Term Paper on "Malcolm X From His Autobiography"

Term Paper 3 pages (1045 words) Sources: 1+ Style: Chicago

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Nation of Islam was a popular movement during the 50's and the 60's, especially amongst young black people living in urban environments. Its complexity derived from a double nature, religious and political (and by extension, social). It is important to take into consideration the social circumstances that affected the lives of black people in America during those years in order to understand the strong impact that the Nation of Islam had for them. Its purpose was to support their status, starting from the economic level, passing through the social one and finally touching the spiritual issues as well.

To put things simple, the social condition of the black people was bad and the main party to contribute to the situation was represented by the whites. "Malcolm says that watching his house burn taught him one of many early lessons about being black in America"(Malcolm X, Haley) is a phrase more than relevant in order to describe the situation. One of the beliefs of the Nation of Islam is that white people are "devils." It is thus easy to understand why the masses adopted this ideology, it perfectly matched what they faced on a daily basis.

The ideas contained in the official platform reflect the rights that the black people were deprived of and that they wanted so much (equal opportunities, no more racial violence, etc.). A religious platform, this was also a political platform and it was due to its complexity that it became so attractive, since it was a means of uniting all the black people. In addition, it represented an instrument which could be used in order to change things (starting at political level).


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