Malcolm X: The African-American Cultural Movement

He studied hard to get high grades and he was even elected as the class president. He was doing his best, until his teacher went up to him and told him that his dream to be a lawyer, is not possible all because he is black. Instead, he insisted him to become a carpenter. From then, something started to changed within him. Malcolm sees the limit to the white acceptance, and the inevitable truth of what life awaits for the colored. He starts believing that in the white society he was living in, there is no success nor future. Spike Lee never really focused on Malcolm's childhood in the film, except for this particular part. He chose this moment to highlight, because this scene single handedly explains why he hated whites, why he became a hustler, and why he became a civil rights activists. It was the hatred against the whites. From then, he stopped accepting the whites. This was the moment when Malcolm's view on integration between whites and blacks became possible, to impossible. The historical figure of Malcolm X’s philosophy started here, with the hatred of his enemy. Malcolm X in his speech, preached that the black man should have their own power, by separating themselves completely from the white society, similar to what his father was preaching. His childhood tragedy gave him the reason to fight for, and the belief for uniting the black race for separating them from the cruelty. Malcolm X we all know of, would have never existed without

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 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.

Malcolm X challenged the mainstream Civil Rights Movement in his efforts to defend and separate the African race. Activists such as Martin Luther King, Jr.

Who is Malcolm X? Answers tend to vary by person but in the “Autobiography of Malcolm X”, it really delved into the pivotal details of his life and readers like myself, went on an enthralling metaphorical journey to see the intriguing development of him as a child, a young adult, a convict, a follower, and ultimately a leader. For starters, Malcolm X was not born with the infamous and famous X. His birth name was Malcolm Little and the innocent Malcolm Little was very belittled (pun intended) in majority of his social environments. At a young age, he experiences the pain of losing his father. In retrospect, his father was just a dust in the wind. Malcolm’s dad was like many other socially active black males, who became inevitable victims that usually were murdered, lynched, burned, etc by the white men in their area. Now, to lose one parent is already tough for many individuals but Malcolm was only to be hammered with more bad news. His mother was sent away by government workers to a mental institution because his house was deemed “unstable” (this kind of stuff happened daily to many black families in similar housing situations like Malcolm was in). But Malcolm directed his energy elsewhere. He ends up taking initiative in school and whilst excelling, he ended up loving many aspects of education in America (or so he thought). He climbed his way to become first in rank in his class and even became class president but his dreams was simply crushed by many individuals. One of

Malcolm X was orphaned early in life. At the age of six his father was killed and it has been rumoured that white racists were responsible. Seven years later his mother passed away after which he lived in a series of foster homes.

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 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 X made more of an impact on the Civil Rights Movement than Martin Luther King JR. Malcolm X lived through extreme hardship and poverty leading to a life of crime; prison eventually altered his whole perspective about his role in society. Unlike MLK JR, whose purpose was predetermined in a household with strict boundaries and Christian love. Most notably, it was his excellency as a scholar that gave MLK JR his signature; being that at only 15 years of age he enrolled into Morehouse College. However, it was Malcolm X with the intelligence of peace through the Nation of Islam and spirituality of Black Nationalism, these components made him the one who is best to philosophize accurately about removing blacks from oppression in the USA.

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

Malcolm Little’s (also known as Malcolm X) family experienced a lot of trouble before he was even born. It all started when the Ku Klux Klan arrived at their house because his father Earl Little was supporting Marcus Garvey, who was an passionate Black Nationalist leader. On May 19,1925 Malcolm was born into a family of eight. Malcolm's father's work is the main cause for the death threats they received, this is what caused them to move two times before Malcolm was four years old. Unfortunately the trouble traveled with them, in 1929, the Littles house was completely burned down in Lansing, Michigan. The family assumed it was the Black Legion which is a group that originated in the midwestern United States and consisted of white supremacists.

Malcolm X was a muslim, black man who cared very much about gaining equal rights. He was, in a way, an extremist. Though only taking action when he felt necessary, when he did take action, it often had drastic effects on the people and events occurring around him. Unlike Martin Luther King or other leading civil rights activists, he did not believe in peaceful protest. He believed in “whatever means necessary” to accomplish his goals. Because of his strong efforts and his unmatched determination, Malcolm X, formally known as Malcolm Little, changed the course of the civil rights movement. If not for him, the events that played out to cause the eventual conclusion of the struggle would have been forever altered.

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).

A righteous and amazing individual known as Malcolm X was a man not many people truly know about. Malcolm’s enthusiasm in helping blacks really understand the world they live in and their credence in their society should at the least be welcomed so a correlation can be established and the world can focus on more pressing issues other than race. He was an angry, potent activist and motivated extremist for all the right reasons. In his life he had to overcome many obstacles and triumph over many predicaments that threatened him mentally and physically. Malcolm had converted to a religion and he gave it his all. Malcolm believed in the religion and its leader more than he believed in himself, just to find out things are never what they seem. People time after time tried to end his life even before he was assassinated and though he realized that his days were numbered still pushed forward. One thing we all learn in life is that your biggest enemy that you will ever face is yourself; at times he fought himself more than anyone else.

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