“As a child of the Civil Rights movement, I find it amazing to wake up and find that a black neoconservative Supreme Court justice named Clarence Thomas has suddenly become the symbolic guardian of racial justice in America. And as if that weren't amazing enough, it turns out that Clarence Thomas's erstwhile hero is, was, or has been none other than Malcolm X.” Patricia J. Williams, “Clarence X, Man of the People ” / There are at least two ways of considering the relationship between Malcolm X and conservative traditions within African American political and intellectual culture. One involves assessing the ways in which contemporary black conservatives have attempted to write Malcolm X into their intellectual canon, claiming him as one of their own. This approach focuses largely on what might be called the politics of appropriation and draws us into debates - among liberals, leftists, conservatives, nationalists, and others - over who and what can be rightfully regarded as part of Malcolm X's historical legacy. Second only to Martin Luther King, Jr., he is one of the most appropriated figures in African American culture; in being made to stand for so much to so many, his image runs the risk of being reduced to an empty signifier. Yet, many continue to return to this particularly iconic figure for sustenance, insight, and, invariably, legitimation. That some contemporary black conservatives would also assert the right to drink from this replenishing well is hardly surprising.