Published: Thursday | February 23, 2020 | Shavonie L. Turner
“A race of people is like an individual man;
until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own
culture, affirms its own self-hood, it can never fulfill itself.” Malcolm X
February 21, 2020 marked 55 years since Malcolm X, one of the 20th
century’s most important black figures, was assassinated at age 39 while
speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York. What happened that day has remained the subject
of debate.
Who was Malcolm X
Malcolm X was born on May 19,
1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, United States to parents Louise Norton Little and James Earl
Little. He was given the name Malcolm Little at birth, but would also adopt the Muslim name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz when he converted to Islam. His mother was a homemaker and his father was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of
Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey.
Conversion to Islam
While in prison
in the late 1940s for charges of larceny and breaking and entering, Malcolm
converted to Islam and, when he was released in 1952, joined the Nation of
Islam (NOI). He became one of the group’s most important speakers and leaders. The
NOI is an African American religious and political organization formed in 1930
with the goal of improving the economic and spiritual conditions of the African
American community in the United States.
Malcolm’s positions on black freedom were seen as
controversial in mainstream America, as he focused on black people creating
their own power, structure and wealth, and dismissed the then-dominant ideas of
integration and racial acceptance. He also believed strongly in the idea of
self-defense as an alternative to nonviolent resistance.
What were the conditions leading up
to his assassination?
In 1964, Malcolm X left the NOI. Several incidents
had led him to question his relationship with the organization. Malcolm had
become uncomfortable with NOI leader Elijah Muhammad’s extramarital affairs,
according to Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, and strongly disagreed with the
NOI’s decision not to respond to acts of violence against Muslims at the hands
of the Los Angeles Police Department. In what has widely been interpreted as
the last straw with regards to his relationship with the NOI, Malcolm was also
“silenced” by the organization’s leadership after he spoke out regarding the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Muhammad had laid
down a rule that the NOI not comment on Kennedy’s death; flouting this, Malcolm
described the president’s assassination as “the chickens coming home to roost.”
The fallout from his leaving the NOI was serious.
Many members viewed him as a traitor of the organization, and he received
multiple death threats from within the group. Malcolm went on to start two new
organizations, Muslim Mosque, Inc (MMI) and the Organization of Afro-American
Unity (OAAU).
As was the case for many civil rights organizations
and activists, Malcolm was under near-constant surveillance by the federal and
New York state governments. The FBI first opened a file on Malcolm in March
1953, and closely monitored him over the next decade using surveillance and
informants in the NOI and MMI. The New York Police Department (NYPD) had, at
the time, a special unit called the Bureau of Special Services (BOSS) that had
infiltrated many New York political organizations, including Malcolm’s. Malcolm
X: A Life of Reinvention describes the NOI, MMI and OAAU as “virtual rats’
nests of conflicting loyalties” due to the number of informants positioned
among their members’ ranks.
What happened on the day of the assassination?
Prior to speaking at the Audubon Ballroom on Feb.
21, 1965, Malcolm had asked his security personnel not to perform security
checks at the entrance. These searches of attendees were a longstanding
practice enacted by the NOI at their rallies and one that Malcolm had initially
continued after he left the organization. By January 1965, however, he had put
a stop to them, though he retained a personal security detail. “[Malcolm]
wanted to break away from the image” the searches represented, Peter Bailey, a
former member of OAAU and associate of Malcolm’s is quoted saying in Malcolm X:
A Life of Reinvention.
There were about 400 people in attendance for
Malcolm’s speech, but no prevalent law enforcement presence was visible inside
the Audubon Ballroom. This was unusual since police were typically highly
visible at his rallies.
When Malcolm took the stage to begin his address, an
apparent dispute broke out among the audience. As Malcolm and his security team
tried to calm the commotion, an individual ran onto the stage, approached
Malcolm and shot him. Two other people then ran up to the stage and fired as
well. Malcolm was shot a total of 21 times.
“Malcolm X’s legacy is all of the social justice
movements that sprung up in the wake of his death. It’s the Black Panther
Party. It’s Black Lives Matter,” Liz Mazucci, the former Chief Researcher of the Malcolm X Project told TIME Magazine in an interview. She added, “Malcolm was an organic
intellectual who loved black people profoundly; he sacrificed his life helping
them find ways to uplift and defend themselves.”
“He was always a man of faith,” Ali added in the same interview. “He had a
deep belief in a power greater than himself that motivated him and allowed his
imagination to dream for freedom of black people that was not readily apparent
at the time."
Article adapted from a feature on Malcolm X by Time Magazine, titled, "The Enduring Mystery of Malcolm X's Assassination.
Read article here
https://time.com/5778688/malcolm-x-assassination/
No comments:
Post a Comment