Malcolm X - The Movie

Twi: 'Bere ben na yebe fiti ase?' Hybrid: 'Time ben yebe starte?'

Most Ghanaians aspire to speak standard English that enables them to communicate effectively in the international sphere, and in this respect the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, is a perfect example and role model. At the same time Ghanaians take much pride in their rich cultural heritage which is worthy of careful preservation and development. It may be hoped that both aspirations can be fully realised, untainted by the efforts of some to create an unnecessary new from two treasured olds. After watching Malcolm X my perspective of the man was changed. What I thought of him and what the media portrayed him as is so different from the man he became before he died. Many of us, when we think of Malcolm X think of a man who supported black supremacy and stirred hatred of the white man. The media however has failed to tell the end of his story, the part of his story where his prejudice was replaced with an embrace of brotherhood for all mankind. So I think it is important to know his whole story - the beginning, middle and end - to learn from the source of his mistakes as well as the mistakes of the society he fought so hard to change. To illustrate his journey I will attempt to walk you through the events of his life and offer a perspective that may change the way you perceive Malcolm X.

"We are each burdened with prejudice; against the poor or the rich, the smart or the slow, the gaunt or the obese. It is natural to develop prejudices. It is noble to rise above them." (Author Unknown)

On May 10, 1925 in Omaha Nebraska a child is born. No one could know the gravity this child would impact upon society. Number seven out of eight children born as Malcolm Little to mother Louise Little and self-reliant father Earl Little; Malcolm would grow up to become Malcolm X, leader of the 1960s black power movement. Early in his life Malcolm learns racism and prejudice from his environment as his childhood is marked by the violent death of his father by the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. The result is a disintegrated family; and Malcolm lands in a juvenile home. Malcolm then grows up to live out the prevailing society-force-fed prejudicious stereotype of the white man, becoming a street hustler in Harlem who covets the opportunities of the racist white man. Still at this stage of his life no one knows the gravity of his existence, at least not until he converts to the Nation of Islam where he finds an "enlightened" structure for him to focus his disdain of the source of prejudice pervading his life; the white man. However, we learn in the documentary film, Malcolm X, that it is not his focused disdain, or racism he embraced as a member of the Nation of Islam that we should remember him for; but rather his eventual personal triumph over racism, a fact that many of us are ignorant of.

His father, a reverend, attracted persecution from the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) early in Malcolm's childhood because of his firm teachings of self-reliance to his congregation. ghana movies