A black militant, Malcolm X championed the rights of African Americans and urged them to develop racial unity.
He was known for his association first with the Nation of Islam, sometimes known as the Black Muslims, and later with the Organization of Afro-American Unity, which he founded after breaking with the Nation of Islam. Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Neb. , on May 19, 1925, the seventh of eleven children. The family soon moved to Lansing, Mich. There they were harassed by whites who resented the black nationalist views of the father, Earl Little, an organizer for Marcus Garvey’s “back-to-Africa” movement.
When Malcolm was 6 his father was murdered. His mother later suffered a nervous breakdown, and the family was separated by welfare agencies. Later in his life Malcolm came to believe that white people had destroyed his family. Placed in a series of schools and boardinghouses, Malcolm became a fine student and dreamed of becoming a lawyer.
A teacher, however, told him that because he was black he should learn carpentry instead. Discouraged, he left school after the eighth grade to live with a relative in Boston, Mass. Malcolm shined shoes and worked at a soda fountain, in a restaurant, and on a railroad kitchen crew. In 1942 he moved to the black Harlem section of New York City.
He lived as a hustler, cheating to make money. He was wary of the police. A pusher, he sold drugs and became an addict himself. Pursued by a rival hustler, he went back to Boston, where he organized a burglary ring. In 1946 he was sent to prison for burglary. While serving in prison Malcolm adopted the Islamic religion as practiced by a group that later became known as the Nation of Islam.
They stressed ethical conduct with other African Americans but taught that white people were “devils. ” Released from prison in 1952, Malcolm joined his younger brother in Detroit, Mich. , where, in Muslim fashion, he replaced his slave last name with an X to symbolize his lost “true African family name. “Malcolm X soon became an active participant in the Nation of Islam. He assisted the national leader, Elijah Muhammad, by starting many new Muslim groups throughout the United States. His success as a recruiter was a result of his skill as a speaker, as he worked to instill racial pride in his black listeners and recounted the sufferings of blacks under white domination.
In 1954 he returned to New York to become minister of the important Harlem temple, and in 1957 he founded the Muslim newspaper Muhammad Speaks. By the early 1960s the Nation of Islam had become nationally known. Malcolm X was their most effective national minister and their most recognized spokesman. He was increasingly ignored, however, by Black Muslims who accused him of seeking personal glory. In 1963 Malcolm X was officially silenced for his remark that the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy was a case of “the chickens coming home to roost. ” Elijah Muhammad suspended him from the movement. In 1964 Malcolm X broke completely with the Nation of Islam and began building his own Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). He made the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to learn about “true Islam. ” Impressed by the fellowship he observed among pilgrims of all colors, Malcolm X came to believe that whites, like blacks, were victims of a racist society. He thought that Islam could someday unite people of all races.
After the hajj he adopted the name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. During later trips to African nations, where he was honored by their statesmen, Malcolm X began to advocate Pan-Africanism. He believed that blacks all over the world should join to combat racism. During the winter of 1964-65 Malcolm X received several death threats, and his home was bombed. On Feb. 21, 1965, while speaking at an OAAU rally in Harlem, he was shot and killed.
Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of the murder. His death saddened white and black people alike who admired his tireless striving to build black pride and who shared his hopes that all races might someday be joined in brotherhood. Malcolm X was survived by his wife, Betty Shabazz, whom he had married in 1958. They had six daughters. His autobiography, published posthumously in 1965, was written by Alex Haley, author of ‘Roots’.
The book was based on many interviews that Haley had conducted with Malcolm X shortly before his assassination. In 1992 director Spike Lee released the movie ‘Malcolm X’, starring Denzel Washington in the title role. The popular yet controversial film revived interest in the slain leader, especially among young African AmericansWords/ Pages : 778 / 24
