"I recalled the constant vilification of the 'white devil,' the machinelike obedience of all [Black] Muslims, the suspicion and distrust they had for the outsider...
Malcolm said to me now, 'That was a bad scene, brother. The sickness and madness of those days - I'm glad to be free of them. It's a time for martyrs now. And if I'm to be one, it will be in the cause of brotherhood. That's the only thing that can save this country'...
It was this intentness on brotherhood that cost him his life. For Malcolm, over the objections of his bodyguards, was to rule against anyone being searched before entering the hall that fateful day: 'We don't want people feeling uneasy,' he said. 'We must create an image that makes people feel at home'...
'Brother, nobody can protect you from a Muslim but a Muslim - or someone trained in Muslim tactics. I know. I invented many of those tactics'...
'Strangely enough, listening to leaders like Nasser, Ben Bella, and Nkrumah awakened me to the dangers of racism. I realized racism isn't just a black and white problem. It's brought bloodbaths to about every nation on earth at one time or another'...
'Brother, remember the time that white college girl came into the restaurant—the one who wanted to help the [Black] Muslims and the whites get together—and I told her there wasn't a ghost of a chance and she went away crying?... Well, I've lived to regret that incident. In many parts of the African continent I saw white students helping black people. Something like this kills a lot of argument. I did many things as a [Black] Muslim that I'm sorry for now. I was a zombie then—like all [Black] Muslims—I was hypnotized, pointed in a certain direction and told to march. Well, I guess a man's entitled to make a fool of himself if he's ready to pay the cost. It cost me 12 years'...
Malcolm's years of ranting against the 'white devils' helped create the climate of violence that finally killed him"
--- Malcolm X, interview with Gordon Parks in Life, 5 Mar 1965
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
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