The Developing Philosophy of Malcolm X

This research examines the development of a philosophy of life by Malcolm X. The research will set forth the context in which Malcolm's philosophical evolution took place, and then discuss the manner in which his intellectual discipline emerged, the role of religion in shaping the structure of his life's work, and the core features of his views of social justice.

To appreciate the nature of Malcolm X's emergence as a leader in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, it is necessary to be aware of the racially stratified social structure that prevailed in the US in the 1920s. By the time Malcolm Little was born in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, the seventh of eight children, Malcolm's father, the Rev. Earl Little, was known for preaching a "back to Africa" doctrine that originated with the Jamaican/American black separatist Marcus Garvey. The family moved around a great deal for the first six years of Malcolm's life, finally settling in Lansing, Michigan, in 1931.

Shortly after, Earl Little was murdered by a white hate group known as the Black Legion. This forced the surviving Littles onto welfare, or "relief," as it was then called. Things spiraled into "some kind of psychological deterioration" (Malcolm and Haley 14): Malcolm's mother was eventually committed to a mental institution, and the children were sent to separate foster homes.

Malcolm was placed with a white family in Mason, Michigan. In his Autobio

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ded in a unifying myth of moral superiority of the black race and of Islam, reinforced by advocacy of black separatism. Increasing numbers of Muslim-owned businesses functioned as alternatives both to white commerce and to street-smart hustling enterprise associated with American black culture. Preaching the NOI gospel, Malcolm added many new members nationwide. By 1961, the financial resources of NOI had increased so that the group planned a $20-million Islamic Center in Chiacago (Malcolm and Haley 266). The late 1950s and early 1960s saw the emergence of a strategically organized civil rights movement in the United States, out of which Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as a national civil rights leader. King espoused "nonviolent direct action" (tk) as a means of obtaining full Constitutional rights for blacks. It is in that context that the impact of a 1959 television documentary profiling Black Muslim separatism and the Islam alternative to more traditional black Protestantism can be seen (Goldman 62). Indeed, Muhammad specifically counseled noninvolvement in civil rights activism. Aside from the emergence of separatist ideas in civil rights discourse, the documentary had the effect of giving Malcolm a high public profile--hig
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Approximate Word count = 1836
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)