IF MALCOLM X HAD NOT LIVED If Malcolm X had not lived, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would not have been so successful. In the history of civil rights in America in the 20th Century, these two figures certainly added to the movement of African-Americans forward toward equality. Many people misunderstood Malcolm and accepted Martin. King's efforts were successful because Malcolm's early positions on violence as an option to earn civil rights was diametrically opposed to what Dr. King preached and most white Americans found it easier to accept King's non-violent struggle. America's record on civil rights is appalling. Both Malcolm X and Dr. King chastised America for its unwillingness to grant all of its citizens equal rights before the law. Consider these facts. Our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but not until 1920 did universal womens' suffrage finally become law. In 1936, unions were legitimized and working people were legally permitted to bargain collectively for fair wages with employers. In 1954, with Brown vs. Board of Education, did the Supreme Court declare that schools must be desegregated. In 1964, just 30 years ago and in my own lifetime, the Voters Rights Act became law making it illegal to deny any person the right to vote, and throwing out the many ludicrous practices in the South and elsewhere which denied citizens this basic right. In 1974, the Equal Employment Opportunities Act made it illegal to discriminate against anyone because of race, creed, or ethnic background in the work place. For nearly a decade, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was fought for, but it went down in defeat. In 1992, the latest Civil Rights Bill was signed into law making it illegal to discriminate against handicapped and other protected class people. No religious or political organizations categorically supported the change toward justice and equality for all people. True, isolated pockets in all these subcultures did advocate change. Yet no strong white leader ever took the charge to stand by these men and carry the torch among the white members of the American society and advocate categorical change. Early in his mission, Dr. King preached about the universal brotherhood of man. This made him more acceptable to the mainstream white American. It was not until Malcolm X went to Mecca did he finally understand this notion of universality. In the Autobiography of Malcolm X, writer Alex Haley quoted from one of Malcolm's letter from Mecca to friends in America. He wrote: "There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America that led me to believe never could exist between white and the non-white... You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to re-arrange much of my though- patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions... We were truly all the same (brothers) because their belief in one God had removed the 'white' from their minds, the 'white' from their behavior, and the 'white' from their attitude...I could see from this, that perhaps if white Americans could accept the Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in reality the Oneness of Man and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm others in terms of their 'differences' in color." You won't find any of these universal notions of mankind in the first 300 pages of the Autobiography. Most white folks read the first 100 pages of it and, disgusted with Malcolm's earlier statements, put the book down and read no more. Many of the people I know and work with have done the same. It is difficult to digest Malcolm's earlier rhetoric. Yet, there is in the last fifty pages, a rebirth and a renaissance of wonder. Malcolm X, radical, proponent of violence and separation of black and white people, came to believe and advocate a hope for reconciliation. Here was Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, erasing years of hatred and bitterness and violent discrimination, wondering if a new generation could bridge the racial and religious gaps and bring true justice and equality to the nation as a whole. Many times I see pictures of Jesus and wonder how, if he lived in the Middle East, could he so blue-eyed. Certain depictions of Christ envision him with dark hair, eyes, and skins. These contrasts seem to be at the center of the controversy. Is it color that determines the importance and value of any human being? Or is it something else? Something much more intimate, intrinsic, and important. It is then that I retreat back into Dr. King's most famous speech and find what appears to me to be a part of the answer to this perplexing controversy. On August 28, 1963, thirty years ago, Dr. King said: "...I have a dream, that someday, my children will not be judged by the color of their skin [the music they listen to; the clothes that they wear; the style of their hair; the neighborhood in which they live; the work that they do to make a living (my own additions)], but by the content of their character. I have a dream." I have that dream too. A prayer that seems to capture the essence of this struggle in me I'd like to share with you: O (Allah, Yahweh, Christ), your greatness is everywhere, and yet I confess that I am often too busy to see it. You shine in the faces of children, reach out in the hands of my dearest friends, surround me in the beauty of the earth and sky. Forgive me (Allah, Yahweh, Christ) for those times when I do not see You in all. Restore me and open the eyes of my spirit so that each day I may look about and live in steady fellowship with you.