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Archive 1Archive 2Archive 3Archive 4Archive 5

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Was Malcolm X a pimp or racketeer?

After some time, he moved to New York City, New York, where, in Harlem, he became involved in drug dealing, gambling, pimping, racketeering, and robbery (referred to collectively by Malcolm as "hustling"); he also feigned insanity in order to evade the World War II draft.

I often hear Malcolm in his hustling days referred to as a "pimp", but never found any reference to him doing any pimping in his autobiography; indeed, he suggests he wouldn't be any good at it. One of his best friends was a pimp, but I wouldn't really call that being "involved" with pimping. Also, what made him a "racketeer"? Was it the numbers game? - furrykef (Talk at me) 15:21, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

There's another connotation to "hustling" which is, you might say, the opposite of pimping. Is his autobiography our only source for his youth? -Willmcw 18:30, August 18, 2005 (UTC)
  • During his hustling days Malcolm would canvass for johns and arrange sessions for prostitutes, dominatria, and other sex workers. This fact is detailed in the Autobiography. Although people could disagree on the terminology, I would call this work pimping.--Pinko1977 21:46, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

It ain't easy, but it's necessary.

Irish Roots?

I'm sure many Americans must be sick of hearing this question asked of virtually every other famous American, but ... is it true that Malcolm was of Irish descent somewhere along the line (like Ali)? Thank you. Fergananim 17:34, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

I've never seen any claims to that effect, but considering red hair is pretty unusual in folks of African descent, I'd say there's a decent chance of it. We'd need proof if we put it in the article, though.--chris.lawson 19:23, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
I agree on the subject of proof. However, red hair is not in itself an indicator of Irish ancestry, as it is found in Scottish, English and German people too. As far as I know, red hair is found more in Scotland more than any other nation, and the Scots are descendants of the Picts, Angles, Britions, Norse and Irish Fergananim 19:29, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
Agreed. As I said, there's a chance that he's Irish, but we need some more solid proof than simply red hair and a bad temper ;)--chris.lawson 20:03, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
Gee, red hair and a bad temper! Plus, he loved his Mum, hated whitey liked we hated the Brits, was a rebel, was tall, dark and handsome, and died tragicly young - what more proof do we need? Just kidding! Fergananim 21:59, 7 October 2005 (UTC)
But he wasn't an alcoholic (just kidding!)

one of his grandfathers was white, maybe he was irish? Colorfulharp233 03:12, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

His mother's father was Scottish, according to Perry. Uucp 10:29, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

LOL! are you guys idiots? His hair is redish because he relaxed his hair so much as a youth. Relaxing your hair can turn your hair many shades lighter over time. And its known that he did it many times as a youth.

Um... hair grows. Thus, dyeing his hair in his youth would not have an effect on his later-grown hair.


^^^He did in fact relax his hair a lot as a youth, but his hair was reddish as his grandfather was white (and had red hair). If anything, the relaxer "brought out" the reddish color more.

-- Mik 17:10, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Profound Racism

I know I am about to be bombarded with flames/death threats/whatever for saying this, but why is there no mention on this page of Malcolm X's publicly stated, profound racist views? Considering the language he used when referring to the "wicked race of devils" (ref: [1], [2], [3]), among other things. While it may be true that these positions had changed by the end of his life, I do not see why this aspect of his rhetoric, to which he returned repeatedly, and held as a core belief, is omitted from the article. He stated publicly that it was his belief that the Black Nation descended from God, but not the white population, and thus they were inherently evil, and incapable of acting as a force of good (as history shows, which is his claim). I believe that Wikipedia is fundamentally about being "factually correct" not "politically correct." NPOV dictates that whatever personal feelings one may have (even for a figure held in high regard by many) that it is important to bring objective truth. I am not saying that Wikipedia should attempt in any way to paint Malcolm X in a bad light, however if, as it seems, the notion of people without color being fundamentally and unredeemingly evil is pervasive throughout his public speaking, etc, then this should be included in the article, as it is highly relevant to his attacks against racism in the white community. Maybe there is a reason for this that I have overlooked, if so this is why it is on the discussion page, and feel free to enlighten me. - 19:35, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

