Malcolm X

609 Words2 Pages

Malcolm X was a well-known civil rights leader who served as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm was a very gifted inspirational speaker. Through his dedication and leadership during the 1950s and 60s he grew the Nation of Islam followers to over 400, 00 members. Malcolm X encouraged blacks not to become victim to racism by any means necessary. In the year of 1965 Malcolm X was assassinated in front of his wife and children while he was delivering a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little May 19, in 1925, he was the fourth of eight children born to Louise and Earl Little. Malcolm X father was a member of the Universal Negro Improvement Association his mother was a homemaker. Malcolm X experienced racism while in his mother s wound. At the age of 4 Malcolm X remembered hooded Ku Klux Klan members destroying their home. Racism continued to over shatter their lives. Therefore, his father decided to move the family from Omaha to East Lansing.

Malcolm X and his family continued to be fronted with the acts of racism, there home was set on fire none of the white public officials nor public safety officials would assist the Little’s. Two years later, Earl Little body was found lying on the municipal street car tracks. Louise Little, never recovered from her husband death; she later was confined to a mental institution, and thereafter Malcolm left home to live with family and friends.

Malcolm X attended school and did well academically; he was only black student in the classroom. His goal was to become the first black lawyer .The defining moment in Malcolm life is when he shared his career goal with his teacher. Malcolm’s teacher stated “one of life’s first needs is to be realistic”...

... middle of paper ...

...His continuous and discontinuous development was not mature enough to understand what the family encountered. As Malcolm X begin to mature he understood the meaning of racism and the years of cruelty and harassment his parents endured.

Nature and nurture was a part of Malcolm X life, he was genetically exposed to racism before birth due to his parents heredity. His early life experiences and the negative environment he lived in, led him to become angry toward white Americans. However, through his development and qualitative change in his feeling, thinking and behaviors transformed him to become a prominent black civil rights leader. (Berk, L. 2010).

Reference
Berk, L (2010). Development Through the Lifespan. Boston, Massachusetts

Malcolm X (2014). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 04:02, Mar 04, 2014 from http://www.biography.com/people/malcolm-x-9396195

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