John Norton ES 3190

On Malcolm Xs Initial Receptiveness towards the Demonizing of Whites by The Nation of Islam
By the time Malcolm X had become indoctrinated into the Nation of Islam, he had experienced a great deal in his life to corroborate Elijah Muhammads belief that white people of Europe were devils. Some of these experiences happened to Malcolm himself, some were perpetrated against his family, while even more evidence of white oppression was visible to anyone willing to look close enough. This paper will focus on encounters in Malcolms formative years that helped shape his adult self. Before Malcolm ever came into existence, his family was terrorized by white people. In fact, Malcolms mother was half-white, the child of a white man who had raped Malcolms maternal grandmother1. On his mother Malcolm had written: Her father was white. She had straight black hair, and her accent did not sound like a Negros. Of this white father of hers, I know nothing except her shame about it. I remember her saying that she was glad that she had never seen him. 1 This reason for Malcolms mothers shame demonstrates how even in the earliest part of his life, the notion of a violent, dominating white man who hates Malcolms brethren was inculcated in him. Another tragic experience that faced Malcolm early in his life was the murder of his father. He was beaten until his skull was crushed, dragged in front of a streetcar, and run over2. It was rumored that a hate group called the Black Legion had committed the murder. The group hated Malcolms father because of his teachings about Marcus Garvey and were worried he would foment rebellion in the local black community3. His fathers murder taught Malcolm that whites want blacks to be oppressed and that whites are willing to murder anyone that attempts to change the status quo.

John Norton ES 3190

Immediately following the death of Malcolms father, another important incident occurred that helped to shape Malcolms beliefs. When Malcolms mother tried to collect the larger of her husbands two insurance policies, the insurance agency refused on the grounds that Mr. Little had committed suicide3. Although the circumstances of his death seemed impossible to reconcile with suicide, there was no recourse for Mrs. Little as a black woman. With the death of Malcolms father, society had shown to Malcolm that some whites were willing to mask themselves, hide their identity, and murder those who would upset the established order; with the cheating of Malcolms family, society had shown him that yet more whites, perhaps ones who wouldnt actually murder someone, thought nothing of cheating blacks and failing to honor contracts when they were inconvenient to the white power-holders. Another, more juvenile incident that taught Malcolm about the cheating ways of white people involved a coin game called matching nickels. After losing a hard-earned dollar to an older white boy, Malcolm goes home upset, unable to buy the food he intended to. Later, when he learns that the boy had cheated, he realizes that those who appear to be lucky winners are often cheaters4. The welfare workers who seemed intent on destroying Malcolms family are certainly easy to picture as devils. Malcolm felt that they did not consider his family to be people, as illustrated by this passage: When the state Welfare people began coming to our house, we would come from school sometimes and find them talking with our mother, asking a thousand questions. They acted and looked at her, and at us, and around in our house, in a way that had about it the feeling - at least for me - that we were not people. In their eyesight we were just things, that was all. 5 Malcolm had already seen hatred from fringe groups like the KKK or the Black Legion, from large mainstream businesses like the life insurance company, and from everyday people like the boy who had cheated him out of his dollar. He had already experienced that the government

John Norton ES 3190

would not help blacks, as evidenced by his fathers lack of a murder trial or criminal investigation and by the absence of help with the life insurance company. But at this point in Malcolms life, the Welfare people are showing him that the government is actively destroying black families, not just doing harm by inaction. After the dissolution of Malcolms family, he stays with a black family, the Gohannas, and later at a detention home led by a white family, the Swerlins. In some ways, these people treated Malcolm much better than he was accustomed to being treated by white people. Malcolm noted that Mr. Swerlin was quiet and polite, even to me. 6 He was given his own room for the first time. He and most of the other children at the detention center ate with the Swerlins. Malcolm had only ever eaten with adult whites at church meetings. In spite of an outward appearance of kindness, the Swerlins had racist feelings of superiority that they couldnt (or didnt) hide. Malcolm felt that the Swerlins treated him like a pet, or mascot. They didnt give me credit for having the same sensitivity, intellect, and understanding that they would have been ready and willing to recognize in a white boy in my position.
6

Up until this point in Malcolms life, this was one of the most positive interactions he had experienced with whites. Yet even the Swerlins saw him as less than a white person. One more important event that took place early in Malcolms life (8th grade) occurred when he was receiving occupational advice from his teacher. When asked by the teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, what type of career he wanted to pursue, Malcolm said that he would like to become a lawyer. Although Malcolm was one of the three best students in the class, Mr. Ostrowski told Malcolm that this was an unrealistic goal for a nigger, and that he ought to consider being a carpenter. Later it became apparent to Malcolm that Mr. Ostrowski had encouraged the white children to pursue their goals, whatever they may be. Malcolm was deeply hurt by the fact that

John Norton ES 3190

even though he was about the smartest kid in the class, there was a glass ceiling (or perhaps a concrete ceiling is a better term) preventing him from doing what he wanted to do. This brought about a huge change in Malcolm, causing him to recede from white people in Lansing and bringing about a strong desire to move to Boston with his sister Ella. 7 These experiences, and still others, showed Malcolm that he had no place in white society except one of menial labor or servitude. The psychological damage that was perpetrated against Malcolm as a child shaped his beliefs as an adult. The vision of reality that he had absorbed proved a fertile ground for the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and the idea that whites are devils.

John Norton ES 3190

1.

X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 18th ed. Penguin Books Ltd: Guernsey,

1965, p. 79-81. 2. X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 18th ed. Penguin Books Ltd: Guernsey,

1965, p. 88-91. 3. X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 18th ed. Penguin Books Ltd: Guernsey,

1965, p. 81. 4. X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 18th ed. Penguin Books Ltd: Guernsey,

1965, p. 95-96. 5. X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 18th ed. Penguin Books Ltd: Guernsey,

1965, p. 91. 6. X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 18th ed. Penguin Books Ltd: Guernsey,

1965, p. 106-107. 7. X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. 18th ed. Penguin Books Ltd: Guernsey,

1965, p. 117-119.