Discussion: Malcolm X Yolanda: Malcolm X is known to be one of the most influential African American civil rights leaders in history.

Although his ways to gain these liberties were neither traditional nor peaceful, he made an impact in society. Seeing that Malcolm X did not have a college degree surprises me because he was a very intelligent man. It comes to show that one does not necessarily need a piece of paper saying that they completed this amount of course work to be useful in the world. Malcolm X inspires people to take their education into their own hands. Even while in prison, he did not let it affect the love he had for literacy. Being that he was a black man in a "white mans world", he took on every advantage that seemed fit for him to not be seen as the barbarians that were described in history books. Malcolm X mentioned that it was not only reading that helped him become a greater man, but it's understanding what was being read. I strongly believe that if we apply ourselves as he did, that we too can become better versions of ourselves. He was an optimist. He did not let anything stand between him and his "homemade education". In comparison to Brandt's Literacy, Malcolm X's sponsor was the prison's library. For a person to sit in a cell for fifteen hours of the day and actively engage in learning is unheard of. It just comes to show us that life really is what you take out of it. Malcolm X wanted to speak besides Muhammad, so he did everything in his power to gain the same intellect, probably even more, to deem himself worthy. If I could take one thing out of this reading, it would be at the end of the excerpt when he said, "I imagine that one of the biggest troubles with colleges is there are too many distractions, too much panty-raiding, fraternities, and boola-boola and all of that (X, and Haley )". In fact, it is very true. We are young and have not realized the balance between our social lives and education. There are a plethora amount of resources in the world that we tend to let slip away from our grasp and we turn around and blame

others for our inadequacies. Malcolm X did what many of us fail to do on a daily basis, take responsibility of our actions and our education. Peer Posts That Helped Travis Smith: Malcolm X tells us in the excerpt from his book, how prison changed his life forever, and for the better. It was because of prison that Malcolm was able to read and write. In the beginning, he used to read books and skip the words he did not understand. Since he had such a low vocabulary at the time, he never really understood the story of the book. This all changed once he got his hands on a dictionary from the prison. He then went on the copy the entire dictionary. He also would spend around fifteen hours a day reading or writing. After finishing the dictionary, Malcolm started reading books about African-Americans. It was because of prison that he learned to read, write and even speak clearly. It also kept him off the streets once he got out. Some of his "sponsors" could be said to be the prison's library or the dictionary. Elijah Mohammed could be thought as a sponsor, because it kept him motivated in his studies. Malcolm would also read for an extra three to four house a night after "lights out" in the prison. This just shows us how determined he was. MLisia Williams: The literacy level of those around us as well as those before us vary from person to person. When people would hear Malcolm X speak they heard someone prestigious, who had to be well educated. People aspired to be like him. What they didn't know was that Malcolm X had what he called a "homemade education". Being convicted of robbery in 1946 changed his life forever. Not just because he went to prison but because of how he made use of his time. Malcolm strived to learn the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, he wanted to write him and learn more. But he had trouble expressing how he felt. This led to the motivation behind his "homemade education". His material aspects of literacy included the dictionary, which is what he

stared with. As well as a pen, paper, his glasses, and bed bunk located inside his cell. He would record each word in the dictionary and then read it aloud until he understood what he was reading and or writing. His institutional sponsors like, the Norfolk Prison Colony Library, Elijah Mohammed, and Charles Parkhurst allowed him to apply the words he used. He read books from the library every chance he could. He studied lots of history which is where he found his passion for wanting to " free the black man from the white mans bondage". He used the books provided to dig deeper into slavery and why African-Americans were treated with little to no respect. Malcolm X could finally write to Elijah Mohammed to further his education. Going to prison was no accident for Malcolm X. In his eyes the timing was perfect. He figured that yes he could have gone to college and lived life differently but college has many distractions. His sponsors provided through prison and dedication to teaching himself allowed him to become one of the most known civil rights activist. Just as he followed Elijah Mohammed many other people began to follow his teaching and strived to learn the things he knew. Which eventually turned him into a sponsor for all of his followers. Why: These in particular helped me to understand the reading in laymans terms. I feel like discussion posts isnt about using big words to try to out due someone else, if you dont understand what youre writing then whats the point?