Malcolm X post 4

After reading chapters 10-11, I feel like Malcolm is really pulling his life together by showing us a glimpse of what he will do in the future. However, I still feel like Malcolm is being brainwashed into his new life and he doesn't realize it because he is vulnerable at this stage in his life. I mean the guy just got sentenced to 10 years in prison and hooked on all kinds of drugs. If a guy tells you that there is way to astray from the destructive nature you have before, you go for it. I marvel at the way Malcolm starts reading and starts learning about all the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and how he becoming a devout Muslim whether the world wants him to or not. When he starts learning about black history and starts making connections, I realized that he would be a strong leader. He made lots of references to his movement when he starts reading about slavery. As prison life goes on, Malcolm shows of glimpses of how he will speak and who he will speak to in the future. In chapter 11, Malcolm criticizes the prison's minister by debating over whether Jesus is white or black. This is what I'm talking about with the brainwashing thing. He just starts going off about racism in every comment he or anybody else makes. Just because you found a way out doesn't mean you have to confront every white person as if they were evil in every way possible. The following link shows a list of the most influential people of the twentieth century. Malcolm made it, but what number did he get?

http://www.the-top-tens.com/lists/most-influential-leaders-20th-century.asp

The website shows ten most influential people of the 20th century. Considering all the people in this century, Malcolm made it in to the top ten. I think he belongs where he is because he didn't live that long to follow one organization. He went from jail to the NOI and then to Muslim Mosque Inc. If Malcolm wasn't assassinated, I really think he would have made it up higher on the list near Martin Luther King Jr. Now that I look at it, even though MLK and Malcolm were rivals in their motives, they had the same goal. To get the black people of that time to really open their eyes and believe that they deserve a better life than they had. The way Malcolm and MLK grew up were very different but similar as well. Malcolm grew up with no mom and dad to guide him where to go and he became lost in his sense of pride causing him to steer towards drugs and alcohol. MLK grew up with parents and he had a good education, going to colleges like Morehouse college and Boston University. They were the same because they demanded better of themselves, MLK before Malcolm, but in their different ways they became great black civil rights leaders. Looking at the history of these two people shows how no matter who you are--black, white, brown, purple, you have a chance to do something.