Black Nationalism

The popular media often illustrate black nationalism with images of Malcolm X and black leather-jacketed, Afro-wearing, armed Black Panthers in the 1960s, and, in later decades, Louis Farrakhan and hip-hop artists such as Public Enemy. Although historians disagree about black nationalism’s composition and origins, they argue that it has a long pedigree in American history, traceable at least to the first half of the 19th century, if not earlier. While men were most often black nationalism’s public exponents, and some emphasized manhood and female subordination, black nationalism also appealed to many black women, some of whom also exercised leadership and organizational skills in its service. Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican, led the first mass black nationalist organization in the United States, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), during the 1920s. Like 19th-century black nationalists, Garvey advocated an independent state for people of African descent, black uplift, and the “civilizing” of Africa. Although not original to him, his emphasis on the right to self-defense, independent black economic development, and pride in African history boosted the UNIA’s popularity. Garvey fell victim to state oppression in the United States, but some former Garveyites joined the Moorish Science Temple of America (MSTA) and probably also the Nation of Islam (NOI), both of which rejected Christianity, identified blacks as Asiatics, and adopted particularist interpretations of Islam. In the 1950s and 1960s, Malcolm X, the charismatic son of Garveyite parents, became the Nation’s chief recruiter. Personal differences with Elijah Muhammad, the Nation’s leader since the 1930s, eventually led to Malcolm X’s departure in 1964. Although he was assassinated in 1965, Malcolm X’s calls for armed self-defense, self-determination and black pride, and identification with anticolonial struggles heavily influenced Black Power advocates. Some civil rights organizations and workers, who were disillusioned by intransigent white racism and distrustful of white liberals, championed Black Power, which was multifaceted and sometimes more reformist than nationalist. In the early 1990s, polls suggested that black nationalist ideas were more popular than during their supposed heyday in the late 1960s, before internal dissension and state repression undermined many Black Power groups.

A Comparison of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in the Black and Mainstream Press, 1955-2011

<p>Most historians of the black protest movement claim that the mainstream media misrepresented Martin Luther King and Malcolm X as opposing figures, without detailing how the media achieved this, how these representations influenced King and Malcolm X’s posthumous media images, or how African-American media representations of the pair differed from mainstream representations. In order to understand how this misrepresentation came to be, and what its implications were for memory of the two after their deaths, this thesis examines the representation of King and Malcolm X in mainstream and African-American newspapers from the beginnings of their public careers until 2011. Newspapers drew on their pre-existing views of American race relations to evaluate the importance of King and Malcolm X. During their lifetimes newspapers selectively conveyed the ideologies of both men, embracing King’s leadership while distrusting Malcolm X. After their deaths, newspapers sanctified King and discussed him extensively, often confining his significance to the battle against legal segregation in the South. Newspapers gave Malcolm X less attention at first, but rehabilitated him later, beginning with African-American newspapers. The failure of the black protest movement to end racial disparities in standards of living, combined with King’s appropriation by the mainstream media, paved the way for much greater attention to Malcolm X by the late 1980s. By this time, newspapers represented King and Malcolm X as politically compatible, but continued to give them distinct personas that still affect public images of African-American leaders, such as Barack Obama, to this day.</p>

A Comparison of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in the Black and Mainstream Press, 1955-2011

<p>Most historians of the black protest movement claim that the mainstream media misrepresented Martin Luther King and Malcolm X as opposing figures, without detailing how the media achieved this, how these representations influenced King and Malcolm X’s posthumous media images, or how African-American media representations of the pair differed from mainstream representations. In order to understand how this misrepresentation came to be, and what its implications were for memory of the two after their deaths, this thesis examines the representation of King and Malcolm X in mainstream and African-American newspapers from the beginnings of their public careers until 2011. Newspapers drew on their pre-existing views of American race relations to evaluate the importance of King and Malcolm X. During their lifetimes newspapers selectively conveyed the ideologies of both men, embracing King’s leadership while distrusting Malcolm X. After their deaths, newspapers sanctified King and discussed him extensively, often confining his significance to the battle against legal segregation in the South. Newspapers gave Malcolm X less attention at first, but rehabilitated him later, beginning with African-American newspapers. The failure of the black protest movement to end racial disparities in standards of living, combined with King’s appropriation by the mainstream media, paved the way for much greater attention to Malcolm X by the late 1980s. By this time, newspapers represented King and Malcolm X as politically compatible, but continued to give them distinct personas that still affect public images of African-American leaders, such as Barack Obama, to this day.</p>

Malcolm X : Pengaruh dan Konflik Internal dalam Gerakan Nation of Islam (NOI) di Amerika Serikat (1952-1965)

This research aim to analyze the influence of Malcom X in the movement of NOI, and how it ignite internal conflict within this organization. The analyze focused on library research by using history research method. History research method requires certain procedures for instance heuristic, verification, interpretation, and historiography. As a result, there are three significant factors that triggered the violence againt Malcolm X performed by NOI perpetrators. The first factor was assumed on the popularity of Malcolm X whom gained more attention than Elijah Muhammad did. The consequences of Malcolm X’s fame initiated the jelaousy toward him. As a result there was rumour produced by Elijah Muhammad followers on the agenda of coup d’etat against the leadership of the legal chief of NOI. The next cause of the internal conflict within NOI was the scandal of Elijah Muhammad with his female secretary. The last factor was the Malcolm X opinion on mass media toward the homicide of President Kennedy. Keywords : Influence, Internal Conflict, Malcolm X, NOI. Abstrak: Penelitian ini dilaksanakan dengan tujuan untuk menjelaskan pengaruh Malcolm X dan konflik internal dalam gerakan NOI. Penelitian ini dipusatkan pada kajian pustaka dengan menggunakan metode penelitian sejarah. Langkah yang dilakukan peneliti yaitu heuristik, kritik sumber, interpretasi dan historiografi. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah setidaknya ada tiga faktor utama yang menyebabkan konflik Malcolm X dari NOI. Pertama, Malcolm X lebih terkenal dan menjadi tokoh besar dalam gerakan NOI daripada Elijah Muhammad. Ketenarannya merangsang rasa iri dan rumor bahwa dia akan mengambil alih gerakan serta dia ingin lebih berhasil dari Elijah Muhammad. Kedua, kehidupan pribadi Elijah Muhammad yang terguncang oleh skandal perempuan. Ketiga adalah komentar Malcolm X pada pembunuhan Presiden Kennedy.Kata Kunci : Pengaruh, Konflik Internal, Malcolm X, NOI

Coletânea de discursos de Malcolm X

Em tempos em que a luta contra o Racismo é imprescindível e urgente, os discursos de Malcolm X demarcam um período de luta importante de um homem revertido ao Islam, que após o seu Hajj (peregrinação a Meca) amplia sua perspectiva sobre o humano e sobre a sua luta que não era contra homens brancos, e sim, contra homens que exploram outros homens. Passou a ser conhecido entre os muçulmanos como Al Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz (1925-1965), distinção dada a toda pessoa que faz o Hajj. Mais conhecido como Malcolm X, foi um ativista norte-americano, um dos mais polêmicos e populares líderes do movimento pelos direitos civis dos negros nos Estados Unidos. Fundou a Organização para a Unidade Afro-Americana, de inspiração separatista. Defensor dos direitos dos afro-americanos, conseguiu mobilizar brancos e negros na conscientização sobre os crimes cometidos contra a população afro-americana. Em 1998, Paul Gray, da revista Time, colocou a Autobiografia de Malcolm X entre os 10 livros de não-ficção mais importantes do século XX.