[dwolfson20]

Another way to put it: Malcolm X was authentic in everything he did, and that was something this country needed.

He was able to articulate more clearly than anyone else the implications of being black in America: that the only way to succeed in any way was by trying to act white.

Thanks in large part to his activism, that is far less true today.

[aurelian]

What does it mean to act white or to act black for that matter?

[dwolfson20]

Conking is one example.

[aurelian]

Was conking necessary to succeed, or was it done because many blacks preferred the appearance of straight hair?

Sidney Poitier played a doctor in No Way Out in 1950, and his hair doesn't appear to have been straightened.

[wpietri]

You might find this helpful: http://tressiemc.com/2013/10/29/the-logic-of-stupid-poor-peo...