Malcolm X

The 1950’s and 1960’s were a time of racial turmoil throughout most of the United States. Segregation between blacks and whites was still in full effect, African Americans had to drink from different water fountains, eat at different restaurants, and even shop at different stores than their Anglo “neighbors”. Many people and organizations fought valiantly for equality in the U.S. such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King jr. and the NAACP. The roles they played were critical in the civil rights movement were critical, the actions they took included peaceful demonstrations and marches, public speeches, and boycotts such as the one that took place in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. One man stands out among all of these leaders though, Malcolm X. Although fighting for the same thing as his colleagues in the civil rights movements, he was considered by many to represent the more extreme side of the battle for equality in the United States. It is his standout views and beliefs that make Malcolm X one of the most prominent and fascinating African-American leaders in the 1950’s and 60’s.

Malcolm X was born May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska by the name of Malcolm Little. His childhood was plagued with problems that stemmed from his father Earl’s outspoken views on civil rights and his strong support of black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Constant death threats by the White Supremacist group known as the Black Legion (also known as members of the Ku Klux Klan forced the family to relocate twice before Malcolm’s fourth birthday, but their efforts to keep themselves safe came up short when their house in Lansing, Michigan was set ablaze in 1929. Shortly after losing their house Earl Malcolm was found laid out and mutilated across the trolley tracks, an obvious victim of murder. The police ended up ruling it as an accident, just as they had when their house was burnt down, and nobody was ever convicted. Not long after the killing Malcolm’s mom would have a nervous breakdown and end up in a mental institution, leaving her eight children scattered about in foster homes.

Despite his dismal upbringing, Malcolm was able to graduate from his junior high school at the top of his class. He was aspiring to become a lawyer, but after one of his teachers told him that trying to be one was, “no realistic goal for a nigger”, he decided that school was not for him and moved to Boston for awhile and made a living working a number of jobs, none of which were permanent. Eventually he would find himself working as a waiter at a restaurant called Small’s Paradise in Harlem, New York. It was at this time that Malcolm Little began using and then selling drugs and even committing burglary. In 1946 he would be arrested for burglary and sentenced to ten years in prison. It was during his stay at the Charlestown, Mass. Prison that he would make maybe the most significant change of his life. Malcolm would begin studying the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of a small cult-like Islamic group that called themselves the Nation of Islam, he also began to study the Koran (the Islamic holy book). It was during these long years in prison that Malcolm was able to educate himself fully and came to the conclusion that he wanted to join Elijah and the Nation of Islam and fight for equality between blacks and whites.

After his parole in 1952 Malcolm would eventually become a minister and national representative for the Nation of Islam. Much of his inspiration came from Elijah’s teachings that the people of white society were always working to keep blacks from empowering themselves and reaching political, social, and economic success. The Nation of Islam’s beliefs were that they should have their own separate state that was uninhabited by white people. He changed his name from Malcolm Little, to Malcolm X because he said that Little was his “slave name”. His main priority was to open mosques for the nation of Islam of which he did in cities such as Detroit, Michigan, Boston, and New York. Malcolm was considered responsible for the following of the Nation of Islam which had reportedly gained around 30,000 members by 1963. Many years were spent giving speeches converting others to the Nation of Islam, but X’s name would not be widely known in the country until 1959 when he did a week long television special called “The Hate That Hate Produced” with Mike Wallace. In this special he talked about the reasons why he had developed such strong feelings towards white people and how he intended to do all he could to gain African equality in the U.S. After this television series Malcolm as well as the rest of the Nation of Islam would