Where Malcolm X's Ideologies Began Summary

The Origin of Thought- Where Malcolm X’s Ideologies Began Malcolm X’s ideologies about inequality in America originated from his childhood experiences. Born in 1925, Malcolm X was an American Muslim minister and a human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of blacks, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans; detractors accused him of preaching racism and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. Acts of hate towards Malcolm started before he was even born, when his mother was pregnant. Hooded Ku Klux Klan members broke the windows of his family’s house in Omaha, Nebraska. The white supremacists

While he was very appreciative of all that they did for him, he could not help but feel like a “mascot” or a pet than a human being equal to those around him. Malcolm is first in his class at Mason Junior High, but he does not feel comfortable at school. Though he is proud when the students elect him class president, he feels like a “pink poodle”—more of an oddity than a human being. Though he was far more intelligent than most of the white children in his class, his english teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, knocks down his idea of becoming a lawyer saying that “though the slaves have been freed, black people are still lazy and dumb,” and continuing to tell Malcolm he should become a carpenter. Malcolm comes to resent his white school and home, and realizes that even well-meaning white people do not see black people as their

As the lightest-skinned of his siblings, he finds that some doors are open to him, as they are for his mother, but that many more remain closed. As a young boy, he can shoot raccoons, play basketball, and work as a dishwasher. Though he experiences some freedom, the nature of these activities shows that white society still considers him an inferior. On the street, white boys encourage him to ask out white girls, but he knows that if he touches them, he may be lynched. The illusion that he is able to choose any girlfriend he wishes is crushed by his knowledge that society considers mixed-race relationships taboo. Similarly, that Malcolm earns the number one rank in his class and becomes class president shows that the school system allows him to succeed to an extent. But his English teacher’s comment that Malcolm should become a carpenter rather than a lawyer demonstrates that whites are willing to allow black success only to a certain point. The school allows Malcolm to become class president largely because it wants to avoid the appearance of being openly racist. Malcolm comes to understand, however, that white society bestows privilege on him only when doing so doesn’t threaten the established order of white society. It is during this time that the root of Malcolm’s ideologies is being