L11: The Civil Rights Movement 1948-1975 (Part Three)

1. L11: The Civil Rights Movement 1948-1975 (Part Three) Equality and Hierarchy: The African American Experience • Agenda • Objective: • To understand the Civil Rights approach of Malcolm X. • Schedule: • Mini-Lecture • Reading & Discussion Homework: Consult Unit Schedule. Final Paper Due (Tan = Tues 11/6; Red & Blue = Wed 11/7);

2. The Civil Rights Movement Recap • Between 1948 and the mid 1960s, most of the activism of the Civil Rights movement: • Took place in the South • Was non-violent • Consisted of boycotts, sit-ins, marches, and protests

3. The Civil Rights Movement Takes a Turn • By the mid 1960s, the tone of the Civil Rights movement began to change. • Activism began to: • Take place in the north • Become violent • Consist of riots and protests • Malcolm X rose to the become the leader of this new branch of Civil Rights Activism.

4. Malcolm X: What’s in A Name • 1925-1965 • Born in Omaha, NE • Born Malcolm Little • Rejects “Little” and replaces it with “X” • "The Muslim's 'X' symbolized the true African family name that he never could know. For me, my 'X' replaced the white slavemaster name of 'Little' which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears.” • Also takes the name El-Hajj MalikEl-Shabazz

5. Malcolm X: Personal Tragedies • Father died when he was young; rumored that he was killed by white supremacists • Malcolm’s mother was conceived out of rape between a white man and black woman. • Malcolm believed he bore the scars of this rape in his red hair • At least one of his uncles was lynched • When he was 13 his mother was placed in a mental hospital and he was placed in a series of foster homes. • Made his living as a criminal: • At age 20 he was arrested in Boston for breaking and entering and went to prison.

6. Malcolm X: The Prison Years & The Nation of Islam • While in prison, X was exposed to the ideas of the Nation of Islam. • Nation of Islam: • Religious movement preaching black self-reliance and unification of the African diaspora, free from white American and European domination. • Believes: • Black people are the original people of the world • Blacks are superior to whites • White people are “devils” • Prison was a period of meditation, baptism, and rebirth. • Converts to the Nation of Islam • Corresponds with Elijah Muhammad • Takes the name Malcolm X • Rejects a life of crime and “sin”

7. Malcolm X: Career and Death • After being released from prison in 1952, X begins to work with Elijah Muhammad to open Islamic temples throughout northern black communities. • Rose to prominence and public attention in the early 1960s through his speeches • However, 1964 X leaves the Nation of Islam after conflict with Muhammad • Forms Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity • Nation of Islam began to make threats against X • February 21, 1965 X is shot while preparing to address a lecture hall in Manhattan • Was killed by 3 members of the Nation of Islam

8. Malcolm X’s Approach to Gaining Civil Rights • We will listen to a speech by Malcolm X called “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964) • Speech given at the Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland, OH • Ranked 7th in the top 100 American speeches by a survey of American scholars and professors. • King’s “I Have a Dream” was number 1 • Consider • What does equality mean to X? • What does full citizenship mean to X? • What does black identity mean to X? • What methods does X advocate in pursuit of these goals? • Discussion