Malcolm X is remembered as an impassioned speaker who demanded change by any means necessary. Malcolm X said things aloud about White oppression most African-Americans whispered because they lacked his courage, intellect, and love of race. Yet, he was gunned down by his own people.

Malcolm was born into conflict in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925. His parents, Earl and Louise Little, and their eight children moved to Lansing, Michigan, seeking opportunity and peace from racial oppression. They would find neither. Malcolm’s father, a minister, and member of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, became a target of the Ku Klux Klan.

Earl Little was beaten to death. However, his body was laid across train tracks and ruled a suicide. Louise Little, now impoverished, lost her home, children, and then her mind. Malcolm was raised by relatives. Although class president, he left school at age 15 after an English teacher’s racist remarks crushed his dream of becoming an attorney.

When the streets beckoned he responded, with enthusiasm. Crime led to Malcolm’s incarceration in 1946. Incarceration led to his introduction to the Nation of Islam and the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. In 1952, Malcolm replaced Little with the surname X.

Malcolm X gave voice to oppressed African-Americans. He created Muhammad Speaks, a national newspaper. A natural orator, his training by the Nation of Islam catapulted him onto the national stage. He would lead the growth of the Nation of Islam becoming minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem and Temple No. 11 in Boston as well as opening temples in Hartford and Philadelphia.

Television images of Black women and children mercilessly beaten, Black men murdered with impunity, led to a conflict with Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King spoke of non-violence. Malcolm X preached fighting back. Dr. King asked Blacks to love their enemies. Malcolm X challenged White supremacy demanding that Black communities love themselves first. Dr. King had a dream for the entire nation. Malcolm X offered Black Nationalism, saying, “There is no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.”

Malcolm X and Dr. King were limbs from the same mighty tree. Both men were needed to battle American racism. However, the Black community was forced to take sides. It was either King or Malcolm. Choose either an integrationist Christian nonviolent movement or a separatist Black Muslim militant group. The famous photo of Malcolm X shaking hands with Dr. King, taken March 26, 1964, is the only recorded interaction between these two men.

Malcolm X trusted the Nation of Islam with his life and family. He was an ideal spokesman until running afoul of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Conflicts grew between him and his father figure. Malcolm X had come to realize, even among oppressed people, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Malcolm then broke away from the Nation of Islam. He traveled to Africa.

On March 8, 1964, when Malcolm X returned from his pilgrimage to Mecca or Hajj, he changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. His views expanded to include human rights. He created the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Tensions between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam escalated, fueled by government agents. A bomb was planted in Malcolm’s car.

His house was burned down by arsonists on Valentine’s Day, 1965. Despite death threats, Malcolm continued his public appearances. He spoke to activists, college students, and especially members of beleaguered Black communities pushing them to recognize their power to change their world.

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X addressed the Organization of African Unity at Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom. His pregnant wife Betty Shabazz was in the audience with their daughters. A staged commotion diverted attention from the men who then shot Malcolm in cold blood. He was 39. Three men were convicted in his death, all members of the Nation of Islam; all claim innocence.

Malcolm’s death remains a point of contention in the Black community. Books like Alex Haley’s “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and Manning Marable’s “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention” attempt to unravel the paradox of Malcolm X and his immense contribution to Black communities from New York to Dallas, Atlanta to Milwaukee. Now, his grandson, Malcolm Shabazz, has been murdered.

In 1997, Shabazz was convicted of setting a fire that took the life of his grandmother, Betty Shabazz, a beloved civil rights matriarch. After juvenile detention for that crime, Shabazz served several prison sentences for other crimes. Shabazz was beaten to death under mysterious circumstances on May 9, in Mexico. Once again, the community is left with questions.

