ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses predominantly on the role of music in its historical context, its ability to chronicle important events, and music as a means of social expression. The chapter illustrates some ethno musicological approaches that use music to provide contexts for gaining insightful knowledge about African American life experiences before, during and after Malcolm X's time on earth. As previously illustrated in this chapter, Malcolm had had a close relationship with the Black music labeled jazz since his youth, and throughout his life he maintained a strong appreciation for the African American musicians who mastered this form of creative musical expression. Malcolm was very knowledgeable of the tradition of the spiritual songs as expressions of resistance to and disdain for enslavement. As the dominant cultural expressive form of contemporary urban African American youth, rap music requires a serious effort by educators to understand the music's roles and functions in maintaining and disseminating the legacy of Malcolm X.
