From: Jeff Finlay FINLAYJI@GUVAX.ACC.GEORGETOWN.EDU
I do not think the use of Malcom X's biography is effective in a
general American history class. It must be good for students with
enough knowledge in Black Studies, but for average students, a book with a
fairer viewpoint will be better. I recommend Weisbrot's Freedom Bound.
It covers most of the activists including Malcom X.
I guess I find myself wondering how the writer would use the
Autobiography of Malcolm X in a US history class, and how the use
aids to/hinders the effectiveness. Weisbrot's book is very much
a nuts and bolts account of the politics of the civil rights
movement (a much better book, in my view, is Taylor Branch's
Parting the Waters), whereas Malcolm X's work is an "inside
narrative" by a black revolutionary. Malcolm X is much more
provocative--can Weisbrot and Malcolm X be used with each
other? Strikes me that teaching Malcolm X would be a fruitful
field of inquiry for the issues raised by Professor Brown--US
teachers of American history could learn from the perspectives
of their international counterparts.
Jeff Finlay
American Studies Program
Georgetown University
Comoderator, H-Amstdy American Studies List