Malcolm X
By Daniel Proffitt
His life and His Impacts on Civil Rights
- Born as Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 Omaha Nebraska.
- His mother Louise Little was a homemaker of the families eight children and his father Earl Little was a baptist minister and a civil rights activist
- In 1929 their home is Michigan was burned to the ground by white supremacists and two years later Earl Little was found dead across the towns's trolley tracks
- Malcolm and his close friend Malcolm "shorty" Jarvis moved to Boston and were arrested for burglary in 1946. Malcolm was sentenced ten years in a federal prison but got for parole after seven
- Malcolm was self enlightened in prison where he furthered his education with the time he was given. Malcolm's brother Reginald would visit him and tell him about muslim life and the Nation of Islam (NOI) which was an organization Reginald belonged to.
- Malcolm began to study the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and became a devout follower of islam where he changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X. Malcolm considered "Little" a slave name and adopted "X" to signify his lost tribal name.
- After Malcolm was released from prison in 1952 he rose to leadership In the (NOI) becoming a minister of islam and the nation spokesperson for the Nation of Islam
- Malcolm's leadership became focused on injustice towards african americans, and called for blacks to use "any means necessary" to achieve that justice, because of this belief Malcolm is known for being a radical
- Malcolm was crushed when his mentor and what he believed to be a "living prophet" Elijah Muhammad was found to have slept with different women belonging to the Nation of Islam
- Malcolm broke away from the Nation of Islam because of Elijah's deception and founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. in 1964, he traveled to the middle east to the sacred city of Mecca. There, Malcolm saw muslims of all races worshipping in peace and because of this Malcolm was forever changed
- After returning from Mecca he preached that peace was better than violence and condemned his previous radical actions regarding violence as an answer to injustice
- The Nation of Islam saw Malcolm's teachings of peace as a threat to their organization and Malcolm was assassinated in February 21, 1965 as he was beginning his speech in New York
Malcolm X galvanized not only the U.S. but the rest of the world with his radical ideas, Malcolm believed the enemy was the the "white man" who have been bringing destruction everywhere they go, the colonies of Africa to injustice of african americans in Detroit. Malcolm believed it was the white man who caused the problems, and called for "any means necessary" for african americans to achieve equality. Malcolm contributed only hostility and violence to the civil rights movement at first but later reformed his radical beliefs after seeing Gods people worship in peace together at mecca during his trip to the middle east. He recalled his words about violence and that whites were the enemy. Malcolm worked towards peace following his return to the U.S. until his death in 1965.