Reflections On The Black Experience -- Malcolm X -- America Can't Accept A Holiday Honoring Hero Of Black Nationalism

THERE will never be a nationally recognized Malcolm X holiday. Trust me on this one.

There will never come a day in the United States of America when you will be able to wake up on May 19, Malcolm's birthday, and say to yourself, "Sure is nice to have this day off in honor of our national hero, Malcolm X."

This is something you will never say.

Here's why: On Jan. 19, the day before the King holiday, the Associated Press reported a survey by the Bureau of National Affairs that shows only 17 percent of private businesses give workers King Day off. The survey, which covered 545 major firms, also indicates that King Day ranks 14th out of 15 holidays honored by many of the businesses polled.

If so few businesses are willing to give their employees the day off to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., even though it is recognized by the federal government, and even though King advocated nonviolence and the brotherhood of all mankind, do you really believe Malcolm X will ever get national respect and recognition? Of course not.

Meanwhile, think about this for a minute: It is perfectly acceptable for African Americans to celebrate July 4 as Independence Day, even though Independence Day is a pretty poor choice of words when it comes to black people since it refers to that date in 1776 when the colonies declared themselves no longer under England's thumb.

In 1776, black folks in the U.S.A. were too busy being whipped

and chained by white slave masters to be paying much attention to all this independence. But in 1992, the majority of American businesses still don't get the point. Or don't care.

The point is this: It makes much more sense for black people - all people, actually - to honor the legacy of a man who gave his life in the struggle for everybody's independence rather than to celebrate an Independence Day that is, well, somewhat of a lie. If all Americans weren't independent on Independence Day, then how come we keep celebrating it as such?

Getting back to Malcolm X. A lot of African-American kids these days, especially in big cities, are considerably more impressed with the message of Malcolm X than of Martin Luther King. Check out a few of those hard-core rap videos if you think I'm wrong. Every other video either has Malcolm's voice, a clip from one of his speeches or a frozen image of his angry face delivering his message with that fiery electricity no other black American leader since that time has been able to match except possibly Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Why do you suppose that is? In a way, it has something to do with all those businesses who don't see any need to honor King Day. These businesses, whether they admit it or not, still don't want to acknowledge the importance of a black man's contribution to this country. They may say it just isn't economically feasible at this time, that the company simply doesn't have the funds to support another holiday, that King was a wonderful man who just doesn't qualify for a holiday yet, and on and on.

All smoke, no substance. Truth be told, they just can't see taking a whole day off to honor some black guy and then paying folks for it.

These black kids who love Malcolm X aren't stupid. They can read the signs of the times just as well as anybody. When they see how much businesses disrespect the King holiday, they begin to ask questions. When they see to what lengths white people will go not to be integrated with them, their questions give way to anger and hurt. When they see the tape of Rodney King being beaten by crazed cops in Los Angeles while other cops laugh, they become enraged.

Then they begin to understand why Malcolm had no faith in government or business leaders to do anything for black people. Now they understand why black people must learn to do all we possibly can for ourselves, which is the core of Malcolm's black nationalist message. They understand why it doesn't make sense to sing "We Shall Overcome" and remain determined to love your enemy into cooperation while cops happily sic dogs on you and spray you down the street with high-powered water hoses like so much debris.

In the face of so much hatred and abuse, there eventually comes a time when people must love themselves enough to defend themselves and not to keep believing the lie that if you allow your enemy to beat you long enough he will eventually come around to your point of view. It just doesn't work that way.

So on this day in Black History Month, if there's any one thing African-American people should think about it is this: There will never be a Malcolm X holiday in the U.S.A.