Malcolm X's Impact On The Civil Rights Movement

From 1865 until 1964, civil rights were a large affair in America. Many actions, mostly peaceful, were taken to promote equal rights for the African American population of the United States. Many people and organizations protested against the inequality. People like Malcolm X had a large impact on civil rights.

Malcolm X, originally Malcolm Little, was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1925 to his father, Earl Little. Malcolm X’s family was poor and his childhood wasn’t a very good one. In 1929, when Malcolm was only four, his house burned down in Lansing, Michigan. His family wasn’t injured. Later on September 28th, 1931, his father Earl Little was found dead by the side of the tram tracks. His body was beaten, severed, burned, and dismantled,

Malcolm X increased the popularity of Black Nationalism- the belief and ideology that equality could only be achieved if there was an independent African American community. He gained most of his popularity through preaching for the Nation of Islam. He went on international trips and made foreigners in African and European countries aware of the hardships black people faced because of the racism in America. He caught America’s attention when he was on a week long radio broadcast. He was featured in “The Hate That Hate Produced,” which had Mike Wallace as the host of the broadcast. This went into detail on how the hatred of blacks from the whites caused the hatred of whites from the blacks. The broadcast caught the attention of many Americans who listened in, and some began to realize their

He went on a journey to Mecca- a trip that all who practice the Islamic religion must take in their lifetime. While he was in Mecca, he saw blacks and whites dancing and celebrating together. He said, “I was with blonde hair and blue eyed men I could call my brothers” (Biography). This trip changed how Malcolm X viewed white men. He concluded that hatred and ignorance were the enemies, not the whites. This thought lead him to believe that a peaceful solution could be a possibility to promote equal rights. He continued to give speeches in public, but didn’t encourage violence nearly as much. He changed his approaches and advised African Americans to discontinue their violence. He realized that ordering people to be violent would make others more violent towards them, thus putting the blacks in more danger. A short amount of time after his change in attitude, he ran into Martin Luther King in Washington, D.C. The interaction lasted less than a minute, but it was just enough time for a cameraman to take a photograph. This was the only picture of the two activists together before they were both assassinated by gunmen. Both men being killed made people realize that change needed to happen