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The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Malcolm X

Start date: February 5, 2023

Finish date: March 1, 2023

Discussion: Monthly Bonus Reads

Why we're reading this: Our International Holidays for February 2023 is Black History Month.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Mal…more
[close] Our International Holidays for February 2023 is Black History Month.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X

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What Members Thought

Apr 01, 2019 Jessi Metzing rated it it was amazing

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WOW!!!

I had said upon starting this book that I was ashamed for knowing so little about who Malcolm X was ... this book provided great insight into who this amazing man was as a person. Malcolm X went through many evolutions in his lifetime ... he did not hold fast to old beliefs no matter how long held they had been once he was confronted with the truth. He had the courage and the intelligence to adjust his worldview more than once, which gave me as a reader the deepest respect for his life a WOW!!!

I had said upon starting this book that I was ashamed for knowing so little about who Malcolm X was ... this book provided great insight into who this amazing man was as a person. Malcolm X went through many evolutions in his lifetime ... he did not hold fast to old beliefs no matter how long held they had been once he was confronted with the truth. He had the courage and the intelligence to adjust his worldview more than once, which gave me as a reader the deepest respect for his life and work. It is truly a shame that you do not seem to hear about Malcolm X in the same way that you hear about individuals such as Dr. King and others.
Malcolm X was a person who had every reason to just use what society had done to him as an excuse not to do or make anything out of his life. But instead, he chose to do just the opposite. While in prison he used reading to truly transform his mind. About this he said: "I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me. I knew right there, in prison, that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.”
There were many quotes that impacted me deeply all throughout the book, so many that it was hard to narrow down which ones to use in the review. However, I have long since thought what a shame it is that more people do not understand the ways that reading could truly enrich their minds and lives. I will never again take my ability to read and my access to books for granted, and this book is a big part of the reason why.
Going through this book I often felt that Malcolm was continually misquoted, misunderstood, or misrepresented. He was regularly labeled as militant or violent, when in actuality he never seemed to advocate violence at all. But fairness and equal right seemed to be his main objectives. In fact, upon the subject of justice he said this: "I’ve had enough of someone else’s propaganda. I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.”
I am fully aware that it is impossible for me to truly understand the plight of African Americans. I do not claim to have caught absolutely everything that this book has to offer, but it is simply my goal not to be ignorant of anything that I do not have to be. There is so much that I will take away from reading this book. I truly feel that it is a must read for every human being at least once in their lives. ...more

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