Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska as Malcolm Little to parents Earl and Louise Little. The Littles moved to Lansing, Michigan when Malcolm was an infant due to threats the family received from the Klu Klux Klan. This was because Reverend Earl Little was an early follower of Marcus Garvey, who preached black independance and self-respect (Altman, 197). Reverend Little died when Malcolm was only six years old after being hit by a streetcar. Malcolm always believed that this was a hate crime committed by whites. Many speculate that this is what originally caused Malcolm to distrust whites. Malcolm’s mother, Louise Little, was committed to the State Mental Hospital in Kalamazoo in 1939. Her exact illness is unknown (Mamiya). …show more content…
He met the leader of the NOI, Elijah Muhammad in Chicago in 1952 and Malcolm soon began opening temples for the NOI in major cities. He went on to found the NOI’s newspaper, Muhammad Speaks, that he printed out of the basement of his home. Malcolm articulated the Nation’s doctrines of whites being inherently evil and blacks being naturally superior. Malcolm was quickly rising in rank and growing closer to Elijah Muhammad. Soon, he was second in command to Elijah with much more power over the NOI. Due to Malcolm, the NOI gained a large increase in membership and the influence of the group always exceeded its size. Malcolm was an ideal representative due to his public speaking skills and ability to represent the emotions of NOI members. Throughout his rise of power, Malcolm continued to criticize the mainstream Civil Rights Movement. He challenged Martin Luther King Jr’s notions of integration and nonviolence and argued that more was at stake than simply the right to sit in a restaurant or vote. He wrote in his book, “No sane black man really wants integration! No sane white man really wants integration!” (X, 250). He felt that the most important issues were black identity, integrity, and independence. He urged his followers to defend themselves by any means necessary and told critics, “I don't call it violence when it's self-defense, I call it intelligence,” (X). In his ideology, blacks could never …show more content…
Malcolm received death threats and open violence towards him. An NOI temple leader ordered the bombing of his car. Elijah Muhammad told a minister that "hypocrites like Malcolm should have their heads cut off" (PBS). His house was set fire once, but nobody was harmed. Malcolm X was assassinated by a gunshot to the chest on February 21, 1965 while speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York. Three members of the NOI were convicted in his murder. His ideas were immortalized in his autobiography, Autobiography of Malcolm X (Altman, 199). Malcolm X left an everlasting impact in the fight for racial equality. Some of his ideas were radical, but he was able to gain support and followers due to his fundamental thoughts being intelligent and beneficial to black Americans. Simple thoughts such as shifting people from referring to African-Americans as “colored” and larger ideas such as movements to end police brutality are Malcolm X’s legacy. The Black Lives Matter movement credits Malcolm X as a person who endlessly fought for civil rights. Countless activists today quote Malcolm X’s profound words as inspiration and continue his lessons today. Malcolm X was definitely not a typical civil rights activist, but that is what made him even more
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Louise Norton Little, was a homemaker occupied with the familys eight children. His father, Earl Little, was a outspoken baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist Leader Marcus Garvey. He followed in his fathers footsteps,and when he was appointed as minister he took the challenge and didn't give up when it got hard.
The NOI fought and supported for a case of their own only, separating themselves from one developed by white people, seeing them as an inferior. While Little was on a quest of finding and studying his new religion in prison, he commences himself to study the dictionary, to develop the vocabularies that would aid him to become an eloquent and compelling public speaker. Finally, in 1952 Malcolm was discharged from prison, a man with a new identity. The starter of his first big step of achievement was when he then travelled to Chicago, Illinois to meet Elijah Muhammad, to become an active member of the NOI. Malcolm was easily accepted into the movement of the NOI and was given the name of “Malcolm X”. Malcolm believed that the “X” defined his true descent to be lost when his ancestors were strained into slavery, therefore he took the last name of a variable: “X” to represent the unknown ancestry obscure African American identity. Later in Chicago, Malcolm personally studied under Muhammad and Malcolm was sent to coordinate a mosque in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Elijah Muhammad recognizing Malcolm’s talent and ability; it wasn’t long before when Malcolm was appointed as an assistant minister and national spokesman for the NOI. Elijah Muhammad arranged Malcolm with organizing new mosques in cities such as Harlem, Boston, New York, Detroit and Michigan. Malcolm
Malcolm X was a major spokesperson for Black Muslims. When he was 21, he met an influential spokesperson for the Nation of Islam named Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm and Elijah Muhammed shared the same interest that “white men are the devil with whom blacks cannot live.”(History.com
Malcolm Little also known as Malcolm X was born May 19. 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Because his father Earl Little was an Avid supporter of Black Nationalist Leader Marcus Garvey, and a baptist minister, Malcolm has always been around death threats since his childhood. Years later, “he traveled to Detroit to work with the
He once stated that, “Sometimes I would speak to no one for hours thinking to myself about what the white man had done to our poor people here in America.” Malcolm received a lot of backlash for his portrayal of teaching ‘black supremacy and hate”. His speeches and influence made him a target for leaders in the Nation of Islam and FBI. Many attempts were tried to take his life, unfortunately, they were successful in his assassination in 1965. After his death, many individuals tried to minimize Malcolm’s contribution to the movement.
