Malcolm X

“We want something bigger than us—these are… lessons through which we can hope to look at humanity and do a little better in human-world. Perhaps they can better identify evil, since it doesn’t hide but comes right at our characters…” (Doll). In 2012, Jen Doll wrote “On the Importance of Having Superheroes” to elaborate why superheroes play such a huge role in our lives, even when everyday people do not possess such powers as supreme beings. Logically, if people were to obtain a superpower, there would be two common paths that one may follow. Some may selfishly utilize their superpower to advance personal gain. But, some may choose to only use their extraordinary power to help other people. However, in order to be heroic, one does not need a superpower to make a difference in society. Rather, an ordinary person can be a hero at any given moment and at any given time. Heroism consists of courageous and influential behavior to support others to do what the subjects feel is right and stand up for what the subject thinks is wrong. For example, someone who stands up to a school bully with the goal to stop their vile actions would be considered a hero. Someone who never ends to oppose the injustices in the world, a civil rights activist, can be considered a hero. Heroes are heroes regardless of their popularity among people, regardless of the mistakes they make; as long as they have transformed into a better person in order to make the world a better place, they are worthy of the title of hero. A hero is someone who performs courageous actions and leads other people to fight for what he/she thinks is wrong and advance what he/she truly believes.

Between the 1920s and the 1960s, society was a very different place than the world we know today. Discrimination, segregation, social injustice, and prejudice were all present during that time period. However, there was one man who caused a spark around the world, someone who exposed the beautiful America to ugly America and opened the eyes of people around the world to be a voice about the unfair treatment. This unacceptable social behavior directed towards minorities, specifically blacks, was not something to be proud of, in the only “free country” at the time. America is a place that should grant all citizens freedom and be rid of any type of discrimination or segregation. Malcolm X was born in 1925 in this era of social unrest. Aware of what was happening around him, he worked endlessly to stop the unequal treatment that the black community faced from the white community. Malcolm X was truly courageous to voice against society’s mistaken inequitable views and was admirable for utilizing his strong leadership to influence those around him to step up to the injustices in society and put an end to mistreatment.

Malcolm X waits for a press conferencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Autobiography_of_Malcolm_XHowever, Malcolm X was by no means a saint from birth. He had a past, something that he looked down upon when he looked back on his life. After his release from prison for theft in 1952, he examined his past 30 years of life. He realized that his street behavior and hustling would get him nowhere but trouble. Malcolm X wanted somewhere he could practice strong moral values and fairness, and he ended up joining the organization of the Nation of Islam. In 1957, he became the national representative of the Nation of Islam, proving his ability as an influential leader. However, in 1964, he left the Nation of Islam when prohibited from public speaking for 90 days. Free from the commitment of the Nation of Islam, he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and came back as a new man. Someone who once believed that separation of the races was the best way to go about the discrimination changed into someone who believed that if one has a good conscience, then the integration of races, although difficult, is still possible and is by far better than the option of separation of races. “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future” (Wilde). Malcolm X was someone who acted to change society for the better after he changed himself for the better. He used to be someone who possessed morals that were not just, but then he transformed into someone who was strong, someone who could be admired. A hero is someone who sees all sides of reality, albeit on the morally wrong side at some point in time, can change and realize their mistakes in their actions. Upon this realization and change, they act among upon their motive and drive to keep society balanced. A hero must possess courage and the power to influence many people. Someone who is courageous is someone who stands up for something he/she thinks is right even when there is strong opposition. Malcolm X is a hero through his exemplification of courage by exposing the cruelest elements of society and influencing others through his strong voice and leadership.

