I’ll tell you this-this book is a hefty piece of work. It’s
everything but a quick read. Preparing to
read it feels like training for the Olympics- I can’t dive into it until I’m in
the right frame of mind.
Every word which Mr. X poured into this biography was written with
an agenda. Because of this, I usually find myself rereading sentences and paragraphs,
sometimes entire pages. This book may as well have been written in a foreign
language. It’s not that I’m too ignorant to understand all which Malcolm wishes
to say (safe to say, we’ve all been drilled with lessons on racial turmoil and
injustice). It’s actually the fact that with each chapter, I find myself wishing
with more urgency to somehow slap the people who thought it was a good idea to oppress
entire continents of people.
The more Malcolm preaches in his book, the more loose ends I
tie together in my mind. His commentary on the leaders who acted as parrots,
his specific conclusions on historical accounts, and firsthand experiences rivet
me in a mental chokehold. His enlightening perspective on the topic of race
gives me a larger framework to work with when formulating my opinions. I can’t imagine
the myopic perspective of history the education system taught and continues to
teach to fragile minds.
This book in no way justifies my thinking and opinions, but
it does give me a real perspective. The “whites and black peacefully fought for
justice hand in hand” is a bullshit picture that many an educator has tried to
pass off with dignity and pride. History is brutal and bloody, but most
importantly an account of perspective.
Malcolm X could not emphasize that enough for me. He’s right to provide a different account of
oppression and slavery. He’s as right as he thinks he is.
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