A Leader of the Civil Rigths Movement Who Taught Black Pride
From a young age Malcolm X was surrounded by African American's fight for their Civil Rights. Born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska Malcolm X's father was a big supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. His father, Earl Little, was given death threats many times from the Black Legion due to his civil rights activism. By the time Malcolm X was 4 his family had moved twice due to the threats.
In 1929 the black Legion burned Malcolm X's home to the ground attempting to kill his father. They failed but two years later Earl Little’s body was found lying in the train tracks. Authorities ruled both instances as “accidents”. Malcolm X's mother, Louise, suffered emotional breakdown after her husband’s death. She was sent to a mental institution while her children were split up in foster homes. After some years in a foster home Malcolm X meant up with his old friend Malcolm Jarvis. They were arrested on burglary and Malcolm X went to prison for seven years. Before being arrested he furthered his education in school. It was during these days that his older brother Reginald visited him and taught him about an organization he was in called the Nation of Islam (NOI). This organization would later play a very big role in Malcolm X's life. After getting out of jail Malcolm X chose to join the NOI. His leader/mentor, Elijah Muhammad, taught him that whites worked to keep Blacks from achieving political economic and social success as well as preventing them for empowering themselves. One of the main goals of the NOI was to have a state of their own separated from white people. Unlike Martin Luther King Jr. the NOI fought for Civil Rights but segregation while MLK Jr. fought for Civil Rights and integration. Because of Malcolm X's intelligence Muhammad appointed him a minister and spokesperson for the Nation of Islam. He was tasked with setting up new mosques all over the country. Malcolm X used all sorts of media to help gain support for the NOI. He is credited with helping the organization grow from 500 to over 30,000 in just 9 years. Malcolm X soon became a media magnet. he was featured in a week-long television special called "The Hate That Hate Produced". The special talked about NOI’s mission and how Malcolm X played a part in it. Because of the growing members in the NOI the FBI started to infiltrate it and gain information about it and the leaders. A crushing blow came to Malcolm X when it was discovered that Elijah Muhammad was having affairs with 6 women. This hurt Malcolm X very much and his relationship with Muhammad faltered when he refused to help cover up the affairs. He believed Muhammad had been a living prophet, but know he didn't wish to be part of something built on too many lies to ignore. After a offensive comment about John F. Kennedy’s assassination Muhammad silenced Malcolm X for 90 days and that is when Malcolm X left the NOI and created the Muslim Mosque Inc. On April 13, 1964 Malcolm X left for Mecca which would prove to be a life changing experience. On his pilgrimage Malcolm X's belief that white people were evil and that they were devils was washed away. He saw men of all races come together, care for each other and not discriminate each other because they weren't the same race. He started to think about what life would be like if all races were integrated with equal civil rights. When Malcolm X returned from Mecca he started speaking his new beliefs not just to African Americans but to all races. After returning from Mecca and leaving the Nation of Islam many attempts on Malcolm’s life occurred. Eventually the killers succeeded on February 21, 1965. He died at age 39, and over 1,500 people attended his funeral. |
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