Would he have said that African-Americans were finally taking a stand against injustice? That they were finally speaking out against police brutality and the corruption of a system that, like Maxine Walters stated in her interview, were kept in a state of "unemployment, hopelessness, and despair" (167)?
Although Malcolm X frequently denied any violent tendencies, I cannot help but think that he might have used the 90's race riots as a catalyst for his separatist movement. He would have cited the inequalities between the Rodney King and Reginald Denny beatings as more proof of the white man's oppression of the black masses. I think that unlike many in Twilight who are horrified by the injustices and violence, Malcolm X might well have turned them into the master example for his separatist ideas.
Mikayla,
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about Malcolm's stance if he had seen the riots. I think he would have deplored the violence and destruction, but probably would have said that it was overdue.