Rather be Dead

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC58HzENhoQ


In the last major speech before
his death, Malcolm X made his famous declaration “I would rather be dead than
have someone deprive me of my rights” (21-22). This statement is fitting for
the person Malcolm X was and the change he was hoping to bring to the United
States. His relentless drive for equality eventually made him a symbol of
equality for countless African Americans, and it was precisely his refusal to
surrender his ideals. The chorus from Refused’s “Rather Be Dead” screams:
“Rather be dead/Than alive by your oppression”. They basically repeat Malcolm
X’s message of ideals over threats of pain or death.

Track #8 Black to the Future

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8dTg50_OjY

Malcolm X’s legacy has pervaded the American culture, often in a very superficial manner, and that has often left people dissatisfied. After his death, Malcolm X’s daughters saw their father’s legacy become a caricature utilized to sell anything from T-shirts to hip-hop records leaving them angry about the wide scale exploitation of their father’s idealism (Chappel 110). Even so, the importance of a positive African American role model in a white centered culture cannot be understated, and Malcolm X’s impact on youth continues into the twenty-first century. In his song “Black to the Future,” Def Jef raps “Black to the future, what a funky concept/A poet with soul, brothers and sisters, let's step/Together in sync, just think about the outcome/We know where we're goin, because we know where we came from.” Because of Malcolm X’s contributions to Civil Rights as well as important contributions to the analysis of institutional racism he continues to influence the future, reminding African American’s where they came from and where they hope to be.

Works Cited

Chappell, Kevin. "THE BATTLE FOR MALCOLM X." Ebony 66.4 (2011): 108-113. EBSCO MegaFILE. EBSCO. Web. 18 Aug. 2011.

In this article Keven Chappell details the struggles that Malcolm X’s daughters have undergone since his death, both personally and in attempting to prevent the cultural appropriation of Malcolm X by anyone looking to advance their view of Black Power. The daughters are not content with simply preserving his legacy, they want to further it and continue the movement toward Black self-power and more equality in the public world. Despite a fiery disagreement after their mother’s death that divided them for years, they came together for the interview and expressed their views about Malcolm X in popular culture and their plans for the future.

Handler, M. S. "Malcolm X Splits With Mohammad." New York Times 9 Mar. 1964.

Hartnell, Anna. "Between Exodus and Egypt: Malcolm X, Islam, and the ‘natural’ religion of the oppressed." European Journal of American Culture 27.3 (2008): 207-225. EBSCO MegaFILE. EBSCO. Web. 18 Aug. 2011.

“Malcolm X.” Photo. Blackpast.org. 2011. Web. 20 Aug 2011.

Rogers, Ibram H. "PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE SUPPORTING YOU": MALCOLM X, IDEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS, AND BLACK STUDENT ACTIVISM, 1960-1972." Journal of African American History. 14-38. Association for the Study of African American Life & History, 2011. EBSCO MegaFILE. EBSCO. Web. 17 Aug. 2011.

X, Malcolm, and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: One

World/Ballantine, 1992.

Zushi, Yo. "Malcolm X: a Life of Reinvention." New Statesman 140.5052 (2011): 51.0. E-Journals. EBSCO. Web. 17 Aug. 2011.