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Christopher Farai Charamba The Reader
For most Zimbabweans, the date February 21 is instantly associated with President Robert Mugabe as it was the day on which he was born. Some might, however, not know that on this same day in 1965 a tragic event took place as it was the day Malcolm X was assassinated. Until I read “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” as told by Alex Haley last year, I must admit I knew little about the man born Malcolm Little, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

I had also not watched the Spike Lee- directed biopic starring Denzel Washington to the surprise of a number of friends I shared this information with. I am a person quite fascinated by autobiographies. People everywhere lead interesting lives and their stories show different dimensions to them.

I remember once asking my grandfather about how he ended up living in our rural home of Buhera and the tale he told me got me thinking this would surely make for interesting reading.

Malcolm X was an extremist. Whatever he set his mind on, he was consumed by wholly and in pursuit of its fulfilment he dedicated all his time and energy.

Such people scare and intrigue me equally. They have an intense focus and drive in pursuit of their goals that almost always results in them succeeding.

What I found particularly striking and unknown to me was that Malcolm X for 12 years was part of the Nation of Islam, which some sections of American society have described as radical and extermist.

He himself later realised that this religious organisation was not representative of the Islam practised around the world after his trip to Mecca.

Malcolm X’s life was certainly colourful, filled with many adventures in his early years and culminating in his mission to address the race issue in America, an issue that some 52 years after his assassination remains a huge problem as African-America black men and women still remain targets of racial profiling and are indiscriminately murdered by white supremacists and the police alike.

Malcolm X’s time in New York as a street hustler was the most interesting to me because it reads more as fiction than fact.

Prison was his road to Damascus, the place of his religious conversion and the beginning of his 12-year devotion to Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. He himself goes on to say that prisoners make better converts than “free” men.

What intrigued me the most was how he committed his entire existence to this religion. I am no psychologist but I suppose in prison one is at their weakest and most vulnerable and therefore easy to convert.

Although a radical, Malcolm X did speaks truthfully about the plight of black people at the hands of white people. His dedication to cause and principal are certainly admirable.

After his overseas tour to the Moslem Holy City of Mecca and Africa, it is refreshing to know that he realised that not all white people are “devils”, but that people of all races can be equals and work together; that the socio-economic and political situations affect race issues and need to be addressed.

Despite his advocacy for change and being celebrated as an icon of the civil rights movement, it is despairing that black people world over and particularly in the United States still face the same challenges he faced in his day.

It is equally sad and frustrating that as a race, black people are still divided among ourselves. Throw a stone in Africa and one will surely start an ethnic or a religious conflict.

The autobiography of Malcolm X is a brilliant read – lengthy, tedious and repetitive in parts – as life can certainly be, but brilliant nonetheless.

Malcolm X died a few months shy of his 40th birthday but he lived an extraordinary and in some parts exemplary life. By no means perfect but by all means admirable.