Malcolm X: The Civil Rights Movement and The Non Violent Pursue of Integration

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A majority of Americans are both influenced and motivated by various African American legends. Historical figures like, L. Douglas Wilder, Ella Fitzgerald or even the president of the United States, Barak Obama, are some of these people… Malcolm X in particular, was an individual who had a great impact on many Americans perception of our society throughout the United States.
Malcolm X, the activist & outspoken public voice of the Black Muslim faith, challenged the mainstream civil rights movement and the nonviolent pursuit of integration championed by Martin Luther King Jr. He urged followers to defend themselves against white aggression “by any means necessary” {Malcolm X}
Born Malcolm Little in 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm was the son of a Baptist preacher who was a follower of Marcus Garvey. After the Ku Klux Klan made threats against his father, the family moved to Lansing, Michigan. There, in the face of similar threats, he (Malcolm’s father) proceeded to urge black folk to take control of their lives. {Official,} {Rummel, 7&8}
Malcolm’s father was eventually killed by the Klan-like Black Legionaries. Although he was found with his head crushed on one side and almost severed from his body, it was claimed Earl Little (Malcolm’s father) had commit suicide, and the family was denied his death benefits. Its breakup quickly followed: with welfare caseworkers sought to turn the children against one another and against their mother, from which Malcolm, the fourth of eight children was taken and place in a foster home. Ms. Louise Little (Malcolm’s mother) underwent a nervous breakdown, from which she never recovered. {Official}{PutItThatWay}. After the eighth grade, Malcolm dropped out of school and headed for a life of crime. H...

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...or confidence in segregated America. After Malcolm X’s death in 1965, his bestselling book The Autobiography of Malcolm X, popularized his ideas, particularly among black youth, and laid the foundation for the Black Power movement of the late 1960s &70s.

Works Cited

Rummel, Jack. Malcolm X: Militant Black Leader. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2005. Print.
Decaro, Louis, A. One The Side Of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X. New York: New York University Press, 1996. Print.
The Official Malcolm X. http://www.malcolmx.com/about/bio.html. The Estate of Malcolm X, Web. March 4, 2014.
Malcolm X describes how KKK murdered his father. http://whenyouputitthatway.com/malcolm-x-describes-how-the-kkk-murdered-his-father/. Max Magazine Theme, Web. March 12, 2014
Strickland, William. “Malcolm X: Make It Plan.” American Experience. May 19, 2005. Web. April 2, 2014.

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