Malcom X And Ortiz Cofer Analysis

Compare & Contrast

Polarities exist within everything in our lives, many of them due to different views that were caused by environmental influences while growing up. Likewise, when a majority of a culture is of one, this causes a certain lack of comprehension that generates stereotypes. Certain distress is caused when a race or culture is stereotyped, causing people such as Malcom X and Judith Ortiz Cofer, to undertake their path of resolution. They go on to persuade people of uncertainty, to enlighten ignorant people about their culture. Hoping to reach their audience that they speak out to, striving for the balance that they crave. They bring forth their insight of their struggles with identity, the struggles with conforming to social norms,

Malcom’s story revealed that they had conked their hair to try and be accepted in the eyes of the whites, trying to gain their approval and to heighten their status among society. In the 20’s the African-Americans were seen as inferior as to where the whites were superior, white people having the upper hand in the social status, as where African-Americans had to struggle in their daily life while dealing with the obvious differences that were subjugated. Cofers story had informed us that their dressing of choice was imbedded into their lifestyle, causing discomfort and embarrassment when put in culture clashing situations. Examples as such is where Cofer and classmates had to dress for Career day, not knowing of what to wear she had overdressed, exceeding the amount of jewelry and accessories for that certain occasion, whereas people not part of her culture dressed in silk blouses and and tailored skirts. Coffer knew that one incident would not compare to the atrocities that awaited her in the real world, “where perspective employers and men on the street would often misinterpret our tight skirts and jingling bracelets as a “come-on’” (232), and their social standing was degraded by

Malcom had renounced NOI and his former mentor Elijah Muhammad, and formed his own religious organization, the Muslim Moresque, Inc., where instead of only speaking for the African Americans, the Muslim Moresque had spoken for all races. Cofer had become a Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia, while doing so she teaches others what her and many other Puerto Ricans had gone through, trying to help and reach an understanding for both races, whites and non-alike, to respect each other. Malcom X was assassinated after numerous attempts by his former organization NOI, many of his own race not agreeing with what he had done with his life, whereas Martin Luther king had stated, when asked of Malcom’s passing, “While we did not always see eye-to-eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had deep affection for Malcom and felt he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence an d root of the problem” (“Malcom and Civil Rights Movement,” n.d.). Cofer had attended Augusta State University, obtaining her M.A. when she moved Florida to attend Florida Atlantic University, finally joining the faculty of University of Georgia, by the time of her retirement in 2013 she was Regents’ and Franklin Professor of English and Creative