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I just finished reading 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X' a second time. What an extraordinary man he was. It is clear that at the end of his life, from his own words, and his biographer's (Alex Haley) words, and from actor Ossie Davis, that toward the end of his life Malcolm X was a redeemed man. Ossie Davis wrote in an epilogue to the book, "No one who knew him before and after his trip to Mecca could doubt that he had completely abandoned racism, separatism, and hatred." I still believe that it was the right decision to sponsor the petition, for you to sign it, and for Metro Parks to deny the request to change the name. Malcolm X's name belongs in Harlem where he lived, Lansing where he grew up, and other notable places he touched. Nashville was not one of those places. Also, just because you make a spectacular subject for a book, and live a seemingly mythical life, does not necessarily make you a positive example for others. But I am not going to click the "Declare Victory" tab on the Change.org petition website because that would be kind of obnoxious, and disrespectful to the many supporters of the name change. Instead I would rather thank the young man, Joshua Lipscomb, who sponsored the opposing petition, for reintroducing this truly unique American to me. He reminds me of me. I read Malcolm X at his age, and Marx (I saw on Joshua's Twitter account he follows Marx), and I would even sit during the national anthem on occasion, mostly to show the world how fiercely independent I was! I respect guys like Joshua and hope to meet him one day. He has "dragon energy" like Kanye West says of himself and of President Trump. My wish for Joshua is that he spends equal time learning about what made (and makes) America great and free. My wish for you is that if you haven't yet, I recommend that you read the book. You will cringe at times, and curse Malcolm X--he was the real thing, and sometimes that hurts. But you will also be enchanted by his charm, and maybe even overwhelmed by his startling intelligence, and completely self-made education. And since I am a jazz fan I would have killed to have hung out where he did in Harlem in the 1940s to meet and hear all my heroes. -- "People don't realize how a man's whole life can be changed by one book." Malcolm X