Malcolm X Research Paper

“If they gave the brains in their heads just half as much attention as they do their hair, they would be a thousand times better off.” (Malcolm X, 182) Malcolm X is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the ongoing struggle for racial equality. At a very young age, his family was a target of the frequent racist violence. These acts of violence include white supremacists burning their home to the ground, and witnessing his father’s murder by the same supremacist people. Soon after the murder, his mother was hospitalized for mental illness and he was transferred to foster care. Malcolm was extremely smart, but during high school, he became discouraged and mistreated by a racist white teacher. Consequently, he quit school and became …show more content…
This narrative includes intriguing aspects of how Malcolm X transforms his physical appearance after moving to Boston. He is exposed to different lifestyles black folk have adopted. Including his most defining moment, when he makes a conscious decision to separate himself from the negroes in Roxbury, and associating more with “negroes who were being their natural selves and not putting on airs.” (Malcolm X, 172) However, this mindset soon changes when Malcolm encounters a man called Shorty, who introduces him to the “conking” process. His kinky, reddish hair is painfully transformed to look more straight and shiny. Ordinarily, Malcolm considers the new look fashionable and represented a popular identity. Even though He endures such pain, literally burning his flesh in order to transform it into that of a white man’s. He had suddenly joined the negro men and women who have become brainwashed into believing that white people are “superior”, and black people are “inferior”. Along with the conks seen on men, black women have also been brainwashed. They are often seen wearing green, pink, purple, red, and even platinum-blonde wigs to disguise the shame of their skin color behind a mask. Like everyone else, Malcolm became lost in admiration for his hair, and he vowed to never again be without a …show more content…
Nonetheless, he was quick to voice his disgust about the decision to change his hair’s texture. He claims it as his “first real step toward self-degradation.” (Malcolm X, 181) Indeed, Malcolm’s conk reflects his desire to identify with his white self, as well as it reveals his own outward opinion about being black. Alternately, the conk was a physical expression of how Malcolm thought he needed to embody the white man’s image. Such mentality overshadowed his true character. Although initially, Malcolm regrets putting himself through the painful process, it was also basically his first understanding of how blacks became brainwashed by the white society. Such actions as these, makes you wonder if all negro men and women have lost touch with themselves, and also neglected and failed to regain their sense of identity.
In my opinion, this narrative indicated that transforming your identity from the