Malcom X's Impacts on History

772 Words2 Pages

“I don’t even call it violence when it’s in self defense; I call it intelligence.” were once words spoken from a man greatly known in the African American community. This man was Malcolm X. An expressive public speaker, with a charismatic personality, and an untiring organizer, Malcolm X expressed the pent up anger, frustration, and bitterness of African Americans during the major phase of the civil rights movement from 1955 to 1965. Malcolm X spoke of a violent revolution, which would bring about radical change for the black race, while a man with the name of Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out to all people. Martin Luther King Jr. promoted non-violence, civil rights, and the end to racial segregation, while Malcolm X dreamed of a separate nation for African Americans. Malcolm’s keen intellect, sharp wit, and passionate radicalism are clear in The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley. However Things such as his personality, his career and the impact that he’s had on history may have changed if certain key events in his life had been different.
Malcolm X had a tough personality, he was a strong leader, who was not afraid to say things that he had thought, he was angry and he was extremely opinionated. On April 14th a New York Temple member, named Johnson Hinton was savagely beaten by police. Alerted by other followers, Malcolm joined a group of Muslims at the 28th division headquarters in Harlem, where he demanded that Hinton receive medical attention. Hinton was eventually taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, but the Muslims refused to disperse, which alarmed the police. Satisfied that his demands had been met, Malcolm dispersed the crowd with a wave of his hand. He later sued New York City for police brutality and won ...

... middle of paper ...

...hanged everyone’s viewpoint of Malcolm X. It is showed that he was not a racist, but that he needed to find true Islam. History about Malcolm X would have been left unfinished if he had not taken the journey of Hajj after he was suspended. Malcolm X would not have been remembered as a leader, who overcame his troubles, but has a man that just left behind his most loyal followers.
Malcolm X was a strong leader, who had many good and not so good qualities to his personality. Malcolm X’s personality, career and even his impact on history all could have been different if key events of his life and gone in another direction. Definite events in Malcolm X’s life such as the beating of Johnson Hinton, the convert to the religion of Islam, and the Hajj pilgrimage all contributed to the personality, career, and historical impact of not Malcolm Little, but Malcolm X.

More about Malcom X's Impacts on History

Open Document