If I only could read all the books I want to read. I can't count the books I bought and only read half or not at all. The stack of to-be-read-next books grows and grows. And now after reading this text I just ordered Malcolm X's biography.
“Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
21–30 of 168 posts
Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
#22"You couldn’t have gotten me out of books with a wedge...my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life."
I'll pair that quote with this, please consider giving yourself: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/readingrainbow/bring-re...
Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
The waste was the generations of people lost to a racist society. His work to directly address it was an attempt to cure a tragedy that had been unfolding uninterrupted for hundreds of years.
a misguided attempt that had the opposite effect. it's almost as if you are of the belief that racism can fix racism.
Rationalizing to the end of a problem does not make the conclusion feel true. The work of making something not only logical but believable is his contribution to American history. The argument that all persons are valuable is a simple one, and he allowed more people to see someone who felt it. His evolution from brutalized child, to street criminal, to inmate, to adherent, to individual enlightenment is something we would all be lucky to experience.
Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
His father was murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan. I would say he had justification in reacting. His intellect allowed him to get his message out to millions of people around the world from the streets of Harlem to the lecture halls at Oxford University. Hardly wasted. Hardly shameful. The real shame is referenced in the original article.
ah, eye for an eye. well, that philosophy has certainly never worked before but maybe this time!
[deleted]
Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
We are fairly quick to erase, forget or forgive the racism of white leaders, but seem to have a harder time doing so for those who oppose the majority's cultural status quo. I fear this has been used historically as a way to marginalize certain voices. Certainly X is a complicated, difficult and contradictory figure, but also one who, through the autobiography, is able to capture a particular time and experience amaz…
Another way to put it: Malcolm X was authentic in everything he did, and that was something this country needed. He was able to articulate more clearly than anyone else the implications of being black in America: that the only way to succeed in any way was by trying to act white. Thanks in large part to his activism, that is far less true today.
What does it mean to act white or to act black for that matter?
Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
His father was murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan. I would say he had justification in reacting. His intellect allowed him to get his message out to millions of people around the world from the streets of Harlem to the lecture halls at Oxford University. Hardly wasted. Hardly shameful. The real shame is referenced in the original article.
ah, eye for an eye. well, that philosophy has certainly never worked before but maybe this time!
[deleted]
Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually, his views were rapidly evolving at the time of his death. Read the whole book.
I do know that, but most of his public output was spent on vitriol that damaged race relations further. hence the part where I felt it was a shame.
I think you should have been more specific then.
Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
#28"You couldn’t have gotten me out of books with a wedge...my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life." I'll pair that quote with this, please consider giving yourself: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/readingrainbow/bring-re...
Looks like there are some better recommendations for book-related charities: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/05/...
Charities rated highly on Charity Navigator: http://www.firstbook.org/ http://www.cliontheweb.org/
Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
#29what a shame that his intellect ended up wasted on reactionary racism. understandable in a sense, given time and place, but still... a waste.
Not really his fault. If you read the book, you know that if he had his way he would have been a lawyer.
Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X
#30"You couldn’t have gotten me out of books with a wedge...my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life." I'll pair that quote with this, please consider giving yourself: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/readingrainbow/bring-re...
Looks like there are some better recommendations for book-related charities: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/05/... Charities rated highly on Charity Navigator: http://www.firstbook.org/ http://www.cliontheweb.org/
Thank you for the links!