The Significance of 'X'

Why would the producers of ‘American History X’ use this name for a film? Is it meant to draw parallels to the past? Is it a message to the audience? The director does conjure up the image of the civil rights activist, Malcolm X (formerly known as Malcolm Little). It is a creative tool to introduce the meaning of Malcolm X to an audience that probably would not be interested otherwise. Just as Malcolm was corrupted, redeemed, transformed and enlightened so are the brothers, Derek & Danny Vinyard.

As a child Malcolm (Derek) was a bright, intelligent student before circumstances beyond his control altered his life. The murder of Malcolm’s (Derek’s) father by a member of a different race had an enormous impact on his life. Malcolm (Derek) eventually dropped out of school and turned to a life of crime. Prison transformed him from the life of crime he once led.

The difference between Malcolm and Derek is the circumstances that brought them out of their ignorance. It was his time in prison that awakened Malcolm’s intellect but it was during a trip to Mecca that he experienced the discrimination within his own race. By comparison, the prison violence forced on Derek by members of his race demonstrated that all people are flawed regardless of their race.

But there is more to the significance of X. X represents the unknown. For Malcolm the letter X represented his unknown identity as a descendent of slaves. Little was the name given to his ancestors by their slave master. Adopting X is recognition that the true history is a mystery. It also represents the unwillingness to be acted upon by outside influences and the need to seek one’s own truth. Malcolm X had to seek his own truth.

This film, in a way, asks the audience to seek their own truth. Otherwise it would be called American History of Anglo-Saxons or American History of African-Americans. We are being asked to not merely accept what is fed to us but to seek our own truth. We can only do that by asking questions of the powers that surround us.

A capitalist society remains capitalist by maintaining a significant level of poverty. One tool that has been used and continues to be used is pitting one group against another.

Many people do not believe that our society uses racism for economic gain. But all too many people do not know the history of race in our country. Racism was used by corporations in the early part of the 20^th century as a tool to break unions. The strategy these corporations would use would be to hire black workers when white unionized workers went on strike. It is important to mention that these same black workers would not normally be hired by these companies.

More recently former first lady, Barbara Bush, remarked that the black victims of hurricane Katrina are “better off now” that they have been forced to leave New Orleans. Who are the people and organizations receiving relief money to take care of these people? Many people who had been admirers of Mrs. Bush were astonished to hear her say something so insensitive. The only reason it surprised them was because they never sought their own truth.

The story of Derek & Danny is one that should be well understood for not only the obvious anti-hate messages but also for the not so obvious. It is time for all Americans to wake up. Racism is a tool to push people into poverty by shrinking the middle class. It was the power of the unions during the Flint, Michigan sit down strikes that brought about the creation of the middle class (not the Ford Motor Company). We have 40 million adult illiterates in this country. Why is that? We all must understand the significance of X.