Tribute to 'a martyr for all the oppressed'

Malcolm X

Forty-three years have passed since Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in front of a crowd of hundreds, including his wife and their young children. This May 19 would have been his 83rd birthday.

It is perhaps unfair and not dialectical to hypothesize on what he may have become were Malcolm X still alive today. It was his keen ability to articulate the mood of the Black masses; his unwaveringness; his presence and skills as an orator, but also as an organizer that the state deemed too dangerous, which is why he was assassinated.

He should be commemorated because of his brilliance, for what he stood for, the things he said and did, and because, simply, he was a defiant person who rose from the conditions imposed upon the oppressed Black masses—singed but still amongst the masses, still surrounded by the ardor to confront the fire starter—the oppressor.

He was for Black people, as Ossie Davis eulogized, “a shining Black prince.” But he is also a martyr for all the oppressed around the world, the great mass of humanity—from the internally oppressed within the U.S., the prison house of nations, to around the world, from Latin America and Africa to Europe, Asia and Australia.

Many claim Malcolm X, and it is the right of any Black person to do so, even a sexist right-wing pig like Supreme Court judge Clarence Thomas. Because where would Clarence Thomas be had it not been for fighters such as Malcolm X?

However, what Malcolm became cannot be undone. By his own words, he was a revolutionary, a Black revolutionary. And a revolutionary is not interested in more of the same, but a topsy-turvy world—where those on the bottom arrive at the top; where the exploited supplant the exploiter and the masses become the rulers.

On capitalism, Malcolm said in 1965: “It is impossible for capitalism to survive, primarily because the system of capitalism needs some blood to suck. ... As the nations of the world free themselves, then capitalism has less victims, less to suck, and it becomes weaker and weaker. It’s only a matter of time in my opinion before it will collapse completely.”

Also in 1965 Malcolm said: “All over the world, it is young people who are actually involving themselves in the struggle to eliminate oppression and exploitation. They are the ones who most quickly identify with the struggle and the necessity to eliminate the conditions that exist.”

And in 1964, on the concept of political power, he said: “Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression, because power, real power, comes from conviction which produces action, uncompromising action. It also produces insurrection against oppression. This is the only way you end oppression—with power.”

So, if Malcolm X were still alive, maybe the conditions of the world would be the same. But he would still possess that piercing gaze, the keen intellect, the same optimistic outlook and militancy.

If asked about the prospects for continuing worldwide struggle in 2009, we can infer from what he said regarding 1965, being a student of the long view of history: “Well, 1965 will probably be the longest, hottest, bloodiest summer that has yet been seen in the United States since the beginning of the Black revolution, primarily because the same causes that existed in the winter of 1964 still exist in January—in February of 1965. Now, these are causes of inferior housing, inferior employment, inferior education.

All the evils of a bankrupt society still exist where Black Americans are concerned, and the resentment that exists has increased tremendously.”

Forty-three years have passed since Malcolm X was assassinated—43 long years of imperialist exploitation and bloodshed; and capitalism intends to give no respite, as it seeks even greater profit. The resentment that it breeds, and the anger over the conditions it creates around the world, grows; and as history illustrates, times can and do change, and it is the struggle of the ruled over the rulers that always has and will continue to bring change—profound, revolutionary change.

It has been 83 years since the birth of Malcolm; he should be commemorated by struggling forward.

Sources for Malcolm X quotes: “Malcolm X Talks to Young People,” Pathfinder Books and “Malcolm X Speaks,” Grove Press.