THE LEGACY OF MALCOLM X: WAR AGAINST NIGHTMARE
"I see America through the eyes of a victim. I don’t see any American dream. I see an American nightmare."
(Malcolm X movie).
That short quotes above fostering how the condition of black people in the United States before 1960 where slavery, oppression, and unjust was the part of daily life. Malcolm was not grew in 21th century where all American citizen are equally free, but he was a son where the black people seen as rubbish. Day was night; even almost all days are nights for the oppressed one. System just gives security for part of citizen because of the racial policy.
Actually I just see the Malcolm X story from movie last weeks, Thus did not cover all things of the life of Malcolm X. the movies have long duration, 3 hours, which seem the producer want to cover all the interesting part of his life. One site comments the movies; “the Malcolm X is too long, too imperfectly paced, too superficial in some places, and too obsessive in others, but it's also highly entertaining, illuminating, and deeply inspiring. Far from worshipping its subject, Malcolm X shows the hero as a man, and the man as a critical part of the cultural progress of 20th-century America.
I see that comment was true, I am as Indonesian and far from America can feel how the heroic life of Malcolm X. That story inspired me, like other people to see that unjust people was forbidden if we are want to build better life in the community without prejudice. I impressed by his personal journey from petty criminal to spiritual leader. Malcolm X transformed himself intellectually from a preacher of racial hatred to an advocate of interracial and international brotherhood. Malcolm X arises to new awareness that black is beautiful and has his/her own destiny like white people, but it should be struggled.
He has great transformation during his life in which seems in conflicting idea. Faul Finkman asserts that in one hand he advocates violence, and the other hand he become man of face. He rejected voting and political action during his early years, but later embraced them. As a member of the Nation of Islam, he called whites the devil, but as a Sunni Muslim he embraced all people as brothers. Hi was charismatic, his speeches provided quotes for people for many different social and political goal from different time and situation. Hi proposed black self-respect and self-help, combine with his rejection to racism.
One interesting point from that movie is liberation spirit that come trough race and religion. The context of Malcolm X was Civil right movement where black people moves against to fulfill the equal right to all citizens. The leader of movement was Martin Luther King, a minister of protestant. King succeeds to maintain and organize the black people to go against racial policies. The most familiar argument was American inherently plural country, but the racial policy makes American lost it all. American in the time just represents one color and one religion.
The most significance of Malcolm works for black afro-American is Islam as an instrument of movement against discrimination and prejudice of white people who by chance are Christian. According to Muslim American book the population of Muslim of Black people who came to America in slavery time was about 30%. After Malcolm became preacher the number of Afro-American Muslim increased significantly. There many conversions when Islam as Malcolm presented become spirit of movement. Islam was the thing that afro American people seek to change the repression toward new identity, that was a Muslim, a religion that guarantee all people as equally same before the law and God.
Nation of Islam (NoI) was a flag of new movement against white and discrimination. Malcolm in early Muslim was the member of that congregation. Elijjah Muhammad was the founding of NoI, the organization established to support the Muslim da’wa. Existence of NoI in United States helped in spreading Islam in United State faster than before. NoI was systematic organization that promotes Islam to black people. Malcolm X enters to Islam in the Jail helped by his brother. His Islam adding strongly when he learned Elijah though, especially when he meet Elijah after he was beat the rap. The life and Islam of Malcolm X was influenced by Elijah, before he declared independence. I see the position of Elijah was like a prophet, because he always calls as “almighty,” by Malcolm X and his follower.
The ideology of NoI seem also racist because just accommodate one group. The white color was placed in opposite, as victim that cannot joint together. For Noi White peoples, or western nations were inherently racist and that black people must join together to build their own society and value system. Malcolm X represents as NoI asked a strict separation between the black and white. He argued that blacks should focus on improving their own communities, rather than striving for complete integration, and that blacks had the right to retaliate against violent assaults. He said: "We don’t go for segregation. We go for separation. Separation is when you have your own. You control your own economy; you control your own politics; you control your own society; you control your own everything. You have yours and you control yours; we have ours and we control ours." (Malcolm X Movie). Let’s See other speech, "If it’s necessary to form a Black Nationalist army, we’ll form a Black Nationalist army. It’ll be ballot or the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death."(Malcolm X Movie).
Liberty is the key of Black movements; army is the way that black would do if the Black liberty is hard to establish. But, NoI seems still in the ways of American states and did not lead to build new nation. Army might is also one tool in empowering Black in pursuing the vision. It was because NoI distrust to the wasy of white people. Malcolm contends that "No sane black man really wants integration! No sane white man really wants integration!
I guess that the idea of separation of NoI was not only race, but also religion. I black can establish black people supremacy in United States they can make new nation. The fact that Black Power maintained by Malcolm and NoI not only represented civil rights movement, a reaction against the racism, but also Islamism. But it not happens until Elijah dead. Even Malcolm separated from NoI and announced his independent though after he make journey to two holy citie, Mecca and Medina. Malcolm changes his thought that racist, because he saw that Muslim can be brother although they are different color. His new thought lead to new kind of relation between Black and White. Malcolm can accept white people as brother if he/she Muslim or he/she have good manner to black. This changes, however, should be paid by high cost, because he should faced many treatment, like from NoI and other people who disagree to his view.
In short, Malcolm X initiated social movements or civil right movements based on Islamic spirit. The spirit was significance because Islam inherently religion that accepts an adherence not based on color and status, but from the faith. Malcolm came on the right place and the right time where black needs one who can elevated the spirit black people as human, as people who have right, and he was exist.
But, I am still questioning, why many leader that come up with religious issue was killed in United States? What is the states role to protect citizen in that time? And why several Islamic organization cannot united under the flag of “muslim brotherhood,” that all my general question..[]
