What Made Malcolm X Dangerous
Malcolm X challenged the violence of US power, abroad and at home. Donté Stallworth writes in Jacobin about how Malcolm’s radical internationalism, from Congo to Palestine, speaks to our moment.
Malcolm X at the Lenox Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts, 1964. (Robert Elfstrom / Villon Films / Gety Images)
This week marks the 100th birthday of el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz — known to the world as Malcolm X. As we commemorate his legacy, we must delve beyond the caricature of the angry black revolutionary often portrayed in mainstream narratives. The real Malcolm was a visionary whose radical transformation both shocked and inspired the world.
His journey from the Nation of Islam and black separatism to a global revolutionary committed to anti-imperialism and solidarity with oppressed peoples everywhere offers profound lessons for us today. Malcolm’s evolution wasn’t just political — it was spiritual and intellectual. Initially, he was shaped by the Nation of Islam’s emphasis on self-reliance and racial separation.
In popular accounts, by 1964, having broken with the Nation, Malcolm underwent a profound transformation. His pilgrimage to Mecca, where he prayed with Muslims of all races, led him to embrace a more inclusive vision of solidarity.
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