Malcolm X Historiography Summary

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Background on the Autobiography of Malcolm X While autobiographies must necessarily be written while the author is alive, they are most often retrospective, providing the reader with a personalized view of some significant period in the author’s life. A real-time, unedited version of the author’s life is described as a journal. Biographies, on the other hand, may be written either during their subjects’ lives or after a subject has died. The biographical form allows an author a greater degree of objectivity on the life of the subject. An “as told to” autobiography provides the reader with the subject’s version of the truth of his or her life while the arduous task of writing is left to a professional writer. The Autobiography…show more content…
The Nation of Islam Another critical cultural element in the setting of Malcolm X’s life was the Nation of Islam, or Black Muslim, religion. The Nation of Islam, led by Elijah Muhammad, had only about 400 members when Malcolm X joined its ranks in 1952. The Nation of Islam assumed a powerful role in the black community during Malcolm X’s tenure as its spokesman, and as a result of his proselytizing, increased its membership to around 400,000 by the time Malcolm X was censured by the organization in 1963. The Nation of Islam offered to African Americans a theology wherein they could feel superior to the white people who were oppressing them and advocated militancy towards whites. The ideology of the Nation of Islam was such that the daily habits of black people were prescribed; dietary laws, methods of address, and personal habits were strictly regulated and punishments for infractions were imposed by the organization. The doctrine of the Nation of Islam reflects the subjugation of women into a protected, but isolated
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