Malcolm X was the critic America produced. Robin Kelly explains how his past is something that is gruesome, but also common amongst the Black community. Malcolm X dealt with the history that produced him through becoming a critic while following Islam. Racism is the reason his father, and multiple uncles died, it is the reason “he was told he could not be a lawyer” (Stewart, Nov 9); and the barriers created by racism put him in foster care, which led him to become a pimp before being incarcerated. Cohen attributed the 1920’s black economy as establishing the New Negro, and that contributes to Malcolm X’s belief in creating an independent, African American driven, economy. America predetermined Malcolm’s fate as a child, which led him to be the critic we know him as today. …show more content…
Malcolm says the American Negro is the only person on the planet who is willing to lose his own identity. He later speaks about a televised discussion Martin Luther King was in, and points out that the white man was so proud of his race/culture, that he had no desire to lose it. The man also could not understand why African Americans wanted to lose theirs. Comparing the white mans rational to Dr. Kings, he conceives that black men who support integration, do not value their culture. When referring to people who were advocates of the sit-in movement, he says, “as long as they’re willing to wait for the white man to make up his mind that they are qualified to be respected as human beings, then I am afraid that all of their waiting and planning is for non” (Malcolm). Malcolm feels Black people need to take control of their future, and he sees the sit in movement as Black people waiting for acceptance from white