After his experience with being a leader among his peers, he then decided to drop out of school at the age of 15 due to a comment by his English teacher telling him that there is no point for a black child to purse an education. After dropping out of school, Malcolm traveled from Boston to New York City to find himself involved with criminal activities, which lead to his arrest in 1946 on charges of larceny. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. While in prison, Malcolm had the most important turning point in his life. To pass the time he constantly read books to educate himself about the Nation of Islam. He eventually converted to the Nation of Islam and upon his release in 1952 he added the surname “X” to pay respect towards his African-American …show more content…
With his persuasive speeches and over powering voice when he spoke, Malcolm quickly become a well-know figure in the eyes of the public. From traveling to Boston then to New York City to minister several temples, Malcolm X gained the ability to deeply connect with all his peers. To further promote his belief about civil rights and the Nation of Islam he founded a national Newspaper called, Muhammad Speaks. Malcolm X was a naturally gifted and very talented speaker, with a developing crowd of supporters Malcolm order his followers to fight back to get black independence by any means of violence. At this moment Malcolm X grew in popularity while expanding the Nation of Islam from 400 people to over 40,000 people by 1960’s. During this period of time Malcolm was delivering speeches all over and eventually became the voice of the Civil Rights Movement. Soon after becoming the dominant voice of the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam and decided to put all his focus on the Civil Rights. He then traveled to the Middle East, which enabled him to relate the movement in a way that would convey global struggles and a socialism point of view. After coming back from his travels to the Middle East Malcolm X came back to the country with a new attitude and a more optimistic view on the Civil Rights Movement. Just before Malcolm X potentially could have altered the Civil Rights