Although Malcolm strongly believes that white society
is to blame for black America’s problems, starting with slavery
and continuing through segregation, his commentary in these chapters
foreshadows his later belief that if blacks want a better life,
it is up to them, and only them, to improve their situation. Malcolm’s
taking the blame for ruining Laura’s life is an instance of the
black community holding itself responsible for its failures. While
Malcolm could easily blame white society and thereby ease his conscience
and that of the black community in general, doing so would deny
blacks power over lives such as Laura’s. In blaming himself for
Laura’s downfall and thereby accepting responsibility for it, Malcolm shows
his belief that he had the power to protect her from harmful influences.
While Malcolm readily acknowledges that whites may be the source
of such harmful influences, he feels it is necessary for other blacks
to adopt a self-empowering attitude like his if they want to improve
their lives.
Malcolm includes most of the details in these chapters
to expose us to the tough side of the ghetto. However, the moments
in which Malcolm portrays Harlem life in a positive light imply
that there is an alternative to the white welfare state that offers
to help the black people whom it simultaneously oppresses. Malcolm’s
feeling of kinship with the patrons of Small’s Paradise shows that
Harlem contains a network of people who are a source of community
in a cruel world. Though money is tight, the black community prefers
to help its own rather than receive assistance from a government
institution, as with an elderly beggar named Fewclothes, whom the
black community always given free meals. This presentation of an
informal social safety net contrasts with the demeaning white welfare agencies
that earlier divide Malcolm’s family. In this instance, Malcolm
shows that even people pushed to the brink of survival can form
their own creative solutions to social problems.
