At the end of the chapter, "Saved," Malcolm is in a religion class in jail w/ a white teacher. Malcolm asks "What color was Paul?" This leads toward a discussion of whether Paul was black or not, and then what color Jesus was. How did you react toward this scene? Regardless of your own faith, or lack thereof, how do you see Jesus when you imagine him, if indeed you do? Why do you think you see Jesus the way you do? How do you know what he's supposed to look like?
Other questions:
- It's Malcolm X's feeling that he and Shorty got ten years for robbery because they were working w/ white women, not because of the robbery. Why would they get a stiffer sentence for that?
- Why did Bimbi (ch. 10) make such an impression upon Malcolm?
- Why does Elijah Muhammad teach that white people are devils?
- In what ways has history been "whitened" according to the Nation of Islam?
What other things did you notice? What questions does the reading raise for you?
Malcolm in currently in jail for many reasons, but mostly because he was around Sophia (a white lady). Malcolm is learning more about religion in jail because he is teaching himself many words and passages in the Bible. Malcolm goes to a religious class in jail and asked the teacher "What color is Paul and Jesus?" Many people were stunned by the question because in the Bible, it did not say that Jesus or Paul was black or white. This part in the book had me thinking in depth too because I suddenly grew the passion to know what skin color they were. I never thought about that question, but Malcolm made me want to get an answer. Hearing Malcolm describe Jesus makes me think that he was black. It does not matter to me what color Jesus is because in the Bible he is described as a kind man. Malcolm questioned the color of Jesus because when reading, he notices that many white men treat people horribly and are not kind. Malcolm starts to dislike white people because of how they act. I believed that Malcolm should not take what he reads in these books personally because everyone is different. I see Jesus as a handsome man , maybe light skin with long hair, and dressed in a white robe. I usually see an image of Jesus in churches and on the internet. When reading religious passages and books it also shows images of Jesus. Nobody knows how Jesus looks but people have all their different images of him.
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