Domhnall

“When I am dead ... the white man, in his press, is going to identify me with ‘hate’. He will make use of me dead, as he has made use of me alive, as a convenient symbol of ‘hatred’ – and that will help him to escape facing the truth that all I have been doing is holding up a mirror to reflect, to show, the history of unspeakable crimes that his race has committed against my race. You watch, I will be labelled as, at best, an “irresponsible” black man.” [p500]

Well that prediction was spot on and, one way or another, and as one tiny mark of that successful misrepresentation, this book was somewhere in my field of vision for over 50 years before I received a fresh copy as a Christmas present and condescended to read it. I expected it to be out of date – though as a lover of Jazz it was fun to hear accounts of some of the greats and it was interesting to hear descriptions of the Lindy Hop dancing craze in Haarlem, which is seemingly popular in England right now – and I expected a dry but informative read – instead it was fast paced and often amusing, with many unexpected asides, such as helpful advice from an experienced burglar for homeowners wishing to protect their homes [see p237 – if you want to stay safe this book is for you].

But most surprisingly, I cannot imagine a more relevant political book for 2017. A story of childhood poverty and violent white racism, alienated [but highly entertaining] youth, crime and imprisonment, the discovery of books [He started by copying out by hand an entire dictionary, though it was probably only an American one] followed by conversion to Islam, fanatical loyalty to a guru with clay feet, a visit to Mecca to establish serious commitment to Islam, international acclaim and respect, and finally demonization by conservative media before the tragic silencing by guns of an inconvenient dissenting voice. Which part of that synopsis is not still relevant? All history is a history of the present day.

This autobiography does not provide the definitive Malcolm X – it does not pin him down to a tidy concluding caricature that we can frame and forget, though it does totally discredit all the caricatures and labels that have been pinned onto his name by mainstream media. Instead, it takes us through a series of changes, a striking willingness to acknowledge mistakes, to change direction in the face of evidence and experience, and it suggests that what was yet to come, and what was destroyed by his nihilistic assassins, would have been an even greater transformation – something and someone of real significance. For that reason, the book was one that I could not put down once I started and it has joined the very select list of my all time favourites.

“ ‘I am not anti-American, and I didn’t come here to condemn America - I want to make that very clear!’ I told them. ‘I came here to tell the truth – and if the truth condemns America, then she stands condemned!’" [[p471]