“Racial exclusion from the mainstream economy, [Malcolm] later reasoned, meant that ‘almost everyone in Harlem needed some kind of hustle to survive, and needed to stay high in some way to forget what they had to do to survive …. In one sense, we were huddled in there, bonded together in seeking security and warmth, and comfort from each other, and we didn’t know it. All of us—who might have probed space, or cured cancer, or built industries—were, instead, black victims of the white man’s America social system.’ ” (p. 180)
From The Dead Are Arising – The Life of Malcolm X, 2020, by Les Payne. Here, Payne is quoting from p. 91 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, 1992, by Malcolm X and Alex Haley.

This column is prepared by the BYM Working Group on Racism (WGR) and sent to the designated liaison at each local Meeting. The BYM WGR meets most months on the first Saturday, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, currently via Zoom. If you would like to attend, contact the clerk at david.etheridge@verizon.net.