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This review has been accessed  times since February 10, 1999
Malcolm X (with the assistance of Alex Haley). (1992). The
Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York, NY: Ballantine
Books.
527 pp.
$12.00 (paper) ISBN # 0-345-37671-4
Reviewed by Najee E. Muhammad
Ohio University
February 10, 1999
Much has been written about Malcolm X as evidenced by Davis'
(1984) Malcolm X: A selected bibliography, and Johnson's
(1986) Malcolm X: A comprehensive annotated bibliography.
When combined, the resources cited in these bibliographies
provide the reader and scholar with a significant body of
literature and work about (and by) an individual whom mainstream
history has either chosen to ignore or to distort. Nevertheless,
even though he is one of the most significant historical figures
of African descent from America, Malcolm X "remains
insufficiently understood, the subject of remarkably little
serious biographical and historical research" (Carson, 1991, p.
18). Moreover, it is surprising that Malcolm X's autobiography
has not been visited extensively by educators for its lessons in
emancipatory pedagogy and transformational leadership. As DeCaro
(1996) suggests, Malcolm X's life is a spiritual story, "a
double-barreled conversion narrative . . . he was a man who was
as concerned with redemption as with revolution" (p. 2).
Recognizing these themes in Malcolm's story, the current review
revisits the Autobiography of Malcolm X with the aim of
examining it as an educational and educative text.
Serious study of Malcolm X must begin with his
autobiography as told to his amanuensis, Alex Haley. With all
that has been written about him, the best voice to speak
for Malcolm X is Malcolm himself (Goldman, 1979). His appeal to
a broad African American constituency, and millions
internationally from every political persuasion and racial and
ethnic group, does not guarantee that his work has been read
critically. To understand the work as educational text, however,
a critical reading of the Autobiography is imperative.
A classic in African American literature, the
Autobiography of Malcolm X suffers from a problem endemic
in the genre, that is, the problem of selective exclusion and
selective inclusion. Despite the inevitable subjectivity of an
autobiography, however, Malcolm generally provides the reader
license to probe his shortcomings and to learn from them. In
doing so, he consequently provides the reader an opportunity to
probe and learn from his strengths. As Rampersad (1992) notes,
Malcolm's work, gives "permission to . . . dig even deeper into
the facts and forces of his life" (p. 119). Indeed, Malcolm
seems to suggest that one should look at everything with an open,
critical, theoretical mind, including oneself and one's life.
Critically then, it is of interest to note that the
Autobiography was written with the original intent of
proselytizing the ministry of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of
Islam (henceforth--The Nation). Moreover, the autobiography can
be viewed as two texts in one: part "auto-didactic" (Lee, 1998)
pedagogical narrative designed to proliferate the image of the
Nation on one hand, and as incomplete manifesto on the other. As
DeCaro, Jr. (1996) suggests, it "is actually two conversion
stories. Just as it bears Malcolm's self-portrayal, it suddenly
breaks into a story of Malcolm's conversion to traditional Islam"
(p. 5).
Perhaps this double purpose reflects the genesis of the
work. Doubleday Publishing, through the African American
reporter Alex Haley, "approached" Malcolm with the notion of(and
to seek permission for) writing a book on the Nation. Following
his practice with all inquiries concerning the public image of
the Nation, Malcolm suggested that Haley request permission from
the Nation's leader Elijah Muhammad. In 1963 Haley asked Elijah
Muhammad for permission to author a book with the aim of
presenting a public view of the Nation through its most public
personality and national spokesperson, Malcolm X (Clegg, 1997).
In order to move forward with the project, Haley had to make sure
that it satisfied three conditions. First, as a proselytizing
project, it had to be sanctioned by Elijah Muhammad. Second, all
of the profits realized through its publication were to be turned
over to the Nation, and third, Malcolm would have complete
authority over its content. As noted in Haley's epilogue to the
book, Malcolm wished for Haley to act as the "writer" and not as
the "interpreter" of his life, work, and creed.
The Autobiography as Educational Text
The Autobiography significantly describes the
infrastructure and philosophy of the Nation. According to
DeCaro, Jr. (1996), "[it] carries an organizational burden.
Malcolm modeled his life and conversion with the intent to
strengthen the Nation . . . at a time when he . . . realized that
the need was great" (p. 5). The educational value of the text
transcends its contribution to the Nation. In particular, the
narratives presented in Chapters Two, Ten, and Eleven explore
Malcolm's experiences with and beliefs about emancipatory
education.
