The Second Conversion of Malcolm X

I found the section of Malcolm X's autobiography where he is in the Middle East and traveling to Mecca most interesting. I was very relieved when he finally realized that not all white people are inherently evil. The Azzam family, in particular, goes beyond politeness in their charity toward Malcolm X, giving him a new perspective. I also really appreciated the insight into the multicultural reality of the Muslim world in that region. Why can't America be more like that? We pride ourselves on our "melting pot" nation, but particularly in Malcolm X and MLK's time, racism was predominant on every side of the color spectrum.

For example, Loewen talks about how U.S. history is censored in a way, making it all about the whites and all about how good Americans are when he says "Crediting the federal government for actions instigated by African Americans and their white allies surely disempowers African American students today, and surely helps them to feel that they 'have never done anything,' as Malcolm X put it" even citing the author of the other book we are reading (241).

Color-blindness is an amazing and apparently hard thing. As Malcolm X states, "the people of all races, colors, from all over the world coming together as one! It has proved to me the power of the One God" (345). Even though Malcolm X believed differently in God than I do, I must agree with his statement; color-blindness, given the awful history of racism, is a beautiful miracle of God.