2/17/22 Micro-post No. 1, The Autobiography of Malcolm X

     Out of the 400ish pages and 19 chapters of Malcolm X's autobiography, I've read 2 chapters (40 pages). For anyone who doesn't know, Malcolm X was a civil rights activist like MLK. However, Malcolm X's philosophy was about as far from the nonviolence of MLK as possible. I had no real idea of what I wanted to read as my nonfiction book, but I chose this because Michael recommended it to me. I'm enjoying the book so far, much more than most autobiographies I've read. I recall reading the autobiography of Chris Frantz, Remain in Love, and really disliking the part about his childhood. However, the first 2 chapters have been entirely about Malcolm's childhood and I've been really enjoying them (probably because his childhood was actually interesting). He had a pretty rough childhood, with his father being murdered by a racist legion and his family being torn apart by state workers, leading to his mother's downward spiral into delirium. I find it particularly shocking how Malcolm reports people around him (even TEACHERS) casually using the n-word, without even finding it offensive at all. With how messed up Malcolm's childhood was, it's pretty easy to see how his any-means-necessary philosophy came to be. Enjoying the book so far, would highly recommend.

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