Summary of “Beauty Whitewash” by Lindsay Kite Malcolm X was born in 1925 as Malcolm Little in Omaha Nebraska, and one of the many African-American who made a mark to inspire the American history and the world. The unfairness of the society left Malcom X to grow up luck of parental guidance and find ways to survive. Molded with difficult life experience, and belief in creating racial partition is Malcolm’s X goal to better people’s life of colored skin. Under those circumstances, with gained knowledge born the man of self-worth, the man of pride and self-renewed. The man who stand up in the midst of struggles and hatred to educate its fellow men of colored skin to accept; to embrace its own uniqueness; and to be proud of its own beauty and …show more content…
For Malcolm X, transforming and copying of what white’s norm is a total “self-degradation” for a colored skin. The effect of the white society’s beauty envelops the brain of people of colored skin and believing of that being wrap in imperfections compared to white’s supremacy. For Malcolm X, the effect of white beauty standard is overwhelming to most of the people of colored skin. The result is embedded deep to their mind and twisted their understanding of what beauty is supposed to be that causes them to self-transform just to look like white folks. The toil of being accepted and be part of what the society values mean losing the black’s individuality and losing its self-uniqueness in pretending to be white. Although there are average number of black individual who try to copy the white’s standard of beauty, Malcolm X positively and think highly and respect those who do not change for who they are and for those who have gained back their self-esteem and realization to embrace the value of their own beauty. For Malcolm X it is beyond belief especially to those black couple for the lady of color to walk side by side by the man of colored skin featuring the white characteristic to have any pride left and respect to its own ethnic group. By all means, the image portray is a total disgrace to its own true-self and to its own
However, it was what happened in his life that made Malcolm X the man who people remember today. From a very early age, Little lived in fear of racism and hate groups, much of it rooting from his father’s murder by white supremacists. He was effectively orphaned by 13, as his mother was placed in a mental institution, and lived until he was 20 in several different foster homes. He was arrested for a crime and once released, went on to commit several crimes, including using and distributing drugs, etc. It was when he was imprisoned that he found the Nation of Islam, who helped him when he was released from prison to find a new life. From them, he was able to attain great oratory skills and create an environment when he spoke in which the people around him, white and black alike, felt empowered and equal. Once he discovered corruption and began to disdain the Nation of Islam, he became independent and was later assassinated. However, he along with MLK, were empowered by their stories, Malcolm’s being one of hatred, poverty, hope, and truth, that changed him to become a stimulus for African American equality in
In “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” book, Malcolm X suffers to courageously advocate for the rights of blacks. He was a human rights activist. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. Malcolm focuses on how racism against blacks dehumanizes them. The Caucasoid race around Malcolm typically read him as one thing but human, and Malcolm’s need to correct this perception drives his fight for racial equality. He experiences delicate racism in his youth from his family and faculty, United Nations agency treat him otherwise from others as a result of him being black. Although his foster folks and a few of the people he encounters in class square are nice to him, Malcolm thinks these folks treat him nicely so as to point out however unprejudiced they are. He feels that they 're mistreatment of him as a result that he 's completely different, as if he were a “pink poodle.” At the start Malcolm successively dehumanizes the Caucasoid race as revenge for his own subjugation. In Boston, he displays his white girlfriend Sophia as a
Making the white man superior to blacks, the narrator presents an oppression filled atmosphere whose constituents apotheoize the white man by praising him as a “ God”. “ “Humph! Y’all let her worry, yuh. You ain’t like me, he said. Ah ain’t got her to study ‘bout.
Malcolm X is an important figure in human history because he was a human rights activist and fought for equality among people. He was a proficient public speaker who spoke for minorities, mostly African Americans. By reading Malcolm X’s story, I visualize on how a man suffered from the effects of prejudice and his whole disposition was formed from it. I see how a very angry man stayed angry at the "white devils" f...
“I’m for the truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole” (X). This quote by Malcolm X represented his attitude towards equality and self-empowerment. The true Malcolm X was a passionate human rights activist as well as an extremely outspoken man during the fifties and sixties. X encouraged millions of African Americans to fight for what they believed in and to take pride in their ethnicity. X persuaded a multitude of African Americans that they are supreme and should not be degraded for their skin color. He learned at a very early age if he wanted something in life, he had to make some noise
Malcolm X was born in May 19, 1925, birth place was University Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm birth name was Malcolm little, birth parents were Earl little and Louise (norton) little. Malcolm was a Civil rights activist. Malcolm was intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was then appointed as a minister and a national spokesman for the nation Islam. Malcom used newspaper columns as well as radio and television to communicate the NOI’s message across the United States. The charisma he had was well shown and attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was given lots of cre...
Some African Americans view their race as inferior to the white race. Even though the author may not hold this same opinion, it is still important that he or she understands that part of his or her audience does, especially when writing about racial identity. Zora Neale Hurston understood
Malcolm was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska to Louise and Earl Little. His Father, Earl, was a Baptist minister and an active member of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (founded by Marcus Garvey). Due to his involvement in civil rights, Malcolm and his family were harassed and experienced racism from an early age, and Malcolm’s encounter before he was even born. In his own words, Malcolm said: “ When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, ‘ a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped to our home, brandishing their guns and rifles, they shouted for my father to come out’.”
