Transcript Malcolm X and Black Panthers

Malcom X
Black Panthers
Objectives
• Explain why Malcolm X believed black Americans needed a
nation of their own—separate from the United States—to
improve themselves.
• Articulate the reasons why Malcolm X thought integration was
a false hope for blacks in America.
• Explain why Malcolm X disagreed with both the goal and the
method of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s nonviolent protest strategy.
•
Background
• Born Malcolm Little on May 19,
1925 in Omaha, Nebraska
• His father, Earl Little, was an
outspoken Baptist minister and
avid supporter of Black Nationalist
leader Marcus Garvey
• Malcolm was a smart, focused
student.
• He graduated from junior high
at the top of his class.
• However, when a favorite
teacher told Malcolm his dream
of becoming a lawyer was "no
realistic goal for a n*****,"
• Malcolm lost interest in school.
• 1942, Malcolm was coordinating
various narcotics, prostitution and
gambling rings.
• In 1946, Malcolm was sentenced
to 10 years in prison
In Prison
• He used the time to further his education
• Malcolm began to study the teachings of NOI leader
Elijah Muhammad
• Muhammad taught that white society actively worked
to keep African-Americans from empowering
themselves and achieving political, economic and
social success.
• Among other goals, the NOI fought for a state of their
own, separate from one inhabited by white people.
• By the time he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm was a
devoted follower with the new surname "X."
A Born Leader
• Intelligent and articulate
• Appointed as a minister and national spokesman for the
Nation of Islam
• Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing
new mosques in cities such as Detroit, Michigan and
Harlem, New York
• Utilized newspaper columns, as well as radio and
television to communicate the NOI's message across the
United States.
• Was largely credited with increasing membership in the
NOI from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.
A Test of Faith
• Relationships within the NOI
• "[Kennedy] never foresaw that the chickens would come
home to roost so soon,“
• Elijah Muhammad "silenced" Malcolm for 90 days
• In March 1964 Malcolm terminated his relationship
with the NOI
• Malcolm decided to found his own religious organization,
the Muslim Mosque, Inc.
• Renouncing the separatist beliefs of the Nation
• He claimed that the solution to racial problems in the
United States lay in orthodox Islam.
Growing Hostility
• The growing hostility between Malcolm and the Nation
led to death threats and open violence against him.
• On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcolm was assassinated while
delivering a lecture at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem;
three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of
the murder
• His martyrdom, ideas, and speeches contributed to the
development of black nationalist ideology and the Black
Power movement
• Helped to popularize the values of autonomy and
independence among African Americans in the 1960s
and '70s
Black Panthers
• In October of 1966, in Oakland California, Huey Newton
and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for
Self-Defense.
• Practiced militant self-defense of minority communities
against the U.S. government
• Fought to establish revolutionary socialism through mass
organizing and community based programs.
• The party was one of the first organizations in U.S.
history to militantly struggle for ethnic minority and
working class emancipation
• A party whose agenda was the revolutionary
establishment of real economic, social, and political
equality across gender and color lines
Black Panther Theory
• The practices of the late Malcolm X were deeply rooted
in the theoretical foundations
• Followed Malcolm's belief of international working class
unity across the spectrum of color and gender
• Thus united with various minority and white
revolutionary groups.