Acclaimed film-maker, Spike Lee, recently came to Clarion University to do a lecture for an audience of about 500. A brief Q & A with the audience followed. Questions were fairly straightforward; then I approached the microphone.
Me: "Mr. Lee, I just want to start off by saying that I'm a huge fan of your work."
Lee: "Thank you."
Me: "I'm a graduate student here at Clarion University, and..."
Lee: "Graduate student in what?"
Me: "Social Sciences. A lot of your films deal with civil rights issues. My question is, and I don't believe there's a dichotomous answer, but "Who would've been a more effective civil rights leader into the 1970's, 80's, and maybe even 90's had he not been assassinated: Malcolm X or Martin Luther King, because keep in mind these two leaders had very different views of how to lead their people to equality?"
Lee: "Wow? that's a real humdingger..."
Lee answered by saying that both would've been equally effective in different ways and that many great leaders of the 1960's were assassinated before their time. Deep down though, if it was a "dichotomous/one or the other question," I believe Mr. Lee would've said Malcolm X; the man devoted a 202 minute film to Malcolm in 1992, wore a hat that said "X" on it while promoting the film, and even took (what I consider) a cheap shot at King in Chapter 46 of the two disc special edition of Malcolm X (1992) when the FBI agents who were monitoring Malcolm's phone conversations with his wife stated, "Compared to King, this guy's a monk." This script line by the FBI agents suggests rumors of Rev. Martin Luther King's marital infidelity. With all that aside, though I would have agreed with Spike Lee had he said Malcolm X, and here's why...
Before I get into all that however, I want to say that Dr. Martin Luther King was one of the greatest leaders of the 20th Century. He was directly responsible for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. He undid what was the law for 300 years whether it was written law or de facto law up until the 1960's in the southern states. He changed the injustice and horror of disenfranchisement and the legal cruelty of our nation by the young age of 35. I do not believe in segregation, but I do believe Malcolm was and would've continued to be a better leader had he survived.
When most people think of Malcolm X, they think of him as a bigoted, segregationist, hatemonger of white people, unconcerned and justified in his views when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and claiming that he would achieve equality for his people "by any means necessary." On top of that he was a Muslim, which in today's world of professional wrestling style cable news media, equates this religion to mindless violence for the promise of a reward in eternity. In short Malcolm does not get a fair page in the books of American history.
Malcolm changed his racist views after his pilgrimage to Mecca. There he saw blue-eyed, blonde-haired Muslims, and admitted he was wrong. He exposed and rebelled against the corruption of the Nation of Islam's leader, the "honorable" Elijah Muhammad, for the prophet's embezzlement of funds, multiple affairs, and illegitimate children. He knew going rogue was signing his own death warrant, but Malcolm did it anyways to stand up for what he believed was the right thing to do. Most importantly, Malcolm preached that African-Americans needed to make change happen for themselves. He and his followers put drug dealers, pimps, and hustlers out of business in their neighborhoods without relying on the corrupt police. He told African Americans not to work for minimum wage in downtown Manhattan as bus boys or janitors, but to open their own businesses. Now in 2013, please remember that every time you walk into a place of business that says "Black Owned," remember that this was a direct result of Malcolm's philosophy. I believe in Jesus, however I cannot deny the integrity and genuineness of this man who practiced Islam. He loved his people and wanted what was best for them. "By any means necessary" did not mean violence near the end of Malcolm's life; it meant, "We can do this on our own no matter how hard, no matter how hopeless the road ahead looks, without the help of anyone but ourselves." In Spike Lee's film, Malcolm put it best when approached by a white person who asked him, "What can I do to help your cause?" Malcolm's answer; "Nothing..."
I currently live in a very racist part of this nation. Sometimes I feel like an alien among my neighbors seeing the confederate flags, hearing about my friends getting called a certain six letter word that translates pretty much to human garbage, and seeing the generational cycle of poverty that breaks my heart. Dr. King did a lot, but 44 years later in 2012 when a presidential candidate writes off half the country as worthless during a fundraiser with guests who are all white multi-millionaires, something tells me things could have turned out a little better. It angers me when a presidential hopeful labels people who receive aid from the government to feed and clothe their families as "worthless," "unjustly entitled," "welfare bums," "freeloaders," and worse. It angers me when $33 billion more dollars are spent on corporate welfare than on social welfare; helping those in need get a fair shot at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It angers me when the poorest among us have to compete in a financial system that's like a game of poker with Bernard Madoff as the dealer.
Source: http://thinkbynumbers.org/government-spending/corporate-welfare/corporate-welfare-statistics-vs-social-welfare-statistics/
But, let's say you're a man from a certain part of town with a certain skin color who walks into a bank to ask for a $50,000 loan to start your own business in your neighborhood; to create jobs in your neighborhood and keep money in your neighborhood instead of sending it to the headquarters of a fast-food chain. You may even have an Associate's or Bachelor's degree in finance or business administration. More often than not, you're going to get a big red stamp on your application that reads "DENIED", while billion dollar corporations get blank checks on a silver platter. Furthermore, I was under the impression that we lived in a capitalist country where billion dollar corporations had to fend for themselves in a Darwinian business style without any aid from the government.
Malcolm said in Spike Lee's film that was something along the lines of, "The best way to destroy a man is to teach him to hate himself, because then he will end up destroying himself." When the culture tells you to respect, admire, and emulate those who do drugs, deal drugs, kill people, steal property, assault people, care about nothing except for money, abuse women, and call each other the six letter word; REJECT THIS. These cultural leaders make millions spreading this hateful philosophy, and influence their people to jail or the grave, while laughing all the way to the bank. What many fail to understand is that these entertainers are merely puppets controlled by greater forces in society in order to lead their people into generational poverty and a life of despair. Dr. King achieved equality legally, but that doesn't necessarily mean that these greater societal forces are going to up and let it happen in reality; in fact, they are dead-set opposed to it.
I'll end my blog with this modern parable. A man visited a part of town with his friend that was in ruin. It looked like something out of Stevie Wonder's "Village Ghettoland." His friend told him to wait in the car while he went into the house. A few minutes later he came back and told him to come into the house with him. He entered and saw what appeared to be some type of store owned by one of the residents of the neighborhood. The man behind the counter wasn't selling drugs, needles, pipes, guns, or women. He was selling newspapers, coffee, sodas, snacks, toiletries, and other items needed for the daily living of the members of his community. The man appeared well dressed and well respected by others in the store and was doing nothing morally wrong. He had achieved his equality by any means necessary. I strongly advise you to achieve equality by any means necessary and even more strongly advise you to leave the door open to others. You may go to college, earn a Doctoral degree, and work as an psychologist for a company owned by a board of all white trustees. You may live in a good neighborhood without all the crime and hopelessness you grew up in. You may have a long, comfortable, and secure life. But consider for one minute the great risk, and even greater reward of starting your own company in whatever field you have mastered and setting up your business in a part of town that society has all but condemned. With the shape of places like Detroit, I believe Malcolm (and Spike Lee) would agree with every word of this blog.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and may God guide you in all of your decisions,
- KEEPYOURHEADUP
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