The Sunday before he was to officially announce his rupture1 with Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X cameto my home to discuss his plans and give me some necessary documentation.
Mrs. Handler had never met Malcolm before this fateful visit. She served us coffee and cakes whileMalcolm spoke2 in the courteous3, gentle manner that was his in private. It was obvious to me that Mrs.
Handler was impressed by Malcolm. His personality filled our living room.
Malcolm's attitude was that of a man who had reached a crossroads in his life and was making achoice under an inner compulsion. A wistful smile illuminated4 his countenance5 from time to time-asmile that said many things. I felt uneasy because Malcolm was evidently trying to say somethingwhich his pride and dignity prevented him from expressing. I sensed that Malcolm was not confidenthe would succeed in escaping from the shadowy world which had held him in thrall6.
Mrs. Handler was quiet and thoughtful after Malcolm's departure. Looking up suddenly, she said:
"You know, it was like having tea with a black panther."The description startled me. The black panther is an aristocrat7 in the animal kingdom. He is beautiful.
He is dangerous. As a man, Malcolm X had the physical bearing and the inner self-confidence of aborn aristocrat. And he was potentially dangerous. No man in our time aroused fear and hatred8 in thewhite man as did Malcolm, because in him the white man sensed an implacable foe9 who could not behad for any price-a man unreservedly committed to the cause of liberating10 the black man in Americansociety rather than integrating the black man into that society.
My first meeting with Malcolm X took place in March 1963 in the Muslim restaurant of TempleNumber Seven on Lenox Avenue. I had been assigned by _The New York Times_ to investigate thegrowing pressures within the Negro community. Thirty years of experience as a reporter in Westernand Eastern Europe had taught me that the forces in a developing social struggle are frequently buriedbeneath the visible surface and make themselves felt in many ways long before they burst out into the open. These generative forces make themselves felt through the power of an idea long before theirorganizational forms can openly challenge the establishment. It is the merit of European politicalscientists and sociologists to give a high priority to the power of ideas in a social struggle. In theUnited States, it is our weakness to confuse the numerical strength of an organization and thepublicity attached to leaders with the germinating11 forces that sow the seeds of social upheaval12 in ourcommunity.
In studying the growing pressures within the Negro community, I had not only to seek the opinions ofthe established leaders of the civil rights organizations but the opinions of those working in thepenumbra of the movement-"underground," so to speak. This is why I sought out Malcolm X, whoseideas had reached me through the medium of Negro integrationists. Their thinking was alreadyreflecting a high degree of nascent14 Negro nationalism.
I did not know what to expect as I waited for Malcolm. I was the only white person in the restaurant,an immaculate establishment tended by somber15, handsome, uncommunicative Negroes. Signs reading"Smoking Forbidden" were pasted on the highly polished mirrors. I was served coffee but becameuneasy in this aseptic, silent atmosphere as time passed. Malcolm finally arrived. He was very tall,handsome, of impressive bearing. His skin had a bronze hue16.
I rose to greet him and extended my hand. Malcolm's hand came up slowly. I had the impression itwas difficult for him to take my hand, but, _noblesse oblige_, he did. Malcolm then did a curious thingwhich he always repeated whenever we met in public in a restaurant in New York or Washington. Heasked whether I would mind if he took a seat facing the door. I had had similar requests put to me inEastern European capitals. Malcolm was on the alert; he wished to see every person who entered therestaurant. I quickly realized that Malcolm constantly walked in danger.
We spoke for more than three hours at this first encounter. His views about the white man weredevastating, but at no time did he transgress17 against my own personality and make me feel that I, asan individual, shared in the guilt18. He attributed the degradation19 of the Negro people to the white man.
He denounced integration13 as a fraud. He contended that if the leaders of the established civil rightsorganizations persisted, the social struggle would end in bloodshed because he was certain the whiteman would never concede full integration. He argued the Muslim case for separation as the onlysolution in which the Negro could achieve his own identity, develop his own culture, and lay thefoundations for a self-respecting productive community. He was vague about where the Negro statecould be established.
