From The Ramparts

Honoring Malcolm X

Honoring Malcolm X

“We are living in an era of revolution, and the revolt of the American Negro is part of the rebellion against oppression and colonialism which has characterized this era . . .It is incorrect to classify the revolt of the Negro as simply a racial conflict of Black against white, or as a purely American problem. Rather, we are today seeing a global rebellion of the oppressed against the oppressor, the exploited against the exploiter.” Malcolm X

As we pause to celebrate the birthday life and legacy of Malcolm Little a.k.a. Big Red, Satan, Malcolm X and El Hajj Malik El Shabazz let us also make the connection to the oppressive systemic conditions and institutionalized pathologies that spawned Malcolm’s critique and resistance to AmeriKKKan society and not fall victim to the okey-doke and propaganda used to justify this system. Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha Nebraska the fourth of eight children born to Earl and Louise Little. The spark of African redemption was ignited early in Malcolm because his parent were Garveyites and his father was an organizer for the UNIA-ACL. Their home was one of pride in African history, accomplishment and the dream of African redemption and liberation. This pro-Black expectation and mentality was juxtaposed against the harsh realities of AmeriKKKan social existence for people of African heritage: virulent racism, color caste , privation, relentless and ruthless violence.
Malcolm Little was an extremely bright child and distinguished himself by graduating at the top of his junior high school class. His academic prowess was discouraged by racist teachers who cast doubt on his aspirations of being an attorney so he dropped out of school and got caught up in the negative street culture. Most of us are familiar with Malcolm’s history: how his father was found dead having been hit by a trolley car in Lansing Michigan, his mother’s deep depression and commitment to a mental institution because of her mental breakdown following her husband’s murder, he and his siblings were separated and in foster care, his life of crime, incarceration and conversion to Islam as taught by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. We can learn a lot about the human spirit by studying Malcolm’s life.
Because of his energy, enthusiasm and genius, Malcolm rose high into the hierarchy of the Nation of Islam becoming Mr. Muhammad’s national spokesman the head of New York City’s Temple and the most widely recognized member of the NOI (prior to Muhammad Ali becoming a member) in the country. A falling out with Mr. Muhammad and the NOI’s rigid isolationist policies led to Malcolm leaving the Nation of Islam to start his own organization, The Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm’s view of the struggle was wider than Mr. Muhammad’s and Malcolm was unwilling to wait for Allah to strike down the “Blue Eyed Devils” and bring them to ruin as Mr. Muhammad taught.
Malcolm understood the nature of capitalist imperialism and like his mentor Elijah Muhammad he viewed the struggle in color and race terms. However Malcolm was also aware there were a few Caucasians who opposed Western imperialism. After he left the NOI Malcolm reached out to the Afro-Asian block of nations and leaders in an attempt to gain support for his plan to bring the Untied States before the world court on charges of genocide and massive human rights violations of Black people in the United States and around the world. Malcolm saw the US intervention in Vietnam as part of an overarching program of global white imperialism and violence.
While still a member of the NOI, Malcolm was livid when in 1962 the LA Police shot up the Mosque in Los Angles killing seven Muslims. Malcolm was not satisfied when Mr. Muhammad cautioned patience. When white violence against Southern Civil Rights advocates escalated, Malcolm urged Black men to defend themselves and their communities. “The time for you and me to allow ourselves to be brutalized nonviolently has passed. Be nonviolent only with those who are nonviolent to you. And when you can bring me a nonviolent racist, bring me a nonviolent segregationist, then I'll get nonviolent. But don't teach me to be nonviolent until you teach some of those crackers to be nonviolent.” He said. Rhetoric such as this terrified whites and put him at odds with the more staid and accepted “Negro leaders” whom Malcolm chided as being chumps and suckers for the white man.
Once out of the NOI Malcolm traveled more extensively as he pressed world leaders to help him bring AmeriKKKa before the world court. Just the thought of this sent chills down the spines of the power elites who were manipulating the US media to present a more favorable light on AmeriKKKa’s deeply entrenched “race problem”. Out of the NOI Malcolm softened his critique of some of the Civil Rights leaders and offered to work together with them for the common good. Malcolm’s courage and outspokenness alarmed blacks and whites who weren’t used to such bold articulation and eloquence. They knew his fearlessness and enthusiasm would soon catch on and ignite a wider struggle for liberation, which it did.
Malcolm X’s action made him a marked man. The US government could not allow him to stand tall and speak truth to power to they spied on him, tailed him and set the stage for his demise via an early COINTELPRO set up. He was murdered on February 25, 1965. While it was black men who pulled the triggers they were doing the bidding of global white supremacy just as the young brothers who kill and maim other Blacks are doing the bidding of our oppressor due to their internalized self-hatred, anti-life and anti-African brainwashing. That is why it is so important to remember and honor the memory of Malcolm X. We need heroes and sheroes to model being African at its best and noble human beings who work for the greater good of humanity. It is people like Malcolm X we need to emulate and carry on their work. Ignoramuses, stooges and sociopaths like Condoleeza Rice, Debra Lee, Lil Kim, Snoop Dog, R Kelly and Nelly are put before us daily in the mass media. We are encouraged to emulate them because of their manufactured celebrity and their work on behalf of the New World Order while the same racist media relegates our real heroes to the white supremacist memory hole.
Let us not go for that okey-doke. Let’s think for ourselves and celebrate the life and legacy of Malcolm X and pay him his just due. Let us then take it to the next level. Let us continue the liberation struggle by committing our lives to bring about our awakening, redemption and liberation “by any means necessary”.

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posted by Junious Ricardo Stanton @ 8:57 PM