When some consider Malcolm’s legacy, they think of a man of rigidity, inflexibility, firmness, intransigence.

This never made sense to me. How could a man who changed his own name twice be anything but reflective, open-minded, and adaptive to change when presented with new information? It seems many skipped to just one chapter of his story and placed him in a box with a permanent label…but they did not bother to trace his path. Their loss!

From growing up in foster care due to his Garveyite father being assassinated and his mother in a mental hospital, to going to prison and joining the NOI only to be excommunicated from it, everything around him was constantly shifting. In the end, the only thing inflexible about him was his principled commitment to doing the right thing…and growing at each step. This is what makes his autobiography so great: Malcolm was constantly evolving. By the time the narrative was finished, he had already grown into a totally different person. Some of the very people he celebrated wanted him dead; the prominent organizations, communities and even some friends he helped build abandoned him.

Ultimately Malcolm’s entire life, surroundings and belief systems were destroyed and built anew multiple times throughout his short time on earth.
And at each stage he became even more enlightened, growing continuously until the very end. He never stopped. It could not have been easy, but it made for one of the most inspiring figures of personal transformation in our time.

This May 19 I am reflecting on Malcolm’s many inner transformations, and remembering that we are all multidimensional beings who are free to explore, destroy and rebuild as we learn, reflect and pivot along life’s obstacle course – if we dare to be so brave.

Who will you be tomorrow, and is it an improvement from who you were yesterday? What core beliefs and traumas are we revisiting in light of new information? How do we journey on in pursuit of our life’s purpose when the things that got us this far have crumbled around us? There are no easy answers, but Malcolm’s story provides some good hints.

Thank you, brother Malcolm