Is It 'Cos I Is Black?

One of the friends I was travelling with had a cool t-shirt with the faces of various gangsters printed on it. They included Che Guevara, Malcolm X and some other superhero I forget the name of. Anyway, on boarding the boat back to the mainland after visiting Robben Island one of the staff stopped us to compliment my friend on his t-shirt:

Staff: Nice t-shirt man. Do you know who that is? . He's a very important man.

xxxx: Yes of course. That's Malcolm X. He's my hero.

Staff: Don't be absurd. Malcolm X? You have no right to wear that t-shirt. Have some respect.

xxxx: Huh? It IS Malcolm X! Look! It says so on the t-shirt! Che Guevara, guy in the middle and see? Malcolm X. You're wrong man.

Staff: That's not Malcolm X. I look at you in disgust.

xxxx: Okay then. Who is it?

Staff: That's El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. You're so white.

xxx: Oh.

And this is why I always wear plain t-shirts.

The above exchange has been paraphrased and may not reflect actual reality.