Some things don’t change for me.
In the 1990s, the alphabet, X, gained popularity, with the release of the Spike Lee Joint, Malcolm X which told the story of the life of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz.
Folks walked the streets, crossing their arms, creating the letter, X.
According to biographers, Malcolm Little was called by a number of names prior to dropping his last name and replacing it with the X.
For him, it symbolized the loss of his family’s original African name, like millions of descendants of enslaved Africans stolen from Mother Africa.
Actually, it was a practice of so many who joined the Nation of Islam, as Malcolm did in 1952. It provided a sense of empowerment as Black men and women across the country decided what they would be called.
Fast forward to 2018 with the release of the blockbuster film, Black Panther, based not on Huey Newton and the crew, as I initially thought, but the comic book series by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
A popular greeting in the movie featured the Wakandans crossing their arms and saying, “Wakanda Forever.”
The symbol looks like an X to me. Black Panther director Ryan Cooler explained, “We kinda got it from the pharaohs and the West African sculptures that you’ll see, with the arms folded over like that. It also means a ‘hug’ or ‘love’ in ASL, American Sign Language. That’s where we got the ‘Wakanda Forever’ salute from.”
For both, I am cool and life was good.
Enter billionaire Elon Musk who said Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app.
“This is not simply a company re- naming itself, but doing the same thing,”he explained in a post. “The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting – but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video. In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world. The Twitter name does not make sense in that context, so we must bid adieu to the bird.”
Which brings me to my truth.
I’m kinda ride or die. Not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but why the “X?”
Is it because Musk named one of his children “X?”
Regardless of the reasoning I am speaking for my culture. I am reclaiming the X for all those who will never know their true names.
So I’m rocking with Malcolm X and Wakanda. If I want to “Tweet” a message, or some information; I will just keep right on using “Twitter.”
I refuse to give up the “X!” We earned it!
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