Feb. 21 launches:·'Year
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By Ron Daniels
Febru ry 21, 1965 EI Hajj
., Malik el Shabazz, Malcolm X,
strode to the podium of the
famed Audubon Ballroom in
Harlem to deliver a speech about
his newly formed Organizaiton
of A ro-Ame r ican Unity
(OAAU). The room was packed
with friends, followers and
curio ily seekers eagerly await­
ing word from Malcolm on his
evolving vision of thestruggle
for African liberation and the
OAAU's platform for action.
No one inspired more admira­
tion and devotion among his fol­
Io e rs , respect from his
adversaries or struck more fear
into the hearts of the power elite
in America than Malcolm X.
To paraphrase Mari Ev n •
Malcol m X spoke the truth to tbe
people; the plain unadulterated
truth. The truth was freeing the
hearts and minds and oul of
Black folk in America and com­
manding th attention of people
of color and freedom fighters
throughout Africa, the Carib­
bean, Latin America, Asia and
the world. Malcolm X was an
excruciating critic of America's
y tern of virulent racism, op­
pre sion and Euro-Arnerican
domination and economic ex-
. ploitation of Africa and the
Third World. To the American
. t te , Malcolm X a a
dangerous man. Malcolm X had
10 die.
At the Audubon Ballroom,
not only were Malcolm t friends
and followers as cmblcd, there
were al 0 some enemies; the
ever present eye and ears and
tools of the tate. As Malcolm
rai. cd his voice to speak. th reo
was commotion in the room.
Malcolm rai ed hi hand to ap-
Reader asks
lacocca to
read
Dear Editor,
I was pleased to see that Lee
I cocca is helping to kick off the
program "Running Start" in
your area. Reading, indeed, is
fundamental. As third grade
teacher, I spend much of my life
operating on that premise.
However, I would be even
more pleased if Mr. Iacocca
ould help his Chrysler repre­
sentatives to make the connec-
. tion between reading and .
reality. In particular, to read
nd act on the pages of letters I
sent to them, and to lacocca
himself, documenting a costly
problem I had with a new Colt­
Vista, purchased from Chrysler.
I would point out to Lee
Iacocca, I do to my third
graders, that if people don't act
on what they read, they may as
well not read in the first place.
Meanwhile, I encourage adults
to read carefully between the
line of Chrysler's ervice ad­
vertisements.
Sincerely Daniel Geery
peal for calm. He was felled by
a fusillade of bullets as his wife
and family friends and fol­
low watched in borror. The
guns of the state and silenced
Malcolm ... or so they thought.
Lewis Michaux proprietor of
the world famous Harlem
bookstore po ted a sign outside
his doors:
n Man, if you t!aink Bro. Mal-
colm is thad, .
you ar« out of your cotton
'piclcJ."g h�tuI.
Ju getupoUyourslumHr­
mghd,
II1U1 just watclt his fighting
spiril SptWltl.
. BII�'" ut � IIUa 't ep,
Ellery gootl-bye
• Ilia" fOII�. "
Every year since his
ination the faithful have
gathered on February 21 in
memorials to Malcolm's
memory. This year's memorials
will be more powerful. 1990 IS
THE YEAR OF MALCOLM X.
This February 21 will mark the
25th anniversary of th assas­
sination of "our shining Black
Prince".
Accordi ng the African
American Progressive Action
Network has created a National
Malcolm X Commemoration'
Commi sion with veteran
scholar activist Dr. James
Turner at its helm.
The National Commi sion
which includes such notable
African Americans leaders as
Sonia Sanchez, Dr. Maulana
Karenga and H ki Madhabuu
has designated this February 21,
1990, NATIONAL WE
REMEMBER MALCOLM
DAY. African American tu­
dents have been asked to sponsor
We. Remember Malcolm Day·
Ob rvances on scores of cam­
puses across the nation.
In Washington, D.C. a major
memorial will be held at the
Shiloh Baptist Church and
broadcast by radio cross the
City. Hy nightfall, however, the
eyes of the BI ck world will be
focused on Malcolm's beloved
H rlem, where the National We
Remember Malcolm Day
Memorial will be hosted by Rev.
Calvin Butts at the Abyssinia
Baptist Church.
