His name is known across generations.
Malcolm X reshaped the fight for civil rights, and his legacy remains deeply personal to Agassou Jones.
Jones said his mother, who was born in Boston, Mass., had deep connections to the civil rights movement in the United States. She and her husband protested outside the U.S. consulate in Toronto during the Selma Marches of the 1960s.
“With every movement there’s a left and a right and there were a lot of people not looking to talk their way through things,” Jones said. “They were looking to defend themselves. They were looking to take action to feed black families and black neighbourhoods. Defend themselves over heinous, violent racism and I think that resonated with my parents Joan and Rocky.”
Their commitment followed them to Nova Scotia where they became leaders in the human rights movement Malcolm X helped ignite.
" My dad and mom weren’t the only ones that were thinking about this, however, they were prominent leaders in Nova Scotia who were thinking about this in the late 60s and early 70s," Jones said.
According to Robert Wright, Executive Director of the African Nova Scotian Justice Institute, Malcolm X’s influence spread beyond North America. He was a symbol of resistance across the globe.
“Much of Africa was colonized by European countries, and so the Black emancipation movement was a global movement. An international movement,” said Wright.
Black Canadians owe a lot to Malcolm X as both a model and an intellectual, Wright said.
“Black independence is a worthy virtue and a worthy contribution that he made to that discussion in the movement.”
Trevor Silver is an entrepreneur from North Preston, N.S. He said Malcolm X is an inspiration.
“He was able to change and become way better than what he started off with,” Silver said. “It made me realize it doesn’t matter where you start or what you’ve done in your history, you can become way more than what you think you are.”
Silver said he wants to pass that inspiration on.
“I want to inspire young people like myself to be able to do whatever they want to accomplish.”
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