Malcolm X, a martyr ?

Malcolm X was an African-American activist during the Civil Rights movement. Indeed, known by the name Al-Hâjj Mâlik al-Shabazz as well, he acted for equality between blacks and whites in the United States. He was born in 1925 and died assassinated in 1965. He was the spokesperson of the Nation of Islam (NOI) — a religious organization which pledges black nationalism and the orthodox values of the Quran — until 1964 when he left the movement. Therefore, he was quite a controversial figure in the Civil Rights movement as he called for revolution by violence against the implanted government. During his early years, Malcolm X has been known by the police for drug dealing, gambling, robbery, and pimping in New York. In 1946, he was imprisoned. In jail-time, Malcolm has encountered members of the NOI, which made him a part of the organization. From his liberation in 1956, he became important in the NOI. Within those years, he was known for his fiery rhetoric against systemic racism, calling out white supremacy and advocating for Black self-reliance and self-defense. However, he had extreme beliefs that were mundane in the NOI such as the inferiority of the “white race.”

One year before his assassination, he broke with the NOI due to the ideological conflict and then founded another organization based on Muslim values. Those years enlightened him with an inclusive point of view. He then began a tour in African countries where he would deliver speeches about human rights, imperialism, and global oppression, moving beyond just the U.S. context. Though, in April of the same year, Malcolm X delivered a speech titled "The Ballot or the Bullet" in which he urged African Americans to use their voting rights strategically. However, he warned that if the government continued to deny them full equality, they might have no choice but to resort to armed resistance. During this year he received multiple death threats from members of the NOI. Malcolm X has been murdered on February 21, 1965 while giving a speech in a New York’s theatre. Three different men were convicted. They were all members of the NOI. Years later, doubts emerged. In 2021, two of them were freed. Malcolm X was often seen as extreme, but his radical stance reflected the urgency of the injustice he was confronting, which is why many still view him as a martyr for truth and Black liberation.