was the forth among seven children. His father, Earl, was a black activist that was under constant threat from white racist. Three of Malcolm’s uncles were killed by white racists. His father was also killed in 1931 and the killers were never brought to justice. This arguably left a permanent scar on Malcolm view towards the “white people” [1].

Although Malcolm was very bright and graduated at the top of his class from high school however all his hopes in becoming a lawyer in the future were dashed when his teacher gave him a dose of reality by telling him that this was “no realistic goal for a nigger”. After being sent to several foster homes he was eventually led to Boston’s underground criminal ring at the age of 17. In the following years Malcolm was arrested several times on charges of involvement in drug trafficking, burglary, gambling and prostitution rings. When he reached the age of 21 he was arrested for burglary and possession of fire arms and was sentenced to seven to ten years in prison.

In prison Malcolm used his extra time to study various texts. While in prison he had several visits from his brother Reginald who along with another brother of Malcolm named Philbert had joined the religious sect ‘Nation of Islam’. It is reported that initially Malcolm was not interested in joining but changed his mind latter on. After converting he feverishly studied in the prison’s library. During this period he was also in continual contact with Elijah Mohammad who was the leader of Nation of Islam. Mohammad would visit Malcolm in the prison and through these visits Malcolm claimed that he was saved from life of corruption and immoral acts [2].

Malcolm the Minister
By 1952 Malcolm had been released from prison and had formally joined the Nation of Islam, changing his family name to X like many other members of the sect. In fact Malcolm welcomed the change claiming that this was a rejection of the slave names that were given to them by white masters. By 1954 Malcolm had been appointed the minister of Nation of Islam’s temple number seven which was located in Harlem, New York. From the start he started to attract people from all walks of life through his fiery speeches. Malcolm rank quickly rose in the Nation of Islam becoming second only to Elijah Mohammad. By 1963 the sect claimed more than 30 thousand members mostly thanks to Malcolm. Malcolm was also credited with inspiring famous boxer Cassius Clay (who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali) to join the Nation of Islam.


Transformation
By 1963 however there were rising tensions between Malcolm and his idol Elijah Mohammad. Initially Mohammad was dismayed by the huge popularity and fame that Malcolm had gained which even surpassed his popularity as the Nations leader. Malcolm was also deeply troubled by the alleged rumors that Mohammad had been having extramarital affairs with several female staff of the movement. After doing some secret research Malcolm came to the conclusion that these allegations were true and that Mohammad had even had children with these women. Malcolm was deeply upset with these revelations and thus formally left the Nation of Islam in March 1964. Later on he converted to main stream Islam, realizing that some of the teachings of the Nation were not at all rooted in Islamic teachings. The following month Malcolm made a pilgrimage to Mecca which he later claimed as life transforming.

Malcolm’s beliefs and consequently his speeches became totally different after his trip to Mecca. Prior to the pilgrimage Malcolm was in fact racist towards the white race. Having seen all the ill the white man had caused on African Americans he came to view them as evil. He publicly claimed the black race to be superior and that one day black people would regain their place as the superior race. In fact Malcolm rejected many calls by white activists who wanted to join his movement for black salvation. These beliefs were also in part due to the teachings of the Nation of Islam which had saved Malcolm from his troubled past. After leaving the Nation and going on the Hajj pilgrimage Malcolm’s view became utterly different. He later professed that during the pilgrimage he came to see Muslims of many different races as equals. He said that during his trip he had met "blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers." This was a serious break from the past. When he returned from Hajj he decided to address people from all races and classes of American society. He had exchanged many ideas with people of different cultures during his trip to Mecca and had found the message of Islam as transcending all races [3].

Assassination:
After Malcolm’s departure from the Nation of Islam, his relation with the movement became much worse. Malcolm claimed that he and his family were constantly threatened by Nation of Islam members. These threats came to reality when Malcolm’s home was burned to the ground on February 14th 1965. Fortunately Malcolm and his family were able to escape the assassination attempt without any injury. A week later while delivering a speech at Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom Malcolm was shot 16 times and killed by assassins. Three people were arrested as Malcolm’s killer with two of them being Nation of Islam members. These two individuals however maintained that they were innocent even after they were released years later. Thus a lot of controversy came to surround the murder. Some people alleged the CIA and the FBI for masterminding the killing. Although these allegations were never proven however it later became fact that the FBI had been closely monitoring Malcolm’s every move even eavesdropping all his telephone conversations. Even if the FBI did not carry out the killing, it was indirectly responsible by “letting it slip” meaning that even though they knew that Malcolm’s life was going to be threatened they did absolutely nothing to prevent it. It was also later reveled that one of Malcolm’s principle enemies in the Nation of Islam, John Ali who was the national minister of the movement was in fact an FBI agent. There are allegations that Ali had Malcolm’s assassins the night before the attack [4] [5].

