Chapter 15 - Summary, The Autobiography Of Malcolm X | The Autobiography of Malcolm X -Summary, Themes & Characters - Novels PDF Download

Icarus

• As Malcolm X takes on more and more responsibility, white people notice him more and more. Most of the letters they send him are not negative. The only problem most of the white people have is with the term "white devil." Malcolm explains that he doesn't mean any specific white person, but white people in general. This clarification doesn't seem to matter much to his white critics, though.
• Malcolm often runs into other black people who resent what he's saying, too. They are often educated, middle-class people who, according to Malcolm, are brainwashed by white society.
• Malcolm X makes it clear that his message is not only for African Americans, but all people of color when he mentions the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• Reporters often ask him about his opinion of the Civil Rights Movement, and Malcolm X attempts neutrality in his responses so that he can't be blamed for going against their cause. See, liberal white people are often the first people to turn on Malcolm. He says that they take every opportunity they can to point out the ways in which he doesn't respect the Civil Rights Movement. Though the white racist is frightening and violent, Malcolm sees them as more honest than their white liberal counterparts.
• Malcolm X speaks against integration, which he says is a word that has no meaning and only confuses African Americans. Malcolm X says that what black people really want is human rights, not integration or civil rights. As for white people, he argues that they don't really want integration either, since it would lead to an end of the white and black races.
• After this Malcolm X compares the struggle of black people to that of the Jews in Germany, and we all know what happened during WWII. But there is one part of the Jewish history that Malcolm X believes black people should emulate: the creation of their own state.
• Now Malcolm moves onto the topic of the March on Washington, which he calls the Farce on Washington. He tells us how it changed from an angry march, led by a small group of black people, into something that is backed, funded, organized, and completely directed by white people. It has been completely defused and become totally ineffective.
• A month before the March on Washington, the New York Timesreported that Malcolm X was the second most requested speaker at colleges and universities. He went to all the Ivy League schools and many others too. The college students were very curious and objective, so these were some of his favorite speaking engagements.
• Even though has a great time speaking at colleges and universities, Malcolm later learns that Elijah Muhammad didn't want him to speak at these locations because he was jealous of Malcolm's intelligence. But at this time, Malcolm still worships the ground that Elijah Muhammad walks on.
• His devotion only grows when Malcolm X is invited to speak at the Harvard Law School Forum, which happens to be across the street from his old gang hideout. Being so close to his old hangout makes them remember how much his life used to suck before he converted to Islam. He thanks his lucky stars that he learned about Elijah Muhammad.