The Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X
With Alex Haley

526 pages Paperback (Autobiography)

I didn’t know anything about Malcolm X other than he spoke up for black Americans and was killed. Honestly, I thought I knew some things that turned out to be wrong. I felt it was impossible to write this with out spoiling a large part of his life so beware.

The book starts by following Malcolm Little through his childhood. He remembers his father and uncles dying at the hands of random white men. His mother is badgered and eventually sinks into insanity by the “good intentioned” welfare workers. He jumps from foster home to institutions. Eventually, Malcolm ends up living in Boston with a sister and later moves into Harlem. In Harlem he learns to be a hustler. He gets involves in drugs, prostitution and crime. He sinks to the lowest lows that he can; constantly on the move to avoid the police and other enemies he has made.

In Malcolm’s early twenties he is imprisoned for burglary. It is here that he starts to change his ways. He starts by teaching himself to read and then devours each book he can get his hands on. He is transferred to a less restrictive prison and gets to visit with his family more often. His family introduces him to Elijah Muhammad and the Muslim religion. At first he is skeptical, but gradually starts to turn to Islam.

Malcolm joins the Nation of Islam and starts to dedicate himself to the teaching of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. After being released from prison he soon takes charge of his own Mosque. He quickly rises among the ranks and starts to make appearances for Elijah Muhammad because of his failing health. He gives speeches on the “white devil.” How, for the entire history of America the white man has exploited the black man and continually kept him down. How even black folk had joined into façade by trying to be “more white” by conking their hair, and dressing and talking like white people. How the white man had pushed blacks into the slums and provided them with drugs to keep them down. How the white man would start businesses in the slums only hire white people and take the money out of the slums. A large part of the book focuses on this part of his life. He travels across the US and pretty much becomes the “face” of what others call the “Black Muslims.” As Malcolm X would say; “We are not black Muslims, we are Muslims.” It is during this time that he takes the name Malcolm X. The white man had given his ancestors the name Little and the Muslim people would take X until God came and gave them back their rightful name. He preaches hatred of the white man and is accused of reverse racism and anti-Semitism during this time.

Envy and jealously start to take hold of others within the Nation and soon Malcolm X is soon “silenced”. He is not allowed to speak on the Nations behalf and he takes it upon himself to start his own organization; Muslim Mosque Inc. He decides that he needs to make a Hajj. A Hajj is a holy trip to Mecca, something every able Muslim is supposed to make at least once in his life. He borrows money from his sister and makes the trip to Mecca. On the way he meets many other Muslims on the same path. On his Hajj Malcolm comes to realize that the “white devil” isn’t something that is about skin color. The “white devil” is who the people are, not the color of their skin. He soon finds himself being treated as a guest of the state. At first he was denied entrance into Mecca, but after a phone call to family of a friend he is given a suite and personal guide and chauffer. Upon coming to these conclusions about the “white devil” he sends a letter to American newspapers confessing his past mistakes and describing racism as a cancer that is eating away at America.

Malcolm changes his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. He returns to America and starts to spread his message of brotherhood among races. The Nation of Islam and others are at odds with Malcolm. He tells Haley that he doesn’t think that he will live long enough to see the book published. If you are interested in reading this book most likely you know that he was shot and killed soon after.

The end of the book is narrated by Haley. He describes the whirlwind that the last few months of Malcolm X’s life is and describes his death.

Honestly, I was unsure how I would feel about this book. I quickly became interested as the Malcolm’s life developed. One thing I noticed was the writing style seems to match the style of what was occurring in his life. It seems loose and quick and angry while he was young. The style became more formal and somewhat preachy as the book focused on his life as a minister. You could feel the relief he had once he opened himself to true Islam.

Emotional: 3 – This is a true display of Malcolm X’s life. He displays everything both good and bad.

Intellectual: 3 – I found it intellectually interesting as I knew nothing about his life of his fight before this. I’m not sure how it would hold up against other books from this period.

Long-Term: 4 – Obviously, this book will always have a place in black history. It will be required reading for anyone studying black history and will stand the test of time because of this.

10 out of 13. I think that as a white American I can’t know what it is like to grow up black in America. The type of freedoms that we take for granted is something that doesn’t come so easily for other people. This book allows you to see the struggle that black folk have had to deal with and that makes reading this worthwhile.