Malcolm X Research Paper

Although Malcolm words often stung with the injustices against blacks in America, the equally racist views of the Nation of Islam kept him from accepting any whites as sincere or capable of helping the situation. For twelve years he preached that the white man was the devil and the "Honourable Elijah Muhammad" was God's messenger. Unfortunately, most images of Malcolm today focus on this period of his life, although the transformation he was about to undergo would give him a completely different, and more important, message for the American people. The Change to True Islam

Other Muslims thought Malcolm was getting to powerful. One example of the conflicts Malcolm's power caused involved the leader of the Muslim Nation, Elijah Muhammed. Elijah Muhammed was said to have fathered two young women's children. Malcolm went to talk to the women. The women told Malcolm that Elijah always talked behind Malcolm's back, saying bad things. Malcolm's faith was shattered. He was with the Black Muslim religion for twelve years. He decided to try to take, and make his own Islam religion. Muhammed found out about this, and said that Malcolm could not preach for 90 days.

With Malcolm's imprisonment ended the acceptance of the ghetto hustler and gangster life. In prison Malcolm had to find a new place to turn for acceptance. As his father did, Malcolm turned to religion. The religion he turned to, The Nation of Islam or more commonly known as the Black Muslims, were a group of African Americans who believed, among other things, that whites were the roots of evil. Malcolm became immersed in his religion. It seeped into every part of his life. "For the next years I was the nearest thing to a hermit in the Norfolk Prison Colony. I have never been more busy in my life" (173). Malcolm wrote many letters to family and friends about his new found faith and , most importantly, he found the acceptance he longed for with the teachings of Mr. Muhammad. This acceptance gave him purpose and after his release Malcolm became one of the foremost representatives of the Nation of Islam.

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

He started thinking about the world and the society he lives in. He began to question the way things were, and he realized that a change in his life, and in the society was both possible and necessary. Prior to his imprisonment, Malcolm had been enclosed in the world of the hustler, the player, the pimp, the gangster, the parasite, and he couldn¹t imagine him outside of that world. “Reading exposed Malcolm to new worlds; it allowed him to see that there were alternatives to the lifestyle and values of the social parasite” (Shanna). While in prison, Malcolm began to think, and to read. but only after he had been encouraged to do so by someone that he respected and who had taken an unselfish interest in him. “Malcolm was later motivated by a new sense of self-worth and identity and purpose, as his family introduced him to the religious and political philosophy of Islam, as taught by Elijah Muhammad, and practiced by the Nation of Islam (NOI)” (Estate of Malcolm X). Malcolm X converted to the Nation of Islam while in prison, and upon his release in 1952 he abandoned his surname "Little," which he considered a relic of slavery, in favor of the surname "X" a tribute to the unknown name of his African ancestors.

Instead of going to school to get a traditional education, he dropped out of school at fifteen and learned the ways of the streets. Malcolm associated himself with thugs, thieves, dope dealers, and pimps. He was convicted of burglary at age twenty and remained in prison until he was twenty-seven. During his prison sentence, he became a changed man. He educated himself and he learned about and joined the Nation of Islam, studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammed. Elijah taught Malcolm how history had been “whitened by the white man” (p.184) and he echoed “the black convict’s lifelong experience” where “the white man is the devil,” (p. 186). This thought process encouraged many black inmates to discover the Nation of Islam.

Malcolm Little commonly known as Malcolm X was born in Omaha Nebraska. Malcolm’s trouble has started before then even while he was in the womb of his mother. Clansman would often circle his house in search of his father who was a preacher who talked about the evils of the clansmen and wished for a day when African Americans will return to the ancestral homelands in Africa. In chapter 1 of the Malcolm X book I will describe his childhood has rough he seen his father killed been relocated to 4 or 5 different houses and at the end of it all his mother was killed. Malcolm little commonly known as Malcolm X have been through a lot in his upbringing. He was separated from his seven siblings and put into foster care Change would be one word to describe his childhood as he was in and out of schools and by the age of 13 he was in a reform school. The book takes a major shift when he heads out to Boston with his sister Ella. From here he tours the town and find other African Americans who are just like him. One in particular by the name of shorty becomes one of his closest friends. He introduces them to the locals and takes Malcolm under his wing. One thing in particular that Malcolm falls in love with is the Roseland Ballroom. With the help of shorty he gets a job as a shoe polisher. While doing this he falls in love with a new dance called the Lindy Hop. This ultimately leads to him quitting from shoe polishing in a short time because he cannot do both. However he only works there

Malcolm begins to realize that all the white people surrounding him as constantly either indirectly or directly telling him that he does not belong in their world, and they would not let him in even if he was qualified, due to his color, and that was a popular thing for black role models in the 60's. At this point he knows he must leave this area and leaves his foster home to live with his sister in Boston. Although Malcolm finds work, they are dead end jobs and this leads him to have to earn money in less acceptable ways such as drugs, betting, and stealing. This is how many problems occur in poor communities today, due to the lack of