Malcolm X  courageously generated a revolt which turned into a necessary wake-up call to help shape America into the way it is today. Myers stated in Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary that the way Malcolm X addressed the unfair treatment was necessary to improve America to be a more accepting place: “Malcolm scared America. The fear he generated might have well cost him his life. But in scaring America, in bringing it face-to-face with the realities of our society in the sixties, he left it a better place” (xxi). Malcolm X initiated the changed that allowed blacks to fight for their freedom and liberties. He let his fellow blacks know that the white society was getting away with unjust and morally unethical treatment towards blacks. This strikes society in a way that is nonviolent but decimates the reasoning behind the illogical behavior the way that whites treated blacks. Malcolm X was very courageous to speak about something that seemed so normal in society but was actually an evil that existed. He made America open their eyes and realize the injustices that they were imposing on minorities. In a speech, Malcolm X elaborated on the idea of why blacks should separate from whites rather than be a world where they would be devalued and looked down upon: “The problem isn’t personal, and it’s not individual, our problem is collective and just as Negroes suffered collectively from the collective attitude of white people in this country, you can’t approach it on an individual basis and this is where whites make their mistakes today” (“Malcolm X on Racial Separation” 00:00-00:16). Malcolm X explained that in order to change the way blacks are treated, a small number of black people cannot just talk to small numbers of white people. Rather, it is more justified for there to be a large group of black people to express their opinions and ideas to more and more white people so that the whites are fully aware of their mistreatment towards blacks. From that point onward, Malcolm X knew that it was either going to be an easy separation of races or a hard task to integrate the races to be equal. By letting the black race know that their future depended fighting for their rights, he proved to be a courageous speaker by rebelling against the instilled unethical values in society. Malcolm X made America open their eyes and see the harsh realities that they impose on other races, and it was either going to be a separation of races, or the change of mentality in whites to lessen the difficulty for blacks to be integrated into society.

Malcolm X speaks to a large audiencehttps://www.rallypoint.com/shared-links/malcolm-x-assassinated-feb-21-1965-history-com--2Through Malcolm X’s natural, innate leadership, he was able to influence many people to follow what they believe and stand up to what they believe is wrong. In the database of Contemporary Heroes, the author of the article “Malcolm X” explains the strength and power of Malcolm X’s voice directed to people: “Throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s, the charismatic Malcolm X took the Nation of Islam from an insignificant splinter group of about 400 people to an organization that boasted some 10,000 official members and an untold number of sympathizers. A talented and articulate speaker, he was by far the Nation of Islam's most effective and prominent preacher…” (“Malcolm X, Contemporary Heroes”). By turning the Nation of Islam into a group of 10,000 members from its origin of 400 people, Malcolm X proves that his influence on other people is something not to be looked down upon. Although having a powerful voice, people do not blindly follow his actions for that. They recognize Malcolm X’s values and pride as a black American and aspires to be like Malcolm X; who is influential and has a lot of strong moral values. Additionally, Myers explains in Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary the extent to which Malcolm X can connect to a variety of different people: “He could talk to ‘street’ people and to college graduates. He was discovering, as were those who worked with him, that he had a genius for organizing and a genius for reaching places in the African-American soul that organizations like the Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People were carefully avoiding” (88). Being able to talk to different crowds of people is a useful skill when in the process of influencing people to follow one’s beliefs. Malcolm X utilizes this skill in order to bring more people to fight against the society that instilled injustices in the state of mind of the people. Because of how Malcolm X used his innate ability to be a leader and influence others, he is considered a hero for guiding others to stand up for what they think is wrong rather than letting basic human evils to be carried out in everyday life.