The Year of Malcolm X will
not end on February 21, how­
ever. We Remember Malcolm
Day will simply signal the
beginning of a massive
. mobilization to celebrate: the
life, legacy and lessons of EI
Hajj. Malik e l Shabazz by
proclaiming May 19, Malcolm's
birthday a NATIONAL
AFRICAN AMERICAN DAY
OF COMMEMORATION.
(May 19, 1990 will be
Malcolm's 65th birthday.)
Petitions for a mass based sig­
nature drive, information pack­
ets and organizaers kits are being
readied by the Commission. at
thi very momemt. Huge.
proclamation ceremonies are en­
vi ioned in Harlem, Omaha,
Nebraska, (Malcolm's birth
place), Chicago, Philadelphia,
Washington, D.C., Los Angeles,
Atlanta and coun ess .com- -
munities around the country.
February 21 will only be the
beginning. May 19 will be the
historic day.
As an act of seK-determina-
•
I;"POR.TE'O FROM
8L1; /'1AD£ IN THE
I
TilE
Children
By M ri n Wri t Edelm n
ow that Carter G.
Woodson's Negro History week
h evolved into Black History
month, and Martin Luther
King's birthday has become a
federal holiday, a lot of people
assume that our children are
learning all they need to know
about Blac history. Unfor­
tunately, this is not the case.
Too many of our Black
children do not have an ac-.
curate sense of our history (or
for that matter, current events)
because no one has bothered to
teach them. they have no sense
of the contributions' we have
made to world civilization, and
do not understand that the civil
rights movement was only one
phase of our long struggle for
justice.
I recently h d an opportunity
to visit Roots Activity Learning .
Center, a Black independent
school on the Di trict of Colum­
bia.
There I saw a class of four
year olds talking about their
costumes for the after-school
masquerade party, held on the
fairy princesses, cartoon
characters or supe heroes. In­
stead they were to be Fannie
Lou Hamer and Winnie Man­
dala; J osephie Baker and
Mahalia Jackson; Harriet Tub­
man" and Kwame krumah.
Others said they were to be
cowboy Nat Love, filmaker
pike Lee, 1990 Miss America
Debbie Turner, and astronaut
Frederick Gregory. Tears came
to my eyes as I heard young
children describe the lives of
those they had chosen to repre-
sent..
I realize
were luck because t ey at- .
tended a chool whereeach •
day's morni g exercise featured ---C-'H-'LD---"-': � ............ --­
Lift Every oicc and Sing.
At Root, field trips include WATCH
visits to BI ck Hisotry i not
limited t the month of
February) a d lessons about the
civil rights ovement are not
reserved fo January 15th.
Of cou c, relatively few
Black child n have a chance to
go to aBack independent
school. Yet many everyday ex­
periences be used to help
Black child en appreciate our
history.
We can tell our children
about Jan atzeliger, whose in­
vention of e lasting machine
revolution ed the shoe in­
dustry, eac time we take them
to buy shoe .
We can mind our children
of Sarah P ker Remond, who
I developed an international
reputation as an abolitionist
and Physic an, each time we
cross the str t, we can red-yel­
low-green t ffic singal .
There ar many books avail­
able to help einforce such basic
history lesso . For Ie than the
price of a p . r of designer jeans
or sneakers family can own
the Dictio ary of American
negroe Bio aphy, an invalu­
able re our edited oj'Rayford
W. Longa and Michael R.
Winston.
From a
pharmacis to scie tists and
women's rig t adv ca es: all are
included in . one h dy black
reference uide. ounger
ist
ry
children win enjoy having pic­
ture book biographies of Fannie
Lou Hamer, Harriet Tubman,
Frederic Douglas, Paul
Robeson and others read to
them.
Older children will enjoy
reading books like Eight Bla
American Inv ntors (by Robert
C. Hayden) and Great Negroes
Past and Present (By Russell L.
Adams) for themselves.
All of our children must -
learn, as the four year old
children at Roots Activity
Learning Center aJready have,
that Black people can. be any­
thing and everything. The time
to tart is now.
Marian Wright Edelman is
Founder and President of the
Children's Defense Fund, a na­
tional voice for children.
The ich gan.
Citizen welcomes
letters from
reader . S nd to:
ichigan Citizen
P.O. Box 03560
Highl nd PK, I
48203
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