In the broadest reading, the Autobiography is also an
epistemological treatise. Reflecting Malcolm's redemptive
spirit, it provides an excellent example of the post-colonial
slave narrative, a genre that presents the epistemology of
African American people. Slave narratives show how African
Americans' acquisition of knowledge and their engagement with
critical literacy constitute forms of resistance, promoting self-
affirmation and granting access to emancipatory possibility.
As post-colonial text, the three chapters of the
Autobiography mentioned above exemplify Malcolm's approach
to critical education. The purpose of critical education is to
illuminate the dialectical presence of external and internal
forces, a process that creates the conditions both for
dysconsciousness through oppressive maintenance and for critical
consciousness through emancipatory possibility (Freire, 1973,
1993). Critical education sees life as a dialectical process,
that is, as a simultaneous process of becoming and ceasing to be,
of self-renewal and self-abnegation (Wolfenstein, 1989).
Oppressive Maintenance
In Chapter Two, Malcolm speaks about the way that Mason
Junior High, through the agency of the teacher he called Mr.
"Ostrowski," enforced oppressive maintenance with regard to his
aspiration for a career. Malcolm recalls that he was an
excellent student:
I was one of his top students, one of the school's top
students -- but all he could see for me was the kind of
future "in your place" that almost all white people see for
black people. (1965, p. 43)
When Mr. Ostrowski questioned Malcolm as to his career
goals, Malcolm replied (admitting that he didn't know what
prompted his answer) that he would like to become a lawyer. Mr.
Ostrowski quickly disabled Malcolm's aspirations of becoming a
lawyer by responding:
Malcolm, one of life's first needs is for us to be
realistic. Don't misunderstand me, now. We all here like
you, you know that. But you've got to be realistic about
being a nigger. A lawyer -- that's no realistic goal for a
nigger. You need to think about something [that] you can be.
(1965, p. 43)
Malcolm's popularity, academic achievement, and status as one of
the best students at Mason Junior High, did not prepare him for
Mr. Ostrowski's response.
What made it really begin to disturb me was Mr. Ostrowski's
advice to others in my class --- all of them white . . .
they all reported that [he] had encouraged what they wanted.
Yet nearly none of them had earned marks equal to mine. It
was a surprising thing that I had never thought of it that
way before, but I realized that whatever I wasn't, I was
still not intelligent enough, in their eyes, to become
whatever I wanted to be. (1965, p. 44)
Malcolm's recounting of his interaction with a European
American teacher is part of the educational experience, memory,
and consciousness of many African people in America, whose
historic interactions with many European American teachers has
been one of oppressive maintenance. According to Perry (1995):
This critical incident . . . captures the dilemma of
achievement for African Americans, and possibly for all
historically oppressed people of color in the United States.
It represents the experiences African American [people]
currently face every day all over this country, both in
predominately white and in predominately and historically
Black schools, colleges and universities. (p. 4)
Oppressive maintenance created a dilemma for Malcolm in
terms of where to place his energies and realize his
achievements. To resolve this dilemma, his course of action was
to "cease-to-be" a student in the institution of schooling and
"come-to-be" a student of the streets. It is this experience,
perhaps, that led him to give the following response to the
question, "What do you think is responsible for the race
prejudice in the U.S.?"
. . . A skillfully designed program of miseducation . . . If
the entire American population were properly educated---by
properly educated, I mean given a true picture of the
history and contributions of . . . black man---I think many
whites would be less racist in their feelings. They would
have more respect for . . . the black man as a human being.
So it takes education to eliminate it. And just because you
have colleges and universities, doesn't mean you have
education. The colleges and universities in the American
educational system are skillfully used to miseducate
(Breitman, 1970, p. 160).