Malcolm refused to see the impossibility of the white man conceding secession from the United States;at this stage in his * career he contended it was the only solution. He defended Islam as a religion thatdid not recognize color bars. He denounced Christianity as a religion designed for slaves and theNegro clergy20 as the curse of the black man, exploiting him for their own purposes instead of seekingto liberate21 him, and acting22 as handmaidens of the white community in its determination to keep theNegroes in a subservient23 position.
During this first encounter Malcolm also sought to enlighten me about the Negro mentality24. Herepeatedly cautioned me to beware of Negro affirmations of good will toward the white man. He saidthat the Negro had been trained to dissemble and conceal25 his real thoughts, as a matter of survival. Heargued that the Negro only tells the white man what he believes the white man wishes to hear, andthat the art of dissembling reached a point where even Negroes cannot truthfully say they understandwhat their fellow Negroes believe. The art of deception26 practiced by the Negro was based on athorough understanding of the white man's mores27, he said; at the same time the Negro has remained aclosed book to the white man, who has never displayed any interest in understanding the Negro.
Malcolm's exposition of his social ideas was clear and thoughtful, if somewhat shocking to the whiteinitiate, but most disconcerting in our talk was Malcolm's belief in Elijah Muhammad's history of theorigins of man, and in a genetic28 theory devised to prove the superiority of black over white-a theorystunning to me in its sheer absurdity29.
After this first encounter, I realized that there were two Malcolms-the private and the public person.
His public performances on television and at meeting halls produced an almost terrifying effect. Hisimplacable marshaling of facts and his logic30 had something of a new dialectic, diabolic in its force. Hefrightened white television audiences, demolished31 his Negro opponents, but elicited32 a remarkableresponse from Negro audiences. Many Negro opponents in the end refused to make any publicappearances on the same platform with him. The troubled white audiences were confused, disturbed,felt themselves threatened. Some began to consider Malcolm evil incarnate34.
Malcolm appealed to the two most disparate elements in the Negro community-the depressed35 mass,and the galaxy36 of o Negro writers and artists who have burst on the American scene in the pastdecade. The Negro middle class-the Negro "establishment"-abhorred and feared Malcolm as much ashe despised it.
The impoverished37 Negroes respected Malcolm in the way that wayward children respect thegrandfather image. It was always a strange and moving experience to walk with Malcolm in Harlem.
He was known to all. People glanced at him shyly. Sometimes Negro youngsters would ask for hisautograph. It always seemed to me that their affection for Malcolm was inspired by the fact thatalthough he had become a national figure, he was still a man of the people who, they felt, would neverbetray them. The Negroes have suffered too long from betrayals and in Malcolm they sensed a man ofmission. They knew his origins, with which they could identify. They knew his criminal and prisonrecord, which he had never concealed38. They looked upon Malcolm with a certain wonderment. Herewas a man who had come from the lower depths which they still inhabited, who had triumphed overhis own criminality and his own ignorance to become a forceful leader and spokesman, anuncompromising champion of his people.
Although many could not share his Muslim religious beliefs, they found in Malcolm's puritanism astanding reproach to their own lives. Malcolm had purged39 himself of all the ills that afflict40 thedepressed Negro mass: drugs, alcohol, tobacco, not to speak of criminal pursuits. His personal life wasimpeccable-of a puritanism unattainable for the mass. Human redemption-Malcolm had achieved it in his own lifetime, and this was known to the Negro community.
In his television appearances and at public meetings Malcolm articulated the woes41 and the aspirationsof the depressed Negro mass in a way it was unable to do for itself. When he attacked the white man,Malcolm did for the Negroes what they couldn't do for themselves-he attacked with a violence andanger that spoke for the ages of misery42. It was not an academic exercise of just giving hell to "Mr.
Charlie."Many of the Negro writers and artists who are national figures today revered43 Malcolm for what theyconsidered his ruthless honesty in stating the Negro case, his refusal to compromise, and his search fora group identity that had been destroyed by the white man when he brought the Negroes in chainsfrom Africa. The Negro writers and artists regarded Malcolm as the great catalyst44, the man whoinspired self-respect and devotion in the downtrodden millions.