Shabazz was the grandson of a murdered man, Malcolm X; who was the son of a murdered father, Earl Little. Where will it end?
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Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, an Associate Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College in New York City, is author of “Race, Law, and American Society: 1607 to Present” and a journalist covering the U.S. Supreme Court. @GBrowneMarshall

The student loan burden is reaching crisis proportions. Young Americans are being saddled with unsustainable debts. A New York Federal Reserve Bank study found that a stunning 43 percent of 25-year-olds had student loan debts in 2012. Debt now averages over $25,000 for graduates of four-year colleges. Student loan debt now is about $1 trillion. The only kind of household debt that continued to rise through the recession, student loans now exceed credit card debt and rank second only to mortgages. The percentage of borrowers who are more than 90 days delinquent has risen to 17 percent, up from 10 … ]]> http://www.suntimes.com/news/jackson/20081557-452/student-loan-crisis-is-coming-to-a-head.html/feed/ 0 http://ibw21.org/news-and-commentary/at-last/ http://ibw21.org/news-and-commentary/at-last/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 16:32:48 +0000 Julianne Malveaux http://www.juliannemalveaux.com/?p=1894 When Beyonce Knowles sang the Etta James song “At Last” at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, the song could have had several meanings.  At last we have an African American President?  At last, the muscle of the Black vote has …

President Barack Obama made history when he nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009. A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, she was a former prosecutor and then appellate judge. Now, Justice Sotomayor, the first Latina, and third woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, again breaks new ground.

Her memoir “My Beloved World” is historic because no sitting Justice has ever exposed intimate details of their childhood, especially one involving an alcoholic father and crime-ridden Bronx, NY, neighborhood. Judges are intentionally closed off in order to appear objective. They maintain an image of quiet black-robed dignity.

Yet, Justice Sotomayor did not lose her judicial dignity in displaying her humanity; she only enhanced it. Although of average height, she exudes power. Standing at the podium, her wavy dark hair gleaming in the stage lights, intense brown eyes scanning the audience, it was apparent her reputation for being fearless was well earned.

The occasion was a speech before PenAmerican Society, a conference of writers, held at Cooper Union University. The Justice stood on the very stage where Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous anti-slavery speech, “Right Makes Might.” in 1859. It was on this stage Justice Sotomayor spoke of her divorce and critical diabetes-related hospitalizations. She disclosed first injecting herself with insulin for juvenile diabetes at 8 years old.

Although prohibited from discussing any pending cases or issues that may come before the Court, she revealed herself an unabashed advocate for educational opportunity, especially for young people. But, being a woman of color, and beneficiary of affirmative action, did not mean she would automatically rule in favor of Fisher v. Texas, an affirmative action case, or Shelby County, a voting rights case.

After speaking for about 20 minutes, she moved to a one-on-one interview with Henry “Skip” Gates, Afro-American studies professor at Harvard University. It was an intimate talk with several hundred mesmerized attendees, quietly listening.

Henry Gates, an African-American, who once stated he held little in common with those Blacks left behind in his now deteriorated childhood neighborhood, was interviewing a woman who writes about finding strength in her South Bronx roots. Gates is a scholar of Black history.

However, he became well-known after an arrest, in his Cambridge home, by a White police officer. Allegations of racial profiling led to national press coverage. Newly elected President Barack Obama, a Harvard friend, intervened. The result was a “beer summit.” This political fiasco, where Gates and the officer drank beer at the White House., enraged many Blacks who believed it minimized racial profiling.

Henry Gates now sat across from Justice Sotomayor waiting for her to explain any motivation for writing a book that risked reducing her esteemed judicial status and opening herself to criticism. Justice Sotomayor could have waited until after retirement to write about growing up poor but loved in a home where chronic illness led to an embrace books.

Her explanation is simple. Justice Sonia Sotomayor risked exposing the truth of her less than perfect childhood to inspire others with imperfect childhoods. She made herself a role model for young people navigating poor schools, public housing, dysfunctional families, and illnesses.

This Justice wanted young people to know that being raised by a single mother who worked nights would not limit their dreams. Young Sonia became a Supreme Court Justice and her brother, a medical doctor. However Justice Sotomayor does not pretend success is inevitable or easy.

She spoke of losing her cousin, Nelson, to drug-induced AIDS. This led Henry Gates to ask how long a poor childhood should be used to excuse adult failures. He seemed to refer to that ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ American dream philosophy. Her reply was simply, “It depends on the individual.”

Henry Gates questioned how Justice Sotomayor reconciled a public housing childhood with being Supreme Court Justice. Her response addresses a dilemma faced by most ambitious people from humble beginnings. Many live conflicted lives. Knowing this, Justice Sotomayor asked Gates, “How many friends are still suffering from a fractured identity?”

Gates stared, blankly. Justice Sotomayor said, with confidence, “I’d rather not be fractured. I’d rather be whole.” Her words rebuked this notion that pursuing your dreams required drowning your past.

