Human Rights Activist: Malcolm X

In Malcolm X’s autobiography, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, he says “All of our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient” (153). This quote holds true throughout the whole autobiography. Malcolm tells us about his whole life from the time his family suffered through the Great Depression to the time he was fighting for black rights during the civil rights movement. Malcolm goes through many challenges in his lifetime and throughout this book we witness him struggle to get by living on his own and eventually convert to Islam and find his path in life.

While in prison Malcolm spent a majority of his time reading and becoming knowledged in law and other “forensic skills” (Epps). During this time he is frequently visited by his siblings, who had recently converted to the religion of Islam, his brother Reginald was part of the Nation of Islam (NOI)(“Biography”). NOI was a select group of black Muslims who believe in black pride and that to get equality and freedom they must establish their own state, completely separate from the white Americans. While in Prison Malcolm converts to the religion of Islam and joins NOI and shortly before his early release (A & E) changes his last name to X believing that his surname Little was his “slave” name (History.comStaff).

The reason why Malcolm Little went to prison because he was convicted of robbery in 1946 but that’s when he started to write his own autobiography. This article opens up to when MalcolmX was born and how he became one of the most powerful leaders in the civil rights movement of the 1960s he was an leading spokesman for the black separatism he had a lot of powerful influence at that time. After the civil rights movement of the early 1960s he went on a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in the Middle east. MalcolmX became an Orthodox Muslim he started to adopted his new Muslim name, and he decided to push himself away from the teachings of his religion, and from the world (MalcolmX).

What were Malcolm X’s beliefs? What did he hope to see change, and how for that matter did he believe he could make those changes happen? While analyzing Malcolm X and Black Rage, written by Cornel West, questions such as those are brought to light. Malcolm X’s motives are further explored as author Cornel West goes into depth and critiques Malcolm X’s tactics, such as black rage and psychic conversion, why they were such an important part of his philosophy, and if he believed said tactics were effective.

While some of the history of blacks are covered in most history books, the impact they had on Americans history are often aren’t often not covered in great detail as those of their white counterparts. I will conduct this research paper on the lives of Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, and Malcolm X. Their effect they had on the past is one of the reasons why the United States has become a beacon of freedom and something for which other nations like or hate the United States. These three individuals aren’t really known, with Malcom X being the most known of the three.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X In ​The Autobiography of Malcolm X​ ,being black or even light skinned didn’t mean anything to white people. They still discriminated against you and made you feel less of a person or as Malcolm felt, a “pink poodle”. The author’s purpose here is for us to see what “black” people went through back in the day and the daily struggles to make money and feed your family. The structure, style, and content of this autobiography contribute to the power and beauty of the text.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X: Society and Self-Identity The Autobiography of Malcolm X, written by Alex Haley, tells the story of Malcolm Little and his growth and change through life. Although the main purpose of autobiographies is to tell the story of one’s life through the individual’s own perspective, this story seems to have a greater purpose: to express the theme of the transformation and discovery of self-identity through the journey of Malcolm X’s life, as well as the influence and power of society on one’s self-identity. His character is molded and created over again by the changing influences throughout his life, often swayed by the oppression surrounding him.

Born Malcolm Little May 19th, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. 1952 is when he later changed his name to what we all know now as “Malcolm X”. Malcolm is a black activists whose voice started to be heard in the mid 1950s as a member of the nation of islam. But, unlike Martin Luther King jr, Rosa Parks, and others, I don’t think Malcolm X gets the recognition he deserves as a black man who wanted the best for his people in some of the darkest times in history. Loved, and inspired so many people.

Throughout the Autobiography of Malcolm X there are several key events the bring out the central ideas of the text. Some examples of the key events was when Mr. Ostrowski lectured Malcolm, when Malcolm was in jail and he learned the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, and when Malcolm made his pilgrimage to Mecca. A closer look at the central ideas would show that they build on one another. When Malcolm was going to school his teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, told home to give up his dream of being a lawyer,” Malcolm, one of life’s first needs is to be realistic.

Malcom X left many impacts on the civil rights movement. One of these impacts of Malcolm X was revealing the devastating conditions faced by African Americans. Malcolm X was shown a week-long television special in 1959 he unveiled unfair discriminatory practices done to minorities. He impacted the Civil Rights movement by helping to expose discriminatory practices which ultimately led to significant changes in what the legal system declared unlawful. A number of laws were put into place that had a significant impact on the lives and civil rights of Black people.

Throughout the Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm is given different names from his friends and family. Each name represents a different stage of his life. In fact, for all the important moments in his life, Malcolm is given a new name. Malcolm used these names to express his mind, whether he thought about religion or reefers. In Haley’s

“If someone puts their hands on you, make sure they never put their hands on anybody else again.” This bold and aggressive statement could be considered to have a negative connotation. However, to some people this is viewed as wise and true advice. The independent and strong attitude the quote and the author of it (Malcolm X) convey can truly resonate with a person’s craving for independence and strength. This, along with his relatable traits, is why Malcolm X is considered a hero to many.

Malcolm X is one of the world’s most influential human rights activist who ever lived. He helped the muslim community grow immensely and pushed for African American rights and was an african american muslim minister, Malcolm X set out to spread his beliefs and his way of thinking all of america gaining more and more followers pushing African Americans to fight for their freedom. A famous quote that Malcolm X once said was that “If you're not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.” Malcolm X plays a huge role in history but before he_does his life explains why and what drove him to become the man he is known as today and this is his story.

This story told by Malcolm X described his personal life starting at a very young age. At a very young age, he already noticed the huge amount of racism in America in the late 1920’s. Black Americans were set up for failure and it was made very hard to succeed. Malcolm Little fell into that path. After getting caught with many illegal activities, he is sent to prison, where he finds his faith and becomes the influential leader that helped to end segregation in America.