What Malcolm X means to me.
Malcolm X lived the American dream in its purest most mythical form. He was a street hustler with subordinated but defiant genes. The type of genealogy every American wishes we possessed. He rose from the state of a criminal to become the adopted son in a sense of someone significant. Then, when he felt the time was right, he paved his own way and affected his people for the better.
But the story of Malcolm X resonates far beyond that of the United States. Even for those born nearly twenty years after his death, we see ourselves in him. He was not non-violent, but he wasn't violent either. He combined anger with reason, a feat few men and women have been able to achieve. Often times we mistake Malcolm as representing hate and exclusion. Malcolm never preached hate. He never advocated exclusion. Self-love flowed from his mouth, but in an era of segregation, hate and exclusion whistled into the ears of conventional thinkers.
The question presented to us today is: Martin or Malcolm? The answer transcends the question, however. The two are not mutually exclusive. Martin Luther King Jr.'s commitment to non-violence and Malcolm X's calculated fury contain the same roots. It took Malcolm some years to realize this fact, but with the freedom of his own thought he uncovered this truth. He took his realization one step further and learned how to exploit this truth. This is evident in his assurance that if the white establishment did not give Dr. King what he was asking for, they would have to deal with him. There is no hierarchy in this claim. It is one of understanding, by a man who understood the workings of the world better than most. His genius, however, lay in his ability to communicate his understanding to an illiterate child and to the premiers of world powers.
Malcolm X represents the Unites States in a way that the individuals printed on our money never have. Malcolm cared about the people that those men forgot. More than caring, he empathized with them and experienced their pain, embodied their anger, and encompassed their hope.
Malcolm X was also a man. He did not drink alcohol or eat pork once he converted to Islam. He believed in monogamy. He concerned himself with the world. He found his convictions and never let them out of his sight. He was known to be shy, when out of the public eye. He was genuine. He dreamed the dreams of reality. His devotion to his principles were unyielding. His sense of justice was fierce. This is what I see of myself in Malcolm.
The greatest gift Malcolm bestowed on humanity is the gift of progress. He would learn to accept people despite their color, but never at the expense of himself. Life is a process. We are constantly learning and attempting to improve ourselves. Fortunately most of us are able to do so without millions of people critiquing us. Malcolm's journey ended when it was supposed to. Its end allowed ours to have a little less distance to travel to get where we need to go. For that, the legacy of Malcolm X should continue to flourish. Rather than those that now do, he is who I want to represent the United States to the world community.
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