Malcolm X
February 22, 2007 by thinking girl
One of my favourite visionary leaders, Malcolm X, was assassinated on this day in 1965. Malcolm X was a hero, a truly brilliant man whose life and work is an inspiration to me. If he had lived, he would be 81 this year. Here is one of my favourite Malcolm X quotes:
“I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation.”
I’m grateful the world had Malcolm X for as long as it did, at the time that it did. We needed his message, we still need his message. Long live the memory of Malcolm X!
I don’t really know that much about Malcolm X. But I’m for any visionary!
L>T - Malcolm X was a great man, a powerful orator, black rights leader, dynamic visionary, loving husband and father. The movie about his life, starring Denzel Washington in a role he absolutely should have won an Oscar for, is pretty true to his autobiography (which, by the way, was written not by him but by Alex Haley, the author who wrote “Roots”, through a series of interviews, and was completed after Malcolm X’s death). Malcolm X’s early life was very difficult, he was in prison for a while, and then he got involved in the Nation of Islam (or black muslim) religious movement, quickly rose to a position of leadership in that faith, and was eventually assassinated by members of the faith. He was outspoken on the issue of race (that’s an understatement!), and was a great leader for black rights in the 60s.
there - now you know a little bit! you should check out the movie, it’s pretty beautiful, and it was highly controversial at the time. If you see it, you’ll see why.
I remember going to see the movie as part of Black History Month at my school. It’s a long movie, like 3 1/2 hours long. I hadn’t eaten much that day, and I was feeling a bit sick. It’s not exactly an action-packed movie, but right at the end, just before Malcolm gets shot, I had to rush out to the bathroom and I threw up the worst of my life. I missed the end, I was so sick, and my best friend helped me back on the bus and then I was out of school sick for a few days. I was so pissed I missed all the action!