Justice Sotomayor has pitched the first ball at Yankee Stadium. She has sworn-in a Vice-President of the United States. Her book reached number one on the New York Times’ bestseller’s list. Raised in the South Bronx; ascended to the U.S. Supreme Court. In all of this, Sonia Sotomayor remains a whole person.

For what good is it to inherit the world and lose your soul?

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Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, an Associate Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College in New York City, is author of “Race, Law, and American Society: 1607 to Present” and a legal correspondent covering major trials and the U.S. Supreme Court. Twitter: @GBrowneMarshall

Further, the Senators crafting the bill put goodies into the bill that only serve to advantage themselves or their states. Senator Lindsay Graham wants more visas for the meat packing industry. Senator Charles Schumer provided special provisions for Irish people with a high school diploma (why?), Senator Marco Rubio, the much touted possible presidential candidate in 2016, asked for more visas for the cruise ship industry, and Senators Michael Bennett wants more visas for workers in ski resorts.

Meanwhile, the legislation would eliminate the Diversity Visa Program, which allows a visa lottery for countries that have low levels (less than 50,000 people) of immigration to the United States.   Many African immigrants come here through this program (Ghana and Nigeria each had six thousand immigrants through this program in 2011; African immigrants are 36 percent of those receiving diversity visas). Thus, while Senator Schumer pushes for special provisions for Irish immigrants, there is no one on the Senate side pushing for special provisions for African and Caribbean immigrants.

Instead of the Diversity Visa Program, the Senate Bill 744 creates between 120,000 and 200,000 visas on a “merit based” system, which gives highest priority to those who have future employment opportunities. Because employers do not seek out African and Caribbean immigrants for employees (as they seek out Indian and Chinese employees), the merit-based point system is likely to provide fewer opportunities for those from Africa and the Caribbean. Senator Schumer’s special provision for the Irish carries no stipulation that these people be employed, essentially granting them a pass from the merit-based point system.

Many hi-tech companies use the H-1B visa program on the grounds that there is a shortage of skilled workers in the United States. There is evidence that this claim is specious and that employers prefer foreign workers who they can pay less and control more. The new legislation will prevent employers from holding workers hostage because their continuing employment is necessary in order to keep their visa. The new legislation gives H-1B sixty days to find a new job. But why do we have H-1B visas at all. With unemployment over 7 percent, and black unemployment over 13 percent, surely there are unemployed people who could work effectively in technology companies. Howard University economist Bill Sprigs has written that there are proportionately more African American students majoring in computer science than white. Many of these graduates cannot find jobs. Meanwhile, African and Caribbean immigrants get just a small percentage of H-1B visas.

The Immigration Modernization bill will spend $4.5 billion in an attempt to secure the southern border, which will “secure” our country from Mexican immigrants, but ignores the northern border, which makes our country more open to Canadian immigration. Of course, Canadian immigrants are more likely to be white, and thus less feared, than Mexican immigrants. The Congressional Black Caucus is one of many groups that suggest that this $4.5 billion could be more effectively spent, perhaps on STEM education.

The immigration bill is by no means final. The House of Representatives still has to vote on it, and many of them will add amendments and exceptions to take care of their “pet” causes. Meanwhile, President Obama has been urging Democrats to accept the immigration bill as it is, because too many amendments may jeopardize the bill. For example, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) would like to propose an amendment that would allow gay Americans to sponsor their partners for green cards. The Judiciary Committee is likely to pass this amendment, but the whole Senate might not pass it.

President Obama has had a bad year, so far. He didn’t get his way on gun control, and he’s been kicked around by an obstructionist House of Representatives. He needs immigration reform to fulfill promises he made to the Latino community during his campaign. But the unwieldy 844-page piece of legislation contains lots of provisions that don’t pass the smell test. It makes it more difficult for African and Caribbean immigrants to become citizens of the United States.

The African American community must take a closer look at this legislation. If Senator Schumer can give 10,000 Irish immigrants the open door, how many Africans and Caribbeans will he make exceptions for? At the very minimum, Congress should restore the Diversity Visa program.   The bill is called the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act. Exactly who will have more economic opportunity? And is immigration really being modernized when it locks foreign-born black people out of the process?