Youth : OPINION : Malcolm X: a Hero for Today?

As a young black male living in today’s society, I feel that revolutionaries like Malcolm X have left a philosophy for us all to follow. I don’t believe in separation, but I do believe in preservation.

In some of our black American schools, there are efforts to integrate. But, with this integration, I believe blacks will see a disappearance of the little history we have in our all-black schools. In effect, we will begin to lose our rich culture. Malcolm X saw the dangers of cultures losing their identities. If minorities lose their culture, they have no identity or purpose.

Malcolm X has taught me that blacks need to speak up and act. This is the key to Malcolm X that was true then and is especially true now. As Ray Bradbury said, “If you are not a builder, then you are a burner.”