X on hats is about to be an issue, so where did Malcom grow up?

[HereSince1628]

http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/malcolmx.htm


Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz )
(1925-1965)
Black Nationalist

Malcolm X was one of the most fiery and controversial people of the 20th century.

Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925, Malcolm was the son of a Baptist minister, who was an avid supporter of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association. While living in Omaha, the family was often harassed — at one point the family's house was set afire. In 1929 the family moved to Lansing, Michigan. While in Michigan, Malcolm's father was killed; his body severed in two by a streetcar and his head smashed. In his autobiography, written with Alex Haley, Malcolm asserted that his father may have been killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. His mother, stricken by the death of her husband and the demands of providing for the family, was committed to a mental institution.

Leaving school after the eighth grade, Malcolm made his way to New York, working for a time as a waiter at Smalls Paradise in Harlem. Malcolm began selling and using drugs, turned to burglary, and, in 1946, was sentenced to a ten-year prison term on burglary charges.

[JohnKleeb]

1. I personally had no idea, I knew he was from Omaha

[are_we_united_yet]

2. Don't fall for it folks!!!

Badger Kerry on this after he's in the White House. My opinion: This is another despicable diversion tactic by the slimebucket Rove.

[HereSince1628]

3. I think most Americans don't

I wouldn't have known this but my former mother in law lived next to them in Lansing and was a playmate of Malcom's sister.

The X symbol on a hat was a bit embarrassing for Kerry tonite...its not big deal, but someone in the thread also said Malcom grew up in Boston. We might as well have the facts available.

[acmavm]

4. Yes Malcom X was from Omaha. He was a very misunderstood man.

Malcom X never preached violence for violence sake. He only advocated the use of violence if it was used against a black person first. Something that, if it came from a member of the white race, would be called self defense.

[H2O Man]

5. Malcolm X was a great man

Never be embarassed or feel uncomfortable with the "X" or with Brother Malcolm. (He spent his teen years in Boston, by the way.) He was a great American, and despite his very vocal attacks on the racist aspects of American society, he was a gentle soul who wanted this country to live up to its creed. Yes, he had lived in the gutter; yes, he had lived under the influence of Elijah Muhammad and often preached a hateful message; but he evolved. We must respect that. And we need to encourage people to evolve. Malcolm knew that the most beautiful butterfly starts its life as an ugly caterpillar.

[prolesunited]

7. He did indeed evolve

His trip to mecca was a transformation experience and he was ready to move away from divisive rhetoric.

Mecca 'made Malcolm X change'

A COLLECTION of journals and letters belonging to Malcolm X show the black activist realising on a visit to Mecca at that he had been wrong to propagate virulent anti-white rhetoric.
<snip>

Other entries show how he then realised that it was not race but a person's intentions that mattered. "Out of the sudden darkness comes sudden light. My, how fortune can change," he wrote.

On his return to America he broke with the hardline Nation of Islam and formed the Organisation of Afro-American Unity, an act that many believe led to his assassination in New York on Feb 21, 1965.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/03/12/wmalc12.xml

[populistmom]

6. I grew up in Omaha. I knew it.

Actually, much to the surprise of many, Omaha is a rather diverse city and although heavily "Freeperized", there are many progressive pockets out there, not enough mind you, but more than most people would think. (Or maybe it was just a small group that were my parents' friends.)

[KG]

8. if the junta steals another election, i think many white dems/progressives

will begin to understand what X meant by 'any means necessary'