-
- The Spirit of Malcolm
X
- and Modern Day Resistance
- Against Global Imperialism
-
- By Teresa Williams
-
- May 6, 2001
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- Malcolm X would have been 76 years old
on May 19th of this year and as we take the time to commemorate
his legacy, we should ask ourselves what has changed (or hasn’t
changed) since his assassination in 1965?
-
- What would Malcolm have to say to us about
the American agenda today? As we sit here at the start of a new
millennium, we can witness the continued cycles of exploitation
within the American social context and the constant decay and
Euro-centric gentrification of urban areas of color coupled with
the lack of unity, political vision and economic justice for
the marginalized masses.
-
- Consumerism has consumed the agendas of
many people today to such a degree whereby they do not stop to
examine the relationship between trade, politics and human rights.
Many of us have become slaves to credit cards and cash and have
stockpiled goods and clothing from countries that have questionable
human and labor rights policies.
-
- Yet, we feel that we are doing these so-called
‘developing and poor’ countries economic justice if
our country imports their goods without stopping to think about
how we too are being exploited as consumers. What would Malcolm
have to say to us about the American agenda of the 21st century
if he were alive today? How would he interpret the current U.S.
– China policies of consumerism, militarism and human rights
contradictions? What would Malcolm say about the recent riots
in Cincinnati and the ongoing patterns of racial profiling and
police brutality on the streets of America today?
-
- How would he have addressed the rising
privatization of the Prison Industrial Complex which is nothing
short of hi-tech concentration camps for non-whites, the poor,
the marginalized and resisters of the current imperialist system
of oppression?
-
- Living in the United States in the 21st
century is a horrifying reality for people under siege in this
country, countries that are being labeled as ‘rogue nations’
and other countries which run the risk of being targeted for
globalized economic expansion and modern slavery under the American
Empire and/or for military exercises and ‘mutually –
assured destruction’.
-
- Those of us living within the U.S.A. exist
within an imperialist state and reality and are thus responsible
for unraveling this system’s modus operandi of ‘divide,
conquer, rule or destroy strategic tactics’. What we are
all witnessing today is the modern face of colonization and racist
imperialist values at its pinnacle which clearly indicates that
ours is a country and system that has not learned its lessons
of the past. Ours is a system of government that does not care
about the well being of all of its citizens and does not care
about harnessing the potential of what this country could become
as a diverse nation of individuals.
-
- Ours is a society that does not encourage
communication and understanding across race, gender, class and
cultures nor does it encourage a degree of critical thinking,
analysis or interest in cultures outside of the United States.
Thus, we find ourselves living the great white American lie of
peace and justice, freedom and democracy whilst antagonizing
people within our borders who do not mirror the wholesome values
of being an American.
-
- Is it little wonder why the United States
was recently ‘kicked off’ of the United Nations Human
Rights Commission in Geneva? America has paraded and prostituted
contradictions of human rights, democracy and freedom around
the world for so long until, as Malcolm X so eloquently stated,
“the chickens have come home to roost”.
-
- How could it be that modern day slavery
and human trafficking exists in places such as Benin, Sudan,
Southeast Asia and other countries under the noses of The World
Bank, The International Monetary Fund and American corporations
which are institutions of economic imperialism via development?
Many of us are sick and tired of being patronized as victims
of the American Experiment and we are sick and tired of the cyclic
madness of racism and imperialism that are deeply entrenched
into the fabric of this society and around the world.
-
- We are sick and tired of the institutionalized
policies of disenfranchisement that have been implemented over
generations to keep the masses in line and we are sick and tired
of working and paying taxes to hold this imperialist state of
affairs together. Under this current Bush Administration and
The U.S. Supreme Court, our liberties and freedom are seriously
under siege and our domestic policies are only a reflection of
the global agenda.
-
- The game has not changed. It has only
transformed itself into a more deadly and larger game with an
extensive hand of players from countries around the world who
seek to outwit America’s economic and military hegemony
while playing by rules of destruction and exploitation to win.
No one can win this game of madness and not one of us can afford
to idly sit back in silence without a revolutionary struggle
to overcome this machine of death and destruction. In closing,
let us reflect upon this excerpts taken from one of Malcolm X’s
speeches prior to his assassination which is just as relevant
today in 2001 as it was in 1965:
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Malcolm on Global Rebellion
I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between
the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that
there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice
and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the
systems of exploitation... It is incorrect to dassif' the revolt
of the Negro as simply a racial conflict of Black against white,
or as a purely American problem. Rather we are today seeing a
global rebellion of the oppressed against the oppressor, the
exploited against the exploiter. (Malcolm X Speaks, pp. 232-233)
January, 1965.
Happy Birthday Malcolm and Aluta Continua (The Struggle Continues).
-
- Beyond Words Village
- Give us your
thoughts and opinions!
-
- Teresa Williams is a freelance writer
and has recently returned from teaching in Japan, as an educator
and is currently compiling a collection of essays about her travel
experiences.. She is currently residing in the Washington, DC
area. You may visit her website: Sojourner Communications. You
can visit her website at: http://www.livegem.net/sojournercommunications.
She can be reached at: t_sojourner@hotmail.com
-
-
- This article was
published courtesy of Teresa Williams.
- Copyright ©
2002 Teresa Williams. All rights reserved.
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