More than 40 years after his assasination, a plan to build a memorial to Malcolm X in front of his final home in East Elmhurst is moving forward. Malcolm X Memorial Slated For His East Elmhurst Home
Initial discussions for the project began in earnest last year, when Councilman Hiram Monserrate and Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, executive director of Queens Council on the Arts, first spoke about an idea to install a bust of the civil rights activist at 23-11 97th St.
The street was renamed Malcolm X Place in 2005, following an effort spearheaded by Monserrate.
Monserrate said it’s important for Queens residents, especially students, to know about Malcolm X’s contribution to the civil rights movement, and also about his life in Queens.
“A lot of people equate his work primarily in Harlem,” Monserrate said, “not also knowing that he was a resident of Queens and lived in East Elmhurst.”
The councilman has secured $11,000 for the memorial through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
7 comments:
This is great - a man with a checkered past that preached hate towards whitie gets recognition (and funding), while other locations (we know who you are) get crap.
It shows that in Queens, the getting high on the tweeded scale is the only game in town.
Monserrate should propose it
for landmark designation.
The LPC will be hard pressed to turn it down
lest they be viewed as anti Black !
I really think this one is a good test case.
Let's see Tierney and his crew of White elitists
squirm in their seats on this one.
"When Malcolm was examined for the draft, military physicians classified him to be "mentally disqualified for military service." He explained in his autobiography that he put on a display to avoid the draft by telling the examining officer that he could not wait to "kill some crackers."
"In early 1946, Malcolm returned to Boston. On January 12, he was arrested for burglary trying to steal a stolen watch he had left for repairs at a jewelry shop. Two days later, Malcolm was indicted for carrying firearms. On January 16, he was charged with Grand Larceny and Breaking and Entering. Malcolm was sentenced to eight to ten years in Massachusetts State Prison."
source: Wikipedia
"Malcolm X referred to whites as "devils" who had been created in a misguided breeding program by a black scientist..."
source: Wikipedia
It is obvious that the people writing about Malcolm X on this blog know only superficially know the man. It is true that early in his life he was a criminal who hated white people. But he was more complex than that.
As he learned more about Islam and traveled to Mecca, Malcolm became more accepting of different people, observing that there were muslims of all ethnicities, including whites.
He was asassinated by the Nation of Islam because he no longer accepted their hatred of Whites. Malcolm realized his beliefs were wrong and changed. Something that most people never do. In fact, the famous poster of Malcolm looking outside his window in Elmhurst while holding a rifle withe the caption "By any means necessary," actually was Malcolm trying to protect his family from the Nation of Islam.
Please, before you condemn Malcolm, read his biography written by Alex Haley. You may even come to respect his strength. At the very least, watch the Spike Lee Malcolm X movie, which was pretty true to the book.
And no, I am not a Muslim and I am not African-American.
Or watch the Spike Lee movie. It was great.
Hmmm, perhaps you've got a point there? Will have to reaccess X, after some further research.
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