Essay on Malcolm X

He then got caught as a burglar and was put in prison. As in many aspects of his life, the book gave more details of Malcolm’s life inside the steel bars. Since no one was in jail with him that was interviewed in the film, we could not get a good presentation of others’ views of his experiences in jail. While in prison, Malcolm hears about the Nation of Islam through his family. The leader of the group, Elijah Mohammed had a central idea that all white men were devils. In learning this, Malcolm thought back to all of the white people he had previously encountered. It is easier for us to understand Malcolm’s thought process after reading the book, since the film did not tell us of all of his relationships with white people. Malcolm then converted to Islam.

He was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925 to Louise and Earl Little. His father was a preacher and a human rights activist for the Universal Negro Improvement Association or (UNIA), and early on in Malcolm’s life, he developed a hatred for those

In 1943, Malcolm moved to Harlem, New York where he began to engage in several illegal activities such as drug dealing, robbery, pimping, and gambling. In 1946, he was arrested and sent to jail for larceny and breaking and entering. During his

He eventually got caught hustling and was sent to jail. In prison, he finally realized how to deal with a world that was not completely fair to people with darker skin. Malcolm had had many examples of this throughout his life, including getting told he could not become a lawyer solely because he was black. This is also the time when he turned to religion and Allah as his savior. His new Muslim religious life sent him on a path of white-hating

Malcolm began a life of using and selling drugs, home invading, gambling, as well as wearing flashy clothing. He moved to Harlem in 1942 and continued his rise in the criminal world, becoming known as “Detroit Red” for his reddish brown hair. When the authorities became aware of his illegal activities he returned to Boston. Four years later at the age of twenty, Malcolm was arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison for burglary.

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 soon picked up tricks of the trade in surviving on the streets of a large Black ghetto. He became a dropout from school at the age of fifteen. Learning the ways of the streets, Malcolm became acquainted with hoodlums, thieves, dope peddlers, and pimps. Gambling, pimping, selling and smoking marijuana and other drugs took over his life. The people that surrounded him that were the ones there for him to follow became a major influence in shaping how Malcolm looked at life and people. He saw life as a big game and lost respect for people and did not trust anyone. From then on his life started to fall. Malcolm was convicted of armed burglary at age 21 and was sentenced eight to ten years at the Charlestown Prison outside of Boston.

Malcolm recalls that he was armed when he went into the shop and that an undercover policeman was waiting in quiet for him. Rather than drawing his gun, Malcolm surrendered it without incident to the officer. He didn’t try to flee or to fight back as he was arrested. He pleaded guilty to numerous burglaries in the area and was eventually sentenced, along with an accomplice, to six to eight years in New York’s maximum- security prison in Boston’s Charlestown district (Allah, 1995).

Malcolm X is an extremely critical figure that contributed in shaping American social life. He was a famous man who articulated the struggle, anger, and beliefs of African Americans. He was a radical man who fought for change despite the situation. His struggle for equality for the black nation landed him in prison. While in prison, Malcolm was able to study, and earned a college degree. However, most importantly while in prison, Malcolm X was introduced to the Islam faith by one of the prisoners. He received teachings from the Muslim faith, which made him realize that, his people were being oppressed and abused by the whites. While out of prison, he went to visit honorable Elijah Muhammad and later on went around preaching Elijah

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 graduated the eighth grade, but by the age of fifteen he dropped out of school and began running the streets. Malcolm began to make friends with drug dealers, thieves, and pimps. By the age of twenty, Malcolm was convicted of burglary, he then served seven years in prison. While in prison Malcolm, furthered his education. During his prison time, his brother Reginald would visit and discuss his recent encounters with the Muslim religion. His brother Reginald belonged to the religious organization the Nation of Islam. By the time Malcolm was released from prison, he had undergone a transformation from a criminal to a religious priest, for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm had become a student of Elijah Mohammed teachings. Through these teachings Malcolm developed individual views about race in America and around the world. The more Malcolm learned about the teachings, the more he despised white citizens and he blamed them for the struggle of African Americans.

Malcolm X started off with a rough background which he later rose up from to become the influential man that he is today. Malcolm X’s father died when he was young by KKK members. Malcolm was later incarcerated for 10 years for burglary with a friend of his named Malcolm Shorty Jarvis. Malcolm’s early life consisted of being born in Omaha Nebraska with seven siblings and being introduced to racial hate at a young age.

Malcolm X first in incident with racism happened at an early age, his house was broken into by Ku Klux Klan members. Who were looking for his father Earl Little because he works for the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), that supports black Americans returning to Africa. Malcolm would occasionally attending the UNIA meetings with his father learning that life is stacked against blacks. Throughout his life Malcolm goes through four transformations from the streets, jail, muslim and trip to mecca.

In his book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm faced with adversity from the beginning of his life. Malcolm was born May 19th, 1925, during times of extreme racial violence and harsh discrimination . His family moved to Lansing, Michigan to avoid the persecution of local white groups, but they could not escape racial injustice. White supremacists burned Malcolm’s family home and murdered his father. Overcome with grief, Malcolm’s mother was confined to a mental hospital. Malcolm was then given to foster parents. He felt out of