Dr.

Martínez
Due at the beginning of class Monday, Nov. 13th

Malcolm X Essay

Describe two of Malcolm X’s strategies for bettering the lives of African Americans.

Pick either his Malcolm X phase or his Malik El-Shabazz phase but you will still read the whole

book because he is describing his life through the lens of what he has learned throughout his life.

Do you agree? Tell me what he thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s strategy and your opinion.

After a brief introduction paragraph, spend two paragraphs explaining two of his

strategies from that same timeframe. That is, two strategies from his Malcolm X period or two

from his Shabazz period. Spend a paragraph on what he said about King. Note that he is trying

not to call out King by name so you will have to figure out what he means. Finally, give me a

paragraph no longer than a page explaining your opinion. If you agree, say a bit about how it

would work today. If you disagree with Malcolm, do you think you would agree if we were

living in 1952? Do you think there was some value in his message? What was it?

Avoid other sources, especially websites; your essay should be about The Autobiography

of Malcolm X. This reading is required for the class. Your essay should show that you

understood the book with plenty of specific examples. Do not be vague or use stereotypes about

Malcolm X. Show me you read the book—that is what I am grading on.

The paper is due Monday, Nov. 13th on Canvas at the beginning of class. It is to be

typed, double spaced, in 12-point Times-Roman with 1” margins and roughly four pages long.

Your essay should be formatted like this page. Include page numbers. It is better to turn in a

paper that is a little shorter or longer than to try to fool me with fonts and margins, but you

should learn to edit to the correct length. Always cite page numbers when getting facts from any

source, including the autobiography. Not telling me where you are getting a quote is plagiarism.

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 Reading and Writing Guide

Like the last guide, this will not replace reading the book. Remember that I am grading in

large part on whether you showed me that you read and understood the book. I am not asking for

a summary but an essay that addresses the questions I asked.

Let me add here that this book uses outdated racial terms. Please do not call people

“Negro” or “Colored” unless it is inside of a quote from the book. I shouldn’t have to say this,

but do not use the n-word. Normally, you would always refer to a historical figure by their full

name the first time you name them and then by just the last name after that. So you would

introduce Martin Luther King, Jr. then call him King after that. In the case of the Nation of

Islam’s naming system, you can call the author Malcolm X, Malcolm, or Shabazz. The Sinclair

book was a novel but this is not. Please be careful not to call it a novel; it is an autobiography.

Much of the power of this book comes from the complete life of a man captured as a

series of changing identities. Malcolm X names each of his phases through a new nickname like

“Mascot,” “Detroit Red,” or even officially changing his name like “Malcolm X” and “Malik El-

Shabazz.” This is a key to understanding the structure of the book.

Childhood, chapters 1-2: Why does Malcolm name a chapter “Mascot”? How much of a

say does he have in his identity when he is a child? Although I am asking you to tell me about

his activist years, can you see why you should still read about his childhood? How does the adult

Malcolm X interpret everything that happens to him?

A life of crime, chapters 3-9: Malcolm gradually becomes a criminal. How does he talk

about this part of his life? What is he trying to get across to his readers? Is it the same message to

everyone who reads this? Does this part of his life have lessons for his audience?

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 Prison and conversion, chapters 10-12: Malcolm walks us through his conversion to the

Nation of Islam in prison. Here we hear about the most extreme ideologies of the Nation but also

arguments that shocked his teachers and fellow inmates but are not at all controversial today.

How has this section aged since the book came out in 1965? Who is Elijah Muhammad?

Malcolm becomes famous, chapters 13-15: This is much of the Malcolm X phase of his

life, but can you see how the previous sections also tell us a lot about who he was as Minister

Malcolm X? If anything, this part is more about his strategies for converting young, black men

and women than strategies for fixing America’s racial troubles. What does this section tell us

about his plans?

El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, chapters 16-19: Tensions between Malcolm and Elijah

Muhammad had been building for some time. What was the problem and what opportunities did

it give Malcolm? What is a hajj and what did it do for Malcolm? Why did he change his name?

A lot of students assume this was a complete reversal for him. Was it? What new beliefs did he

develop, but also, what beliefs did he hold on to? What famous boxer does Malcolm befriend?

As I have said, the goal is to show me that you read the book, but not by giving me a

summary. Instead follow the structure I suggested in the assignment on page 1. Do not forget to

cite when you get facts from the book, not just when you quote. If you get a fact from a specific

page and it is not common knowledge or obvious, then use a footnote. Describe two strategies

and tell me what he said about King. I do want your opinion in the conclusion, but do not let that

go longer than a page because I want content from the book and it is easy to get carried away

with such controversial topics. Whether you agree with him or not, did his activism have any

positive side effects? Consider both his relationship to King and black people’s relationship with

white people as a part of his legacy.