DeLoach

Madison DeLoach
Marie Lo
Race and Social Justice
April 20, 2016
Malcolm X: Integration v. Separation
The Black Rights activist born Malcolm Little but best known as Malcolm X,
has become synonymous with certain words in the media and schools alike.
Violent, white-hating, militant, and Muslim, are just some of the words
attributed to this man. The only one that is remotely close to the truth is
Muslim for he was a devout Muslim in reality. Why do these otherwise
negative words come to the minds of many Americans nearly fifty years after
his assassination? Perhaps this could be because his revolutionary essence
and more radical ideas of which he preached to the Black masses. In fact,
one of his more controversial beliefs on how to handle racial issues is still
debated by African Americans and Whites alike to this very day. Malcolm X
believed that instead of integrating the United States, African Americans
should actually seek separation from White people all together. Now, many
make the mistake of thinking that this meant that Malcolm X in turn was in
favor of Segregation, this was not the case either though. Malcolm X insisted
that because of the injustices of slavery and racism in America, there was
only way for African Americans to truly start receiving the same rights and
treatment that White Americans seem entitled to; This was to break free

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from the control of White society and become a separate thriving community
made entirely of African Americans.
Malcolm X was controversially known to be against integration at the
time when it was first being instated in the United States. To understand why
he could think this, one must first examine what integration was defined as
by Malcolm X himself. In The Auto- Biography of Malcolm X as told by Alex
Haley, Malcolm recounts, The word integration was invented by Northern
liberals. The word has no real meaning [] Here in these fifty racist and neoracist states of Northern America this word integration has millions of white
people confused, and angry, believing wrongly that the black masses want to
live mixed up with the white man. (Haley 277). Malcolms explanation of
what he believes integration to truly be is enlightening in reference to his
distain for it. By this definition it was created in order for white northerners to
pat themselves on the back when in reality it strained racial relations in the
south that much more. White northerners have the belief that racism was
only present in the south where segregation was still practiced; with this in
mind the creation of integration then would solve this issue. What Malcolm
expresses though, was that this was misinterpreted by openly racist white
southerners who then thought that integration then meant the forced
inclusion of African Americans, but in reality African Americans simply
wanted to be allowed the same rights as these white Americans and keep
their own communities as well. So integration was then seen as a force to
oppose at all costs by white southerners, which created even more violence

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and death to African Americans ultimately. In Malcolms mind integration was

created and controlled by white men, which proved to be counter productive
when applied to society. In his autobiography, Malcolm X expresses that
integration alone will not solve or make up for the evils of slavery, he
speculates, Is white really sorry for her crimes against black people? Does
white America have the capacity to repent- and to atone? Does the capacity
to repent, to atone, exist in a majority, in one half, in even one third of
American white society? (Haley 377). What Malcolm X so clearly points out
here is that although integration can be forced upon white people, the basis
of which the United States was founded and the nature of racial turmoil
cannot be undone over night. He presents the issue that even if faced with
the option to change; to try and resolve past grievances, he is in unsure
whether it can actually be accomplished in our society. Racism in America is
not something one can force to be unlearned when racism is such a defining
factor in United States history. Not only is the ability to atone for racial
injustices hard for Malcolm to believe, the fact that white Americans benefit
from racism is another point he makes out. How can white America truly be
sorry for its crimes when it is reaping the benefits of slavery, racism, and
racial inequality on a daily basis? Acknowledging that wrongs have been
done against the entirety of Blacks in America would mean the expulsion of
these white privileges.
When reflecting on Malcolm Xs beliefs on integration many people
misconstrue this to mean that Malcolm must then agree with segregation.

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This could not be more false though; he addresses this misunderstanding in

his autobiography announcing, We reject segregation even more militantly
that you say you do! We want separation, which is not the same! The
Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that segregation is when your life
and liberty are controlled, regulated, by someone else. Segregation is that
which is forced upon inferiors by superiors. But separation is that which is
done voluntarily, by two equals- for the good of both! Malcolm clarifies that
segregation and separation are two separate entities altogether. That,
segregation is the creation of a white government put in place to oppress
and control African Americans even after the so called end to slavery.
Separation however, is the creation of African Americans, which is the choice
to recoil from a racist white society and create a new welcoming community
made by and for African Americans. This is very much the same as what
other oppressed peoples in the United States have done as well throughout
the years, including places that are white exclusive as well such as all white
neighborhoods and country clubs. Only when it is African Americans who
want to separate from White Society does it become controversial due to the
mistake of thinking segregation and separation are the same. Why African
Americans want to separate is something else to consider. That, instead of
being forced to integrate with a white society they would rather start to build
their own flourishing community. While the control of their own businesses,
schools, and overall economy does create much appeal to separation, the
hatred and violence toward African Americans has created an ultimatum.

