The following scene opens The...
Illustration
The following scene opens The Autobiography of Malcom X.
When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home in Omaha, Nebraska, one night ... The Klansmen shouted threats and warnings at her that we had better get out of town because "the good Christian white people" were not going to stand for my father's "spreading trouble" among the "good" Negros of Omaha with the "back to Africa" preachings of Marcus Garvey.
This in utero beginning set the tone for the lifetime of injustices and threats that Malcolm Little (his birth name) would experience. In response to this was much rage, anger, and a harried odyssey of discovering his true self-hood. Throughout this sojourn, Malcolm had various names associated with the different chapters of his life -- Malcolm Little, Mascot, Homeboy, Harlemite, and Detroit Red.
Finally, he joined the Nation of Islam as devout member and minister. He writes that every minister believed his "'before' life had been only conditioning and preparation to become a disciple of Mr. Muhammad's." When he left the "before" life behind, Malcolm applied for and received his "X" from Chicago. "The Muslim's 'X' symbolized the true African family name that he never could know ... 'X' replaced the white slave master name ... Mr. Muhammad taught that we would keep this 'X' until God Himself returned and gave us a Holy Name from His own mouth." A new name symbolizes a change in status.
When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home in Omaha, Nebraska, one night ... The Klansmen shouted threats and warnings at her that we had better get out of town because "the good Christian white people" were not going to stand for my father's "spreading trouble" among the "good" Negros of Omaha with the "back to Africa" preachings of Marcus Garvey.
This in utero beginning set the tone for the lifetime of injustices and threats that Malcolm Little (his birth name) would experience. In response to this was much rage, anger, and a harried odyssey of discovering his true self-hood. Throughout this sojourn, Malcolm had various names associated with the different chapters of his life -- Malcolm Little, Mascot, Homeboy, Harlemite, and Detroit Red.
Finally, he joined the Nation of Islam as devout member and minister. He writes that every minister believed his "'before' life had been only conditioning and preparation to become a disciple of Mr. Muhammad's." When he left the "before" life behind, Malcolm applied for and received his "X" from Chicago. "The Muslim's 'X' symbolized the true African family name that he never could know ... 'X' replaced the white slave master name ... Mr. Muhammad taught that we would keep this 'X' until God Himself returned and gave us a Holy Name from His own mouth." A new name symbolizes a change in status.
