<p>hey i'm all for having a malcolm x day...but i guess people feel he was too controversial. </p>
<p>but we could ALL use another day off from school LoL</p>
<p>"I wish we would celebrate Malcom X's birthday, in addition to MLK. It seems as if we are leaving a large piece of history out of the picture by ignoring Malcom X."</p>
<p>Malcolm X had an interesting life, and was an excellent public speaker. However, what did he do that is deserving of his own day?</p>
<p>Every day as I go about my life, there are things that I can do because of MLK and other civil rights activists. MLK's impact on my life and on America is profound.</p>
<p>What is Malcolm X's legacy?</p>
<p>I think the problem with Malcolm is that he didn't acknowledge peace as a means to attain civil rights until later in his life. Some of the violence he promoted and the result of that violence has tarnished his image forever and you shouldn't expect whites or anyone that was negatively impacted by his negative teachings to celebrate him. Lester Maddox, the old racist and segregationist governor down here in Georgia opposed black integration into society but later changed his mind. Even though he changed, the pain he caused is irreparable and I'd still raise holy hell if I had to celebrate his birthday or if there was a day honoring him. Some people feel the same about Malcolm, although I must admit that of all the civil rights era leaders he was my favorite.</p>
<p>Malcom never actually promoted violence, violence seemed to follow him throughout his life. However, he promoted a radical solution to the segregation problem, and somehow a radical solution equated to violence for some.</p>
<p>But, there are also many other Black leaders who have used peace and caused change. W.E.B. Du Bois, Frederik Douglas, etc. Why can't we celebrate the lesser known leaders?</p>
<p>cannednish, perhaps one day the holiday will be changed to "Civil Rights Leaders Day," much like Washington's birthday was morphed into "Presidents Day"</p>
<p>What I want to know is why haven't there been movies about Frederick Douglass and about Harriett Tubman. </p>
<p>Frederick Douglass had everything that could make a blockbuster movie. He overcame a tough childhood, was drop dead handsome and charismatic, was a world famous orator, and was a courageous leader including being an advocate of women's rights as well as civil rights for people of color. </p>
<p>Harriett Tubman was a superwoman whose courage was incomparable. </p>
<p>Another fascinating, charismatic black leader of great impact was Adam Clayton Powell. There was an excellent movie about him that showed on cable a couple of years ago. He is another person whose legacy impacted everyone's life. When he was chairman of the House education and Labor committee, for instance, every bill that he sponsored became law. These included bills having to do with the minimum wage and student loans.</p>
<p>Here's info: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Clayton_Powell_Jr%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Clayton_Powell_Jr</a>.</p>
<p>All of those aforementioned people are obscure to those who do not actively study african american history so it would be hard to get America to recognize a holiday for those people. As far as movies go, let's be real Hollywood isn't interested in creating movies that won't be blockbuster money making hits and historically movies about black leaders or movies with a predominantly black cast don't do well or the success is ephemeral. It's sad but true in some regards.</p>
<p>"As far as movies go, let's be real Hollywood isn't interested in creating movies that won't be blockbuster money making hits and historically movies about black leaders or movies with a predominantly black cast don't do well or the success is ephemeral. "</p>
<p>Depending on how such a movie were written and cast, it could be a blockbuster.</p>
<p>Just look at how "Roots" did on TV. It was the biggest series of all time. That's because of the compelling nature of the story and the excellence of the production and casting. </p>
<p>Similarly, the Cosby Show did very well. </p>
<p>Particularly when it comes to charismatic heroes like Frederick Douglass, Harriett Tubman, movies based on them could be blockbusters. Their stories aren't just black history, but important facets of American history.</p>
<p>Ehh, I'm not too sure about Malcolm X... Sure he is a part of history, but I don't really want to celebrate what he advocated. By the way, something that's making me mad is that I can't find his entire speech on video (unabridged) online. I guess the library might have the DVD I keep seeing on Amazon.</p>
<p>"All of those aforementioned people are obscure to those who do not actively study african american history so it would be hard to get America to recognize a holiday for those people."</p>
<p>I think if you don't know those people, you should go back to elementary school, and stay there until you learn who they are, what they did for this country.</p>
<p>Sadly in most elementary schools you're lucky if you get a decent curriculum based lesson on the life of MLK let alone a WEB Dubois, Frederick Douglas, Stokely Carmichael, Harriet Tubman, or Booker T. Washington. Sure schools may skim through these names, but most Americans do not know them.</p>