A few reminders, especially for some of you who may have missed classes this past week:
(1) One person has not turned in Essay II, which was due this past Tuesday. And a couple of you have yet to turn in Journal #4, which was due yesterday (Thurs. 3/27). Also, I handed back essay II and journal #3.
(2) You need to give some thought to your paper topic. Remember, I want a brief (paragraph) description of what you plan to do by Tuesday, April 8th, our first class after the break. You are welcome to email me your proposal over the break. I will check my email a couple times over the break.
(3) Continue reading Between Cross and Crescent. I plan to finish commenting on that within roughly two weeks after we come back, so we can move on to Dyson's book. And for the sake of your paper (i.e., to possibly get some ideas about a topic), you might want to look ahead in the reading.
(4) When I get a chance, I may post some lecture notes over the break on Chapters 3 & 4 in Between Cross and Crescent so as not to get too far behind.
Have a good break. See you in a week and a half.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Malcolm X: The Assassination by Michael Friedly & Other Notes
As I promised yesterday, I want to post some of the comments from Michael Friedly's book on the assassination, which I believe is the best, most credible one out there, along with Peter Goldman's The Death and Life Of Malcolm X.
First, with respect to the question of Louis Farrakhan's possible involvement. As I quoted from the book: "Farrakhan vehemently denies any role, directly or indirectly, in the assassination of Malcolm X, arguing that neither he nor the Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave any orders to kill their former colleague. 'I have never been investigated for any part or complicity in the assassination of Malcolm X. I have never been mentioned in the early writings on Malcolm's assassination. My name never came up, because I was not a major player in the Nation of Islam.'"
"But when Farrakhan claims that he has never been investigated for the assassination, he misses the point of arguments that he encouraged the assassination. In fact, only one of the five assassins has been investigated, but that does not prove the other four innocent. Farrakhan's claims that he never gave an order to kill Malcolm X are also misguided...."
(I would concur wholeheartedly, and add that Farrakhan's statement is completely disingenuous. The fact that he was never investigated and that four other assassins never paid for their crime is an indictment of our criminal justice system. We obviously did not care to get to the bottom of who killed Malcolm X and why.) Continuing...
"...the argument that Farrakhan was indirectly involved in the assassination is valid. His scathing articles in Muhammad Speaks and his vitriolic attacks on Malcolm X inside and outside his own mosque were certainly contributing factors in the assassination."
"Farrakhan helped create the climate of hatred that finally killed Malcolm X." (pp. 206-207)
The other passage I quoted underscored the need to remember that it was not just outside forces, such as the FBI, that hampered the civil rights movement, but also internal conflicts. As Friedly notes, "As in other movements, while the civil rights struggle was viciously attacked from the outside, it was also being challenged by internal dissension that was far less visible, but just as destructive." (p. 208)
Of course, also keep in mind those pages from The Death and Life of Malcolm X which I handed out in class about a week and a half ago.
_________________________
Notes: Remember to be giving some thought to a paper topic. I would like to have a paragraph description of what you propose, along with a suggested title. The deadline is TUESDAY, APRIL 8th.
Your 4th journal entry is due tomorrow (Thurs. 3/27). We'll have two of the three remaining people to present your entries. Then, we'll get back to Between Cross and Crescent, and hopefully get through at least Chapter 3.
First, with respect to the question of Louis Farrakhan's possible involvement. As I quoted from the book: "Farrakhan vehemently denies any role, directly or indirectly, in the assassination of Malcolm X, arguing that neither he nor the Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave any orders to kill their former colleague. 'I have never been investigated for any part or complicity in the assassination of Malcolm X. I have never been mentioned in the early writings on Malcolm's assassination. My name never came up, because I was not a major player in the Nation of Islam.'"
"But when Farrakhan claims that he has never been investigated for the assassination, he misses the point of arguments that he encouraged the assassination. In fact, only one of the five assassins has been investigated, but that does not prove the other four innocent. Farrakhan's claims that he never gave an order to kill Malcolm X are also misguided...."
(I would concur wholeheartedly, and add that Farrakhan's statement is completely disingenuous. The fact that he was never investigated and that four other assassins never paid for their crime is an indictment of our criminal justice system. We obviously did not care to get to the bottom of who killed Malcolm X and why.) Continuing...
"...the argument that Farrakhan was indirectly involved in the assassination is valid. His scathing articles in Muhammad Speaks and his vitriolic attacks on Malcolm X inside and outside his own mosque were certainly contributing factors in the assassination."
