Malcolm X; By any means necessary (Pgs. 122-155)

Summary:
In this section of the book we see a major turning point in  the life of the Muslim leader Malcolm X. His meeting with Fidel Castro drew more unneeded attention from the FBI to Malcolm and they kept a more watchful eye and ear on him. During 1962 and early 1963, the FBI continued to watch Malcolm, his friction with the sons of Elijah Muhammad, and his growing separation from Elijah. Meanwhile the increase in violence in Birmingham, Alabama, enraged Black America and pushed it to its breaking point. In response to this violence the black community decided to march to Washington and protest at the nations capitol. Malcolm was infuriated when he found out that the march was changed and that black leaders accepted whites as leaders of the march. His points of view on how to protest were very different than those of Martin Luther King Jr., who promoted nonviolence. This point of view was tested less than three weeks after the march when a Sunday School was bombed, four black children were killed in the bombing. Malcolm reasoned, "How could you turn the other cheek when your children were being killed?" Now as the separation between Malcolm and Elijah became more inevitable, Malcolm was in search of the true meaning of being Muslim. Then he met Cassius Clay, who would later become Muhammad Ali, a young boxer who he had seen at several Muslim meetings. Now is when the real change begins. Malcolm was saddened by his separation from the Nation of Islam but he knew he needed to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy city of the Islamic religion. This Hajj would change his life forever. He learned the traditions of his religion and returned a renewed man.

Quote:
"There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and the non-white. - The Autobiography of Malcolm X"(Myers, 153)

This quote from Malcolm X really demonstrates the change in beliefs that Malcolm had while he was in Mecca and how this Hajj changed his views on what he had been taught in America and the truths of the Islamic Religion. I think that this pilgrimage to Mecca was exactly what Malcolm needed to do to really consider himself a true Muslim.

Reaction:
This section to me was by far the most important in the sense that it contained a lot of very important information and details that changed the course of his life. The events portrayed in this section of the book not only concerned him but also the nation as a whole. In addition, I believe that these events give us a clue as to what will occur later on in the life of this great man, Malcolm X.