L11: The Civil Rights Movement 1948-1975 (Part Three)

Equality and Hierarchy: The African American ExperienceAgenda

Objective: 1. To understand the Civil

Rights approach of Malcolm X.

Schedule: 2. Mini-Lecture3. Reading & Discussion

Homework:1.Consult

Unit Schedule. Final Paper Due (Tan = Tues 11/6; Red & Blue = Wed 11/7);

The Civil Rights Movement Recap• Between 1948 and the mid 1960s,

most of the activism of the Civil Rights movement:– Took place in the South–Was non-violent– Consisted of boycotts, sit-ins, marches, and protests

The Civil Rights Movement Takes a Turn• By the mid 1960s, the tone of the Civil Rights

movement began to change. • Activism began to:– Take place in the north– Become violent– Consist of riots and protests

• Malcolm X rose to the become the leader of this new branch of Civil Rights Activism.

Malcolm X: What’s in A Name• 1925-1965• Born in Omaha, NE• Born Malcolm Little

– Rejects “Little” and replaces it with “X” – "The Muslim's 'X' symbolized the true African family name that he never could know. For me, my 'X' replaced the white slavemaster name of 'Little' which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears.”

• Also takes the name El-Hajj MalikEl-Shabazz

Malcolm X: Personal Tragedies

• Father died when he was young; rumored that he was killed by white supremacists

• Malcolm’s mother was conceived out of rape between a white man and black woman.– Malcolm believed he bore the scars of this rape in his

red hair• At least one of his uncles was lynched• When he was 13 his mother was placed in a mental

hospital and he was placed in a series of foster homes.• Made his living as a criminal:• At age 20 he was arrested in Boston for breaking and entering and went to prison.

Malcolm X: The Prison Years & The Nation of Islam

• While in prison, X was exposed to the ideas of the Nation of Islam.

• Nation of Islam:– Religious movement preaching black self-reliance and

unification of the African diaspora, free from white American and European domination.

– Believes:• Black people are the original people of the world• Blacks are superior to whites• White people are “devils”

• Prison was a period of meditation, baptism, and rebirth.

– Converts to the Nation of Islam– Corresponds with Elijah Muhammad – Takes the name Malcolm X– Rejects a life of crime and “sin”

Malcolm X: Career and Death

• After being released from prison in 1952, X begins to work with Elijah Muhammad to open Islamic temples throughout northern black communities.

• Rose to prominence and public attention in the early 1960s through his speeches

• However, 1964 X leaves the Nation of Islam after conflict with Muhammad

• Forms Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity

• Nation of Islam began to make threats against X

• February 21, 1965 X is shot while preparing to address a lecture hall in Manhattan

• Was killed by 3 members of the Nation of Islam

Malcolm X’s Approach to Gaining Civil Rights

• We will listen to a speech by Malcolm X called “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964)• Speech given at the Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, OH• Ranked 7th in the top 100 American speeches by a survey of

American scholars and professors.• King’s “I Have a Dream” was number 1

• Consider – What does equality mean to X?– What does full citizenship mean to X?– What does black identity mean to X?– What methods does X advocate in pursuit of these goals?

• Discussion