  • So glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. Malcolm X said "the common enemy is the white man" and repeatedly referred to whites as "devils," which is probably the most extreme expression of hatred one can verbally muster. On June 3, 1962, after hearing about a plane crash, he ghoulishly celebrated the deaths of innocents when he said, "The death of over 120 white people is a very beautiful thing," There are other quotes out there, but I get nauseated while reading this guy's racist garbage. - Wed Mar 29 15:16:53 EST 2006
He discarded these views in the last couple of years before his death. You may want to add a reference to these earlier beliefs, but it would not be fair to characterize him as a racist in the end; he repudiated those views. Uucp 20:24, 29 March 2006 (UTC)
Well, from what I understand, he became more moderate in his last days, but he never abandoned his separatist doctrine. It seems the only tolerance he demonstrated towards whites were for whites who embraced Islam. And I've never seen an apology for the "death of over 120 white people" remark.
Now, if you can prove me wrong, I'll accept it. I'm just saying I've never seen it.
Even if you're correct, I must then ask if the majority of the guy's ministerial career was spent espousing blatantly racist doctrine, why is it completely ignored on the main page? -Wed Mar 29 16:32:02 EST 2006
From New York Times reporter M. S. Handler, in June 1965, "Malcolm's attitude towards the white man underwent a marked change in 1964 -- a change that contributed to his break with Elijah Muhammad and his racist doctrines. Malcolm's meteoric eruption on the national scene brought him into wider contact with white men who were not the "devils" he had thought they were.... [There follows some text about his split with Elijah Muhammad, and some text about his visits to Saudi Arabia and Africa]... Assassins' bullets ended Malcolm's career before he was able to develop this new approach, which in essence recognized the Negroes as an integral part of the American community -- a far cry from Elijah Muhammad's doctrine of separation. Malcoln had reached the midpoint in redefining his attitude to this country and the white-black relationship. He no longer inveighed against the United States but against a segment of the United States represented by overt white supremacists in the South and covert white supremacists in the North."
From a letter written by Malcom X to his wife, in 1964, "...perhaps if white Americans could accept the Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in reality the Oneness of Man -- and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm others in terms of their 'differences' in color... I do believe, from the experiences that I have had with them, that the whites of the younger generation, in the colleges and universities, will see the handwriting on the wall and many of them will turn to the spiritual path of truth..."
And shortly thereafter, speaking at the Skyline Ballroom at the Hotel Theresa, "My trip to Mecca has opened my eyes. I no longer subscribe to racism."
On January 19, 1965 on the Pierre Berton television show in Canada, Malcolm X said "I believe in recognizing every human being as a human being--neither white, black, brown, or red; and when you are dealing with humanity as a family there's no question of integration or intermarriage. It's just one human being marrying another human being or one human being living around and with another human being."
The actor Ossie Davis, giving the eulogy at Malcolm X's funeral in 1965 said "No one who knew him before and after his trip to Mecca could doubt that he had completely abandoned racism, separatism, and hatred."
And, regarding the 1962 plane crash at Orly airport, though Malcolm X never publicly recanted it, he did tell Alex Haley that he wished he had never said it (Autobiography of Malcolm X, epilogue, p.453 in my edition)
I think the point is made. Now, if you can stand a bit of criticism, I will point out that all of the above can be found in The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley, and your saying that you've "never seen [evidence that he abandoned his racist views]," tells me that you have never read this book. Lobbying for changes to an encyclopedia page about Malcom X without reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X is like lobbying for changes to a page about Jesus without ever reading the New Testament. It's lazy and you should feel ashamed. However, I agree with the broad point that the article should be clear that Malcolm X espoused a racist doctrine until 1964, when he changed hs mind. You can take a crack at it if you like, but you should probably read up on the man a little first. Uucp 03:42, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Red hair

Malcolm X had red hair when he was young - that seems to be well documented. But did the red hair change color or did he dye it? It seems I read in a biography that he dyed it. So my questions are:

  • If he dyed his hair does anyone have any details about this - did he do it himself or go to a barber? Did he dye it to fit in better with his peers?
  • Was he the only black young man with red hair in his circle when he was growing up?
  • Is there any reference to how he felt about having red hair?

