Gil Noble, a renowned American television reporter and host, gives an insightful explanation of why many people in the Black community were initially unsettled and intimidated by Malcolm X.
He was a man who was introducing a whole new way of life, outspoken on the ills of white supremacy and was not afraid to break social norms like adopting European names to assimilate. Instead, he changed his last name to an “X” and, in Noble’s words, said terrible things about white people that everyone was thinking yet would not dare to say.
Decades later, people like Noble came to understand what Malcolm was actually doing. He was giving his community a sense of self, respect and dignity. He was awakening a generation socialised for obedience, decadence and fear, to a people striving for self-determination, equality and justice.
Malcolm X was a true revolutionary, and perhaps the greatest lesson from Noble’s account is remembering that even one’s own people may not come to terms with the truth, but that should not deter a person of principle from saying out loud what others are too scared to utter.
