What were Malcolm X’s beliefs? What did he hope to see change, and how for that matter did he believe he could make those changes happen? While analyzing Malcolm X and Black Rage, written by Cornel West, questions such as those are brought to light. Malcolm X’s motives are further explored as author Cornel West goes into depth and critiques Malcolm X’s tactics, such as black rage and psychic conversion, why they were such an important part of his philosophy, and if he believed said tactics were effective.
Malcolm X’s main motives for black rage were because of his adherent love for a race he viewed as devalued by all of society at this time, a race who was constantly degraded despite their astonishing characteristics, intelligence, and beauty.
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Hence, they crave peer acceptance in both, receiving genuine approval from neither” (West 139). Another renowned description of this phenomenon by Malcolm X is a metaphor stating that there are two kinds of slaves, the house negro and the field negro. Malcolm says that the house negroes love and protect the white master while field negroes hate and resist him, while this rhetorical device can be useful in highlighting differences amongst black people it’s a broad over generalization, and plain negligence to try and fit a black person in one of the two categories. Nevertheless, Malcolm creates a clear analysis of the issue of double-consciousness, showing that he understands the complexity of the matter at hand and that he is knowledgeable on the subject, hence utilizing ethos. While Malcolm X strongly believes that “black self-love and black self-determination [will make black people] free of the tension generated by ‘double-consciousness’” (West 140) West argues “[Malcolm X’s] claim is both subtle and problematic. It is subtle in that every black freedom movement is predicated on an affirmation of African humanity and a quest for black control over …show more content…
He believed in methods that were unheard of during his time and he left his mark in history as an empowered civil rights activist. West believes that through black rage, using psychic conversion, and trying to rid of double-consciousness Malcolm X dreamed of not only eliminating white supremacy but a brighter future for black