In the times of oppression people always look forward to having a great inspiration and fight to throw away the cruel burdens from their shoulders for good. Ethiopia is celebrating its 123rd victory day of Adwa. Timothy Green Poet and African American describes Adwa as the most celebrated victory by many black people from around the globe.
Many scholars also agree that this day has been the birth of inspiration for most oppressed black people around the world to stand up and fight for their rights. Adwa has inspired the greater Marques Garvey to plan the exodus of black people back to their home land Africa. Adwa has a great place in most black civil right movement activists in America.
Peoples’ struggle for what is worth to die for may vary in tactics from one another but generations would remember and honor their heroes in time. There is one hero whose style of civil and human rights struggle was said to be violent was led by a principle that stresses the need for people to standing up and protecting their rights by any means necessary. He was called Malcolm X.
Timothy told The Ethiopian Herald that he was also the one who took African American’s human rights struggle to the world stage in the nineteen sixties. “He visited Africa and presented our case to the Organization of African Unity (OAU). In 1963 he met African leaders like Emperor Hailesilasie and Kuame Nkrumah. He also identified our [African Americans civil right struggle] with their anticolonial struggle.
He explained African Americans were part of similar struggle,” said Timothy. As to him Malcolm X started out his struggle in prison by educating himself. When he was released from prison he was a different man. “When he spoke, he touched a lot of people and not just educated people. He spoke in different universities and also on the streets.”
Timothy stressed that he was addressing two types of people in two different languages [the typical street slung and the educated ones]. He was a very gifted person, according to Timothy. Coach Carlos Thornton for his part said Malcom X’s other quality is that his enthusiasm to learn other peoples’ cultures. “He was the person who motivated me to move out and see the world. We worship Alah or Jesus. We have our own church culture that we followed in the black community. But Malcolm X pointed out that we have come from other places and we should look back to the past to learn what we do not know about,” he recalled. “Malcolm X was not only a motivational speaker but also a leader with the ability to unite people,” said Coach Carlos.
This reminds that the ability of Emperor Menelik II who organized the people of Ethiopia from every corner and fought the Italian colonial force in unity. As thousands of Ethiopians marched to the battle of Adwa under their commanders, their principle was freedom and that would need sacrifice to death. They never hesitated. During the time of his pilgrimage to Mecca, Malcolm X had sojourned in Ethiopia and was welcomed by Emperor Hailesilasie I.
“The emperor gave him a house and car to stay in Ethiopia but he declined. That was because he has to struggle for the civil rights of African Americans in America,” stressed Carlos. This indicates that how Malcolm was a devoted civil right fighter and his affection for his African American community. Although his struggle was said to have been violent, he was promoting self defense, according to Timothy.
There was information that highlights how he defended himself from the feeling of the influence of savory by changing his name from Malcolm Little to X. According Timothy even if the non-violent way of struggle was kept for a long time by African Americans but that didn’t ensure their civil rights. Malcolm did not oppose the non-violent struggle, but he always stressed the need to act against criminal acts that assault the black community.
“That means to stand up and fight for ourselves. Malcolm X was influential in promoting that point of view. But, unfortunately so many people would not listen about him as Martin Luther King.” Meanwhile, both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were the most influential figures in the history of African American civil right movements of the nineteen sixties.
The principle of Malcolm X and his personal journey through the struggle has affected people on the seventies and eighties especially after the Movie Malcolm X came out, said Timothy. Struggle of black people in every corner of the world may have different patterns and philosophies these days.
It may have a different form. Africans are struggling to build their democracy, economy and secure their peace. More efforts are still needed from every African government to pave the way for democracy, equality and integrity. Most of all building our economy and securing peace would be the greatest achievement that could save the illegal migration of our youth and stop their suffering in strange lands.
Herald March 2/2019
BY HENOK TIBEBU
