Malcolm X is one of the most important figures in Black history and perhaps the most misunderstood. His outspokenness and uncompromising words have meant it has been easy for people to misuse his legacy and claim him for all kinds of purposes. He is most vividly remembered as being pro-violence and anti-White when in reality neither of those two is centrally important his politics. When he died he had founded the Organisation of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) which clearly outline his political program. The Harambee Organisation of Black Unity has picked up that political legacy and on what should have been his 98th birthday we dust off an article from the archives explaining his legacy.
Politics at the crossroads
To understand Malcolm you have to realize that at the time he was speaking, we were at a crossroads in our politics. On the one hand, you had the civil rights movement advocating that Black populations needed to gain access to Western society and reform it. This is why Martin Luther King and his followers rejected violence and sought partnership with White society because they wanted equal status in the system. One thing we have to remember about Malcolm is that he was not a civil rights leader, he thought that the civil rights political project was a fantasy.
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