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One can see this with Malcolms own first hand encounters with racism,
considering the attacks from the Ku Klux Klan on his family, or the eventual
murder of his father, but what may have influenced his opinion on separation
the most could be his experiences living in Lansing and Boston
Massachusetts. After being placed in a foster home for troubled children
essentially, he attended an all white school in Lansing. There he experienced
persecution on a daily basis by his peers and fellow teachers. This was done
in the form of name calling such as coon or the constant use of the N
word, or in as such when Malcolm becomes class president only do have his
aspirations as a lawyer be to crushed by his favorite teacher (Haley 31). This
was Malcolms first interaction with integration, and for the most part he was
faced with people who were not empathetic and unrelatable. However, when
his half sister Ella invites Malcolm to Boston, he is embraced in a rich and
thriving predominantly black community. In which, he has many African
American friends, co-workers, and female companions that he would never
have whilst in Lansing. Now considering his ill-treated life in Lansing versus
the vibrant healthy one he develops with the people of Boston, one can
conclude that this played a part in his ideas of integration and separation.
Though Lansing was integrated and allowed Malcolm to attend a
considerably white school, he felt out of place and disrespected, while in
Boston a separate black neighborhood, he was welcomed and understood for
one of the first times in his life.

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Whether I agree or not with Malcom X is another issue all together.

Who am I, a cisgender white woman, to contradict the beliefs and teachings
of a scholar whose personal experiences with racism will never affect me in
the same manner? On the other hand, if I did agree with Malcom X, I would
be agreeing to a world in which whites and African Americans live separately.
The issue I have with this is that in the eighteen to nineteen hundreds, the
separation of blacks and whites was very much the norm. Obviously that is
not what Malcolm X is condoning when he talks of a separate African
American community though. I would however, like to point out the ruling of
Separate but equal as put by the Supreme Court in the case of Brown v.
The Board of Education. In the eyes of White society at that time, it was seen
that African Americans did in fact house their own separate communities.
Although, this was not in fact equal, as blacks were forced into ghettos and
slums that were in fact government regulated and poorly funded by said
government. Malcolm X had pointed this out as a main issue, and that an
African Community could not thrive if under the dictation of a government
run for the majority, by whites. He even has pointed out on occasion how
Chinatowns across the United States were successfully managed and run by
independent Chinese communities. Yet, Malcolm is not alive to see that
today, especially within the last ten to fifteen years, most Chinatowns such
as those in Portland OR and New York, NY have simply crumbled due to
gentrification in major cities. In places such as these, the funds for these
once flourishing communities have been transferred in order to increase the

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building of apartments and shopping malls, which are targeted to

predominately white consumers. So, in the case of separation between white
and black communities, I do agree with Malcolm Xs intention, however, I
simply do not think that it would be able to work in the White governed,
capitalistic driven society we have today.
While Malcolm Xs views of separation perhaps evolved in the last
years of his life, in that he was not as much of a harsh critic of ignorant yet
sincere whites who were in favor of integration, the core of his belief still
held true. For the most part, Malcolm Xs views on integration and separation
were that integration was forced brotherhood between two races that simply
cannot be forced into liking each other due to the racist nature of American
society, and that the only way for African Americans to truly become equals
is to diverge from this society. These beliefs in part were out of consideration
that White Americans will not give up their white privilege and prejudice
without a fight, and that this systemic hate was bred from the very
foundation of the United States. Whether it has been the massacre of Native
Americans, the enslavement of African Americans, or even the exploitation of
Chinese laborers, white oppression and the grief it caused people of color
cannot be forgotten so easily.

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Citation:
Haley, Alex. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York, NY: Ballantine,
2015. Print.