Conk

Nowadays we call this hair straightening process getting a relaxer, but back in Malcolm's day he got a conk. There is only one time in his life when Malcolm's hair is chemically straightened on a regular basis, and that's when he's a hustler. Before that, he was just a country bumpkin. So it's not until he becomes integrated into Boston's city culture that he actually straightens his hair.

We could go on and on telling you about the symbolism behind the conk, but Malcolm has already explained it for us. He says:

This was my first really big step toward self-degradation: when I endured all of that pain, literally burning my flesh to have it look like a white man's hair. I had joined that multitude of Negro men and women in America who are brainwashed into believing that the black people are "inferior"—and white people "superior"—that they will even violate and mutilate their God-created bodies to try to look "pretty" by white standards. (3.91)

Now, you might wonder why Malcolm is making such a big deal about someone changing their hairstyle. The thing is, this hair straightening process is not as simple as blow drying or dying your hair. It uses chemicals that actually destroy the structure of the hair in order to make it lay straight. The same chemicals that destroy the hair can also destroy the skin on your scalp. Actually the chemical, sodium hydroxide, is so destructive that it can dissolve an entire soda can. So imagine what it can do to your body. When you understand this, the phrase "mutilation" doesn't seem to be an exaggeration anymore.

While there are currently many discussions and arguments about the politics of black people straightening their hair, one popular explanation of why the process is—and has been—done is to look more like white people. This explanation makes perfect sense when we consider the pedestal white women stand on in terms of beauty standards. When black people participate in hair straightening practices, then, the implication is that in order to be beautiful they must resemble white people. Whew! That's a lot of meaning to put into a hairstyle.

Malcolm finally gets rid of his conk when he becomes a member of the Nation of Islam. Here's what he says about that:

Few temple meetings were held, for instance, without the minister looking down upon some freshly shaved bald domes of new Muslim brothers in the audience. They had just banished from their lives forever that phony, lye-conked, metallic-looking hair, or "the process," as some call it these days. It grieves me that I don't care where you go, you see this symbol of ignorance and self-hate on so many Negroes' heads. I know it's bound to hurt the feelings of some of my good conked non-Muslim friends—but if you study closely any conked or "processed" Negro, you usually find he is an ignorant Negro. Whatever "show" or "front" he affects, his hair lye-cooked to be "white-looking" fairly shouts to everyone who looks at his head, "I'm ashamed to be a Negro." He will discover, just as I did, that he will be much-improved mentally whenever he discovers enough black self-pride to have that mess clipped off, and then wear the natural hair that God gives black men to wear. (14.144)

Malcolm and other new members of the Nation of Islam cut off their chemically processed hair as a symbol of the change in their mentality. The Nation of Islam believed that African Americans were the superior people, so for them there was no need to change their bodies to look like another race.

It's no wonder that the "Black is Beautiful" movement started around the same time as Malcolm's activism.