What was the short term significance of Malcolm X?

Much of Malcolm’s ideology focused on increasing black awareness in the black community and bringing a sense of pride and reassurance. However Malcolm X was responsible for the formation of movements such as the Black Panther which J. Edgar Hoover publicly stated was "greatest threat to the internal security of the country.”However he was the director of the FBIand had close relations with congress, therefore his opinion is likely to oppose any movement defending black rights.Also black power as a whole was condemned by the NAACP and it was said by them that it was "menace to peace and prosperity…no Negro who is fighting for civil rights can support black power, which is opposed to civil rights and integration."However black panthers directly opposed the NAACP and often criticised their approach of non violence, so the purpose of this quote was to stop further support for the black panthers.Furthermore Malcolm’s quotes are perhaps contradictory when he spoke at different times, for example in one quote he claims he is not racist "I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism”and in another he says, “The common enemy is the white man”. So he often showed indecisiveness, whichis a damaging characteristic for a black representative because it misrepresents his supporters. Also Malcolm’s solution to the problem wasBlack Nationalism“Our economic and social philosophy will be black nationalism”. This is arguably black supremacy in disguise, which in itself is racist, so in fact this is contradictory to his condemnation of racism. However this was mentioned whilst Malcolm was still a member of the nation of Islam, so as a representative of that particular movement he was required to express views that may not be his. Therefore this is not an accurate statement to judge Malcolm’s personal opinion. Furthermore the purpose of this speech was to increase black consciousness and encouraging black Americans to progress in all aspects of life such as economically, socially and politically. Despite it being through promoting Black Nationalism, it could help achieve equality quicker and in the masses as it advocated independence. Also contextualizing Malcolm’s opinion is important because during the sixties gaining legal rights through peaceful protest alone was a slow process and had a limited impact.

Despite these qualities raising black consciousness had a far more positive impact than it did negative. For example he said “We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves”.This in the short term would directly impact black Americans and attract them to actively contribute towards the civil rights movement.Also despite the Black Panther’s being accused of provoking violence there were many aspects of the organisation which benefited the black community. For example unlike the SNCC or CORE they demanded immediate equality for all blacks. They also to some degree succeeded,for example in providing free school meals for up to 10,000 students a day, medical centres, various health facilities and reducing crime. So indirectly Malcolm had a great impact socially by raising black awareness. Malcolm also said “I don’t see an American dream but an American nightmare”, so he is explicitly exposing the fact that he had a completely different experience to what was perceived to be reality. The fact that Malcolm is attempting to rebut and falsify the “American dream” whilst the UN evaluated human rights issue in the 60’sshows that he was determined to bring out the hidden neglect of black people. This speech however was said in a church, this meant that pleasing the audience was key in order to gain support. So Malcolm could have said such words simply to lessen support for other leaders such as King and an environment like a church could not have been a better opportunity. Finally Malcolm also contributed towards the appreciation of heritage in America, which impacted on not only black Americans but alsoall American citizens. This immediately created a common ground where all American’s can share their differences and focus on uniting, so this again impacted on developing social integration and self-respect which was necessary for the progression of black people. In addition to that as a result of the internationalisation of the movement black consciousness also increased amongst non black communities because rather than focusing on race relations Malcolm emphasised human relations.  

Malcolm emphasised the importance of social reforms for black people numerous times. For example the creation of Afro American Unity attempted to make social reforms in America, such as by removing ghettos. In particular he argued “Without education, you are not going anywhere in this world.” This transferred the focus from black people improving living standards by relying on laws to be implemented to black people independently for example through education achieving the same quality of life. On the other hand to some extent black people had to rely on laws to be passed in order to gain legal rights which would enable equality to exist. However Malcolm also stressed the importance of laws to be passed but failed to give an alternative other than violence which would arguably worsen race relations in America. So Malcolm failed to pass any legislation in congress which means his contribution towards changing social attitudes and living conditions is limited. Furthermore Malcolm X’s method was criticised by Martin Luther king, he stated that “[I]t is necessary to understand that Black Power is a cry of disappointment”.Dr King’s methods were directly opposed by Malcolm so the purpose of this quote was to make a critical remark about black power in order to create less support for the movement. Furthermore it was said in a speech so to promote peaceful methods it was necessary to make public his views on other alternatives such as black power. Furthermore Malcolm’s contemporaries were able to achieve social reforms on a bigger scale, for example Montgomery bus boycott. So Malcolm’s influence on social reforms failed and is arguably one on of his unsuccessful achievement.

It is critical in order to evaluate Malcolm’s short term significance to consider his ideological split before and after his trip to Mecca, Africa and the Middle East.Whilst a member of the nation of Islam his views were “we don't want to be integrated with the white man...The Honourable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that this is the only intelligent and lasting solution to the present race problem”.However his views in this speech do not reflect his own or those he held near the end of his life. So his views changed from being militant to focusing on the education sector and social reforms.To Malcolm freedom was a different concept in comparison to his contemporaries and to some extent could have been proven successful if his life was not cut short at the age of 39. Mainly for his abilities to for example globalise the civil rights movement which created a situation where all human beings can relate to the unequal treatment of black people therefore raising awareness of the issue and gaining worldwide sympathy. Furthermore during the sixties and seventies other key civil rights activists adopted many aspects of Malcolm’s views, most famously the Stokeley Carmichael who withdrew from the SNCC and incorporated Black Nationalism into his own philosophy.Also Martin Luther King during the late 1960’s accepted that non violence was a slow process. Although Malcolm left behind a complex legacy, his contribution in the short term undoubtedly contributed to the civil rights movement. However it is debatable whether his input such as increasing black consciousness were the only factors that lead to the success of gaining equality. Rather it should be seen that without the contribution of Malcolm X the pace of the civil rights movement would have been prolonged.

Over all Malcolm contribution was in many ways limited because Malcolm’s appeal to other black Americans was rejected by a large proportion, this was down to his revolutionary approach and break off main mainstream movements such as the NAACP which focused on peaceful protests. So his message was restricted which would mean the impact of his movement and ideology would be limited. Furthermore the social impacts he had aimed to achieve were an over estimate to what was realistically attainable using violence at the time. However after Malcolm’s split from the Nation of Islam the foundations to his believes changed dramatically resulting in a effort to bring the civil rights movement onto a international scale. In addition to that globalising the issue also created a rise in black consciousness which no other individual at the time had done to such a massive audience.   This factor arguably makes Malcolm’s short term significance key for the success of the civil rights movement because it not only emphasised the struggle for black people but also for women and other races.