1992_08 The Daily Collegian August 1992

              X
'V"8flHl   M^ Freedom and Unity T""^^^
HuMMlEfe
VoL 4*%
The African American Voice of CSU, Fresno
Monday, August 31, 1992
■ inside.
Fresno adopts new
sister city        j
1
*   i        \
Walton's book    1
review
i
|
How to get 'Mo j
Money'
A
Black faculty/staff
directory
-ft
Qet involved:'
Black organiza¬
1
tions on campus
~~
V
N
Black trivia question:
What are the four great
rivers in Africa?
\
See answer on back page.
1
Understanding X: Beyond fad and fashion
By Ron Daniels \ *.  '
Edited by Lisa White
From The Black CoUegian Jan./Feb. 1992
There is rK>nx>re popular political leader
among African Americans today than El
Hajj Malik Shabazz, Malcolm X. From the
Autobiography of Malohn X to tapes of his
speeches, everything about "Our Black
Shining Prince" is in high demand. Mal¬
colm X memorabilia are the hottest items
on the niarketwimsm^ex vendors and Black-
oriented gift shops. Malcolm X buttons, t-
shirts, posters, and the popular X caps are
visible everywhere. There is no doubt that
it has become quite fashionable to be down
with Malcolm.
African Americans seem to have gravi¬
tated towards Malcolm because they sense
a certain 'no scl 1 -out' quality to Malcolm' s
character. But the fascination with Mal¬
colm X, to die extent that is mere fad and
fashion,also carries with it certain dangers.
The profound meaning of Malcolm's life
and the legacy which he bequeathed to
African people world wide and to oppressed
humanity could be obscured and trivial¬
ized because of a lackof knowledge about
the man and his mission.
Hence, there is it»cr hallcnge to brothers
and sisters, the new generation of leader¬
ship, to understand the essence of Malcolm
X and to study the basic tenets of his
teachings. Beyond simply sporting an X
cap, the challenge is to understand the
nature of Malcolm's evolution and devel¬
opment into one of the greatest African
leaders in our history.
The following are a few basic points'
which every African American should
know about the philosophy of Malcolm X.
They constituted essential beginning to
the study of Malcolm X and should be con-
siaercdcfllyasanoutfineforinorcindeplh
inquiry.
Malcolm believed that the liberation
of Black people must begin with a healthy
appreciation of self. The snuggle for lib¬
eration must begin with self-respect and
self help. To break the psychological,
cultural, economic and political depend¬
ency on the oppressor. Black peple must
have knowledge of self and the maximiz¬
ing of our own resources for self-help and
self-development to achieve self-reliance
arid independence.
"Of all our studies, history is most
prepared to reward all research." Malcolm
was concerned with probing for the true
knowledge of the history of African People
in the unfolding of human histsory of Afri¬
can people in the unfolding of human his¬
tory and civilization. Hence, Black people
must move beyond a europeanized version
of history to discover the real contributions
of African people to human development.
As a proponent of Black Nationalism,
Malcolm advocated that African Ameri¬
can people must control die politics and
economics within the African American
community. Black people should strive to
establish control over the territory where
we have been forced to subsist by a racist
and exploitive society.
Malcolm X was a Pan- Africanist and
an internationalist. Malcolm X was clear
that we are an African people whose iden¬
tity is inextricably linked to our African
Vustratfon: Laura Parttar-lhafitack Coltoglan
homeland: Malcolm taught that as Afri¬
cans in America we should not view our¬
selves as a minority in this country, but as
a part of the majority of people in the world
who are Black people and people of color.
Hence, African Americans should build
cultural, economic, and political bridges to
our African homeland.
Malcolm also taught that the quest for
African American liberation in the U.S.
was a human rights snuggle, not just a
matter of civil rights. Malcolm argued that
human rights, or those rights that all human
beings are entitled to, supercedecivilrights,
or those rights which may be granted by a
particular government
Though Malcolm never advo-
Please see MALCOLM, page 4