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"This is why I sought out Malcolm X, whose ideas had reached me through the medium of Negro integrationists. Their thinking was already reflecting a high degree of nascent Negro nationalism."
This phrase describes how prominent african american leaders active in civil rights or local politics offered m.l. handler their version of malcolm x's ideology - the ideas and philosophy developed in response to the social, political and economic needs of blacks. Malcolm refused to deal with the idea of obtaining integration or non-violence although he shared their goal of obtaining equality. He saw integration as perpetuating the mistaken idea that some whites had about their own superiority. Nascent means emerging, and it is used here that many African Americans who had been strongly for integration were beginning to realize that Malcolm's political philosophy of Black Nationalist was grounded in historic identity and racial unity rather than a misdirected hatred of whites as portrayed in the media.Black Nationalism is a political philosophy developed upon the central belief that the African origins of African Americans are an essential and on-going factor of their self-identity. This identity and the political philosophy behind it developed over centuries of inequality in America. As a result, many African Americans developed a determination to create their own nation or society within America. It is a political philosophy that takes pride in being black in America. ["Black Nationalism Before Malcolm X" Martin & Malcolm: A Dream or A Nightmare by James H. Cone p. 9].Historically Black Nationalism has also been used a counter-measure to various forms of racism and represents a critical part of African American survival. In this way it has been linked to the larger world of people of African descent. This black world, the result of enslavement, is often referred to as the African Diaspora. Black Nationalism as a political philosophy dates back to 19th century with David Walker who wrote in 1829 "By treating us so cruel" we "see them acting more like devils than accountable men. Other leaders in this period include Martin Delaney. In the early decades of the 20th century, Henry McNeal Turner, Marcus Garvey,Noble Drew Ali and Elijah Muhammad were important Black Nationalist leaders. Building upon the work of these early leaders, Malcolm X organized social protests and politi-cal action around the belief that "our gospel is black nationalism." In summary, Black Nationalism is designed to promote self-identity, self-determination and economic security, This is achieved through political organizing. Malcolm advocated the use of Black Nationalism as a way to control the political, economic and cultural development of African American communities.
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