Before the civil rights movement gained momentum around 1955, the African-American community was looked upon by many as a group of second-class citizens who were undeserving of rights enjoyed by white Americans. This started to change when men like Malcolm Little (Malcolm X) stood up for the cause and fought back against segregation. He was a man from humble beginnings and who dealt with racism and hatred from a young age, all of which shaped his activism. Malcolm, after his death, was recognized as one of the most important people of the 20th century by TIME Magazine. He watched from a young age as white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) terrorized African-Americans by lynching and torturing them because of their skin color (“Malcolm X”). This among many other racists acts witnessed by Malcolm shaped his philosophical and political views. Malcolm was a controversial figure because he initially supported a violent revolution against whites, but he had many supporters in the African-American community. One of them was Manning Marable, who wrote a biography about Malcolm, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, in 2011. This book brings Malcolm’s story to life through research of his experiences and interviews with his close family and friends. Michiko Kakutani, a New York Times book critic, emphasizes in her review that though the biography is not as intense in details and philosophical views as is Malcolm X’s own autobiography, Marable “manages to situate Malcolm X within the context of 20th-century racial politics in America without losing focus on his...
I am female, from a relatively low-income family, in the southern part of the United States. I grew up in a racist environment with a family who was not even aware they were racists. Sadly, my family thought being kind meant you weren’t racists. I have experienced sexism in the workplace, inequality, and poverty, at one time, was a way of life. I tell you this so you can understand why the story of Malcolm X resonates with me. You don’t have to be Afro-American to understand the concept of nurture over nature. I am neither, black nor male, but it is easy to comprehend the desire for a just
Pan Africanism, in its fundamental definition, implores the black population to pursue self-dignity and self-determination in bettering their situation and becoming equal to the majority population; W.E.B. Dubois and Marcus Garvey, while both active Pan-Africanists in theory, have different goals and perspectives on the ways in which the racial problems should be approached. The central differences between Dubois and Garvey lie in their adolescent upbringings, and permeate through adulthood to form opinions about the history of colonialism and imperialism that separated society as a whole. In many ways, class structure ultimately shapes the views of a person towards themselves as well as society in general — as we compare and contrast Dubois and Garvey, their upbringings give substantial rationale as to why they may have diverged in many of their basic ideologies. Essentially, the two men were extreme advocates for the creation/ restoration of black dignity, and wanted to pursue self-determination for the blacks that rallied behind them. This shared idea of self-determination directly relates to the notion of Black Power and can be seen as the early stimulus for the modern black power movement that is most often referenced in popular culture. Dubois and Garvey, seeing the necessity for change of the black situation and the black mindset, adopt the Pan Africanist viewpoint towards society
Of the people whose names are mentioned in history, some men like Thomas Edison are praised for their genius minds, while others such as Adolf Hitler are criticized for leaving a depressing legacy behind. While it is relative easy to notice the type of legacies these two men left, legacies of other men are often vague and they seem to be imbedded in gray shadows. This is how many people view the life of Malcolm X. Malcolm X during his lifetime had influenced many African Americans to step up for their rights against the injustices by the American government. One on hand, he has been criticized for his hard stances that resemble extremism, while on the other hand he has been praised him for his effort in raising the status for African Americans. The extremes in viewing his life from the modern day perspective have often come from reading his climatic speech The Ballot or the Bullet that he gave in many cities across America in 1964. When he was with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X favored Blacks to be separated from the Whites, and during this time he strongly opposed White Supremacy. This also seems quite prevalent in his speech The Ballot or the Bullet. However, one events during the last year of his life reveal that he wanted the Blacks and the Whites to coexist as peaceful Americans.
Malcolm X, born in 1925 as Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska lived with the knowledge that his family house was burned down and that his father was killed by the Ku Klux Klan because he refused to vacate an area that was “supposed” to be for Whites only. His father was an independent man who wanted to fend for his family by himself and not have to rely on anyone
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley is about the hard life of an African American man who was very powerful. This book helps people to see the things that Malcolm X contributed to the black community, the Civil Rights Movement, and to the United States. The book begins with Malcolm’s birth in 1925 and ends with his death in 1965. The overall theme is that people who are being oppressed should come together and fight for their freedom, equality, and their basic human right. Malcolm X was determined to be a voice and he dedicated most of his life to the struggle to free oppressed black people in America.
In the first line of the poem "Mr. Z," "Taught early that his mother's skin was the sign of error," insinuates that from the very beginning he was taught that being African-American was an "error" or unacceptable. This false message impacted him his entire life. He tried to "act white," he did this by the way "He dressed and spoke with the perfect honor." This implied that he dressed the way someone of the Caucasian race would dress and act. He then "Won Scholarships, attended the best schools," education was unheard of for most African-Americans especially college. He "Disclaimed kinship with jazz and spirituals;" both of these traditions were a great part of the African culture, yet he did not take part in them.