Comparing and Contrasting Up from Slavery and The Autobiography of Malcolm X

  Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery and Malcolm X’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X both provide profound glimpses into the politics and ideologies of black America during their respective times. Both Washington and Malcolm were very prominent and controversial figures and both had strong mentalities about how black america should deal with the lasting effects of slavery on black america. On the scale of forgiveness of white people, Washington and Malcolm are on opposite sides of the spectrum, which makes comparing their stories quite interesting, especially with the complexities of their views overlapping at certain points such as education. 

The most obvious contrast in the two autobiographies is their views on race in america. To the average 2023 reader of Up from Slavery, Washington’s views are shocking. Whether his views expressed were for pandering to white people or because he genuinely believed them, it is unclear. There are many quotes from Washington that are surprising, including, “the black man got nearly as much out of slavery as the white man did,” or “In fact, there was pity among the slaves for our former owners”. Throughout the autobiography, he makes the case that slavery had a great benefit to black people in America that is often underrated because of the atrocities of the institution of slavery. He argues that black america has it much better than black people across the globe, and briefly acknowledges the awfulness of slavery, and does very little to acknowledge the inequality and oppression of black america at the time of his writing. He doesn’t advocate for immediate push for political and civil rights, instead he encourages personal empowerment through advocating for education and financial independence. Malcolm X’s autobiography differs drastically. He not only fully acknowledges the awfulness of American slavery, but deeply analyzes the atrocities that white men have committed throughout history, and the lasting effects that this has on American politics, society, and psyche. He fully advocates for social change, and an awakening of Americans to the history of the white man’s wrongdoings and the current violation of human rights not only to black people in America but around the globe. 

Education was a quite prominent theme in both Washington and Malcolm's autobiographies. Both works showed how powerful education was as a tool for their personal sense of fulfillment and how much they valued it in their lives. However, they saw the value of education in very different ways- Washington saw education as a means to find personal empowerment, especially for economic gains. For Washington, education was his escape from extreme poverty, and it served him very well in life considering his academic career and financial success. Washington also seems to value institutionalized education itself as a symbol for empowerment and dignity, as in his description of his boyhood days, “... I remember on several occasions I went as far as the schoolhouse door with one of my young mistresses to carry her books. The picture of several dozen boys and girls in a schoolroom engaged in study made a deep impression upon me, and I had the feeling that to get into a schoolhouse and study in this way would be about the same as getting into paradise.” 

Malcolm X, on the other hand, seems to value education in a much different way in his autobiography. Rather than highly valuing institutionalized education (in fact he slanders college degrees at certain points), he puts a quite significant emphasis on learning about the history of black people and the atrocities that the white man has historically done to them. He strongly desires for the truth of black history to spread, and the lies of white supremacy to crumble from both white and black minds, and education through reading about history is the tool he uses himself and recommends to others. A great glimpse of his values on education lies in this section, “I certainly wasn’t seeking any degree, the way a college confers a status symbol upon its students. My homemade education gave me, with every additional book that I read, a little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness, and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America.” While Washington and Malcom X had clearly different views on the values of education, they both describe a great sense of fulfillment when they were learning to read and write; Washington as a slave with no access to schooling taught himself to read and write, and Malcom X dramatically improved his vocabulary, reading and writing skills in prison by himself with dictionaries and books. Ultimately, the two autobiographies provide two vastly different views on racism and human rights, however they both have fascinating stories that delve deep into the experience of two people who must deal with the lasting effects of slavery in their mind and in their lives.