Malcolm X by DJ Allen

Malcolm X by DJ Allen

March 3, 2006

Malcolm X,bornMalcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, and Omowale, was born May 19, 1925 was a longtime spokesman for the Nation of Islam.

Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska to Earl Little and Louise Little. His father, an outspoken Baptist lay preacher and was believed to have been killed by the Black Legion, a white supremacist group in Lansing, Michigan in 1931. Malcolm and his siblings had been split up and sent to different foster homes when his mom, Louise Little was declared legally insane. In 1939, she was finally committed to the StateMental Hospital and remained there until Malcolm and his brothers and sisters got her released twenty-six years later.

Malcolm graduated from junior high school at the top of his class, but dropped out soon after an admired teacher told him that aspirations of being a lawyer were "no realistic goal for a black person. After enduring a series of foster homes, Malcolm was first sent to a detention center and then later moved to Boston to live with his older half-sister, Ella Little Collins. He later worked as a shoe-shiner.

After some time, he moved to New York City, where, in Harlem, he became involved in drug dealing, gambling, pimping, racketeering, and robbery ( or hustling). When he was examined for the World War IIdraft, military physicians classified him to be "mentally disqualified for military service." He explains in his autobiography that, putting on a display to avoid the draft, he told the examining officer that he couldn't wait to get his hands on a gun so he could 'kill some crackers' which then was another term for white people.

Malcolm became a small time hustler and was known on the street as "Detroit Red", due to his lighter skin tone and hair color. He was arrested in Boston on January 12, 1946 at the age of 20 and sentenced to eight to ten years' imprisonment on charges of breaking and entering, carrying firearms, and larceny. He later earned the nickname Satan in the Charlestown State Prison for his constant cursing, especially of God and the Bible..

In 1958 Malcolm married Betty Sanders in Lansing, Michigan. They had six daughters together. While in jail in 1948, he received letters from his brother Reginald, asking him to join the Nation of Islam (NOI ). His active membership in the Nation of Islam led to him opening several temples around the country, of which he often became Minister. His inspirational speeches and spotless personal example led to the ranks of the Nation of Islam growing.

During his life, Malcolm went from being a street-wise Boston hoodlum to one of the most prominent Black Nationalist leaders in the United States. As a militant leader, Malcolm X advocated black pride, economic self-reliance, and identity politics. He ultimately rose to become a world renowned African American/Pan-Africanist and human rights activist. Malcolm believed human rights are something you were born with. Human rights are your God-given rights. Human rights are the rights that are recognized by all nations of this earth. Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City on February 21, 1965 on the first day of National Brotherhood Week.