Malcolm X Journal
Summary
X, Malcolm, and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Grove, 1965. Print.
In the excerpt from Malcolm X’s autobiography, the famous civil rights figure explains his experience learning to read and write. While in prison for breaking and entering, Malcolm X made the decision that he would no longer live his life without the knowledge of how to read and write. He began by copying every word in the dictionary, thus improving his writing skills as well as well as his vocabulary. After he was finally finished teaching himself literacy, he read every book he could get his hands on, especially those about black history and human rights. His readings included books about African American history, slavery and civil rights, as well Muslim religious books. He read most every hour he spent in prison, even at night using the dim light coming into his cell from the outside. After much reading he came to recognize white men as evil and hypocritical, mistreating every race outside their own all throughout history. After getting out of jail he used his newly acquired knowledge to lead a push for human rights in America.
Analysis
While most of us experience favorable conditions while getting an education, Malcolm X had a different experience. Instead of teachers and parents he only had his own company as he taught himself about reading and writing in prison. His experience exemplifies the fact that education can make all the difference in our lives if we allow it. Formally limited in literacy, Malcolm X was unable to communicate his thoughts to the community effectively, even if he wanted to. Then after disciplining himself enough he became one of the most well-known and most literate activists during the civil rights era. It is truly amazing that Malcolm X could go from speaking in slang with little writing experience and still be able to achieve the level of literacy that he did. There are so many young people in school and college that would gladly give up the chance to further their knowledge. To them reading and writing just feels like a chore, not the great privilege that it is. The fact that Malcolm X was able to accomplish this by himself while in prison shows just how much individuals can accomplish when the actually put forth the effort. People who have been schooled from kindergarten into college often don’t have the level of literacy that Malcolm X possesses, yet he only acquired a formal education up to the eighth grade. It could be argued that Elijah Muhammad was in part a literacy sponsor to Malcolm X. Many of the subjects that Malcolm X read and wrote about were by or influenced by Muhammad. Muhammad was also the example Malcolm X looked to when making decisions about human rights.