“A Homemade Education” by Malcolm X

“A Homemade Education” by Malcolm X

Malcolm X is one of the greatest activists of all time. His real name is El-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz. He was an activist who acted as an American Muslim Minister who presented his ideas based on the Black Muslim faith (Malcolm 13). Malcolm X was a civil rights activist whose main agenda was to fight racism and advocated for the freedom of Black Muslims from White Oppression. In this paper, the primary objective is to explore experiences, situations, or people who motivated Malcolm X in line with his narrative “A Homemade Education.” Besides, the paper aims to explore how and why motivators propelled Malcolm X to become successful in educational, professional, vocational, and personality matters.

Motivators of Malcolm X, Obstacles and how he overcame them

In his narrative “A Homemade Education,” Malcolm X depicts the problematic experience that he faced in his life. in his teenage life, he became frustrated about life and decided to capture his frustrations in the narrative. However, several aspects motivated Malcolm X to follow his own path in his life. One of his greatest motivators was Mr. Elijah Muhammad, who acted as a greats inspiration (Malcolm 56). Mainly, he inspired Malcolm X to establish himself through education. He also motivated X to convey reliable ideas via writings and speeches. In that regard, the motivation from Mr. Elijah propelled X to believe in his skills as an articulate hustler who commanded attention despite his level of education.

In the narrative, it is vivid that Mr. Elijah motivated X because, in his later life in prison, X started to improve his writing and reading skills with an agenda of matching the skills depicted by his motivator, Mr. Elijah Muhammad. Through inspiration, Malcolm X developed his writing and reading skills through his desire to read and write each word from the dictionary. He repeated the process until he comprehended the deep meaning. The inspiration from Mr. Muhammad made X to work relentlessly to gain his reading and writing skills, as well as achieving his overall objective is education. In prison, Malcolm X was writing letters to Mr. Muhammad, but he realized that he had inadequate skills in his writing, thereby limiting communication (Malcolm 34). As a founder of the Muslim Sect Nation of Islam, Mr. Elijah Mahammad kept motivating Malcolm X on the improvements in his writing skills.

The other inspiration for Malcolm X was a person known as Bimbi. Malcolm X meets Bimbi during his incarceration at the Charlestown Prison. When they first met, Malcolm was jealous of Bimbi. Mainly, Malcolm felt that Bambi was more educated than him, yet they were both in prison. Bimbi had a lot of knowledge, both in his reading and writing skills. In that regard, the knowledge portrayed by Bimbi had attracted attention from all inmates at the Charlestown Prison (Malcolm 23). Therefore, Malcolm was jealous because he used to attract such attention when he was in the streets. The relationship between Malcolm and Bimbi inspired him to improve in his education, where X decided to educate himself with skills and knowledge that would match those depicted by Bimbi. Even after his transfer to Norfolk Prison Colony, X started engaging new skills by copying the dictionary down word. At the end of the term in prison, the inspiration from Bimbi had propelled Malcolm X to learn over a thousand words.

Moreover, Malcolm X was inspired by his situation in life. It was challenging for him as a Black Muslim to get a chance to get a good university. Despite the inability to join any institution of higher learning, Malcolm X knew that the ability to read and write was a great achievement in his life. Therefore, the lack of primary education made Malcolm X mentally positive about changing his life through his efforts in learning how to read and write (Malcolm 41). He viewed reading and writing as the ability to develop his life and make life changes as well as impacting the world positively. In his narrative, Malcolm claims that age cannot limit a person from getting an education, and one does not necessarily need a school to achieve an educational objective. He was inspired by the fact that one can access education from anywhere because education starts from the desire of a person. According to Malcolm X, what mattered most in education and in professionalism is the will-power, and a person can access education regardless of their old age because the time for learning never fades. X also believed that a person could be more educated than those who attended school because school is not the only place for education (Malcolm 65). As a Black man, Malcolm X did not allow racism to limit him from achieving his objectives despite his incarceration. However, to his imprisonment positively and converted it as an opportunity to improve his reading and writing skills.

Lastly, Malcolm X was also inspired by his experiences in life. As a man of black origin, his family had suffered from racial prejudice and extreme oppression by white people. In that regard, X was determined to change the world where people will be treated equally (Marable 34). Therefore, he opted to read the teachings of Mr. Muhammad, which made him learn about slavery and the history of black people. Through this inspiration, he became a minister of Mr. Elijah and propelled the struggle for the civil rights of black people. Nonetheless, despite his remarkable progress in education, Malcolm X faced several obstacles. He used inspiration from his motivators to overcome these obstacles.

The three main obstacles faced by Malcolm X are discrimination and harassment, demotivation from people he depended on, and the death of his father (Marable 96). Malcolm X and his father tried to fight discrimination and harassment, but the white racists were highly networked. His family was deported to the north. Another obstacle faced by Malcolm X was the death of his father, Earl Little. X believes that white racists killed his father to stop the fight against racism and oppression. The death of his father made him angry but later fueled towards achieving his dreams. Racial discrimination and oppression limited Malcolm X from benefiting from opportunities, and his criminal history affected him (Marable 34). When Malcolm X learned about the infidelity of Mohammed in the Nation of Islam, he was discouraged. Overall, despite these obstacles, Malcolm X dedicated himself by working extra hard to conquer challenges in his life. He overcame the harassment and racial discrimination by moving to the north. He also overcame the death of his father by converting his anger to fight white racists. For those who discouraged him, he proved them wrong by learning writing and reading skills as well as fighting for African Americans.