Malcolm X
May 19, 1925 Malcolm Little is born in Omaha, NE
1929 The family's Lansing, MI, home is burned to the ground.
1931 Malcolm's father is found dead on the town's trolley tracks.
1946 Malcolm is sentenced to 8-10 years for armed robbery; serves 6 ½
years at Charlestown, MA State Prison.
1948-49 Converts to the Nation of Islam while in prison.
1953 Changes name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X and becomes
Assistant Minister of Nation of Islam's Detroit Temple.
1954 Promoted to Minister of Nation of Islam's New York Temple.
1958 Marries Sister Betty X in Lansing, Michigan.
1959 Travels to Middle East and Africa.
1963 Nation of Islam orders Malcolm X to be silent, allegedly because
of remarks concerning President Kennedy's assassination.
March, 1964 Malcolm X leaves the Nation of Islam and starts his new
organization, Muslim Mosque, Inc.
May, 1964 Starts the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), a
secular political group.
February 14, 1965 Malcolm X's home is firebombed.
February 21, 1965 Malcolm X is assassinated he begins speaking at the
Audubon Ballroom, New York.
1. Malcolm x's childhood was definatly rough. He had ten brothers and
sisters and his father was murdered. His father was an organiser for
the marcus garvey negro association and believed that blacks would
never find peace in America and that they should just go back to
Africa and live a simple but happy and peaceful life. At the age of
twelve he was put in a reform center for safety. He dropped out of
school after 8th grade and moved to Boston and then New York first
working as a shoe shiner and dining car worker; then engaging in
numbers running , drug pushing and soliciting customers for a brothel.
He went down a slipery slope and eventually got cuaght for burglary
and larceny in 1952.His rough childhood certainly did affect his
views. He passionatly hated white people and called them a race of
devils. He also learnt to stand up for his self and when he wanted
However, it was what happened in his life that made Malcolm X the man who people remember today. From a very early age, Little lived in fear of racism and hate groups, much of it rooting from his father’s murder by white supremacists. He was effectively orphaned by 13, as his mother was placed in a mental institution, and lived until he was 20 in several different foster homes. He was arrested for a crime and once released, went on to commit several crimes, including using and distributing drugs, etc. It was when he was imprisoned that he found the Nation of Islam, who helped him when he was released from prison to find a new life. From them, he was able to attain great oratory skills and create an environment when he spoke in which the people around him, white and black alike, felt empowered and equal. Once he discovered corruption and began to disdain the Nation of Islam, he became independent and was later assassinated. However, he along with MLK, were empowered by their stories, Malcolm’s being one of hatred, poverty, hope, and truth, that changed him to become a stimulus for African American equality in
This was due to the fact that Malcolm felt his hero and mentor, Elijah Muhammad, had betrayed him. Muhammad had violated his own teachings of marital affairs when he had fathered several children out of wedlock. After this fallout with Muhammad, Malcolm went on a journey to Africa where he did the Hajj, which was the traditional Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. After his pilgrimage to Mecca Malcolm X converted to traditional Islam and again changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
Throughout his life, Malcolm X had made the best out of what he had and dedicated his time and effort fighting against racism, proving to be one of the most important figures. In May of 1925, Malcolm X was born in University Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. At an early age Malcolm is ambitious, one day telling his teacher that his goal is to one day become a lawyer,
Malcolm X Read an excerpt from the book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X and Alex Haley. In this part of the book, Malcolm discusses his quest for knowledge. He starts off by telling us about how he wrote to his Harlem, hustler friends and told them all about Allah and Mr. Elijah Muhammad, the two main figures in the Islamic religion. He never got a single reply and figured it was because the average hustler and criminal couldn't read. He also thought that maybe they thought he had gone crazy, because after all he was writing to them about the devil; the white devil.
There were many contributors that made the Black movement so successful, especially the most effective, Martin Luther King Jr. as in contrast to Malcolm X. Both made such a grave and huge impact but with very different strategies to go about it. Martin Luther King Jr. using a peaceful protest approach, meanwhile Malcolm X preferred a violent, political protest. Although both men were striving for a better life for his fellow African American their different approaches to the initial subject had a varied effect which ended up winning one of them a nobel peace prize. Malcolm had his fair share of trying to help, he only made things worse for himself and the things he was trying to strive for. Having become a very influential person and to give
Malcolm X should be everyone’s hero, someone people like myself should look up to as a human being. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either a racist or is extremely ignorant. Malcolm X wore his heart on his sleeve and whether right or wrong he was never afraid to say what was on his mind to anyone who cared to listen. I personally believe Malcolm X’s beliefs give me strength to do what's right and carry myself with dignity. I remember, as a kid, my parents had tons of books about Black History books. The first book I read was a Malcolm X biography. I realized Malcolm X was truly a powerful, significant, and essential work for all time.
