of the development of a black identity in American society. Malcolm X grew up in a world where being black was a handicap, and indeed where being black was denigrated. It could lead to one's death at the hands of an angry mob, something he knew from his childhood. At the time, this implanted in his mind a subtle sense of shame at his blackness, something he could not have articulated but which influenced his development as a human being and his choices as a young man. He tried to be as white as he could be both culturally and physically, a route which led him into criminal that only emphasized his lack of a positive identity in the white world. Like many other young black men of his generation, he fell into a certain stereotypical mold imposed on him by the view white society had of black people. As he emphasizes in the story of his life, he acted out that stereotype and put on the mask society had made for him. He wore his hair st
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