I& #39;ve been revisiting Malcom X& #39;s autobiography today for his birthday & it& #39;s clear that part of why the book is so important to so many is bc it embodies the idea that we dont have to accept our lives as static & inevitable. That we can change both ourselves & the world around us.

For me, Malcolm& #39;s appeal does not simply come from his eloquence & obvious brilliance, it comes from the fact that over the course of his short life he exhibited a capacity to grow, evolve, & change as he learned more about the world. It& #39;s an under-appreciated part of his legacy.

Agency, Malcolm showed us, is not only the ability to go from being incarcerated to being a civil rights leader, or to go from being unable to read to being one of history& #39;s most remarkable thinkers, it& #39;s the humility to know when you& #39;ve been wrong, to name it, and to change.