Malcolm X We Didn\'t Land

Malcolm X

We didn't land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us." Spike Lee's adaptation of The Autobiography of Malcolm X shows how religion played a key role in the development of African-American history and consciousness. From his early days in prison, Malcolm X forged his identity based on social and religious values. However, those social and religious values were not the values of the dominant white culture. In fact, the African-American identity that Malcolm X and other black nationalists was formed largely in opposition to the white Anglo-Saxon protestant culture that for centuries had oppressed persons of African descent. Malcolm X's life embodies this conflict. As Spike Lee illustrates in his film Malcolm X, Malcolm X was at the center of the black militarist movement. Black militarism and Black Nationalism posed a direct, confrontational threat to white society in America because its leaders and spokespeople, like Malcolm X, did not allow for concessions. Statements like "We didn't land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us," show why Malcolm X seemed threatening in the eyes of the general public. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On the other hand, advocated more peaceful means to racial equity in America. King never would have said, as X did, that "We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us." Black nationalists like Malcolm X supported any means by which to obtain freedom and equality for black people living in the United States.

As Lee's movie shows, Malcolm's family history and early experiences affected his radical political views. He joined the Nation of Islam while in prison, as he felt a sense of camaraderie and solidarity that he never would have found in the outside world. Lee depicts how Malcolm X was deeply and personally affected by his exposure to the Muslim religion. In fact, one of the most remarkable things about the life of Malcolm X was his ability to grow with his religious beliefs, rather than having his religious beliefs dictate strictly what his actions were. As the film points out, Malcolm X did the necessary pilgrimage to Mecca shortly before he was assassinated.

Malcolm X was assassinated because when he fully embraced Sunni Islam and incorporated its teachings into his approach toward black liberation, his militant views became more tempered. In Malcolm X, Spike Lee demonstrates how this shift from pure militancy toward cooperation directly led to his assassination. The reasons for the assassination of Malcolm X may include a perception of his disloyalty on the part of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the corruption that he viewed in the bureaucracy and dealings of the Black Nationalist movement and began turning inward for spiritual solace and truth.

Malcolm X's famous quote, "We didn't land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us" illustrates the dynamic and continual tension in creating a distinct black identity within a dominant white society. Especially because of the history of African-Americans in slavery, discovering a cohesive historiography is particularly hard. Spike Lee's movie and the life of Malcolm X illustrate one particular vision of African-American history. However, many other strands of thought have converged to create a collective black identity and historiography. For example, the syncretic slave religions that merged African practices with Christianity allowed slave families and communities to hold on to their ancestry and traditions in the face of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual oppression. Similarly, the creation of the African Episcopal Church (AME) in the early nineteenth century marked a distinctive and unique sociological event in African-American history. African-American religious identity has been diverse but has always been defined by the ability to merge various historical and social realities within a collective spiritual framework.

The Nation of Islam and the embrace of Sunni Islam by African-Americans also reflect this tendency in African-American history. Malcolm X and others found in Islam a means by which to re-connect with their African roots and heritages. While Islam was not the religion of their ancestors in Africa, it was the religion of modern Africa. Malcolm X was a sincere adherent to the faith, evident by his willingness to not only pilgrimage to Mecca but also to experience life in Africa first-hand.

Therefore, the statement made by Malcolm X is highly relevant for historians who are attempting to recreate American history in general and African-American history in specific. Rephrasing the settlement of New England and the American colonies in terms of oppression rather than conquest and triumph is significant. Were it not for radicals like Malcolm X it is possible that such alternative viewpoints would never have been voiced in the public consciousness. Had Malcolm X not been assassinated, martyred for his beliefs, Spike Lee might have never been able to make a film of such epic proportions, a film that has the potential to re-educate people about the history of African-American people.