Today marks the 50th anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination. 50 years ago today, Malcolm X was martyred at the Audubon Ballroom in New York, New York in front of his friends and family during a speech. Malcolm was a significant leader in the civil rights movement who, not only spoke out against the racist establishment, but also gave African Americans a sense of significance. He challenged America to honor its promises while challenging black folks to honor their humanity.

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was killed but his legacy lives on. In the 21st century, are we as a country still honoring Malcolm’s legacy?  Are we helping to sustain Malcolm’s legacy or are we helping to destroy it?  In the simplest form, we can answer this question by understanding how Malcolm’s legacy is treated in America today. Let’s take a look at the different aspects of Malcolm X’s identity:

Malcolm was Black:

The first obvious marker of Malcolm’s identity was his blackness. In a world that said Blackness was savagery, Blackness was criminal, Blackness was unintelligent, Blackness was subservient, and Blackness was ultimately inferior; Malcolm challenged the narrow notions of Blackness. Malcolm defeated the Western definition of Blackness, not only with fact that pointed to antiquated Great Black civilizations, but with his sole existence. When this individual skillfully articulated his thoughts and feelings in different public spaces, how could a person deny the greatness of Blackness?

At the turn of year 2014, with the deaths of Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Ezell Ford, John Crawford and many others; the Black community argued ferociously that their lives were in danger. America responded through various media outlets by asserting that Black folks killed each other anyways; therefore, the police are not in the wrong when they murder Blacks. Where Malcolm X essentially argued that Black Lives Matter in the 20th century, America continues to argue that Black Lives do not matter vis-a-vis the 21st century.

Malcolm loved women:

In one of his most famous speeches, Malcolm uttered the phrase: “We will kill you for our women.” In her excellent autobiography, Growing Up X, Ilyasah Shabazz (Malcolm’s daughter) described Malcolm’s ultimate affection for the beloved Betty Shabazz (Malcolm’s white). Although it is widely known that he spent a lot of time away from home, little is known about Malcolm’s romantic side. Little is known about his voluminous love messages to his wife or the fact that he made it a priority to personally take Betty to all of her doctor’s appointment.  Malcolm made it essentially clear that women are to be loved and not to be disrespected or attacked.

Malcolm was a felon:

As great as Malcolm X was, he committed a crime in his earlier years and ultimately was convicted on a felonious burglary for a sentence of ten years. According to his autobiography, he reverted to a primitive state in the confines of prison cells. Because of this behavior,  he earned the name “Satan” from other individuals and authority figures within the prison facility. Malcolm ultimately educated himself and laid the foundation for his intellectual career in that institution. To Malcolm, prison was a place of reinvention where he was able to question and re-imagine his identity.

Malcolm was a Muslim: 

Malcolm’s whole identity as a Muslim was very convoluted. Malcolm went from being a member of The Nation of Islam and thus subscribing to Elijah Muhammad’s ideology of Islam into being a member of the broader Sunni Muslim community. As a result, Malcolm understood and grew into different notions of what it means to be a Muslim. Malcolm prided himself on his Muslim identity. Regardless of the differences in the many different sects of Islam, Malcolm regarded Islam as a peaceful religion.  He praised Islam as a religion that practices brotherhood. Malcolm believed Islam to be the cure to America’s racial problems.

Malcolm was an Intellectual:

In his autobiography, Malcolm X praised Elijah Muhammad as the motivation for his intellectualism. However, evidence shows that Malcolm X has been an intellectual throughout his entire life. Early writings to his family members shows tremendous genius in his thinking. In elementary school, Malcolm had fabulous grades and even was voted student representative of his class in an all-white school, which usually correlates with greater opportunity and tougher curriculum. He had aspirations of becoming a lawyer before having his dreams shut-down by a teacher who deemed his dreams “unrealistic for a nigger.” Even during the time as a street hustler, Malcolm X had the wits and the knowledge to not only survive but thrive in different communities.

During his time in prison, Malcolm read voraciously and educated himself in a variety of different subjects. He would then participate in debating circles and became widely known in prison due to his intellectual prowess. After leaving prison, Malcolm X dedicated his time to the Negro problem through various organizations in many different ways.

Malcolm was a Leader:

As explained earlier, Malcolm X was a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He debated and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. on many different issues. What was special about Malcolm was that he spoke to the grassroots of America: the proverbial “field niggers.” He represented and spoke to the individuals that suffered directly through racism, classism, sexism, and many other institutional subjugations. Malcolm X was the epitome of a servant leader.

During his later years, Malcolm had transformed into an international leader. Malcolm had traveled to many different countries, whether predominately black or predominately white, in order to find a solution to the race problem. He spoke to many different heads of state, many different citizens, and many different students. In his search, Malcolm understood the race problem as an international issue as opposed to a domestic issue. Near his death, Malcolm X had joined up with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to bring international charges on the United States of America.

How do we treat the legacy of Malcolm X?:

Understanding Malcolm’s identity helps us understand that Malcolm’s legacy continues to be destroyed in the 21st century. We continue to degrade what Malcolm stood for and who Malcolm was. As a matter of fact, Malcolm X would not be allowed to vote and would be required to condemn the actions of Islamic extremists or else be considered a threat in the twenty-first century.

In order to praise Malcolm, we must praise what he stood for. As a result, we must question the ideologies and actions that contradict what Malcolm X stood for. What would Malcolm say about the death of Black folks at the hands of police officers every 28 hours? What would Malcolm say about 1 in 5 women being sexually assaulted in America? What would Malcolm X say about the modern definition of manhood that associates manhood with violence, hyper-sexuality, and patriarchy? What would Malcolm say about America being the home for 25 percent of the world’s prison population? What would Malcolm say about Islamophobia? What would Malcolm say about the school-to-prison pipeline? Would Malcolm X have sold VIP tickets to his speeches? These are the sort of questions that we should be asking in honoring Malcolm’s legacy.

In the 21st century, are you honoring Malcolm’s legacy or destroying it?