Malcolm Little, commonly known as Malcolm X, was born on May 19th, 1925 in Omaha,
In 1941, he went to live with his half sister, Ella Collins, in Boston, Massachusetts. While in Boston he worked a variety of railroad jobs but he also became increasingly involved in selling drugs and running numbers. Malcolm X was arrested in 1946 for larceny as well as breaking and entering; he was sent to prison in February 1946. While incarcerated, Malcolm X became a follower of Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Temple of Islam. After X’s parole in 1952, he became Minister Malcolm X, using X in place of the African name that was taken from his slave ancestors.
Who would think that a petty criminal would become one of the greatest leaders of civil rights movement of all times? A man named Malcolm X after spent six years in jail came to help black Americans fight for their civil right at the time of the oppression caused by segregation, injustice, and the inequalities. I say, today Malcolm X is recognized national by his speech “The Ballot or the Bullet,” and he is celebrated on Black History Month, even though in the eyes of the white man, his speech was radical. Malcolm X speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” was a great speech because he connected well to his audience by showing anger, pain, injustice, fear and discrimination.
Later in 1937, Malcolm’s mother Louise, who never got over her husband’s death, was admitted into a mental institution. Malcolm and his other siblings were split up into various foster homes (Malcolm X bio, 2013). Youth Malcolm graduated junior high at the top of his class, with aspirations of being a lawyer, until a teacher told him that being a lawyer was “no realistic goal for a nigger,” suggesting that he be something practical, like a carpenter (J. Simon, 26).... ... middle of paper ...
Malcolm X is an extremely critical figure that contributed in shaping American social life. He was a famous man who articulated the struggle, anger, and beliefs of African Americans. He was a radical man who fought for change despite the situation. His struggle for equality for the black nation landed him in prison. While in prison, Malcolm was able to study, and earned a college degree. However, most importantly while in prison, Malcolm X was introduced to the Islam faith by one of the prisoners. He received teachings from the Muslim faith, which made him realize that, his people were being oppressed and abused by the whites. While out of prison, he went to visit honorable Elijah Muhammad and later on went around preaching Elijah Muhammad’s teachings. Through his preaching’s, he was able to bring many people into the Muslim faith. He later on decided to visit the Middle East and make a holy pilgrimage/ Hajj in Mecca. Malcolm X’s views about the potential for real change in America changed, after visiting Mecca and breaking with the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm traveled to Chicago to meet Elijah Muhammad and there, he became assistant minister of Nation of Islam’s Detroit Temple. Suddenly and without warning in 1961, Elijah Muhammad got violently ill. Malcolm does everything that he can to help the situation, but he knew deep down that he liked how the Nation was growing. Little did he know another hardship would be coming his way. People start getting mad and saying that he was trying to take credit for what Elijah was trying to teach and making money off of it. Although he denies all of the allegations, the news gets around and Malcolm states “What astonished me even more- a telegram had been sent to every New York City newspaper and radio and television station.” This would ding his reputation for a long time, because it was everywhere and that makes him go crazy. He was offended at all the remarks, but this would help him reevaluate his views on white people and people of different
Of the people whose names are mentioned in history, some men like Thomas Edison are praised for their genius minds, while others such as Adolf Hitler are criticized for leaving a depressing legacy behind. While it is relative easy to notice the type of legacies these two men left, legacies of other men are often vague and they seem to be imbedded in gray shadows. This is how many people view the life of Malcolm X. Malcolm X during his lifetime had influenced many African Americans to step up for their rights against the injustices by the American government. One on hand, he has been criticized for his hard stances that resemble extremism, while on the other hand he has been praised him for his effort in raising the status for African Americans. The extremes in viewing his life from the modern day perspective have often come from reading his climatic speech The Ballot or the Bullet that he gave in many cities across America in 1964. When he was with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X favored Blacks to be separated from the Whites, and during this time he strongly opposed White Supremacy. This also seems quite prevalent in his speech The Ballot or the Bullet. However, one events during the last year of his life reveal that he wanted the Blacks and the Whites to coexist as peaceful Americans.
Malcolm X, born in 1925 as Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska lived with the knowledge that his family house was burned down and that his father was killed by the Ku Klux Klan because he refused to vacate an area that was “supposed” to be for Whites only. His father was an independent man who wanted to fend for his family by himself and not have to rely on anyone
Malcolm X was orphaned early in life. His father died when he was six do to a car accident