Ode to Black History Month

Malcolm X
Assassinated on this day in 1965

As noted in BBC News, On this Day, Black nationalist leader shot dead:

Controversial black leader Malcolm X, who once called for a 'blacks-only' state in the US, has been assassinated.

He was shot several times as he began a speech to 400 of his followers at the Audubon Ballroom just outside the district of Harlem in New York.

Malcolm X, who was 39, was taken to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

Contemplating Malcolm X on this day, Shaun Mullen of Kiko's House ponders how Malcolm would view Barack Obama's candidacy, in What Would Malcom X Think?:

The answer depends upon which Malcolm X you are talking about, or perhaps identify with.

Malcolm X the angry father of Black Power? The closet conservative? The Pan-African socialist? The Black Muslim? The Sunni Muslim?

The question is probably unanswerable, but it is worth pondering on this the 43^rd anniversary of his assassination because so much has changed in black America – and in some respects too little.

As a great orator himself, Malcom X certainly would have appreciated Obama’s speaking skills and power to motivate. Late in life he began reaching out to white people and inclusiveness is a theme of Obama’s campaign.

As Shaun says, it's impossible to know, but I like to think that the Malcolm that he was growing into before his death would have supported Obama.

My daughter did a research paper on Malcolm X last year, and we spent a good bit of time discussing his life and beliefs. I do believe that he would have had some serious reservations about Obama's commitment to the cause because of his moderate, conciliatory views, especially with respect to race. On the other hand, I also think that he was beginning to see that segregation and racial hatred (voluntary or imposed) were self destructive and was making progress in bridging that divide. He evolved from the fight for Black power to that of human rights.

Ultimately, I think he would have admired Obama's progress in being a serious, formidable candidate who may well end up in the White House. A respected, intelligent, passionate man who is able to inspire people to action. Isn't that what Malcolm X was about, after all?

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Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.

From Malcolm Speaks