I think this would be interesting for the Malcolm X article but maybe only to me. So I am asking these questions for an article about red-haired people where it is relevent. Thanks. --cda 01:37, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

His hair was always reddish. Although he did "conk" his hair, there's nothing about him actually using dye to colour his hair. In his autobiography, he attributes his red hair and light skin to the fact that his grandmother was raped by a white man. In his autobiography, he also talks about how he hated the white blood in his veins. Hope that helps. Antihostile 20:27, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

You can see the reddish tinge in the two color photographs (among lots of black and white pix) at http://www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/about/photos.htm
I was born with hair the color of cotton. My brother was born with red hair. His red hair "all fell out" according to my mother. As children both of us were blond. As my father predicted, my hair color eventually grew to match my eyebrows, which were fairly dark brown. And my current hair color is actually two-toned, with the hair on the sides being black. I think this kind of color change can happen when one has a mixed genetic heritage. Some of my maternal grandfather's siblings had red hair, and my mother's hair had a reddish tinge to it. My father's side of the family all had black hair. As a child, whenever I got in deep trouble and everybody was angry with me I would wonder whether my brother and I had been adopted. (What could be worse than having both s step-mother and a step-father. ;-) Truth will out, however, and my brother and I both darkened up over the decades to where we looked like a compromise between parental hair colors. Why the expression of hair color genes changes over time is a mystery,
If people had gone out of their way to make trouble for Malcolm X because of his hair color it would have been a sensible response to dye it, but I've seen no indication in the things that I read to indicate he did anything like that. There is one picture of him in his teens that looks like he had dyed his hair blond or bleached it much lighter than it originally was, but that's only one photograph and he could have shaved off the dyed hair the next day. P0M 06:27, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

current??

Someone put the "current" tag on the article. What current event is it referring to? --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 01:53, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

I don't see anything in the article that's a current event. Iwalters 02:57, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Yes I don't either. --a.n.o.n.y.m t 20:02, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

This was probably tagged current because it is referenced on the Main Page because today is the anniversary of Malcolm X's assasination. Edwin Stearns | Talk 21:01, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Okay then it's fine. --a.n.o.n.y.m t 21:25, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Current View of Muslims

Upon listening to the interview with herman blake in 11 oct 1963, found on the article, I have noticed that the current view of Muslims throughout the west is not much differnt when compared to that which is accounted by Malcom X towards the end of the clip. What's your view? Jackpot Den 20:25, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean the one of everyone being equal? Which view do you mean? --a.n.o.n.y.m t 20:46, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
My view is that you agree with the grossly stereotypical views of an ignorant segment of the population, and smeared "the west" in the process. You've also openly agreed with a racist/seperatist who made those comments before he eschewed his racist views. My view is that you need to take a closer look at what you're assuming and who you're climbing into bed with. 70.115.211.122 07:51, 4 July 2006 (UTC)Tired-of-stupid-people-making-stupid-poliitcal-comments-and-thinking-because-they-are-anti-us-that-they-are-magically-not-ignorant

".. But whites, speak of Muslims synonomously with violence, whenever Muslims are mentioned by them, violence is brought up, but it is not connected with any other group. This is the sort of problem, again the tactic, or what I would call "Psychological warfare" to, in some way make the image of Muslims in the country to have a violent image rather than a religous image" - Malcom X,interview with herman blake in 11 oct 1963

The view I mean is the view of the west on Muslims and the Islamic community. I believe that the quote by Malcom X, from over 40 years ago is still applicable to the western view on Muslims now. Jackpot Den 22:23, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Yes that still is very applicable now. --a.n.o.n.y.m t 03:06, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
Broadly applicable, but not narrowly -- the general public concept of who a muslim is has changed. --72.25.0.67 22:00, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

"Categories"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't appear that this article is part of any categories like "Black Americans" or "Civil Rights Leaders" or what have you. It doesn't seem to be contained in any categories at all. Is it an orphan?

