Malcolm X was an influential person. He was a leader of the 60’s civil rights movement, and a
former minister of the Nation of Islam. He had many different views throughout his lifetime and
was characterized as an African American radical activist.
Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925, the son of Louise and Earl Little of Omaha,
Nebraska. During his childhood he was an excellent student. Before dropping out in the 8th
grade, he was receiving good grades and was voted class president. His family eventually moved
to Boston when he should of been starting high school. Malcolm got a job as a shoeshine boy,
but quickly decided dealing drugs was an easier way to make money. He got heavily involved
with the hustler society and eventually moved to New York city. In New York Malcolm,
became a very important member of the black mob. He later got into serious trouble with
another gangster and returned to Boston in 1945. By 1946 Malcolm was in jail for robbery. He
served a 7 year sentence in Charlestown, MA. While in prison, Malcolm became a follower of
Elijah Muhammad, the leader of a small, urban prophet-cult, the Nation of Islam. On his release
from prison Malcolm became a member of the Black Muslim Movement. Also, he changed his
name from Little to X, because he felt that Little was a name given to his slave ancestors by
whites. Malcolm became a influential leader of the Nation of Islam and helped it to reach its
The Essay on Malcolm X Nation Of Islam
... the Nation Of Islam and its leader Elijah Muhammad. His brother, Reginald and P hilbert brought him books to read. Malcolm was ... Wilfred in Detroit. Malcolm became Malcolm X symbolizing an unknown tribal name. Malcolm had joined the Nation of Islam and became their ... quickly becoming one of the most influential leaders in the Nation Of Islam. He even developed the newspaper," Muhammed Speaks." ...
peak of membership with 30,000 people by 1963. The Nation of Islam preached racial
separation in both government and society called “Black Nationalism”. Later, Malcolm became
critical of Elijah Muhammad. Elijah “silenced” Malcolm for 90 days. However, before the
“silence” was lifted Malcolm left the Nation of Islam and started his own group called the
Organization for Afro-American Unity. Also he converted to an orthodox Muslim. Malcolm X
went on his obligatory (for orthodox Muslims) pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964 and there began to
consider changing his views toward racial separation. He became more optimistic, and he
started to preach about racial brotherhood and about how whites could help with the Civil Rights
struggle. After the pilgrimage he adopted the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
On February 21, 1965, a sad date in history, Malcolm X was assassinated. He was shot
several times while delivering a speech. Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X
are the three men who are convicted of killing Malcolm. They were later sentenced to life
imprisonment. There are many theories about who was behind the murder of Malcolm X. The
FBI, CIA, and the Nation of Islam are just some of the theories. The most popular and
believable theory is that of the black Muslims of the Nation of Islam had him killed.
Works Cited
World Book Encyclopedia, volume 13, copyright 1990, usa
http://stallion.jsums.edu/~awil0997/malcolm.htm
this excellent paper was written by Joseph E. Harroff
