SCENE ON THE STREET : X Factor

When Malcolm Little was in prison, from 1946 to 1952, he found himself. He converted to the Nation of Islam and adopted X as his last name, explaining it stood for what he had become: “Ex-smoker. Ex-drinker. Ex-Christian. Ex-slave.”

He shed the smoke and found the fire, and became an orator for the ages. He dropped the drinking and discovered a doctrine of black militancy that under his leadership became so persuasive that, eventually, he founded mosques in Harlem, Philadelphia and Boston.

In 1962, he broke with the leader of the movement, the Hon. Elijah Muhammad. In 1964, he left the Nation of Islam. In 1965, he was shot down at a rally in Harlem by assassins that police identified as Black Muslims outraged at X’s independence. Others said an FBI conspiracy was behind his assassination.

And so, he lost his life.

And ever since, people have been discovering him, over and over and over.

Today, the various factions of the Black Muslim movement have come together. The doctrine is less militant; almost a part of the mainstream. Spike Lee is directing a movie on X’s life. Brothers are wearing caps like the one Lee wears. (These were seen in Pasadena and Altadena.)

But maybe it goes deeper than a fad. A lot of people seem to be focusing on how they can be who they want to be: what they should X-out of their lives to reach their goals, and what they should add to achieve them.