"Farrakhan helped create the climate of hatred that finally killed Malcolm X." (pp. 206-207)
The other passage I quoted underscored the need to remember that it was not just outside forces, such as the FBI, that hampered the civil rights movement, but also internal conflicts. As Friedly notes, "As in other movements, while the civil rights struggle was viciously attacked from the outside, it was also being challenged by internal dissension that was far less visible, but just as destructive." (p. 208)
Of course, also keep in mind those pages from The Death and Life of Malcolm X which I handed out in class about a week and a half ago.
_________________________
Notes: Remember to be giving some thought to a paper topic. I would like to have a paragraph description of what you propose, along with a suggested title. The deadline is TUESDAY, APRIL 8th.
Your 4th journal entry is due tomorrow (Thurs. 3/27). We'll have two of the three remaining people to present your entries. Then, we'll get back to Between Cross and Crescent, and hopefully get through at least Chapter 3.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Reminders & Concluding Lecture Notes on Autobiography
First, a few reminders for this upcoming week. On Tuesday, 3/11, our next class, we will take some time out to hear from each of the families regarding Spike Lee's film. Also, don't forget that your first essay is due. I know some of you missed, "Malcolm X: Make It Plain," but you can check it out of the library when you get a chance. It is a nice summation of his life with interviews with many of the actual people in his life, not to mention clips from some of Malcolm's own speeches and interviews. It is vastly superior to Spike Lee's valiant effort. As I noted in class, we are going to take some time this week to examine his assassination. I'll talk about that on Tuesday, and then we'll see another video program on Thursday which explores his assassination and some of the theories about it. Finally, as I noted in class last Thursday, we are going to postpone the due date of your next journal entry until next Tuesday, 3/18 because of the video presentation which will take up of the full time on Thursday (and then some -- about 15 minutes over).
And now to wrap up the Autobiography
_______________________________
Epilogue by Alex Haley
A. Haley gives some insight into the process by which this book was written, how he collaborated with Malcolm X. Interestingly, he notes how he wasn't making much progress at first on drawing him out until he asked Malcolm about his mother.
1. Another interesting tidbit, Malcolm admitted to Haley that he had palmed that bullet in the Russian Roulette incident in his criminal days. see, p. 423.
2. Haley is particularly good in capturing the predicament Malcolm was in in Jan. 1965, a month before his death: "He talked about the pressures on him everywhere he turned, and about the frustrations, among them that no one wanted to accept anything related to him except 'my old 'hate' and 'violence' image.' He said 'the so-called moderate' civil rights organizations avoided him as 'too militant' and the 'so-called militants' avoided him as 'too moderate.' 'They won't let me turn the corner!' he once exclaimed, "I'm caught in a trap!'" (p. 431)
B. Haley's account of the assassination is not very good or precise. There are substantial questions, as we'll see.
Ossie Davis: On Malcolm X
A. I appreciate Mr. Davis's response to questions about why he eulogized Malcolm X, noting that only white people had asked him that, no black person. (If you read the eulogy, which I handed out, you'll know why.)
B. He respects Malcolm for his uncompromising commitment to search for and tell the truth.
C. And he recognizes the significant change in Malcolm's last year.
This brings to a close my comments on the Autobiography.
Again, tomorrow, in addition to hearing from you about Spike Lee's film, I'll talk about his assassination. See you then....
And now to wrap up the Autobiography
_______________________________
Epilogue by Alex Haley
A. Haley gives some insight into the process by which this book was written, how he collaborated with Malcolm X. Interestingly, he notes how he wasn't making much progress at first on drawing him out until he asked Malcolm about his mother.
1. Another interesting tidbit, Malcolm admitted to Haley that he had palmed that bullet in the Russian Roulette incident in his criminal days. see, p. 423.
2. Haley is particularly good in capturing the predicament Malcolm was in in Jan. 1965, a month before his death: "He talked about the pressures on him everywhere he turned, and about the frustrations, among them that no one wanted to accept anything related to him except 'my old 'hate' and 'violence' image.' He said 'the so-called moderate' civil rights organizations avoided him as 'too militant' and the 'so-called militants' avoided him as 'too moderate.' 'They won't let me turn the corner!' he once exclaimed, "I'm caught in a trap!'" (p. 431)
B. Haley's account of the assassination is not very good or precise. There are substantial questions, as we'll see.
Ossie Davis: On Malcolm X
A. I appreciate Mr. Davis's response to questions about why he eulogized Malcolm X, noting that only white people had asked him that, no black person. (If you read the eulogy, which I handed out, you'll know why.)
B. He respects Malcolm for his uncompromising commitment to search for and tell the truth.
C. And he recognizes the significant change in Malcolm's last year.
This brings to a close my comments on the Autobiography.
Again, tomorrow, in addition to hearing from you about Spike Lee's film, I'll talk about his assassination. See you then....
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