Malcolm X
Introduction
Malcolm X is seen as quite a controversial person. His admirers see him as a courageous human rights activist who campaigned for the rights of African Americans and showed white America how racist it was. His enemies see him as a racist, anti-Semitic and violent person.
Malcolm X was orphaned early in life. At the age of six his father was killed and it has been rumoured that white racists were responsible. Seven years later his mother passed away after which he lived in a series of foster homes.
At the age of 20 in 1946 he was sentenced to prison for larceny and breaking and entering. During his time in prison he joined the Nation of Islam and after being released in 1952 he became one of its leaders. He was the public face of the controversial group and he preached the Nation’s message of black supremacy, criticised the separation of black and white teenagers and scoffed at the Civil Rights Movement’s emphasis on integration.
After twelve years with the Nation of Islam he had grown disillusioned with the Nation and its head Elijah Muhammad and repudiated its teachings. He then embraced Sunni Islam and after a period of travel in Africa he returned to the United States to found Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Though continuing to support black rights and black equality he apologized for his racism in the Nation of Islam by saying:
I did many things as a [Black] Muslim that I 'm sorry for now. I was a zombie then ... pointed in a certain direction and told to march".
In February 1965, shortly after leaving the Nation of Islam he was assassinated by three of its members. The Autobiography of Malcolm X has been called one of the most influential books of the twentieth century.
His early Life
Malcolm Little was born May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, the fourth of seven children of Grenada Little and Earl Little. His father Earl was an outspoken Baptist lay speaker, admirer of Pan-African activist Marcus
Malcolm X is seen as quite a controversial person. His admirers see him as a courageous human rights activist who campaigned for the rights of African Americans and showed white America how racist it was. His enemies see him as a racist, anti-Semitic and violent person.
Malcolm X was orphaned early in life. At the age of six his father was killed and it has been rumoured that white racists were responsible. Seven years later his mother passed away after which he lived in a series of foster homes.
At the age of 20 in 1946 he was sentenced to prison for larceny and breaking and entering. During his time in prison he joined the Nation of Islam and after being released in 1952 he became one of its leaders. He was the public face of the controversial group and he preached the Nation’s message of black supremacy, criticised the separation of black and white teenagers and scoffed at the Civil Rights Movement’s emphasis on integration.
After twelve years with the Nation of Islam he had grown disillusioned with the Nation and its head Elijah Muhammad and repudiated its teachings. He then embraced Sunni Islam and after a period of travel in Africa he returned to the United States to found Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Though continuing to support black rights and black equality he apologized for his racism in the Nation of Islam by saying:
I did many things as a [Black] Muslim that I 'm sorry for now. I was a zombie then ... pointed in a certain direction and told to march".
In February 1965, shortly after leaving the Nation of Islam he was assassinated by three of its members. The Autobiography of Malcolm X has been called one of the most influential books of the twentieth century.
His early Life
Malcolm Little was born May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, the fourth of seven children of Grenada Little and Earl Little. His father Earl was an outspoken Baptist lay speaker, admirer of Pan-African activist Marcus