Malcolm studied the teachings of the leader of the Black Muslims, Elijah Muhammad, who advocated an independent black state. The Nation of Islam was based on a theology adapted from several models: traditional Islamic teachings principles of Black Nationalism, and economic self-help programs that addressed the needs of African Americans living in urban ghettoes. Unlike traditional Islam, which rejects all forms of racism, the Nation of Islam declared that whites were the "devil by nature," and that God was black. However, the Black Muslims predicted that in the near future a Great War would take place in which whites would be destroyed and black people would rule the world through the benevolence of Allah, their creator. To prepare for this new order, the Nation of Islam stressed personal self-restraint, opposed the use of drugs and alcohol, and organized economic self-help enterprises that eventually included farms, food stores, restaurants, and small businesses.

Malcolm X’s views about the potential for real change in America after visiting Mecca changed a lot. Initially, he was radical about black separatism but after visiting Mecca, this call was gone for good. In his journey to Mecca through Cairo, Jeddah, and Saudi city, Malcolm claims that he witnessed what he had never seen in the United States. According to him, he witnessed men of all color, nationalities were treating each other with love, and equality, in contrast to what was happening in America. The Muslims had an admirable unity that changed Malcolm’s view of the world, and what should be done to change America. He says, “Throngs of people, obviously Muslims from everywhere, bound for the pilgrimage, were hugging and embracing.” This was like dream to Malcolm because, this could have never happened in the United States whereby there was racial segregation and inequality in everything. The Muslims who had gathered for the pilgrimage were of all complexions, and there was no color problem in Islam, like it was for the people in the United States. Malcolm states that, Islam reflects the

Lansing did not hold many opportunities of any kind for a young black man then, so without a particular plan, Malcolm X went to live with his half-sister, Ella, in Boston. Malcolm X looked, and almost immediately found trouble. He fell in with a group of gamblers and thieves, and began shining shoes at the Roseland State Ballroom. There he learned the trades that would eventually take him to jail dealing in bootleg liquor and illegal drugs. Malcolm X characterized his life then as one completely lacking in self-respect. Many journalists would emphasize Malcolm X’s “shady” past when describing the older man, his clean-cut lifestyle, and the aims of the Nation of Islam. In some cases, these references were an attempt to damage Malcolm X’s credibility, but economically disadvantaged people have found his early years to be a point of commonality, and Malcolm X himself was proud of how far he had come. He spared no detail of his youth in his autobiography, and used his Nation of Islam ideas to interpret them. Dancing, drinking, and even his hair style were represented by Malcolm X to be marks of shame and self-hatred. Relaxed hair in particular was an anathema to Malcolm X for the rest of his life; he described his first “conk” in the autobiography this way: “This was my first really big step toward self-degradation: when I endured all of that pain of the hair-straightening chemicals, literally burning my flesh to have it

Malcolm was arrested on January 12, 1946, and convicted of burglary, carrying an illegal firearm, and larceny (Crime and Investigation 1). He was sent to Charlestown State Prison for 8-10 years. While there, he joined the Nation of Islam. He began exchanging letters frequently with Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam’s leader, and changed his name to Malcolm X. He stated the “X” symbolized his lost tribal name, and that he was destroying the surname “Little” that his ancestor’s slave-owners had imposed on his family.

Before Mecca when Malcolm was still a part of The Nation of Islam he was taught the principles of racial hatred and separatism. Their beliefs were based on that the race known as “white” were to be considered as “ devils”. Malcolm quickly believed in their leader Elijah Muhammad and began to rise quickly through the ranks becoming a national celebrity. But, it was soon after this that Malcolm found out the truth about his leader. He found out that

Despite his dismal upbringing, Malcolm was able to graduate from his junior high school at the top of his class. He was aspiring to become a lawyer, but after one of his teachers told him that trying to be one was, "no realistic goal for a nigger", he decided that school was not for him and moved to Boston for awhile and made a living working a number of jobs, none of which were permanent. Eventually he would find himself working as a waiter at a restaurant called Small's Paradise in Harlem, New York. It was at this time that Malcolm Little began using and then selling drugs and even committing burglary. In 1946 he would be arrested for burglary and sentenced to ten years in prison. It was during his stay at the Charlestown, Mass. Prison that he would make maybe the most significant change of his life. Malcolm would begin studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of a small cult-like Islamic group that called themselves the Nation of Islam, he also began to study the Koran (the Islamic holy book). It was during these long years in prison that Malcolm was able to educate himself fully and came to the conclusion that he wanted to join Elijah and the Nation of Islam and fight for equality between blacks and whites.

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).