Malik the man died that day, but Malik's memory and the true significance of his legacy continue to be assassinated daily with distortions of the import of his life's work. For various reasons and motivations, Malik is remembered more for his words and actions as Malcolm X, a period in his life where he combined brilliant and incisive analyses on the state of race relations and social justice in America with an off-setting bizarre cult belief in black racial superiority and racist dogmas. Though inflammatory and controversial, Malcolm X was allowed a national spotlight for over 12 years. As Malik El Shabazz, the recent convert to Islam, he was granted less than a year of life. The "why" is the most intriguing part of Malik's legacy.

Malik El Shabazz was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska to Earl and Louise Little. Malcolm's father was an advocate for the cause of his people at a time when racial intolerance in this country was at its height. Malcolm was raised in an environment that made him keenly aware of the plight of his people and the injustices heaped upon them. Malcolm's early life was marred by first-hand experience with the viciousness of racism in America, witnessing the burning of their home and assaults on his immediate family culminating with the murder of his father at the hands of white racists. Surely these early memories were burned permanently into his consciousness and were to influence greatly the future fire brand he was to become.

But Malcolm Little did not immediately become the great black warrior. Instead he became the street-wise school dropout and cohort of thugs and hoodlums. After years of numbers-running, drinking, stealing and whoring, he landed in prison on a burglary charge. By the age of 20, Malcolm Little had amounted to little more than a common thief, one of the dregs of society. During his prison stay, Malcolm took stock of himself. He embarked on a disciplined program of self-education which left him remarkably eloquent and well-versed in many disciplines including history and philosophy. He was also exposed during this period to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad which, along with a complete distortion of Islamic teachings, advocated a disciplined, vice-free life and a spirit of black awareness and self-determination. This brought Malcolm Little full circle with his childhood roots and his father's combative spirit. By the time of his release from prison in 1952 at the age of 27, Malcolm Little, the petty thief and liar, was dead. Malcolm X was born.

Malcolm X became a tireless foot-soldier for the Nation of Islam and a devoted follower of the former auto worker, Elijah Poole, who, shrouded in a pseudo-mantle of prophethood and going by the name of Elijah Muhammad, had built a militant organization fueled by a conjured fantasy of black divinity, black racial superiority , and the inherent demonic nature of the white race. Though much of Malcolm X's rhetoric was rooted in these falsehoods, it provided an adequate context for the most incisive insights into American society and race relations ever made. His stinging indictment of American racism and social injustice still resonates today with the same vibrancy it had nearly forty years ago, and though he was despised by whites for his charges against white society, many still hold a grudging admiration for Malcolm's courage, his keen intellect and his integrity.

Dan Rather, long-time anchor of the CBS Evening News, had, as a journalists followed Malcolm's career for many years, though he only had the opportunity to hear him speak personally once while covering one of his speeches in Harlem with a local WCBS-TV crew. In December, 1992, after completing a documentary on the life of Malcolm X, he was reported to have said the following in an interview in the Los Angeles Times:

"I wouldn't presume to explain or interpret Malcolm X to anybody. But I have studied the facts ... "What I've found is the symbolic appeal of Malcolm X The man, the message, the myth are all important, but less important than what they have come to symbolizefor some in a new generation of African-Americans.

Malcolm was and is a highly visible symbolfor afew important ideas: Self-reliance. Malcolm was a survivor, with all the strength and confidence that come from getting through tough times ... Commitment to a lifetime of leaming andpersonal growth. In prison, following his conversion to Islam, Malcolm acquired something pretty close to a doctorate in philosophy, self-taught..

His last years with the Nation of Islam were marred by internal jealously springing from his proportionately greater importance in the organization due to his notoriety and visibility. That, along with disclosure of Elijah Muhammad's numerous sexual indiscretions, led Malcolm X, at 38-years of age, to abandon the Nation of Islam and start the Muslim Mosque, Inc. in March 1964.

"I feel like a man who has been asleep somewhat and under someone else's control. I feel what I'm thinking and saying now is for myself. Before, it was for and by guidance of another, now I think with my own mind."

On the urging of orthodox Muslims who had befriended him, Malcolm X met with Dr. Mahmoud Youssef Sharwabi. Though their meeting was brief-it lasted only 20 minutes it would make a lasting impression on him. Briefly after this encounter, in April 1964, he made Hajj, capping his spiritual journey with a complete transformation and conversion to the precepts of Allah's light-giving deen. Malcolm X was dead. Al Hajj Malik El Shabazz had been born.

"There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white ... America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem ... I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color."

Events unfolded quickly. By June 1964, he had formed the Organization of Afro American Unity and began displaying a decidedly international perspective on the questions of oppression and social justice. The following month, Malik spoke at a convening of the Organization of African Unity in Cairo. His influence on African leaders at the United Nations was also reportedly noted by US State and Justice Departments. Threats on his life were now being followed up by outright attempts. He knew his end was near. In recounting his autobiography to Alex Haley, he said with clear conviction that he would not live long enough to read the book. It ended for him on February 21, 1965.

Since that day nearly 30 years ago, Malik's legacy has proven to be controversial, his complex history creating eclectic interpretations which have muddied a legendary past. Few men have lived so fully that people from radically divergent poles could actually draw guidance and inspiration from his life's work. Yet in spite of his stature, only one phase of his life has been emphasized to the detriment of other equally important phases of his evolution and the picture of Malik El Shabazz with us today remains mired in the distorted vision of an outgrown age. His life as Malcolm X is emblazoned in the collective memory of the nation, and he is virtually called by no other name. Yet Malcolm X was not assassinated on a winter's day nearly 11 months prior to that fateful day. It was Malik El Shabazz that died that day.

But why was Malik killed? Was it be cause he had discovered the common brotherhood of man on a trip to Mecca? if that were true, then millions of the most dangerous people on earth are returning home from Haii every year, spreading the doctrine that will doom the vested interests who silenced Malik. Or is it because he had accepted the unity of Allah and the messengership of the Prophet Muhammad? If this alone were a reason, then Muhammad Ali is dangerous for far more than his fists. But none of these explanations hold water. I submit that Malik was killed because he had the potential to be the most influential and effective Muslim leader this country has ever seen. Here was a man of integrity. He had proven this by radically changing his entire life's course when the truth was made clear to him. Here was a man of courage. Even in the face of imminent death, he never swerved from speaking what he felt needed to be spoken, saying what he felt needed to be said. Here was a man who believed in self-reliance. Nothing In his past could give any indication that Malik would encourage anything other than self-reliance and self-determination. He would be no one's slave and would have no price on his convictions.

Quickly scan the present day Muslim landscape and find one leader who embodies the qualities cited above and who also commands an international spotlight and a worldwide forum to disseminate his ideas. No one but Allah could say with absolute certainty what kind of leader Malik would have made. But those who had him killed were not waiting around to find out. In a world of endless diluting compromise and lackluster leadership, Malik had the potential to stand out for saying what others feared to say and for using the same candor in articulating injustices on an international scale that he used to indict the American system of racial oppression and inequality. It was reported that Malik pointed out in a meeting with King Faisal that the Muslims were sitting on the equivalent of black gold and could use their oil wealth as leverage to attain international status and power. If this account is accurate, it illustrates the extent the nascent Muslim quickly grasped the nuances of geopolitics and his aggressive, forthright approach to securing the power needed to attain respect and security.

To understand Malcolm is to understand Malik. In understanding the man, we draw the lessons of his life with an eye to the 21^st century and beyond. Beyond Malcolm.