How Did Malcolm X Impact The Civil Rights Movement

3. Background:

Before the Rush

Malcolm X was born on May 19th, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska under the name Malcolm Little. Malcolm had seven siblings. When Malcolm was six his father died. After his father’s death, his mother dealt with depression. In 1937, she was sent to a mental institute where she remained for 26 years until death. X attended school at Mason High. In 1939, his teacher questioned him about what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said he wanted to become a lawyer. His teacher told him, "You got to be realistic … you need to think of something you can do … why don't you consider carpentry?" Malcolm dropped out the following year. In 1940, Malcolm moved to Boston and turned to selling drugs and stealing until 1946 when he was charged with larceny and sentenced 10 years. X was visited by his brothers who had joined the Nation of Islam, a group of black Muslims who accepted and embraced black nationalism. He converted to the NOI upon his release from prison. After release,

Different from MLK Jr.’s idea of equality stating a society where everyone was equal. X took a trip to Africa where he saw American Civil Rights Movement within a global struggle for everybody. Upon his return to the U.S. with the mindset of less mad and more open minded for a peaceful resolution to American Racism and could have totally changed the course of the Civil Rights Movement. A year after his death a group known as the Black Panther Party was founded in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton and was based on Malcolm X and his ideas for black nationalism and necessity of violence and armed self-defense in order to obtain freedom from white