Malcolm X Views on Integration, President Kennedy, and Race Relations (1963)

 

Malcolm X was critical of the Kennedy administration's lack of action on civil rights. Only when the violence in Alabama got more intense did the government take notice. Malcolm X did not support racial integration. Black separatism was in his view the only solution in a racist society. Developing a self sustaining community and in the distant future a black nation in North America was the goal. Non-violent resistance was in an ineffective tactic in Malcolm's perspective. Malcolm X was accused of hating whites by the media. His response was that he was not focused on false assertions. Such a question was a disingenuous one. The attempt was to demonize the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X as a threat. Members of the Nation of Islam were subject to police brutality and murder. Malcolm X was being spied on by the FBI. Separatism made sense in a country based on second class citizenship and segregation. Race relations would not be improved by integration. 

Martin Luther King's Statement On The Malcolm X Assassination (1965)

 

Martin Luther King made a statement to the press on the assassination of Malcolm X. King suggested that leaders of the black nationalist movement should have a conference. The objective would be to promote peace. The assassination of Malcolm X  was a concern to Martin Luther King. The growth of violence was a problem he did not want to see spread. King states that it was elements within the black nationalist movement responsible for the murder. It was  suspected that the FBI could have had a role in Malcolm X's death. The Nation of Islam was main the main culprit, but it was evident that Malcolm X was evident being spied on by the FBI. Tensions rose when Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam, after a change in ideology. Malcolm X repudiated Elijah Muhmmad's perspective of Islam. Speculation about the role of the New York police in the assassination has grown over the years. Both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were harassed by the FBI. It is unclear if King knew that Malcolm X was subject to the same level of surveillance. 

Malcolm X on Anti-Colonial Nationalism (1964)

 

Malcolm X believed in black nationalism and anti-colonial politics. The conditions that African Americans were facing made him come to two conclusions. African Americans needed their own  independent state. Black separatism was a solution to the abuse by American society. Applying the similar tactics of the anti-colonial struggles in Africa, Asia, and Latin America could bring justice to African Americans in the United States. Slavery was used to make the US an economic power and European nations did the same. Liberation came by organizing and actively resisting the established political order. Malcolm X explains African Americans did not come as colonizers. They were captives, abducted from Africa .To get freedom, one must be willing to fight for it. Self-defense  of the community was a better method in Malcolm X's mind, rather than non-violent resistance. A government that does not protect or ensure the rights of citizens, means other tactics must be used. Malcolm X's ideas would be the basis of the black power movement.