Racial Stereotypes In The Autobiography Of Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X follows the life of an international figure, Malcolm X. During Malcolm’s life he faces the hard facts that no matter how smart and intelligent he is, he will never be held above even the least intelligent white. Blacks are allowed success but only to a certain point. That point declares that Blacks can never infringe on the success of Whites, and when they do so, their ideas, aspirations, and intelligence will be shot down into the racial stereotypes this society has be known to understand.
The book begins in young Malcolm’s life, when he was then known as Malcolm Little. His last name, Little, is a last name given to an ancestor by a white slave owner. Malcolm is born in Omaha, Nebraska, right in the thick of Midwest discrimination and racial violence. At a young age Malcolm and his family move to Lansing, Michigan in hopes to evade the violence and discrimination. Hardship continues as Malcolm’s father, a preacher, is murdered by more white supremacists. It does not stop here unfortunately, Malcolm’s mother is deemed unfit to care for her kids, quickly losing a mental health battle that winds her up in a mental hospital. This gives reason for Malcolm to be taken in by the Swerlins, a white

Before I read Malcolm X I had an understanding from more or less a white point of view. Now after reading the book I have had the most in-depth look into the lives of blacks during this time period. “I don’t care how nice one is to you, the thing you must always remember is that almost never does he really see you as he sees himself, as he sees his own kind.” (28) Never once in high school or college (except now I am in AFAM 201) did I ever receive the knowledge necessary to truly understand how awful and dismal it was for a black man, woman, boy, girl or family to live in such an ignorant and racist dominated white