Malcolm X
The film Malcolm X was directed by Spike Lee and starts Denzel Washington as Malcolm X. The film opens with Malcolm Little, also called Red, getting his hair relaxed. Back in the 1950s Black men often relaxed their hair. It was called a conk and viewed by most Blacks as a Black person attempting to “look white.” The film has a lot of flashbacks to allow the audience to understand Malcolm X’s background. When Malcolm Little was a little boy his father was killed by the Ku Klux Klan because he was a preacher, who like Marcus Garvey, believed Blacks should separate themselves from Whites and ultimately return to Africa. Since Malcolm’s father was the provider, when he was killed, Malcolm’s mother could not afford to take care of the family. As a result, the social worker had the children removed from their mother’s care and later Malcolm’s mother was committed to a mental institution. Malcolm was sent to foster care, and went to school with the white children. He was very smart, yet when he told his teacher he wanted to become a lawyer, his teacher told him he needed a “good job for black people.” As Malcolm grew older he worked as a porter and enjoyed jazz music spending time in New York City. Malcolm even started dating a white woman named Sophia. Malcolm started pimping, running numbers and participating in other illegal crimes. As a result he was sentence to 10 years for robbery along with the fact he was dating Sophia who was white. In prison, Malcolm was introduced to the Islamic religion. As he studied, he learned self respect and dignity. He also believed that Blacks would never receive justice and
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equality living in America. When Malcolm gets out of jail, he became involved with the Nation of Islam and began making speeches on their behalf as an associate minster. After leaving prison, he changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X. One scene in the film shows Malcolm coming to the rescue of a young Black man who was beaten by the...