While
we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always
had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had the great ability to put
his finger on the existence and root of the problem”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
While many of you may be familiar with Malcolm X, I write
this post in a bid to adequately express what his legacy means to me and his
incredible story of reform inspired me to empower myself and embark on a
process of internal cleansing in order to become a better person.
I read the autobiography of Malcolm X for the first time
in my life in the eleventh grade at a time of turmoil in my life. I was in a
process of grieving an intense loss and was also trying to construct for myself
an identity which I could feel content and tranquil with. At this point, I was
immersed in shallow materialistic pursuits which would distract me from Islam
or any other concept of personal responsibility and accountability. I was
remotely disconnected from religious rites though I did participate in them and
would regularly visit mosques with my family.
As I devoured the autobiography of Malcolm X, I began to
see tremendous parallels between his early life and the life that I was living
at the time. Malcolm was involved in many criminal pursuits which culminated in
him serving a lengthy prison term. He had won many awards and accolades at
school, but dropped out when told by his eighth grade teacher that he would
amount to nothing because of his skin colour. While I have never been in
trouble with the law, I was doing incredibly poorly in school and knew that I
had a great deal of potential that would perish if I did not take decisive
action in altering my life and my attitude towards spirituality.
While it is easy to watch clips of Malcolm X and assume
that he had attained a high level of education, he never received formal
schooling past the eighth grade. Rather, whilst in prison he memorized a large
portion of the dictionary and enrolled in the debate club in order to practice
his newfound flexibility with the English language. He also began a process of
moral upheaval as he joined the black supremacist movement called the Nation of
Islam. This movement gave him a strict set of guidelines which allowed him to
refrain from all of the social vices prevalent in society. Finally, he realized
that the crux of the message of the Nation of Islam (Black Supremacy) was wrong
and the leader of the movement was actually engaged in the same evils which he
prohibited his followers from partaking in. At this defining moment, he split
from the movement and the leader and formed his own group which was dedicated
towards equality and civil rights for his people.
Before I summarize why I am so endeared towards Malcolm,
I want to relate an anecdote which he shared in one of his speeches. As he was
slated to speak at the Harvard Law school forum (the most prestigious law forum
of his time), he passed by a window in the school. From this window, he saw a
building which his accomplices and him had hid one time after they had committed
a burglary. He relates that he began to break down in tears and realized that
only by the blessing of Allah had he been freed from his life as a criminal and
taken to the highest echelons of American academia as a featured speaker.
The message of Malcolm is a message of internal change
and revolution. Malcolm was an ex-convict who was involved in some of the most egregious
moral and physical crimes known to man. However, he was able to reform himself
and become the greatest civil rights champion of his era. This inspires me to
change myself and work towards becoming an advocate of my people. After all,
Malcolm was killed while in service to his community. Malcolm was also
incredibly lost before he implemented the teachings of Allah in his life. Likewise, we are all lost without Allah. When
I see someone who I feel is in a tremendous loss, I remember that I too would
be immersed in the tremendous ills that soil our society. These above
reflections permeated my heart after I finished the autobiography and aided me
in altering the course of my life towards a better path. I owe Allah (swt) a
tremendous debt for enabling me to find this book which allowed me to connect
better with Him and His divine message. As our noble Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whoever
is not thankful to the people is also not thankful to Allah”. I am forever thankful
and indebted to Malcolm and his legacy for inspiring and empowering me!
