DJs 11-20

DJ 11. “And my black brethren today may hate me for saying it, but a lot of black girls nearly got run over by some of those Negro males scrambling to get at those white women; you would have thought god had lowered some of his angels.” Pg. 50

White women were more appealing then black women to black men because it was exciting and socially unacceptable. So when a black man got his way with a white woman, he was looked upon as more macho if you will. So at dances, white woman were more appealing than the usual black women they were used to.

DJ 12. “And on top of my head was this thick, smooth sheen of shining red hair – real read – as straight as any white man’s.” Pg. 54

This is the point where Malcolm really becomes one of those “brainwashed” black people. He believes that straight hair is more attractive than his natural frizzy hair. This all has to do with the fact that black people need to feel accepted by white standards, so they go to drastic measures to feel like a white man.

DJ 13. “I had joined that multitude of Negro men and women in America who are brainwashed into believing that the black people are “inferior”—and white people “superior”—that they will even violate and mutilate their God-created bodies to try to look “pretty” by white standards.” Pg. 54

These people who are being brainwashed are the people giving in to society. Although Malcolm X realized later that he had been foolish, when he was in high-school he has given in to society in believing that whites were better than blacks. This feeling can probably be linked back to when his father favored his as a child because he was the lightest skinned of them all.

DJ 14. “I reflected many, many times to myself upon how the American Negro has been entirely brainwashed from ever seeing or thinking of himself, as he should, as a part of the nonwhite peoples of the world.”

This refers the fact that black people believed white people in the fact that they were better than them. They were all brainwashed into thinking that whites were superior to blacks. You couldn’t really blame them because of the society they were raised in. They grew up seeing their parents and grandparents disrespected by whites, so they didn’t know anything else other than the superiority of whites.

DJ. 15 “The ‘Negro’ was taught to worship an alien God having the same blond hair, pale skin and blue eyes as the slave master.”

This refers back to when the slaves were brought over, they had to drop their culture and do as the white man did. This is a big reason that black people, even after they were freed, were trained to think that whites were better than them. This can even been seen with some stereotypes today. Not only with race but religion as well.

DJ. 16  “I'm sorry to say that the subject I most disliked was mathematics. I have thought about it. I think the reason was that mathematics leaves no room for argument. If you made a mistake, that was all there was to it.”

I picked out this quote because not only does it link to how he messed up and went to jail, but then picked himself back up again, but I love math for the very same reason he hates it. This statement is foreshadow for when he got in trouble with the police but then got a second chance and changed his life for the better.

DJ. 17 “This was my first lesson about gambling: if you see somebody winning all the time, he isn't gambling, he's cheating. Later on in life, if I were continuously losing in any gambling situation, I would watch very closely.”

This statement is all about how like is a gamble and what Malcolm X does to become such a successful speaker. If he was always losing, than he watched very closely, and became aware of the possibility of a cheater. This would make it harder for the cheater to cheat. Malcolm X becomes a person who become aware of the situation he is in. You can connect this quote to the one where he states that nothing catches him off guard.

DJ 18. “Now at that time, in Roxbury, in any black ghetto in America, to have a white woman who wasn’t a known, common whore was—for the average black man, at least—a status symbol of the first order.”

This connects to the fact that black men thought more of white women because they were new and exciting. This is another form of brainwashing that he talks about so much. The idea that white are better than blacks, so black try and be like whites in any way possible.

DJ 19. “She didn’t dance well, at least not by Negro standards.”

I thought this statement was funny because you can connect this to a common stereotype today that black people are better dancers than white people. It’s interesting to see the stereotypes back then and how you can connect them with stereotype today.

DJ 20. “Sophia admitted that she also had dates with white fellows, ‘just for the looks of things,’ she said.”

This is sort of the opposite brainwash that Malcolm talks about. In this situation a white woman, Sophia, want to obtain the reputation of a black woman. It makes sense because before then, and even past this time, mixed couple were not accepted into society, so now that it’s ok, both races are exploring each other.