Rarely at a loss for words, Jesse Jackson had a few to say for that event as well...

quote:

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Today, the life of Malcolm Little, Malcolm X, Haj Malik El Shabaaz, is instructive in three poignant ways. His academic studiousness is a brilliant example to youth who, in many cases, define what is "cool" as non-academic. As we seek to reclaim our youth as a nation, we must transform their values to embrace academic excellence and civil participation. Malcolm's rebelliousness after his father's murder is an example in the negative of the need to keep one's eyes on the prize of scholastic achievement.

Second, Malcolm X's rejection of destructive behaviour is instructive as a set of values which places dignity above designer clothes. We should not forget that while in Boston, Malcolm dressed like a pimp, acted like a thug and was jailed. However, during his enlightenment while incarcerated, he realised that his purpose in life was not to pimp, peddle and plunder, but rather to be clean and upright in his attitude. It is a fact that in many instances one's dress determines the perception of others.

Lastly, Haj Malik El Shabaaz is a glowing example of the individual need to seek a higher understanding. Proverbs 4:7 advises the faithful to seek wisdom. As a devout Muslim, he journeyed to the holiest of holy places in Islam on a pilgrimage to develop a deeper understanding of his faith and his role in the world. After Mecca, Malik El Shabaaz viewed Anglo-Saxons as brothers in humanity, provided they were clean and upright.

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Malcolm X being killed 40 years ago and Yorkdale Shopping centre opening the same day.

quote:

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Those loose ends still tantalize and intrigue four decades later. Malcolm had become a major national and international figure who shortly before his death had worked out a constructive program for domestic social and economic change. Asian and African leaders increasingly viewed him as an able, respected, and visionary spokesman against apartheid, colonialism, the Vietnam War, and for world peace. Malcolm had evolved from the race-baiting, demagogue of his early Nation of Islam days to become one of America's leading social critics.

There is no evidence that the FBI, intelligence agencies, or the New York police had a direct hand in Malcolm's murder, and the contour of any conspiracy by anyone other than the Black Muslims to get Malcolm remains hazy, problematic, or non-existent. But Malcolm's murder can't be totally separated from the well-documented savage war that the FBI waged against Martin Luther King, Jr. black organizations, and black leaders during the 1960s. In an infamous memo from those years, FBI officials flatly warned of the necessity to prevent "the rise of a "black messiah" among blacks. The FBI was more than willing and able to do whatever it could to make sure that that didn't happen. Malcolm undoubtedly was an unwitting casualty of Hoover and the FBI's obsession to decapitate black leadership. FBI officials undoubtedly shed few tears over his murder.

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A check of Google news search reveals very light coverage of this event in the mainstream today. Credit to my paper for running a retrospective last weekend. At least that.

But Malcolm, I still feel, was viewed as a very dangerous man to the social order of the US elite at that time. He blended a liberation theology with a charismatic messenger and he scared the bejeezus out the white establishment. Therefore, he had to go. As Hutchinson said, although many of us believe the assassination was either allowed to happen or partly facilitated by the FBI, there is no doubt the white establishment breathed a lot easier once he was gone.

"We've got to change our own minds about each other. We have to see each other with new eyes. We have to see each other as brother and sister."

Thanks to all on this thread for bringing this important anniversary to my attention.