The Riddle of the Zoot: Malcolm Little and Black Cultural Politics during World War II, Robin Davis Gibran Kelley

Résumé du document

Robin Davis Gibran Kelley (born in 1962) is a professor of American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. In his essay 'The Riddle of the Zoot-Malcolm Little and Black Cultural Politics during World War II', he analyzed how Malcolm's youth as a hustler influenced his later political commitment. The riddle mentioned in the title is a reference to black writer Ralph Ellison, who wrote, 'Much in Negro life remains a mystery, perhaps the zoot suit conceals profound political meaning, perhaps the symmetrical frenzy of the Lindy Hop conceals clues to great potential power, if only Negro leaders would solve this riddle'. This text refers to the autobiography of Malcolm, a famous character of African American history of the XXth century. This document aims to show the role played by Malcolm, through his corrupted lifestyle and his embarrassing background; and through the creation of a new style, the zoot suiters. As it is said at the beginning of this document, 'the purpose of this chapter is to rethink Malcolm's early life, to re-examine the hipster subculture and its relation to wartime social, political, economical and ideological transformation'.

Extraits

[...] The Riddle of the Zoot Malcolm Little and Black Cultural Politics during World War II, Robin Davis Gibran Kelley Robin Davis Gibran Kelley (born in 1962) is a professor of American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. In his essay Riddle of the Zoot Malcolm Little and Black Cultural Politics during World War in this he has analysed how Malcolm X's youth as a hustler has influenced his later political commitments. The riddle mentioned in the title is a reference to the black writer Ralph Ellison, who wrote: “Much in Negro life remains a mystery”. [...]

[...] In the 1960's, he compared capitalism to organized crime and he refused to tell looting by blacks a criminal act. At the end of the war, burglary was recurrent. It has become avenue through which he could escape the mask of petty hustling”. Burglary means that hustlers did not recognize private property. Malcolm X insisted on the fact that criminality and private property “obscured the real nature of social relation”. Thinking back to his days as a hepcat in the 1940s, Malcolm X found himself as a and denounced his former fashion style. [...]

[...] It was the bebop as music, the zoot suit and conks as fashion and dance halls, that eventually contributed to the black working-class youths' identity in those times. Kelley, studying Malcolm X's autobiography and analysed how Malcolm's youth as a hustler influenced his later political devotion. He relies on Malcolm's youth to explain his political view. To understand his convictions, one needs to know more about his teenage years. The historical approach of the author Kelley is a grassroots approach. [...]

[...] There were “hundreds, perhaps thousands, of zoot suiters and musicians who dodged the draft”. Actually, it was not only unpatriotic; it was also a way to oppose the “white war”. African Americans didn't see the point in fighting against Germans as they found there enemy in White Americans. Many of them were imprisoned for not “complying with the provision of the Selective Service Act”. The zoot suiters and jazzmen that finally joined the army were living a nightmare. They were the victims of humiliation, punishment and sometimes beatings. [...]

[...] That is why it is surprising that Malcolm criticized his proper lifestyle as a hustler. To my mind, Kelley's essay is a magnificent and brilliant piece of work. Robin D.G. Kelley, one of the most distinguished historians of his time, captivates people about Malcolm's life by a strong reasoning. Unlike most of biographers, he does not focus on the violent and corrupted lifestyle of Malcolm but more on objective facts that led to a puissant affirmation of black identity and integration. [...]