Eldridge Cleaver: A Brief Biography

550 Words3 Pages

Eldridge Cleaver An American writer Eldridge Cleaver, born on August 31st, 1935, is known for being an African-American rebellion as a leader of the Black Panther Party, and for publishing several books, including Soul on Ice (1968), Soul on Fire (1978), Eldridge Cleaver: Post-Prison Writings and Speeches (1969), and Eldridge Cleaver’s Black Papers (1969). He got married to Kathleen Neal in 1967, had two children, and divorced in 1987. In his early life, his family had moved from Arkansas to Arizona, then to California in 1946. Eldridge had been repeatedly arrested, for bicycle theft and selling weed. He had been to prison several times - for marijuana possession in 1954; he was convicted of assault with intent to murder in 1957. Eldridge …show more content…

In his childhood years, his family moved because of racism, moving away from Nebraska. Their house was burnt down in a white neighborhood in Michigan, as well as Malcolm’s father and three uncles were murdered by, what the black community has assumed, white people. During the Great Depression, Malcolm 's family was struggling. Malcolm was sent to a foster home when his mother became mentally ill. At age 13, Malcolm was sent to a juvenile detention home, because he was charged with minor crimes, as well as he dropped out of school when he was 15. During his time in Boston, he took part in the criminal life of gambling and drugs. In 1946, Malcolm was sentenced 10 years for breaking and entering, during which time period his life started to change. He was told about the Black Muslims, so he began using vocabulary words that would help him become a powerful public speaker. Malcolm was released from prison in 1952 and went to Chicago to meet Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Black Muslims movement. He was accepted and was given the name of Malcolm X. During the movement of racial integration, Malcolm and the Black Muslims supported racial separation. By 1959, Americans bewared Malcolm’s black supremacy, but by 1964, he had announced he’s leaving the Nation of Islam. Malcolm made several trips to Africa, Europe, and Mecca, where he wrote that he believed now not all whites were evil. He began holding meetings in Harlem and on February 21, 1965, during such meeting, Malcolm was

Open Document