Malcom X

Hoy es fiesta en Berkeley. Hoy es el día de Malcom X. Todo está abierto pero estamos en un holiday day, que significa que los que asistimos a instituciones 'públicas' hoy nos tenemos que quedar en casa. No importa. Fuera llueve. He salido a comprar comida a un coreano y he vuelto con la capucha de la chaqueta puesta (lo que es tendencia aquí). Dentro de 4 horas me iré a acompañar a Guillermo al aeropuerto. Se vuelve a República Dominicana. Yo me quedo porque estoy con temas burocráticos que requieren mi presencia. Damnit!!!

Y como mejor que mi teacher no lo voy a explicar, aquí os dejo con la información literal que ella (Anne) ha enviado sobre Malcom X.

just a note to remind you know that monday, may 17th is a holiday. the occasion is malcolm x day. this day is probably only celebrated in berkeley, california, but since that is where we are, we are celebrating him. who was malcolm x? well the best way to find out is to read "the autobiography of malcolm x" as told to alex haley or see the movie "malcolm x" by the director spike lee. both are excellent and i recommend either or both wholeheartedly. for those who don't want to take the time to read the book or see the movie (3 hours) i'm going to try and tell you a little about the guy. i get a little overenthusiastic about this information, so feel free to ignore me. ok here goes: let's see. so. in the united states, the 1960's was a time of great social unrest. the vietnam war was going on and a lot of people were upset about our involvement in the war (sound familiar?) also people were getting more "free" in their behavior. drug use was becoming common and it was the era of "free love". more important, minority races in the united states started fighting for civil rights. there were peaceful demonstrations as well as riots in major cities. two of the most prominent african-american civil rights leaders of that time were dr. martin luther king, jr (for whom we have a national holiday in january) and malcolm x. both were leading the fight against discrimination and segregation, and both wanted african-americans treated with dignity. however, their approaches were totally different. martin luther king believed in a non-violent approach; he thought that violence should not be met with more violence. malcolm x believed that in some cases where people were being treated violently, violent resistance was justified. he made the famous statement that african americans would gain their rights "by any means necessary". to understand malcolm x, we should talk a little about his life. he was born malcolm little in omaha, nebraska. his father was murdered by whites when malcolm was 6 years old. malcolm and his mother moved to detroit. although he showed talent in school, malcolm dropped out at age 15 and moved to new york city. there, he turned to the world of crime. by the age of 21 he was in prison. malcolm spent 6 years in prison where he learned about the black muslim movement and the teachings of tjhe black muslim leader, elijah muhammad. he came to feel that he had been wasting his time in his previous lifestyle and that what was important was to follow a religious life, and work for the benefit of african-americans. at that time, he believed in elijah muhammad's teaching that all white people are "devils" and that african americans should live separately from whites. on his release from prison, malcolm was a devoted follower of elijah muhammad. he took the last name "x" which meant "undknown." by that, he meant to say that african americans no longer knew their original african names, because in america whites had taken away those names and had given african-americans the last names of white families. malcolm became the assistant minister of the black muslims'detroit mosque. elijah muhammad, pleased with malcolm's work, transferred him to philadelphia and later assigned him to a mosque in harlem, which is a major african-american area of new york city. by the end of 1956, the new york mosque was one of the most successful in the black muslim movement. by the early 1960's, malcolm x was better known than elijah muhammad, who was supposed to be his superior. this caused a great deal of jealousy and elijah muhammad started to give less and less responsbility and authority to malcolm x which led to a rift between the two. in 1963, malcolm x stopped serving as minister of the new york mosque. he made two trips to africa and to the middle east. as a muslim, malcolm x went on a "haj" to mecca. in his travels and especially on his trip to mecca he changed his view that there could be no co-operation between races. he saw people of all colors worshipping together and realized that islam was not a religion of separatism and violence, but one of peace. when he got back to the united states, he attempted to organize a group of his own, the "organization of afro-american unity. he traveled all over the united states with a message of african-american dignity and independence and hope that there could be cooperation between black and white people all over the world. his views at this time drew closer to the views held by martin luther king jr.

he had made many enemies, black and white, before and after his break with elijah muhammad, and he feared for his life. on february 21, 1965, he was assassinated in the audobon ballroom new york city. followers of elijah muhammad were thought to be responsible for his murder. there was a confession by louis farrakhan many many years later that it was, indeed, black muslims, who were responsible.

this is a man who kept studying and evolving and wasn't afraid to change his opinions if he was convinced that what he thought was wrong. i totally admire this. also, he was one of the greatest orators in american history.

if you've gotten this far, thanks for reading.

Sí, a los que hayáis llegado hasta aquí, yo os dejo con esta simpática foto de uno de los comercios de Shattuck Avenue (una de las avenidas principales de Berkeley). No sólo tienen paraguas, también tienen a los Panchos ahí dentro.... Je,je,je...