Malcom X

Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925. He was not as fortunate as Martin Luther King Jr. was while growing up. Malcolm X was one of eight children with two loving parents, but later on died. He was more so a lecturer about segregation than an orator from the Islamic point of view. The humor that flowed throughout all his speeches had underline meanings that were equally as serious as Martin Luther King Jr. made his speeches seem.

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.

During his seven-year incarceration, Malcolm self-educated and converted to Islam. He joined the religious organization Nation of Islam, led by Elijah Muhammad. By the time he was paroled, Malcolm was a dedicated follower and had legally changed his surname from “Little” to “X,” because he considered “Little” a ‘slave’ name (“About Malcolm X”). The changing of his name marked the beginning of a new era.

Eventually, Malcolm Little was caught and sentenced to prison for 10 years on robbery charges in 1946. While in prison, he heard about the African American religious group known as the Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam was a controversial organization founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad. The organization was classified as a cult by many Americans and was known for its extremist philosophies. The main reason it attracted Malcolm Little though was because it was a large, powerful black organization. Malcolm Little was interested and decided to start making contact with the organization through letters. He eventually contacted the group’s leader Elijah Muhammad. Elijah wrote to Malcolm Little saying that blacks should not be ashamed of their skin color and that blacks were not inferior to whites; whites were the ones who put blacks down. For the first time in his life, Malcolm Little began to feel he could be a part of something. He thought he could actually be accepted and become a Muslim. While Malcolm Little was raised a Baptist, he never paid much attention in church and did not understand how singing and praying would make anything better. Now that Malcolm Little had been introduced to a religion and organization that pertained more to him, he was eager. When Malcolm Little was finally let out on parole after 8 years, he instantly became a member of the Nation of Islam and cleansed his

During his sentence he learned the importance of education. He thought himself the works of: history, politics, literature, reading and copying every word in the dictionary. While in incarcerated Malcolm family would write to him about a new movement in the outside world with the black community. He knew of Martin Luther King and his non violence approach but this group was different. They believed in violence and were under the leadership of a different man named Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad founded the Black Muslim group who followed by the Islamic faith. After doing his own research studying, practicing the religion and the continuous convincing by his family, Malcolm accepted the Islam faith. When he joined the Islamic faith he relinquished his last name Little to X because he felt that Little was a “slave name” and the X represented the absence of knowing his real last name (Pendergast).

Malcolm X was born in Omaha on May 19, 1925 as Malcolm Little to Reverend Earl Little and Louise Little. Malcolm’s father was a Baptist minister and a committed organizer for Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) . Garvey believed that the black race should remain pure and return to the homeland (Africa) . Malcolm’s father’s involvement led to two of their houses being burned down by Ku Klux Klan members. At age six, Malcolm’s father was killed by Ku Klux Klan members. After, his father’s death his mother was soon pronounced paranoid and the kids were split up . At age twenty, Malcolm began serving six and a half years in prison for larceny. In prison, he read history, philosophy, religion, about the life of Gandhi, and Nat Turner. He also read the works of W.E.B. DuBois, Shakespeare, and Socrates. It was in prison that he found out about Islam through his brother who became a member of the Nation of Islam. Once released Malcolm joined the nation of Islam and became Malcolm X . Elijah Muhammad, the head of the Nation of Islam, took Malcolm under his wing. Soon, Malcolm worked to expand the black Islamic community and even became of the most important temple on the east coast, Temple No. 7 in Harlem . Later on, Malcolm had become very expressive about civil rights during his speeches and they were not often centered around religion. This angered Elijah Muhammad and caused them to drift. Malcolm soon left the Nation of Islam and created his own religious organization called the Muslim Mosque Inc. for his followers. This caused the Nation of Islam to become even more upset with Malcolm. Later more conflicts arose between the two groups. On February 21, 1965 Malcolm was assassinated by three Black Muslims before delivering a speech in Harlem .

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 soon dropped out of school moved to boston and worked a series of menial jobs and drifted into a life of crime soon after. Then to Harlem around 1942 given the street name of “Detroit Red” he ran a gambling operation and sold drugs then a burglary ring it soon brought him to his imprisonment in 1946. In prison Malcolm had switched faiths and became muslim he had come to an idea that white people are a cancer and they all hate black people. By 1952 when he got on parole he had taken the muslim surname “X” in place of his “slave name”

Did Malcolm X live up to his own beliefs? Malcolm Little formerly known as Malcolm X was born in Nebraska in 1925. Malcolm was raised with no particular religion other than his father being a baptist minister, and no further involvement in religion until his imprisonment. While incarcerated for seven years, Malcolm was self educating, during that time his brother would visit him frequently and introduced him to islam.

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.

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).

Malcom X at the time of getting his conk his was overjoyed with the fact that he was able to get this hairstyle of the time. At the time of adolescence Malcolm as many other teens don’t think of things such as this as anything other than a fad that he wanted to be a part of. Especially since the hairstyle was promoted by big time entertainers of the time such as Cab Calloway, it is usual for a teenager to follow a fad set by a celebrity. I for one know I have followed a few trends here and there because of a celebrity I could relate to. That was at the that time, as time passed Malcolm X came to realize the great error he had made that he was deeply ashamed of doing.

Malcolm X a Black Nationalist leader was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska served as a spokesmen for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and 1960s.It is said by historians that he was the one of the reasons that the nation of Islam went form 400 members to 40,000 members from 1952 to 1960’s and continued to grow well into the 1980s and into the 21st century. This was due to the fact that he gave very articulate and passionate speeches that would lead to bigger and bigger audiences. He told blacks to end racism "by any means necessary" which included violence. Malcolm X little grew up with a life of violence, growing up in rural white Nebraska Malcom X was the middle child of 8 having a mother who was a homemaker and a father who was a preacher. Because of his family being black he and his family were often harassed by white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the black legion. After an attack on the little household by the Ku Klux Klan that resulted in the all the houses windows smashed. Which caused the family to move to East Lansing, Michigan which was worse than Nebraska and ended with his father dead after 2 years of moving in 1931 with his death being ruled a suicide. Malcom’s mother never accepted his death and was sent to a mental institution in 1937 and left Malcom X with family of friends. After dropping out of school at 15