Numerous other critics also suggest that the system of
education in America is by nature separate, often hostile, and
unequal for its members of African descent. They further suggest
that the duality of the educational system (that is, separate and
unequal) is the foundation for African Americans' dual
consciousness and their dilemma of achievement. According to
this line of critique, dual consciousness ("am I African American
or am I American?") produces the dilemma of achievement ("can I
achieve, will I achieve, and how will I achieve even if I have
good grades?"). Moreover, dual consciousness often leads to
nihilism in thought and behavior. According to Perry (1995):
Essentially this dilemma is the dilemma of reconciling two,
often opposing, identities: one's identity as a member of a
racially identified, historically oppressed group, and one's
identity as a member of the dominant society . . . what is
at issue is more than negotiating these two. (p. 12)
Historically, in the attempt to find common ground and
balance, African people from America have challenged this society
by questioning the possibility of achievement under institutional
conditions in which one group has been (and continues to be)
favored over another. Moreover, African people in America
continually question the fairness and the efficacy of America's
educational system (DuBois, 1903; Hacker, 1992; Kozol, 1991;
Woodson, 1933). According to Perry (1995), however:
What is at issue is more than negotiating these two social
identities. One also has to determine how to maintain an
appropriate balance between one's sense of possibility and
one's understanding of and experience of the day-to-day
realities of being an African American in the United States
of America. (p. 12)
This response -- caution, even apathy -- is a sad testimony to a
legacy of oppression, and it is especially troubling given the
educational history of African people. According to Clarke
(1970):
Africans did not come to the United States culturally
empty-handed . . . the forefathers of the Africans who eventually
became slaves in the United States once lived in a society
where university life was fairly common and scholars were
beheld with reverence. (p. 20)
Emancipatory Possibility
In Chapter Ten, Malcolm described how he stepped onto the
threshold of emancipatory possibility when he met the inmate,
John Eltron Bembry, whom he called "Bimbi." Bembry brought
Malcolm to the threshold of his own mind: "it was [Bembry] who
told Malcolm that he had a mind, if he would only develop it"
(Strickland, 1994, p. 39). Malcolm recalls:
Bimbi would have a cluster of people riveted, often on odd
subjects you never would think of. . . . He liked to talk
about historical events and figures . . . and I wasn't the
first inmate who had never heard of Thoreau until Bimbi
expounded upon him. Bimbi was the library's best customer.
What fascinated me with him most of all was that he was the
first man I had ever seen command total respect . . . with
his words (1965, p. 178).
Because of Bimbi's teaching along with the encouragement of his
siblings, specifically Wilfred, Hilda, Reginald, and Philbert,
Malcolm began to take some correspondence courses in English,
Latin, and writing.
Chapter Eleven continues the narrative of Malcolm's
realization of emancipatory possibility. He recounts that such
possibility became evident to him as a result of two events:
first his transfer to the Norfolk Prison Colony and second his
engagement in the "dictionary project." This project was a "well
thought out method of studying lexicon and spelling `from a to
z'" (Strickland, 1994, p. 41). Malcolm describes his
methodology:
I saw that the best thing I could do was get hold of a
dictionary---to study, to learn some words. I was lucky
enough to reason also that I should try to improve my
penmanship. . . . It was both ideas together that moved me
to request a dictionary along with some tablets and pencils
from the Norfolk Prison Colony school. . . . Finally, just
to start some kind of action, I began copying . . . I copied
onto my tablet everything printed on that first page, down
to the punctuation marks. I believe it took me a day. Then,
aloud, I read back, to myself, everything I'd written on the
tablet. I was so fascinated that I went on . . . that's the
way I started copying what eventually became the entire
dictionary. (1965, p. 199)
Further, Malcolm powerfully shares the experience of his
emancipation through reading:
. . . from then until I left prison, in every free moment I
had, if I was not reading in the library, I was reading on
my bunk. . . . In fact, up to then, I never had been so
truly free in my life. (1965, p. 199)
Despite the oppressive maintenance of schooling, the
streets, and prison but also, in a sense, because of it, Malcolm
became transfigured spiritually and intellectually. Acquiring
consciousness of emancipatory possibility, Malcolm abandoned his
involvement with crime. He read widely, engaging and critiquing
everything about the social, political, economic, historical,
cultural, and philosophical conditions of African and other non-
European people in America as well as everything he could find
about the historical, cultural, social, economic, and political
thinking of European people. Malcolm Jarvis (also known as
"Shorty" and literally Malcolm's partner in crime) addresses
Malcolm's (and his own) thirst for knowledge while they were in
prison:
Malcolm and I were . . . seeking knowledge and wisdom of the
world. That's what had us going to these books on
Egyptology, hieroglyphics, psychiatry, psychology [and]
theology. We studied Shintoism, we studied many things out
of these books that we had at the library. We were just
seeking basic knowledge of what makes the world tick. We
were trying to acclimate our minds into thinking on a much
higher level than that of the average person. (Strickland,
1994 p. 63)
Perry (1995) suggests that Malcolm overcame the dilemma of
achievement through his rigorous engagement with reading and his
critical understanding of the history of African people in the
United States. Through analysis of Malcolm's autobiography and
some of his speeches, Perry's work provides strategies for
understanding Malcolm's "auto-didacticism" in a variety of
educational venues--from elementary to university--and
disciplines (e.g., history, politics, race, gender, and culture)
as emancipatory epistemology (Lee, 1998). Moreover, it places
the Autobiography in the mainstream of emancipatory educational
discourse, construing it as it was originally intended: a tool of
critical pedagogy.
