The Autobiography of Malcolm X 505power comes from the fact that he wrote it while
internalizing facts about Elijah Muhammad and
the Nation that he had been unable to let himself
see. His pilgrimage solidified other suspicions he
had harbored about Elijah Muhammad, and under-
mined sweeping indictments of whites that he had
previously made. Thus, in addition to a testimony to
the impact of racism, the power of education, and
the way an individual’s life is defined by meaningful
work, The Autobiography of Malcolm X documents
an evolving consciousness and offers authenticity to
the notion of “self-discovery.”
Jeffrey Bickerstaff
education in The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Malcolm X hoped his autobiography would be read
as a testimony to how ghetto conditions shape the
minds and lives of millions of black Americans.
Malcolm refers to his life as “the life of only one
ghetto-created Negro.” Although Malcolm X was
in many ways exceptional, readers should recognize
how his early educational experiences mirror those
of many blacks throughout America.
Malcolm describes how during junior high in
Michigan his history textbook contained exactly
one paragraph on Negro history. The paragraph
told the story of slavery and emancipation while
perpetuating such cruel stereotypes as shiftlessness
and stupidity. His history teacher, Mr. Williams,
laughed through the reading before adding his own
note about the enormity of Negro feet.
Another teacher integral to Malcolm’s edu-
cational experience was Mr. Ostrowski, a teacher
Malcolm describes as a self-appointed adviser. Mr.
Ostrowski advises seventh-grade class president
Malcolm Little, whose grades are among the high-
est in the school, that it is unrealistic for him to
aspire to be a lawyer. Mr. Ostrowski patronizingly
encourages Malcolm to work with his hands and
become a carpenter. He assures Malcolm that his
popularity would garner him plenty of work. Mal-
colm X describes this interaction as the first major
turning point in his life, and notes that afterward
he drew away from white people, his job, and
school.
As a teenager Malcolm moves to Boston and
befriends a studious girl named Laura. Laura’s inter-
est in science elicits in Malcolm regret over turning
away from the books he had enjoyed in Michigan.
Laura insists that Malcolm could pick up where
he was and become a lawyer. Instead, Malcolm
embraces the life of a “hustler” and finds himself
taking that path to Harlem.
In Harlem, Malcolm, now known as Red, runs
numbers for the West Indian mobster, Archie.
Remembering Archie’s mathematical genius, Mal-
colm X asserts that Archie’s talents were wasted by
society because he was black. Malcolm describes his
criminal friends as victims of the American social
system. Crammed into ghettos, blacks could aspire
to nothing beyond survival. Malcolm recalls his
friends as individuals who might have cured cancer,
built industries, or explored space (93). Malcolm’s
account of how his ambitions were dismissed invites
the reader to speculate that Archie and the other
so-called criminals each had a “Mr. Ostrowski” in
their life stories.
Malcolm X describes this criminal version of
himself as “mentally dead.” He estimates that his
working vocabulary then was less than 200 words,
and after arriving in prison he begins to confront
how street life had erased all he had learned in
school. In prison, Malcolm admires a prisoner
named Bimbi, the first man he had ever seen com-
mand total respect solely on the merits of his words.
Bimbi encouraged Malcolm to take advantage of the
library and correspondence courses, and influenced
Malcolm to study word derivations.
Malcolm chronicles his transformation within
the walls of the Norfolk Prison Colony. His sister,
Ella, had worked to secure his transfer to the pro-
gressive jail with no bars and a library donated by
a millionaire named Parkhurst, whose particular
interests were history and religions. Malcolm X
describes this phase of his reading as an attempt
to obtain “some kind of homemade education.” He
transcribes the dictionary to build a foundation of
knowledge and can soon read a book and under-
stand its meaning. Malcolm X describes the new
world then opening for him, and reflects that the
ability to read stirred in him “some long dormant
craving to be mentally alive.”
His careful study of religion and history facili-
tates Malcolm’s rebirth. Malcolm would draw on, as