Malcolm X

“Malcolm X was shot dead at a party meeting in Harlem on the 21st February 1965.” There was a power struggle between the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. After that, he was kicked out of the Nation of Islam and then created his own religious organization called the Organization of Afro-American Unity. After visiting Mecca, his views changed and he “blamed racism on Western culture and urged African Americans to join with whites to bring to an end.” Malcolm said, “The white man is the devil” and “The black man is the brainwashed.”  On the other hand, Martin Luther King who was a National Association of colored people (NAACP) believed, “At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.” Malcolm X’s background, education and experiences inspired his views of how to end the discrimination of black people in America.

Malcolm X did not have a happy moment in his life time. His father, Earl little, was a member of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). He was also a supporter of Marcus Garvey, which got him into trouble with the Ku Klux Klan. Earl’s family was threatened to move to Lansing, Michigan. Earl continued to make speeches for the UNIA and in 1929, his house was firebombed by the Black legion (a group part of the Ku Klux Klan). In 1931, Earl was found dead on a streetcar railway track. “No one was committed the murder, but the little’s believed the black legion killed him. Malcolm’s mother never recovered from the lost and was sent to the State Mental Hospital at Kalamazoo in 1937.” After the incident, he moved to Boston to live with his sister. He got a job as a waiter in Harlem, got addicted to cocaine and turn to crime. In 1946, he was convicted of burglary and sentenced for seven years in prison.  His life changed when he hear and joined the Nation of Islam while he was in jail.

          Elijah Muhammad teachings inspired Malcolm and moved to Chicago because of Elijah Muhammad. Elijah believed, “white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success.” He means that whites were using the blacks to achieve political, economic and social success. In 1952, Malcolm changed his name into Malcolm x, which indicates his lost tribal name. Because of his intelligence, he was appointed to become a minister and national speaker for the Nation of Islam. He was credited with the increase of the members in the Nation of Islam. In 1952 to 1963, the number increased from 500 to 30,000.