Black Separatism, Essay Example

Malcolm X famously opined that “you don’t integrate with a sinking ship,” referring to African Americans integrating into mainstream America despite their subaltern status. The Nation of Islam, a Black Muslim organization, under the auspices of Elijah Muhammed was integral to the burgeoning civil rights movement because of its emphasis on the inability for African Americans being integrated into mainstream white society. As an alternative, however, the Nation of Islam promoted the doctrine of separatism by construing the black community as a wholly other nation living within an oppressive country constructed on the ideology of white hegemony. The entrapment of African Americans within scattere ghettoes reaffirmed this assertion.  Malcolm X emerged as a the primary spokesman for the Nation of Islam, and he contended that America was far too racist and that racism was too deeply embedded in the fundamental structures and institutions in America for African Americans to have any hope of being equal to their white counterparts (Bracey, 2008, p. 98). The Nation of Islam thus proposed the solution of carving out a separate nation for blacks in order for the African American community to develop separate from a a corrupt white nation whose fate would be “divine destruction” (Bracey, 2008, p. 100). From the perspective of white America, black separatism sounds like an illogical, far-fetched, and misguided reaction to the discrimination and oppression blacks persistently face, while African Americans perceived it to be a utopian solution that solved the issues that arose as a result of strained race relations throughout American history. Some African Americans, however, also viewed separatism as a juvenile and impractical solution to cope with their oppression on account of their race. The social reality of black separatism is commensurate with the vision of white vigilante groups, thereby merely forming a radical epistemology that was central to radical black nationalism yet was not seen as viable during the turbulent Civil Rights Movement.

The radical nature of black separatist ideology enables scholars to juxtapose it with that of the ideology of white hegemony that continues to be propagated by radical white groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Indeed, the Nation of Islam espoused overtly racist ideas regarding whites as well as other groups such as Jews, Catholics, and homosexuals. The Nation of Islam asserted that African Americans were the very first humans to live on earth, so whites were merely “devils” who were genetically mutated and as a collective whole did everything in their power from allowing blacks to rightfully rule the entire globe (Bracey, 2008, p. 97). Malcolm X fiercely denounced white hegemony and called on all blacks to declare their autonomy from white oppression, as over centuries of discrimination and oppression reified the notion that whites would never view their black counterparts as equals. Malcolm X profoundly influenced the Civil Rights Movement and radical black nationalism as a result of his dexterity in rhetoric and the capacity to draw in an audience via his charisma and the content of his speeches. Completely withdrawing from the white establishment and creating a land of their own was discursively framed as a necessity and was at the core of the Black Power movement. The radical nature of Malcolm X’s speeches on race relations intimates that there was a chasm between rhetoric and reality, although the sustenance of black separatism renders it necessary to investigate the doctrine further in order to determine its efficacy.

In a speech delivered in 1964 after his pilgrammage to Mecca and departure from the Nation of Islam, the holy city, it appears that Malcolm X softened his rhetoric on and perceptions of black nationalism, although he still delivered speeches in order to shine the spotlight on various inequalities that persisted in American society. The softening of his rhetoric intimates that Malcolm X, the spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, while he did denounced integration into white society, understood that it was a physical impossibility. He still frequently addressed issues related to Black nationalism and the possibility of revolution due to the fact that African Americans persisted to be at various disadvantages. Malcolm X predicted in 1964 that America would bear witness to “much racial bloodshed…if there is to be bleeding, it should be reciprocal” (Malcolm X, 1964). Indeed, this was perceived as a call to arms for blacks, which is why it was so threatening to white society. Malcolm X argued that, if a separate nation for blacks was not viable, then African Americans who are American citizens have the right to defend themselves whenever they are thrust into situations that they feel as though they are in danger. Terrill (2001) describes the rhetoric espoused by Malcolm X as a discourse that was far more prudent than prophetic (Terill, 2001, p. 30). While with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X used a more lyrical methodology and approach rather than relying on actual facts so that listeners were drawn in and engaged, more willing to buy into the radical ideas espoused him rather than listening to the substance of the content presented to them. Indeed, under the influence and auspices of the Nation of Islam, he utilized offensive language when talking about adherents to non-violence and politics of supplication as well as white Americans as a whole.

While Malcolm X still denounced the gradualist approach of Martin Luther King to black liberation, he nonetheless recognized the impracticality of preaching black separatism like the Nation of Islam did. He believed that the American system was a corrupt one and was built on the foundation of white hegemony, as the U.S. touted itself as a democracy and the land of freedom and liberty for all which is why the U.S. has acted as an international police. Ironically, it is the United States that needed the transform the entire U.S. society in order for rhetoric and reality to match up. The softening of Malcolm X’s rhetoric after his divorce from the Nation of Islam suggests that although he touted a revolution and a radical brand of black nationalism, separatism was indeed not a viable option for this to manifest.

References

Benson, R.D. (2014). Fighting for our place in the sun: Malcolm X and the radicalization of the black student movement, 1960-1973. United States: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.

Bracey, A. (2008). Saviors or sellouts: The promise and peril of black conservatism, from Booker T. Washington to Condoleeza Rice. Boston, Beacon Press.

Edozie, R.K. & Stokes, C. (eds). (2015). Malcolm X’s Michigan worldview: An exemplar for contemporary black studies. Michigan: Michigan State University Press.

Gomez, M. (ed). (2005). Black crescent: The experience and legacy of African Muslims in America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Marabel, M. (ed). (2011). Malcolm X: A life of reinvention. New York: Viking Press.

Terrill, R.E. (2001). Protest, prophecy, and prudence in the rhetoric of Malcolm X. Rhetoric and Public Affairs, 4(1), 25-53.