To Read: The Autobiography of Malcolm X

I wonder what Malcolm X would say about black people’s current situation in the US. What would he say about Obama and the current president? What would think about the Black Lives Matter Movement? What about the white allies? Would he be despaired to see that people of color still struggle with the embedded racism in an unjust political system and culture?

Alex Hailey conducted a series of interviews with Malcolm X between 1963 and 1965. Those interviews led to X’s autobiography. In his book, Malcolm X describes his childhood, from his father’s violent murder to his hustling years in New York City and incarceration as a young man. He discusses the circumstances that brought him to join the Nation of Islam and separate from it years later. Pages are filled with the activist’s perceptions of the white man’s dominance in a non-white majority world. The book reveals his purpose and determination. Malcolm X was determined to seek change and a better world for black people in the United States.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a must-read despite the color of your skin or your country of origin. This book exposes the systematic racism that people of color have suffered and continue to suffer today, as little progress has been made in equity for all.

The last chapter, 1965, is a farewell letter. The final thoughts of a man well-aware that his time on earth is almost over. “I am only facing the facts when I know that any moment of any day, or any night, could bring me death” stated Malcolm X. Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965, in the Audubon Ballroom at the age of 39. The questions I have will never be answered. Yet, hope remains that someday all people, no matter the color of their skin, sex orientation, faith or nationality, will be treated equally. Hope remains that Malcolm X’s struggle was not in vain.