Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery and Malcolm X’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X are both very important autobiographies for understanding the history of African American literature. In both readings, they describe literacy and reading as a turning point in their lives. Washington described his earliest desire for learning as a passion so strong that even as a child “I determined…that, if I accomplished nothing else in life, I would in some way get enough education to enable me to read common books and newspapers” (Washington, 19). Malcolm X had very different experiences, but also expressed a similar desire to learn to read. While in prison, he realized that before teaching himself to read and write “I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional” (Malcolm X, 1862). For both of them, literacy was the most important for people’s lives and growth.
Washington and Malcolm X had very different upbringings. Washington grew up enslaved and later worked in mines. To him, education required lots of hard work and sacrifice.
In contrast, Malcolm X’s transformation occurred within his time in prison. Incarceration gave him “fifteen hours a day” to read, something he claims he could not have achieved elsewhere (Malcolm, 1868). Washington believed that overcoming hardship led to merit, saying how “success is to be measured…by the obstacles which he has overcome” (Washington, 27). Malcolm X also aimed to expose the current system. He concluded that American history had been deliberately distorted and a mindset that the white man is the devil, which is a very stark contrast to Washington’s forgiving beliefs.
These contrasting tones reflect the audiences each man wanted to reach. Washington wanted harmony between races, saying how he held no bitterness toward the Southern white people, and insisting that Black progress depended on cooperation rather than confrontation. His portrayal of slavery softens the cruelty, describing his enslavers as possessing a “kindly and generous nature” (Washington, 9). Malcolm X, however, writes boldly for Black readers living in the mid-20th-century and emphasizes the importance of civil/human rights and protest. He refuses to dilute the brutality of racism and instead tries to empower African Americans with histories the West doesn’t acknowledge or give credit to. He brings up “Egypt’s Pharaohs,” “Ethiopia, the earth’s oldest continuous black civilization,” and the total horror of the Middle Passage (Malcolm X; 1864, 65). Washington’s narrative is meant to adhere to white readers and their narrative, while Malcolm X doesn’t bold back in his empowerment.
Even through the difference of Washington’s accommodation versus Malcolm X’s resistance, both autobiographies claim that literacy transforms not only individuals but the collective future of African Americans. Washington wanted progress by working within the system and Malcolm X wanted freedom by challenging and discarding the system. They had different ideas for protests and overall goals for the world. These approaches are most likely a result from different circumstances they experienced growing up, as well as the different phases of the movement the lived in. Perhaps Washington's more conservative approach for the world was necessary for the time just following emancipation, whereas Malcolm X's more radical vision was more achievable and necessary for that time period he lived in (Civil Rights Movement). However, they both agreed that reading and education is one of the most important revolutionary acts. Through literacy, both men shaped their identities and destinies, and aimed to change the world for future generations.
