Letter to Malcolm X

Dear Malcolm X,

I first have to say your speech moved me. I appreciate you being such a strong and influential voice for us. You show that there can be hope for everyone out there in this white man society. I found it intriguing that you put the letter X in your name to keep from having to wear the white mans name. I believe that your are right that we all need to take a stand for extremism. That we will all be jusitified for rightfully fighting for the liberty we deserve. The part you mentioned about extremism being good for one and bad for another or bad for one and good for another. This is so true with our society as it is now. We take the stand for ourselves which is good and it turns out being bad for the white society because they feel threatened. So then it gets flipped to where us fighting for our liberty gets turned into us being criminals or bad people and the white people get to parade around because they know they are making us look like we are raging animals. We are in a lose lose time right now. It is so true that the press is used to make us turn out to look like the bad people. Just the other day my brother's best friend Paul, was just going to the store to get some milk. When he was on his way home he was approached by several white men, had his milk stolen from him, and was beaten until he was practically lifeless. A couple days later those men reported that they had seen Paul steal the milk and threaten the clerk he would kill him if he told anyone of what he had done. So these men felt it was in their right to do what they had seen best, which was steal the milk Paul had paid for and then to beat to near death for his so called crime. These men were seen as heroes for what they had done to Paul; that all of us black should now know what are place is in that community. All the time when my brother and I are seen with Paul people immediately put up their guard as if they are ready for a fight. You said that that black man is castrated from the social, economic, and political aspects of society, but I feel we are all castrated from society. I remember my parents saying that lets see what this Civil Rights bill is really going to do for us. You are so right it hasn't changed anything for the way we live or are treated. That this world will never get anywhere until we are all looked and judged as human beings not by the color of our skin. The part where you mentioned that our society preaches intergration but practices segregation, made me chuckle a little. It is so true though the white man will say he is all for everyone coming together, but when not in the public eye he is really doing something else. I am right there with you when it comes to that we need to start speaking the language that they will understand. I mean I am not all for violent actions, but sometimes you have to treat others the way they treat you. I want to thank you for taking the time to read my letter. One can only hope that things will get better from here on out.

Sincerely,

Breanne