Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare

419 Pages·2012·3.01 MB·English

by  James H. Cone

Martin & Malcolm
& America

Martin & Malcolm & America
A Dream or a Nightmare
JAMES H. CONE
Founded in 1970, Orbis Books endeavors to publish works that enlighten the
mind, nourish the spirit, and challenge the conscience. The publishing arm of the
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Orbis seeks to explore the global dimensions of
the Christian faith and mission, to invite dialogue with diverse cultures and
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Copyright ® 1991 by James H. Cone
First paperback edition July, 1992
Published by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY 10545
Manufactured in' the United States of America
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cone, James H.
Martin & Malcolm & America: a dream or a nightmare / James H. Cone.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and notes.
ISBN 0-88344-721-5 (cloth) 0-88344-824-6 (pbk.) 1. King, Martin, Jr., 1929-
1968—Philosophy 2. X, Malcolm, 1925-1965—Philosophy 3. King, Martin
Luther, Jr., 1929-1968—Religion. 4. X, Malcolm, 1925-1965 —Religion. 5.
Afro-Americans—Intellectual life. 6. Afro-Americans —Religion. 7. United
States —Race relations. 8. Black nationalism—.United States. I. Title. II. Title:
Martin and Malcolm and America.
E185.97.K5C66 1991
973'.0496073022 — dc20
90-14159 CIP
EBOOK ISBN: 9781608330409
To C. Eric Lincoln
Beloved Friend,
Scholar, and Teacher
PREFACE

This book is about Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X -- their
relationship to each other and their meanings for America. The "dream" and
"nightmare" images are used to focus their perspectives on America and to
reveal something about the audiences to whom and for whom they spoke.
In memory as in life Martin King and Malcolm X are still highly
controversial African-American leaders. More than twenty years after their
assassinations, their names arouse passionate acceptance or rejection, and few
people, black or white, have unbiased opinions about them. Thus it is important
for any interpreter to beware of misleading notions about them that ,ire promoted
by both their admirers and detractors. The best way to gain reliable knowledge
about Martin and Malcolm is through a careful examination of the life and
thought of each figure in relation to the other and in the light of the two main
resistance traditions in African-American history and culture — integrationism
and nationalism.
In the introduction, the meaning of integrationism and nationalism for
African-American intellectual history is briefly described, and a plea is made to
freedom-loving Americans to turn to Martin and Malcolm for resources in the
struggle for justice.
Chapters 1 and 2 analyze the social origins of Martin's dream and
Malcolm's nightmare by examining the family contexts which shaped their
perspectives on America.
In chapters 3 and 4, I examine the first stage of their thinking on the dream
and nightmare —from the beginning of their public ministries in the 1950s
through 1963 (Malcolm) and 1964 (Martin). This was the period when their
differences were most pronounced, especially regarding their understanding of
freedom and the means by which it could be achieved.
Martin and Malcolm were, respectively, Christian and Muslim ministers.
Chapters 5 and 6 show how their views of America were influenced by their
religious beliefs.
Popular images of Martin and Malcolm seldom acknowledge their
movement toward each other and their break with earlier deeply held convictions
about America. Malcolm's "chickens came home to roost " in 1963–65 (chapter
7). His heart wrenching break with Elijah Muhammad, his spiritual father,
initiated a new stage in his thinking. Malcolm began to acknowledge the value of
Martin King's contribution to the black freedom movement. He began to
advocate "hope," that is, the participation of African-Americans in the American
political process.
Martin King's dream was shattered in 1965–68 (chapter 8) as he observed
the nightmare in America's cities and on the battlefields of Vietnam. He began to
talk like Malcolm X. In Martin's and Malcolm's radical shifts in perspective,
they came to appreciate each other's views about America.
Martin and Malcolm illuminate the two roads to freedom that meet in the
African-Americans' search for identity in the land of their birth. These roads are
traveled in chapter 9.
Martin and Malcolm were nothing but men, with all the strengths and
weaknesses pertaining to their gender. Only as we consider their weaknesses
(chapter 10) can we really appreciate their strengths (chapter 11).
I hope that we have the imagination and the insight to appreciate their great
legacies. God knows the African-American community needs Martin and
Malcolm. America needs them too. Together Martin and Malcolm can help this
nation to move closer to the goal of justice for all.
A word should be said about the uses of the terms "Negro," "African,"
"black," and "Afro-American." Because Martin King used the term "Negro"
when he referred to the African-American community, I have frequently used it
when articulating his views. Malcolm X despised the term "Negro" as a self-
designation. He preferred "African," "black," and "Afro-American." These terms
are employed to express his perspective.
The reader is entitled to know the perspective which has shaped my
interpretation of Martin and Malcolm and the audience to which this book is
primarily directed. I am an African-American theologian whose perspective on
the Christian religion was shaped by Martin King and whose black
consciousness was defined by Malcolm X. In more than twenty years of writing
and teaching black liberation theology, I have been attempting to relate Malcolm
X and Martin King to Christian living in America, seeking to show that justice
and blackness are essential ingredients in the identity of the Christian faith for
African-Americans.This book is an examination of the meaning of justice and
blackness in America in the context of the lives and thought of Martin King and
Malcolm X. While it focuses on the African-American struggle for justice and
identity, I hope that other people will find something useful for their struggles as
well. I do not expect all persons to agree with what Martin, Malcolm, and I say
about justice and blackness in America. I only hope that they will recognize that
our proclamations for and against America are in fact expressions of our love for
humanity. Unless America recognizes the rights of human beings, its future is
doomed. I write because I believe in human beings. "We shall overcome!"
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have enjoyed researching and writing this book. Daily for ten years I have
been listening to audiotapes and watching videotapes of Martin's and Malcolm's
speeches, reading their published and unpublished writings, as well as what
others have written about them, and talking to people who knew them
personally. I am deeply grateful to the many people who were generous with
their time, challenging with sharp and insightful criticism, and very supportive
with personal encouragement. There are, of course, too many to name, but some
persons must be mentioned.
I am especially grateful for the support of the Union Seminary community
— its board, administration, faculty, students, and staff. President Donald
Shriver, former dean Milton Gatch, and my colleagues in the Theological Field
deserve a special word of thanks for their support and encouragement. The
faculty also read a selection of my research and devoted several sessions to a
critical discussion of it, In my class on Martin and Malcolm, Union students told
me what they thought about what I was writing. I love teaching at Union chiefly
because of the quality of the commitment and intellect of its students. They have
challenged and nurtured me during twenty-one years of teaching and particularly
during the writing of this book.
Four excellent secretaries made the writing of this book much easier and
more delightful than it would have been without them. Elizabeth Launer, my first
secretary, set a high standard that was continued by Fredricka Harlow, Betty
Thomas, and Donna Zanolla. Each one let me know in her own special way that
she cared about Martin and Malcolm and me, Dwight Hopkint, Mark Chapman,
and JoAnne Terrell served as my research assistants. They not only tracked down
many hard to find news items, tapes, and other documents but also read my
manuscript and offered many helpful insights.
Several of my former and current graduate students read all or parts of my
manuscript and offered helpful comments. They include: Kelly D. Brown, Josiah
Young, Dennis Wiley, Ben Ramsey, Chung Hyun Kyung, Howard Wiley, and
Jackie Grant. Mary Marshall Clark was very helpful by making available many