Malcolm X Intro Draft

            Malcolm X was in prison. He had been a criminal, stealing and peddling drugs, while taking many drugs himself. He was so badly educated he was basically illiterate. He hated even the thought of religion, wore a conk, and had a white girlfriend who was married to another man. In prison he changes drastically, even thinking of his old self as a different person, as he says himself (pg. 173) “I would be startled to catch myself thinking in a remote way of my earlier self as another person.” During prison he is exposed to the Nation of Islam through his brother and educates himself, becoming a prominent minister and public speaker.

            However, Malcolm had said that, when he was writing letters to his old friends about the Nation of Islam, (pg. 174) “Neither would I have replied to anyone writing me something as wild as ‘the white man is the devil.’” He says he would not listen to someone telling him one of the, if not the, main point in the Nation of Islam’s teachings. In addition, even early in his life he (pg. 5) “Had very little respect for most people who represented religion.” Despite being in a mindset were he would not listen to teachings of Elijah Muhammad, and having a negative view of people like him in the first place, he still joins the Nation of Islam. If Malcolm would not normally listen to the teachings of the Nation of Islam, and he did not respect religious leaders, but he joined and became a prominent member anyway, what caused him to join? What does this tell us about Malcolm?

            With so many things going against Malcolm joining, it would seem that the only thing that enabled this drastic change was his brother, Reginald, and how he introduced Malcolm to the Nation of Islam. Reginald, along with the rest of Malcolm’s family, had converted to join the Nation of Islam previously, and they decided to send Reginald to try to convert Malcolm as well. Reginald knew Malcolm well, and was able to pull him out of his previous state. This Reginald did despite the many obstacles in converting Malcolm. Without Reginald, Malcolm would most likely have never joined the Nation of Islam, and would never have become the man we know now.