system “an international power structure.” He says that this structure is used to “suppress the masses of dark-skinned people all over the world and exploit them of their natural resources.” These statements are heavily charged with the type of emotion that was so prevalent at the time, and the bitterness with which some black people viewed white people, and are therefore effective in making the audience listen and agree with what Malcolm X has to say, mainly through the process of convincing them that he understood exactly what they were going through and therefore wanted to, and could, help them. The extract ends off with the sentence, “But the internal forces [of the nation] pose an even greater threat [than the external forces] only when …show more content…
The cartoon was published in “Muhammad Speaks”, a newspaper that was produced by an African-American organisation. Malcolm X split from NOI in 1964 because he had become agitated by the actions of Elijah Muhammad, the key Muslim leader, who had had sexual affairs which Malcolm X viewed as immoral; and also because after a pilgrimage to Mecca, Malcolm X realised that people of all races could come together to an extent, and therefore began to question NOI’s aim to achieve a completely separate nation to other races for black people. The cartoon, however, manipulates Malcolm X’s reasons for splitting from NOI, changing those to childish or immature reasons such as he did not want to be second to Muhammad, and that “the officials at [NOI] headquarters” were jealous of him and feared his “public image.” This source depicts Malcolm X as a sore loser, or even the “bad guy” who wants things to be entirely within his own control. It depicts him as power-hungry. The cartoon is useful because it is a primary source originating directly from the people who hold that opinion of Malcolm X and therefore gives more information and context to the situation; however, it is limited, as all cartoons are, because of its heavy bias against Malcolm X. Again, NOI was only one of many groups of people who held opinions of Malcolm X, so the source is not necessarily reliable for every aspect of the situation. This cartoon is specifically useful because NOI’s beliefs and methods were one of the greatest aspects of Malcolm X’s character as a leader and their opinion of him therefore mattered greatly. (SOURCE