Malcolm X, Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925 Malcolm X, was an activist and outspoken public voice of the Black Muslim faith, challenged the mainstream civil rights movement and the nonviolent pursuit of integration championed by Martin Luther King Jr. He urged followers to defend themselves against white aggression "by any means necessary." Born Malcolm little, he changed his last name to X to signify his rejection of his "slave" name. Charismatic and eloquent, Malcolm became an influential leader of the Nation of Islam, which combined Islam with Black Nationalism and sought to encourage and enfranchise disadvantaged young blacks
His father Earl Little was an outspoken Baptist church minister who had a target on his back. After his father’s death and his mother being institutionalized him and his eight siblings went into foster care; after dropping out of high school he moved all around picking up new things. He had become a pimp, started gambling and robbery. January 12, 1946, Malcolm was arrested for burglary for a stolen watch he had taken to get repaired. After being in prison he started reading everything he could and was inspired by his brothers’ conversion to Islam.
In 1946 he was arrested and put in jail for larceny, while he was there he read about islam, and eventually converted. Malcolm X, who was inspired by Marcus Garvey, believes as well that there could be no peace nor equality with white people. However, unlike Garvey, Malcolm X didn't believe they should go to Africa, but that the races could have their own separate states in the US. In the end however, Malcolm X didn't continue to see things the ways he once did and accepted that there was a possibility of working together with everyone. Malcolm X made a lot of progression the the Civil Rights Movement of the mid
He received fair treatment from white families but still received subtle discrimination in white schools. Malcolm dropped out and moved to Boston, where he spent time out on the streets experiencing
Malcolm was born on, May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother was Norton little and his was Earl little. The family had eight children. Earls civil rights activism caused death threats from white people. Their Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground.
Thesis: In “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”, Malcolm X in his telling of his life to Alex Haley uncovers the theme of positive and negative environments unearthed by the interaction of African Americans and White Americans in his life and what those kinds of environments inherently produce. Annotated Bibliography Nelson, Emmanuel S. Ethnic American Literature: an Encyclopedia for Students. Greenwood, An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2015.This encyclopedia points out that the negative interaction he held with the white man as a young hustler was countered by these same experiences pushing Malcolm X to reclaim his “African identity”. This shows, as described by the cited work, what a man pushed by his negative interactions with the oppressive white men is willing to do to find his identity (i.e. through hustling).
It was during Prison that Malcolm had an experience that he described was as if Allah had given him a gift to be able to reflect and convert to Islam and change his ways (Perry, 1991). Malcom soon joined the Nation of Islam and upon being released from prison preached a philosophy that was incredibly radical for the time. The nation of Islam and Malcolm preached an over zealous stance on racial division and particularly black superiority, in order to combat the harsh reality of racism in white America. The nation of Islam proclaimed that the white race was born of devils, and obviously caused immense controversy and threat from opposition. Malcolm did so much for the construction of modern black American collective identity and fought hard for civil rights that changed the course of history.
On 19 May 1925, Louise Little gave birth to Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska. At first, Malcolm Little led a troubled path of preaching radical Islam and opposing desegregation and integration, but later he converted and worked for racial equality. Because he challenged power, told of immediate troubles, suffered discontent, and provided fear of the Lord, one might call Malcolm a modern-day prophet. In other words, Malcolm shows the characteristics of an ancient prophet, thus making him a modern prophet. Although Malcolm was born in Nebraska, his family moved to Lansing, Michigan when he was just an infant.
It was while serving his sentence in a Massachusetts State Prison located in Charlestown, Malcolm joined the Black Muslims. Malcolm took advantage of his time in prison and decided to educate himself and began reading books related to science, philosophy, and history and once said “Months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I had never been so truly free in my life.” Through his siblings Malcolm was introduced to the writings and teachings of Elijah Muhammad who at the time was the leader of the Black Muslims and became drawn to the outspoken black
Due to Malcolm X’s struggles in his early life, he dealt with an internal anger and resentment towards the white race, which lead to him rebelling and acting out. When Malcolm X was only 6 years old, criminals murdered his father and sparked an internal flame of hatred. His anger convinced him to commit various crimes such as stealing. This acted as a way to rebel against his family and the white community; he would not accept going unnoticed, nor would he accept others as they treated him as inferior. Not only did young Malcolm steal, but he also fought frequently with his family members.
Malcolm X, a man born into a time of extreme oppression based on the color of your skin, joined to Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam according to the article of Malcolm X, “an African American
From the beginning of Malcolm X’s life he saw the injustices in the country of America, he was only a kid innocent to the world around him. His father was supposedly killed in a car accident, but Malcolm and his family believe that he was murdered by the Black Legion, which was a group of white racist. Even worse the officials claimed that his father had committed suicide, which prevented his family from inheriting the life insurance money. Furthermore, in the midst of all this happening to young Malcolm his mother began to go crazy and as a consequence, she got sent to a mental hospital.
He had a difficult childhood and converted to Islam “while in prison for robbery from 1946 to 1952.” He was born in Omaha, Nebraska as Malcolm
Though he is still seen as a controversial figure, I believe that Malcolm X was one of the most compassionate figures in history. He once said, “I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.” I really admire how he fought for what he believed in. Initially, I learned about Malcolm X in my AP English Language class, but I was reintroduced to his influence on the modern day black society in my college history class. Prior to being reintroduced to his philosophy in my college history class, I thought that X was a violent, racist man.
Malcolm rose quickly and became the prime minister of Temple 11 in Boston a temple in which he founded. He was then given the No. 7 Temple located in Harlem. Temple No. 7 was the largest and prestigious temple known for the Nation of Islam after the headquarters in Chicago.