On the side of my people : a religious life of Malcolm X / Louis A. Decaro Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jr., Louis A. Decaro, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

X, Malcolm, 1925-1965.

X, Malcolm.

African Americans--Biography.

African Americans.

Black Muslims--Biography.

Black Muslims.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (392 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : New York University Press, [1995]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The mythic figure of Malcolm X conjures up a variety of images--black nationalist, extremist, civil rights leader, hero. But how often is Malcolm X understood as a religious leader, a man profoundly affected by his relationship with Allah? During Malcolm's life and since, the press has focused on the Nation of Islam's rejection of integration, offering an extremely limited picture of its ideology and religious philosophy. Mainstream media have ignored the religious foundation at the heart of the Nation and failed to show it in light of other separatist religious movements. With the spirituality of cultic black Islam unexplored and the most controversial elements of the Nation exploited, its most famous member, Malcolm X, became one of the most misunderstood leaders in history. In On the Side of My People, Louis A. DeCaro, Jr. offers the first book length religious treatment of Malcolm X. Malcolm X was certainly a political man. Yet he was also a man of Allah, struggling with his salvation-as concerned with redemption as with revolution. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, including extensive interviews with Malcolm's oldest brother, FBI surveillance documents, the black press, and tape-recorded speeches and interviews, DeCaro examines the charismatic leader from the standpoint of his two conversion experiences--to the Nation while he was in jail and to traditional Islam climaxing in his pilgrimage to Mecca. Examining Malcolm beyond his well-known years as spokesman for the Nation, On the Side My People explores Malcolm's early religious training and the influence of his Garveyite parents, his relationship with Elijah Muhammad, his often overlooked journey to Africa in 1959, and his life as a traditional Muslim after the 1964 pilgrimage. In his critical analysis of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, DeCaro provides insight into the motivation behind Malcolm's own story, offering a key to understanding how and why Malcolm portrayed his life in his own autobiography as told to Alex Haley. Inspiring and necessary, On the Side My People presents readers with a Malcolm X few were privileged to know. By filling in the gaps of Malcolm's life, DeCaro paints a more complete portrait of one of the most powerful and relevant civil rights figures in American history.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Black Nationalist Religion before the Nation

2. The Nation before Malcolm X

PROLOGUE

3. A Garveyite Son

4. Early Life and Religious Training

5. Wayward Youth

6. Crime, Imprisonment, and Redemption

7. Early Ministry

8. Evangelism and Nation-Building

9. From Harlem to the Dark World

10. The Making of an Emissary

11. Religious Apologist

12. Foreshadowing Mecca— Between Cult and Orthodoxy

13. Fame and Fury

14. Banished from the Nation

15. The Pilgrim Convert

16. The Realities and Ideals of Witness

17. The Final Year

18. Religious Revolutionist

19. Fighting in the Way of God

20. Closing the Book

EPILOGUE. Now He's Gone

Author's Note

A Note on Biographies

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 345-358) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jun 2020)

ISBN:

0-585-31118-8

0-8147-2100-1

OCLC:

782877911