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I'm curious about your thoughts of Malcom X and his effect on the civil rights movement.

• ethbro 8y ago
  If you're talking about pre-Mecca Malcolm X (and specifically a more confrontational stance), then I personally believe the Nation of Islam and the Black Panther Party were helpful in the eventual furthering of the civil rights agenda. By demonstrating a forceful and armed alternative to peaceful protest, they (to use the parlance of our day) pushed the Overton window in such a way that the SCLC and NAACP Legal Defense Fund seemed more mainstream. But their effectiveness in the broader effort and end result was absolutely predicated on the existence of a more moderate and palatable (to those on the sidelines) alternative. If we're talking about post-Mecca Malcolm X, then I think it's an excellent example of someone who has found that love triumphs over hate, both in the world and in ones own character, even when fighting terrible injustice.