Malcolm X

Malcolm X was a handsome African American who fought for the freedom of African Americans in the 1960s.  As I watched a documentary broadcast on SABC 3 this evening, I was enamored by his eloquence of speech.  He had something to say, and he never hesitated.  He always had an answer, and his answers made logical sense.  He was so purpose-driven that he never stumbled over his words, or looked left or right to find words.  He was mentally prepared, and his mind was focused on the result - on freedom for the African Americans.  

During these times of unrest, there was a lot to fight for.  What I look at now is many youths, of which I don't discount myself, desiring to fight for something, only we have come so far in the human fight for freedom in many spheres that we "have it good", and when something doesn't affect us directly, we don't fight.  But there are undoubtedly hundreds upon thousands upon millions of people who are suffering in one way or another of some atrocity, or some abuse, or some misdemeanor that needs to be put to rest.  Who is fighting for these people?

It is only he who is affected who can rise up from within to lead people out of a situation, for what can an outsider do to fight for the rights of those whose situation he doesn't truly understand?  Only when we experience an injustice ourselves will we have the desire to fight for it.  It is not the injustice itself that lights the flame in us to fight, unfortunately.  It is only once we see ourselves as victims of that injustice that we want to stand up to it.  

Malcolm X impressed me.  His speech impressed me.  He was described as "a Muslim extremist" and had gone to Mecca during his lifetime, to find that there were also white Muslims, which turned his belief around that the white man was the devil.  It was during his time in prison that Malcolm X learnt about Elijah Mohammed and read that the white man was the devil.  Thank God he had come to see that religion more so than color played a role in human conduct towards others.  

There were a few foundational matters that led me to believe America could have turned to anarchy or genocide after his speech that the black man must take the law in his own hands if the government was not protecting them, which it wasn't.  I could understand where he was coming from, and as a black woman, I probably would have shouted a cry of victory into the crowd, if I had lived then and known not the God I know.  It made sense to defend yourself if no one else would.  It still does, from our vulnerable human perspective.  

I am grateful for the rising of Martin Luther King, and for heroes like Nelson Mandela, who restored morality through their own example, and even though they themselves are not perfect either, it is always good to be reminded of God's righteousness, of His justice, and His avenging.  They brought back to realisation the power of God through goodness, mercy and grace rather than violence and revenge.  May God's love always win.