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Malcolm X: Unity, Solidarity, and Liberation
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By: Jasmine Rehman, MPAC Fellow

Throughout Black History Month, we recognize and pay tribute to the many African Americans who have strived and continue striving to create a fair and equitable society. While Dr. Martin Luther King is known as the face of the American Civil Rights Movement, there are numerous other figures who played significant roles in the movement.

As a minister of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, preached for black nationalism. He believed that Black people should come together to work towards their own liberation. He advocated for the unity of all people of African descent, regardless of their religion or nationality, and for justice and equality for Black people in America.

In his early years, Malcolm X’s approach to civil rights was combative, instigative, and in the eyes of many, extreme. While Martin Luther King Jr. was committed to nonviolent resistance, Malcolm X was not. That changed in April, 1964 when Malcolm X visited Mecca for Hajj (pilgrimage). Upon seeing every creed and color from around the world united in worshiping one God, with no sign of the racism that he had grown up facing in America, Malcolm X converted from the Nation of Islam to mainstream Sunni Islam.

With his conversion came a shift in his outlook, ideology, and rhetoric. He abandoned his belief in violence and his calls for separation for Black Americans. He began to hope for brotherhood across all races. His work reflects the many intersections between the Islamic faith and social justice, and prompts us to remember that progress for Black Americans is progress for all of us.

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