"Only the Mistakes Have Been Mine"

The Black Radical Tradition houses some of the most remarkable men and women in the history of the world. Each of them emanates a different hue of the light of knowledge; all equally dazzling.

Personally (although I humbly submit that I have no right to make this choice), the hue shone in our direction by Malcolm X has been the most enlightening. There is a fair chance that this bias in his favor merely stems from his ever-lasting charisma and his eloquence, that was second to none. Upon deeper reflection, however, the true cause of the inspiration, admiration, and affection felt toward Malcolm arises from a different source.

More than Malcolm X, these feelings seem to be directed toward Malcolm Little. Little, the little boy who lost his father to the brutalities of terrorists. Little, the adolescent who watched the state and society tear apart first his family, and then his dreams. Little, the young man who ended up in prison for a series of petty crimes. Little, who endured so much and more simply because of the way he was born – black.

There is a Malcolm Little in all of us.

Life is, unfortunately, often filled with undeserved sufferings. As humans, we, too, are not infallible and may even end up on the inflicting end of some of these injustices. Malcolm Little becomes our “black, shining prince” of hope. He holds out the promise and possibility of redemption. He is an example of the strength and kindness that can emerge from the darkest pits of desolateness. He is the embodiment of the cliched phrase we foolishly tend to neglect: it is never too late to change. And it is never too late to learn. What Malcolm X teaches us is that you are never too wise to learn more; he shows us the absolute necessity of the humility that must accompany knowledge and power. One must always be capable of acknowledging, admitting, and ultimately learning from their mistakes. Life is not distinctly divided into phases you are learning and when you are past it. It is a continuous process of gaining knowledge, and of becoming a better person. It is a struggle to go beyond your comforts, as well as your immediate circumstances, to quench your thirst for knowledge, but even more importantly, to share the knowledge with others.

James Baldwin said, “I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain”. The life and legacy of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz are beacons of hope for the rest of us, for they prove the possibility of breaking the cycle of violence and oppression. He shows us how to live a life of love and light that refuses to reproduce that which produced it.

Malcolm X will always be here to remind us of what Cesaire had so beautifully revealed, “There is room for everyone at the rendezvous of victory.”