References:

1- The Autobiography of Malcolm X, p. 2.

2- Malcolm X: A Research Site, Chronology of the Life and Activities of Malcolm X.

3- Frederick D. Harper, "The Influence of Malcolm X on Black Militancy", Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 1, No. 4. (Jun., 1971), pp. 387-402.

4- BBC News Malcolm X killer heads mosque, March 31 1998.

5-New York The Man Who Didn’t Shoot Malcolm X, October 1 2007.

The Gilded Age and the changing face of America

The Civil War in which the Northern States came out victorious is crucial in understanding the shift in America. Northern States were more industrial and urban oriented were as the south was more rural and agrarian. The victory of the North and as a result the major shift of power from South to North in effect decided the future path of America to economic development based on industrial capitalism.

A comic showing John D. Rockefeller's excessive
influence and power in Washington.

During the second half of the 19th century especially the period after the civil period of 18650 to 1900 the American economy witnessed dramatic change. The driving force behind this change was the advancement of transportation in the US, specifically the rise of the railroad which helped transform the American economy from an agrarian, regional market economy to an industrial, national market economy. By the 1900 America had over 193 thousand miles of railroad track which was more than the railroad of Europe and Russia combined. During this period America witnessed the emergence of ‘Big Business’ namely large corporations. In fact the railroad was America’s first big business.

In this new economic environment the government no longer took center stage to the economy, rather it was motivated and highly smart businessman like John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan who created the gigantic Oil, Steel and Banking business of America. The enormous wealth they accumulated brought them great power which helped them influence decision making policy in Washington. This power was so great that several Senators were on the official pay role of Standard Oil which oddly enough was not illegal at the time. Although there was some pressure on these tycoons to prevent them from monopolizing the American industry in effect the tycoons were in large successful in having their way and expanding their businesses.

This period also known as the ‘Gilded Age’ from Mark Twain’s bestselling novel in 1873 with the same name also changed the culture and mentality of Americans in an irreversible way. The life of agricultural work in small villages was long gone for many Americans. Due to the rising economy, urbanism and industrialism which in turn lead to work positions at factories and also the rise of the Corporation which lead to many ‘White Collar’ jobs brought about a new class of American people known as the ‘Middle Class’.


Carnegie Steel in 1910
Due to the advancement in technology and machinery many goods that were affordable only by the elite just a decade ago were now available to the middle class which had also seen a rise in its income, giving them more money to spend. The mass consumer society we see today started during the Gilded Age. The mass spending on goods mainly by the middle class during this period boasted the economy even further. If this culture of spending did not shape at this period then America’s economy would definitely be much worse off. Mass consumerism during the Gilded Age shaped the economy in a way that even though production levels were all time high, most of the goods manufactured in the US were consumed by the American population. This remains true to this day and has helped America become the main player in global economy.

The social change which took place during the Gilded Age should also be noted. During this time many people especially young people moved from rural America to the cities. The cities became much larger and with the advancement of technology the new city lifestyle became a source of wonder and of awe for many people. The enormous number visitors to awe inspiring fairs like the 1876 ‘Centennial Exposition’ of Philadelphia and the 1893 ‘World’s Columbian Exposition’ of Chicago bears witness to this fact. Manu people during this period were obsessed with get-rich-quick schemes. Interestingly enough Mark Twain who called the Gilded Age an “era of incredible rottenness” himself fell prey to these schemes and faced bankruptcy.

In conclusion it should be noted that during this period the American economy flourished and gradually took the place of Britain as the leading nation in industrial output. According to Morris the US accounted for 7 percent of world industrial output and Great Britain accounted for 20 percent; by 1913 the US had a share of 32 percent while Great Britain’s had dropped to 14 percent. America’s rising economy which gave it an upper hand among other nations at the beginning of the twentieth century is a key point in understanding the rise of America as a major power during this time and eventually as a super power by the end of the Second World War.