Yes that's right. Why is this important article an orphan? I added eight categories. --a.n.o.n.y.m t 20:23, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

Who Done It?

I think the article might benefit from a short discussion of the competing theories as who who "really" done it. I've rarely seen an article about Malcolm X that accepted the convictions of Hayer, Norman 3X Butler, and Thomas 15X Johnson as the final word. There ought to be some discussion of whether or not the NOI had ordered the killings and, if so, if these were their assassins. Were law enforcement agencies involved (Malcolm X himself thought they might be setting him up)? Uucp 12:11, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

Bruce Perry's book, Malcolm, has fairly complete interviews behind his reports on who was involved in the killing. As with Kennedy, it is easy to make a fairly long list of individuals and groups that would have had strong motives for killing. For one thing, killing effective leaders is one of the hallmark techniques of groups that want to destabilize a society. And the people who have the wherewithal to hire competent goons to do their dirty work for them generally have a plan for insuring that the hit men will take the fall. Ideally the people are hired through an intermediary or "cut out" who will, uh, cut out as soon as the job is done. Just look at how money was mobilized after the Watergate plumbing squad got caught. They were amateurs. What could a group with a long-practiced facility for this kind of thing do?
The bottom line is that if powerful people are behind an assassination they generally do not fail to provide themselves with plausible deniability and various carrot and stick methods of assuring loyalty on the part of the goons.
A separate article on the causes and effects of the assassination might be very worthwhile. One of the things that might be done is to show which groups thought it was in their interest to have Malcolm X dead. Allegedly there was some involvement of U.S. government figures in attempts to get organized crime figures to assassinate Castro. Such a plan has obvious shortcomings, and it means that the people in white hats have to get their hands dirty by approaching the organized crime figures. However, if an organized criminal or counter-culture group was planning to go gunning for somebody anyway and some law enforcement or intelligence group learned of the attempt that group might do anything from putting a stop to the attempt, to turning a blind eye to the attempt, or might even go so far as to unobtrusively remove certain stumbling blocks.
IMHO, the assassination of Malcolm X was a terrible blow against this nation. It would be a service to all of us if one could demonstrate the confluence of selfish, hateful, and short-sighted interests that facilitated his killing. P0M 06:55, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Tensions

In the first few lines, it says "he brushed the rummors aside" and "He talked to the secretary." Was that Malcolm or Ellih that did these things? I would fix it myself, but I don't know who it was.Minnesota1 05:11, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

Malcolm ignored the rumors for a few years and then he spoke with the secretaries (plural). I'll clarify. Uucp 10:31, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

The comment about Malcolm saying "Chickens coming home to roost never made me sad in fact it only made me glad" is false. I have a documentary with Malcolm denying he ever made any comment saying that. Plus, The Nation of Islam never allowed camara's OR audio tapes in at this point due Elljah Muhammad rejection of the media. So it's not any factual proof of Malcolm making that comment.

Constant request for citations?

Does anybody else consider the rampant usage of "citation needed" in between every other word in this article a little passive aggressive? Or is it just me? - mixvio 15:06, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

It reads terribly, but I think it's valid. The vast majority of the article as it stands today is taken from the Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley, and readers deserve to know that they are reading material from an interested source. There is a huge list of references at the bottom, but I doubt that any of them were referred to in the writing of the article as it now stands. Uucp 15:26, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

LBGT rights opposition

He's listed as someone opposed to gay rights; can anyone source this? Ohyeahmormons 18:11, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Over-reliance on the Autobiography

I am concerned that this entry relies almost entirely for its content on the Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley. This book is, in my opinion, very well written and insightful. However, it is also biased, discussing only those aspects of Malcolm's past that he wanted to discuss, presenting only those explanations for his behavior that he wanted on record, and mythologizing his own past and that of his family in some respects.

