Chaumtoli Huq
The way in which Malcolm X has been represented in the mainstream is curious to me. I do not believe that we have been provided with the whole picture of this powerful leader due to how threatening he was to the status quo. As a civil rights lawyer who has worked with Muslim women around the globe and who has family rooted in Gujarat, India, I am familiar with the way in which messages are often taken out of context or altered when they threaten the status quo or are misconstrued due to blind spots of those who are unable to relate with the messenger. Malcolm X’s legacy has taught me that those who challenge the abuse of government power, racism, and classism at the root are often portrayed as villains and silenced. However, those who challenge government power, racism, classism at a facial, superficial level are often promoted and lauded.
During law school, I read an interview with the late Professor Manning Marable called the The Missing Malcolm, which had a huge affect on me and challenged me to question everything. This article helped to solidify my understanding of social justice continuums (i.e. The conversation between Malcolm X and Coretta Scott King in Alabama) and helped me to understand the utility of diverse views and diverse organizing methods when applying pressure for social change.
Before this, I had been skeptical (and still am) of the centrality of the many patriarchal male figures/heroes in movement building (Malcolm X, MLK Jr., Ghandi, the list goes on). This focus on the patriarch was a tactic used to dilute grass root efforts which were community-based, progressive and diverse. But now I am also interested in how governments/nations/communities purposefully reconstruct and manipulate these patriarchs’ identities and legacies to further their own ambitions.
Malcolm X has been constructed as a radical, black, extremist Muslim who was hell bent on destroying white people. I believe he was much more accepting and understanding and amenable to diverse views than we have been led to believe. The thought of Malcolm X and MLK Jr. embracing was the FBI’s worst nightmare – and Malcolm X was killed just 3 weeks after this embrace really began. Over the past few years, Professor Marable and others have skillfully changed the narrative and have provided evidence of the FBI and NYPD’s complicity in Malcolm X’s death. This new narrative may differ from the mainstream narrative which has come from The Autobiography of Malcolm X written by Alex Haley. But that is not surprising considering that Haley, a conservative who was an FBI informant, left out vital chapters and did not provide Malcolm X with the opportunity to review or edit many drafts.
Remembering Malcolm X’s legacy, I feel more courageous when I challenge mainstream hegemony. Malcolm X’s legacy is a reminder that our voices are necessary, paradigm shifting and the only real challenge to government abuse, racism, classism and the military industrial complex – which is why these voices are threatening to the status quo, but necessary.