A group of these artists gathered one Sunday in my home, and we talked about Malcolm. Theirdevotion to him as a man was moving. One said: "Malcolm will never betray us. We have suffered toomuch from betrayals in the past."Malcolm's attitude toward the white man underwent a marked change in 1964-a change thatcontributed to his break with Elijah Muhammad and his racist45 doctrines47. Malcolm's meteoric48 eruptionon the national scene brought him into wider contact with white men who were not the "devils" hehad thought they were. He was much in demand as a speaker at student forums49 in Easternuniversities and had appeared at many by the end of his short career as a national figure. He alwaysspoke respectfully and with a certain surprise of the positive response of white students to hislectures.
A second factor that contributed to his conversion50 to wider horizons was a growing doubt about theauthenticity of Elijah Muhammad's version of the Muslim religion-a doubt that grew into a certaintywith more knowledge and more experience. Certain secular51 practices at the Chicago headquarters ofElijah Muhammad had come to Malcolm's notice and he was profoundly shocked.
Finally, he embarked52 on a number of prolonged trips to Mecca and the newly independent Africanstates through the good offices of the representatives of the Arab League in the United States. It wason his first trip to Mecca that he came to the conclusion that he had yet to discover Islam.
Assassins' bullets ended Malcolm's career before he was able to develop this new approach, which inessence recognized the Negroes as an integral part of the American community-a far cry from ElijahMuhammad's doctrine46 of separation. Malcolm had reached the midpoint in redefining his attitude tothis country and the white-black relationship. He no longer inveighed53 against the United States butagainst a segment of the United States represented by overt54 white supremacists in the South andcovert white supremacists in the North.
It was Malcolm's intention to raise Negro militancy55 to a new high point with the main thrust aimed at both the Southern and Northern white supremacists. The Negro problem, which he had always saidshould be renamed "the white man's problem," was beginning to assume new dimensions for him inthe last months of his life.
To the very end, Malcolm sought to refashion the broken strands56 between the American Negroes andAfrican culture. He saw in this the road to a new sense of group identity, a self-conscious role inhistory, and above all a sense of man's own worth which he claimed the white man had destroyed inthe Negro.
American autobiographical literature is filled with numerous accounts of remarkable33 men who pulledthemselves to the summit by their bootstraps. Few are as poignant57 as Malcolm's memoirs58. Astestimony to the power of redemption and the force of human personality, the autobiography59 ofMalcolm X is a revelation.
New York, June 1965
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rupture
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| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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thrall
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| n.奴隶；奴隶制 | |
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aristocrat
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| n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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liberating
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| 解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 ) | |
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germinating
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| n.& adj.发芽（的）v.（使）发芽( germinate的现在分词 ) | |
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upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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integration
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| n.一体化，联合，结合 | |
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nascent
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| adj.初生的，发生中的 | |
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somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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transgress
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| vt.违反，逾越 | |
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guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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liberate
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| v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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subservient
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| adj.卑屈的，阿谀的 | |
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mentality
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| n.心理，思想，脑力 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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mores
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| n.风俗，习惯，民德，道德观念 | |
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genetic
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| adj.遗传的，遗传学的 | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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incarnate
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| adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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galaxy
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| n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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impoverished
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| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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purged
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| 清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响 | |
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afflict
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| vt.使身体或精神受痛苦，折磨 | |
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woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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catalyst
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| n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事 | |
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racist
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| n.种族主义者，种族主义分子 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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meteoric
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| adj.流星的，转瞬即逝的，突然的 | |
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49
forums
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| 讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭 | |
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conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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51
secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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inveighed
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| v.猛烈抨击，痛骂，谩骂( inveigh的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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overt
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| adj.公开的，明显的，公然的 | |
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militancy
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| n.warlike behavior or tendency | |
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strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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memoirs
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| n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
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autobiography
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| n.自传 | |
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