ENC1102

PEER DISCUSSION POST

MALCOLM X
Malcolm X was a powerful man with a powerful mind. His strong will and drive to create a
better world for black people of all nationalities was one of the most influential parts of the
revolution to end prejudice. When reading about his life and beliefs, it's hard not to get excited
about changing the world and improving lifestyles for everyone. After reading "Learning To
Read", I realized for the first time how many hours and how much dedication Malcolm X
possessed in order to become the literate visionary I have come to know today.
In my opinion, Malcolm's most influential literacy sponsors were those involved in his
upbringing and childhood. Growing up on the streets and experiencing prejudice first-hand is one
of the reasons he landed himself in prison. Prison was the beginning of his literate journey (at
least becoming literate in so many areas and not just street smarts). Prison could be considered
an institutional sponsor because it allowed Malcolm access to the materials he needed to learn to
read and write. Wanting to be literate enough to express himself to "Mr. Muhammad", his
mentor, was the drive to become literate. This drive led him to pick up a dictionary and re-write
it front to back, and to study every single word that was known to the western world. After
teaching himself to read and write, he spent hours, days, even years scouring the prison library
reading about any and every subject that interested him (which was every subject matter in the
library). The authors of the books and essays he read are also sponsors, who gave him the
incentive to keep studying and learning more about human, black, and earth's history.
The excerpt mentioned that Malcolm's 7th grade teacher made a joke about how black people
have large feet, which infuriated Malcolm. This made me question whether or not I have had any
negative sponsors. For me a literary sponsor was more of a positive person or thing, but what if I
encountered a negative sponsor that made me rethink the possibilities of my future. Also, could a
sponsor be positive for one person, but negative for another?

Haley, A. (1965). Learning To Read. In The Autobiography Of Malcolm X (pp. Rpt. 1-5). New
York City: Grove Press.