MALCOLM X Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925, Malcolm X was the son of a Baptist minister, who was an avid supporter of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association. While living in Omaha, the family was often harassed - at one point the family's house was set afire. In 1929 the
Malcolm and his family corresponded often, and he began to gain knowledge of Elijah Muhammad’s religion of Islam. He assessed himself and soon realized the quilt and sin of his previous life had prepared him to accept the truth, as taught by the leader of the Black Muslims. From the murder of his father, his own experiences of racial injustice, the knowledge his white grandfather had raped his grandmother, he knew beyond a doubt; there was nothing good about the white race. This information was a blinding light that took weeks for him to deal with directly. Muhammad’s religion taught that white men were evil and referred to them as the devil, believing their destruction by Allah was inevitable. The black race had been lied to and stripped of its identity; therefore, the best answer was to separate from white civilization and find its self-respect. With encouragement from family, Malcolm began writing to Elijah Muhammad. Based on his background, it was not a far stretch to believe Muhammad’s teachings, and soon Malcolm was on his knees in prayer.
There he got to be known as an eloquent representative for the radical Black point of view. Denouncing the peacefulness of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm held intolerant views of white people. A comment he made about Kennedy's death gave Muhammad a chance to oust Malcolm from the development's progressive system, for he had been at odds with Muhammad for quite a while. Malcolm had secretly condemned Muhammad's greed and was stunned by rumors of Muhammad enticing women and genetically fathering their
Malcolm Little, formerly known as Malcolm X or El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was born in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19,1925. Malcolm was the fourth of eight children born to Louise and Earl Little. His father Earl Little was an outspoken Baptist minister who was a devoted follower of Marcus Garvey, because of this the Little family would receive many death threats from white supremacist groups and was forced to relocate multiple times. In 1929 the Little home was burned to the ground by a racist mob, and the towns all-white emergency responders just watched and refused to help.
Malcolm was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska to Louise and Earl Little. His Father, Earl, was a Baptist minister and an active member of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (founded by Marcus Garvey). Due to his involvement in civil rights, Malcolm and his family were harassed and experienced racism from an early age, and Malcolm’s encounter before he was even born. In his own words, Malcolm
The Assassination Of Malcolm X Malcolm X was shot and killed during a meeting of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York, on February 21, 1965. Malcolm X told interviewer Gordon Parks that the Nation of Islam was actively trying to kill him. On February 21, 1965 while he was preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity in Manhattan's Audubon , there was a disturbance in the crowd a man rushed forward and shot him once in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. Malcolm X was pronounced dead at 3:30 pm, shortly after arriving at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Nobody deserves death but was Malcolm X assassination just or unjustified ?
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska to Earl and Louise Little. His father, a minister and devout Christian, was known for being an outspoken follower of the black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Garvey’s message promoted the “back-to-Africa” movement that encouraged African Americans of the time to sever ties with
Malcolm X, a Black Nationalist, Muslim minister and a human rights activist, was executed by men from the Black Muslim Movement cult that he had recently left for good. An analysis of Malcolm X’s earlier debate with Bayard Rustin (1962) in comparison to his later speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964) acknowledges his idol worship of Elijah Muhammad in the Black Muslim Movement and documents his transformation into an enlightened and open-minded Civil Rights Leader before his tragic assassination. The speeches allow us to follow stages of Malcolm 's life. Malcolm’s early speeches reflect the time spent in the Nation of Islam and mirrors his devotion and allegiance to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. We witness a transformation of personal growth and enlightenment from 1962 to 1964. His later speeches, preceding his involvement with the Black Muslim Movement and Elijah Muhammad, establish his own message to his people which was Pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism, encourages unity among people of African descent all over the world. Malcolm believed Black people should be economically independent of the White America.
Malcolm used his time in prison to further his education. It was during this time that his brother Reginald came to visit and told Malcolm about his recent conversion to the Muslim religion. Intrigued, Malcolm began to study the teachings of the Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Elijah Muhammad. By the time Malcolm was paroled he was a devoted follower of the NOI, changing his name to Malcolm X. He decided that Little was a slave name and denoted "X" to signify his lost tribal name. The NOI taught Muslim beliefs along with the idea that white society actively worked to keep African- Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success. Among their many goals they wanted to achieve a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white people. Articulate and Intelligent, Malcolm was appointed minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam along with the task of establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit, MI and Harlem, NY. Malcolm's great side showed through when he utilized newspapers, radio, and television in order to bring attention to the NOI and deliver the message to the public. Malcolm's charisma and conviction were all he needed to largely increase the size of the NOI. Between the years 1952 and 1963 membership rose from 500 to 30,000. Crowds and controversy made Malcolm a media magnet. In 1959 Malcolm was featured in a week long televised series entitled "The Hate That Hate
After Malcolm separated from the Nation of Islam, part by choice but part by force, he had to turn elsewhere for the acceptance and purpose, which all African American males needed at this time. With his national prominence he formed a new organization. This organization would be the last place he found acceptance because of his untimely death. His organization, the Muslim Mosque Inc., he