I would like to see this entry become much better footnoted, so that people can see where each claim comes from. I plan to start inserting material from sources other than the Autobiography as well. I hope that others will join me in this.

Uucp 11:28, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Germany-Christianity quote

A quick Google search did yield this; beyond that, I'd defer to an expert on the subject, relating to the quote, "If Christianity had asserted itself in Germany, six million Jews would have lived." --Emufarmers(T/C) 11:51, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

Quotations

i'm not sure about the wikipedia policy on this, but what's the point of having all those quotes if there's already a wikiquote page? Yiyun 04:17, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

I tend to agree, that list has grown out of hand. I think most of these should be sent over to Wikiquote; it is very much not standard to have 40 quotes on a WP page. Does anyone have any objections?-- Deville (Talk) 04:22, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
Please reduce it to one or two of his classic black power/anti-white quotations, plus one or two of his more moderate comments post conversion to Sunni Islam. The rest can go to wikiquote. Uucp 21:58, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
I was thinking the same thing, I looked at the article and thought that they should be moved to a new article, then saw this and wondered why they had the section at all then. -- Anyr (( Not logged in))

If anyone can help me pin down the source of this quote, I would be very appreciative:

It's a crime, it's a crime what people, not just black people but white people too, it's a crime what they don't know about their history. And we have not only to learn history, but I invite you to that other excitement, the excitement of unlearning history, unlearning the history that you learned.

--1000Faces 22:29, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

FBI

It seems to me like someone who is strongly against the FBI wrote the section Nation of Islam. Please I'm new to wikipedia, so tell me if I did this right. Snoopl3s 00:56, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Intro needs urgent fixing

The last two sentences in the intro need rewording/or a strong citation:

"The situation surrounding his assasination continues to be murky, while he reportedly was assasinated by Nation of Islam officials, he also had many enemies in the United States government. It is widely believed that the government also had a role in the assasination."

I am no expert on the man but I have checked several reliable sources (E.g. "Malcolm X" Encyclopedia Britannica. 1990 Ed.) and they don't say anything about a government role. I am not saying that the viewpoint is untenable, but I don't think 'widely believed' is correct.

If someone more knowledgeable on the subject doesn't do it in the next day or so then I will (I am hesitant to leap in as I imagine that this article can be controversial).

Also, it's spelt Assassination (unless us Aussies are out of step with the rest of the world on that one – happens occasionally.)

Joaq99 16:13, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Your complaint is valid. Saying that something is "widely believed" does not give anybody much confidence in the purported information. That being said, it is probably a valid comment about public opinion, or one segment of public opinion, in the U.S. to say that many people have wxpressed suspicion. P0M 07:04, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Defacement

Its been fixed, but I noticed someone defaced the page making it sound like he was the founder of the KKK. Here is a quote. "Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Black Evil and El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. He was also founder of the UAZ and the KKK." Please report further incidents so we can keep track of it. Keithg 20:15, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Neutrality dispute?

Midway down the article there is a "neutrality questioned" flag, saying somebody has nominated it as needing attention in this regard. There is a link to this talk page, where whoever placed the notice should have given some justification for throwing doubt on the legitimacy of the article. But I see no mention of "neutrality" in any of the stuff above.

I think the article could be improved, but a quick reading reveals no hint of intentional bias to me. I do think, however, that the article is less than objective in the sense that it does not give due recognition to this individual's highest qualities and greatest contributions to American life.

So, whoever put up the notice, let's have some specifics. P0M 08:04, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure why it's there, but it might be the following, which has been discussed on the talk page -- the article sources only from the Autobiography, which like all autobiographies, is a biased and selective rendition of the man's life. Books have been written by others who investigated Malcolm X by reviewing old tapes, speaking with people who knew him, reviewing public records, etc., but none of this is reflected in the article. Uucp 12:17, 3 November 2006 (UTC)
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