Conclusion
There has, in recent years, been an intense debate over
Malcolm's image. But to this reader and reviewer, there is no
real controversy. The mainstreaming of Malcolm X, (most recently
evidenced with the United States Postal Services' issuance of a
Malcolm X stamp as part of the Black Heritage Series) ignores and
dismisses his capacity as a transformational leader, critical
social theorist, intellectual, and educator. Malcolm embodied
these capabilities primarily because he refused to be become part
of the mainstream. Arguably, refusal to acquiesce to the
mainstream and even active resistance to it are necessary if
emancipatory possibilities are to be realized. Unfortunately, the
need for recognizing emancipatory possibilities is no less
pressing among African Americans today than it was thirty-four
years ago when the Autobiography was written.
Malcolm's educational legacy to African American people
particularly is his message that reading, writing, and studying
are central to the process of confirming oneself -- as a human
being, as a cultural being engaged in human problem-solving, and
as a political and social actor engaged in critical resistance.
The Autobiography represents a brilliantly orchestrated
educational narrative of human possibility. It must be stressed,
however, that the Autobiography merely represents a point of
entry into more serious study of Malcolm's work, which, on his
own terms, would require a critical encounter with and
understanding of his contributions as an educator, social and
political critic, and transformational leader.
References
Breitman, G. (Ed.). (1970). By any means necessary:
Speeches, interviews and a letter by Malcolm X. New York, NY:
Pathfinder Press.
Carson, C. (1991). Malcolm X: The FBI file. New York,
NY: Carroll & Graf, Inc.
Clarke, J. H. (1970). Introduction. In Jackson, J. G.
Introduction to African civilizations. New York, NY: Carol
Publishing Group.
Clegg, C. A. (1997). An original man: The life and times
of Elijah Muhammad. (First ed.). New York, NY: St. Martin's
Press.
Davis, L. G. (1984). Malcolm X: A selected
bibliography. (First ed.). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
DeCaro Jr., L. A. (1996). On the side of my people: A
religious life of Malcolm X. (First ed.). New York, NY: New
York University Press.
DuBois, W. E. B. (1903). The souls of Black folk.
Chicago, IL: A.C. McClurg.
Goldman, P. (1979). The death and life of Malcolm X.
(2d ed.). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Hacker, A. (1992). Two nations: Black and white,
separate, hostile, unequal. (First ed.). New York, NY:
Macmillan.
Johnson, T. V. (1986). Malcolm X: A comprehensive
annotated bibliography. New York, NY: Garland.
Kozol, J. (1991). Savage inequalities: Children in
America's schools. (First ed.). New York, NY: Crown Publishers
Inc.
Lee, Paul. (1998). Director, Best efforts
incorporated. Highland Park, Michigan. Personal Interview.
Perry, B. (1991). Malcolm: The life of a man who changed
Black America. (First ed.). Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Press.
Perry, T. I. (Ed.). (1995). Teaching Malcolm X. New
York, NY: Routledge.
Rampersad, A. (1992). The color of his eyes: Bruce Perry's
Malcolm and Malcolm's Malcolm. In J. Wood (Ed.)., Malcolm X:
In our own image, (pp. 117-134). New York, NY: St. Martin's
Press.
Sales Jr., W. W. (1994). From civil rights to black
liberation: Malcolm X and the organization of Afro-American
unity. Boston, MA: South End Press.
Strickland, W. (1994). Malcolm X: Make it plain.
(First ed.). New York, NY: Blackstone, Inc.
Wolfenstein, E. V. (1989). The victims of democracy:
Malcolm X and the black revolution. London, UK: Free
Association Books.
Woodson, C. G. (1990). The mis-education of the negro.
Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc.
About the Reviewer
Najee E. Muhammad
Ohio University
Phone: (740) 593-9825
Fax: (740) 593-0477
E-mail: muhaddad@ohiou.edu
Najee E. Muhammad is an Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies in
Education at Ohio University, Athens, OH. His interests include
transformational leadership, the educational philosophy of Malcolm X,
African American studies, and African history.
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