Forgive me my colleagues, and Professors, and friends and strangers alike. This blog is - too - about a song I am sure you have not heard, but haunts me all the same.
By way of introduction:
The song ‘Malcolm’s Gone’ was written and composed by jazz vocalist Leon Thomas with Pharaoh Sanders in 1969. The song is a part of Thomas’s debut album ‘Spirits Known and Unknown.’ The song is a tribute to revolutionary and civil rights activist Malcolm X, who was assassinated in 1965. Released in 1969, four years after Malcolm X’s assassination, the song resonated with the ongoing struggle for racial equality and justice. It highlighted Malcolm X’s sacrifice and enduring legacy, emphasizing his role in fighting for the dignity and freedom of African Americans. This alignment of his mission with the broader goals of the civil rights movement underscored the song’s relevance and emotional impact during a period of intense social and political activism. Moreover, by the late 1950s, several musicians had explicitly introduced politics into their songs as the civil rights movement had started gaining momentum in the US. This trend continued and intensified over the following decades, especially in free and spiritual jazz. These sub-genres represented an angrier battle for political freedom. Thomas’s Malcolm’s Gone is also a part of jazz music filled with political messages. The lyrics of the song are as following:
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabbaz
I know he’s gone, but he’s not forgotten
I know he died, just to set me free
Yes malcolm’s gone, but he’s not forgotten
He died to save me, gave me back my dignity
/
Oh he’s gone, but he’s not forgotten
I know he died, just to set me free
Yes malcolm’s gone, but he’s not forgotten
He died to save me, gave me back my dignity
The song with its inclusion of prolonged melody after a few sentences of tribute signifies mourning of a beloved one who has left the community saddened. In addition, the song also signifies joy at the mark Malcolm has left by setting black folks free and giving them back their lost dignity.
The most significant part of the song to me, is that it likens Malcolm X to Jesus Christ, who is and was revered by the majority of white people in the US. The song likens Malcolm X to Jesus Christ through its narrative of sacrifice for freedom and dignity. By highlighting Malcolm X’s death as a means to “set me free” and “give me back dignity,” the lyrics draw a parallel to the Christian narrative of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death for humanity’s salvation.
This comparison is both profound and provocative, as it aligns Malcolm X, a Muslim civil rights leader often seen as controversial by the state, with the central figure of Christianity, emphasizing his impact and sacrifice. Such a likening is extremely profound especially because of the climate in the US at that time.
This song appealed to me because of its direct reference to Malcolm X, whom I consider in high regard because of his selfless struggle for the freedom of black Americans and for his passion for learning and unlearning. The song reminded me of the violent struggle for freedom promoted by Malcolm X and the proponent of non-violent struggle Martin Luther King Jr. The late 1960s, the period when Thomas released the song, was a very volatile period for African Americans. It marked the end of the relatively nonviolent American civil rights era, and the beginnings of the militant Black Power movement. Hence, the song most likely promotes a violent solution to the subjugation of blacks in the US by attributing the freedom of blacks to Malcolm X.
In conclusion, the song “Malcolm’s Gone” encapsulates the profound legacy of Malcolm X, serving as a reminder of his unwavering commitment to dignity and freedom for African Americans. Through its poignant lyrics and emotional delivery, the song inspires future generations to continue advocating for justice and equality. His teachings and actions remain a beacon for those fighting against oppression, underscoring the significance of his life’s work in the ongoing struggle for civil right.
I realize this was a strictly formal essay, I can't bring myself to write about Malcolm - and Lamumba, and Cesaire, and these people who haunt me; poetically; not yet anyway. But as a semblance of common humanity (read: some emotion), I will leave you with what I penned down in my diary when we first studied Malcolm X (and was introduced to this song by proxy):
Tell me. whisper it from the grave. did it hurt you, did it touch you when they kept shooting you after you died? did Africa flash before your eyes, did you see the God we all saw in you? did you know your death would make it feel constantly like entering a room someone had just left, still heavy with the weight of life? did you know your love would rush into the hearts of strangers and make them comrades, did you know your strength would unravel a 21 year old man decades after your death? did you know your death was just the beginning – did you know death at all? for all your talk of expecting death, I don't think you really knew it either. my heart is your graveyard. the debt is unpayable. the gratitude is a mountain, untarnished by the world. the promise is everlasting – the world did not deserve you, so the world must change
okay bye <3
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