Malcolm X interviewed by reportershttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Malcolm_X#/media/File:Malcolm_X_NYWTS.jpgMalcolm X possessed the courage to stand up to the unfair treatment and discrimination that existed in society and had the leadership to influence many others to join in the fight for civil rights. Malcolm X knew that something must be done, he knew that in order to change the way society thinks, he would have to rebel, no holds barred. He knew that by strongly opposing society, people would realize the faults in society and join in the rebellion. However, this would not have amounted to anything without Malcolm X’s innate leadership ability that allowed him to influence many people. He influenced people to change the world for better, rather than keeping the evil world the same as is. Being a natural-born leader with the motives of leading others to fight the majority of society’s mistaken inequitable views is something that only Malcolm X could do within his time period. Malcolm X changed America; he changed the way people think, he changed the way people acted, he changed the basic treatment of humans to humans with different skin colors. “No matter how much respect, no matter how much recognition whites show towards me, as far as I'm concerned, as long as that same respect and recognition is not shown toward everyone of our people in this country, it doesn't exist for me” (“Malcolm X Talks About Respect”). Without Malcolm X as an authoritative figure, America would be shaped differently than it is today. That world would still include discrimination and unfair treatment towards others and along with the absence of recognition that others deserve. In essence, America needed its evils exposed by Malcolm X in order to become a better and accepting place that capitalized on the freedoms, even more than the Declaration of Independence declared. Freedom is what defined Malcolm X’s message; Malcolm X fought not only for equal treatment, he fought for the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom of petition. Malcolm X is truly an inspiration to those who are fighting for rights. Malcolm X motivates me to explore these types of unfair treatment and deduce out where these arguments originated from. Rather than looking at it from a surface level, I am inspired to be free from any prejudice or misinformation from any sources, and to delve deep and indulge myself in the research on these topics to find out whether or not the claims made are far-fetched and unreasonable, or whether it is something worth fighting for and something that society needs to be aware of. After many countless hours of researching, I am always looking to treat others the same, as well as looking outward into society and discovering any unfair treatment. Mentioning these types of inequalities and injustices in society requires courage and strong leadership to influence others.

Malcolm X meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Autobiography_of_Malcolm_XCourage and strong leadership is something that not everyone possesses. However, even those who do possess it, will not always stand up for what they believe in. This is what separates an ordinary man from a hero. A hero is someone that has the power and takes action for what he/she believes in, but an ordinary man is someone who will not utilize their resources to stand up for what he/she believes. However, once that ordinary man transitions and uses his power and influence to fight for equality, that is a subtle, yet everlasting change into becoming a hero. Therefore, any person can become a hero, it just depends on the will of the person to make a change in society. I truly am inspired by Malcolm X, and I hope to be able to be as strong as him when it comes to talking about the unending unfair treatment in society that arises time after time again. “We want something bigger than us—these are… lessons through which we can hope to look at humanity and do a little better in human-world. Perhaps they can better identify evil, since it doesn’t hide but comes right at our characters…” (Doll). Doll wrote “On the Importance of Superheroes” in order to explain how superheroes affect us in our everyday life. Even though superheroes are fiction, they inspire us to do the right thing and give everything we do, everything we got in order to make it the best. However, we do not only need to look up to these fictional characters for strong role models. The true heroes are those who are alive, fighting real issues. In essence, superheroes are only fiction, however, superhero mentalities were written and based off real-life heroes who were inspiring and had an impactful effect in society. Real-life heroes possess the mentality of superheroes and saving others are their heroic actions. Their “superpowers” depend on the person, like firefighters’ abilities to rush in a burning house to save a young child, or Malcolm X’s voice that saved millions of blacks who were oppressed by whites. In concept, heroes work to save people using any types of means. Malcolm X was a very strong person in his lifetime who utilized his talents in order to stand up for what he believes in, rather than sitting back and letting America rot in its own evils, never to see the light of justice again.

Works Cited

Doll, Jen. “On the Importance of Having Superheroes.” The Atlantic. May 2012.

"Malcolm X." Contemporary Heroes and Heroines, vol. 2, Gale, 1992. Biography In Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1607000173/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=52

639cb4. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.

"Malcolm X on Racial Separation." Thought Equity Motion Collections, 2010. Student

Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC4295840400/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=01706cd7. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.

"Malcolm X Talks About Respect." Thought Equity Motion Collections, 2010. Student

Resources In Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC4295840403/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=8a252b8b. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.

Myers, Walter Dean. Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary. Scholastic (US), 2018.

Wilde, Oscar, et al. Plays: Lady Windermere's Fan ; A Woman of No Importance ; An Ideal Husband ; The Importance of Being Earnest ; Salomé. Penguin, 1954.