Crowds and police officers outside the Audubon Ballroom prior to Malcolm X's appearance there. The leader was later assassinated inside the ballroom by three members allegedly of the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm X addresses a Harlem rally in support of integration efforts in LA with picture of fallen black men. Later, as the 2 hour rally was concluding, violence erupted among the crowd of spectators.
New York police officers remove the body of Malcolm X his fatal shooting. The civil rights activist would later be pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X's wife, leaves the morgue at Bellevue Hospital in New York after identifying the body of her husband. Woman on the left of Mrs. Shabazz is Ella Collins, Malcolm X's sister.
The hearse containing the body of Malcolm X pulls up in front of the Unity Funeral Home here, where a wake for him will be held. His body was on view for four days.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley
(The fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations o...)
The fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American Dream, and the inherent racism in a society that denies its nonwhite citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements
(In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, origi...)
In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, originally published in 1964, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Black Muslim movement
Malcolm Little, or Malcolm X, was an African American Muslim civil rights leader, human rights activist.
Background
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. His father, Earl Little, a Baptist minister, was an outspoken follower of Marcus Garvey, the black nationalist leader in the 1920s who advocated a "back-to-Africa" movement for African Americans.
During Malcolm's early years his family moved several times because they were threatened by Ku Klux Klansmen in Omaha; their home was burned in Michigan; and when Malcolm was 6 years old, his father was murdered. For a time his mother, Louise Helen Little (née Norton), and her eight children lived on public welfare. When his mother became mentally ill, Malcolm was sent to a foster home. His mother remained in a mental institution for about 26 years. The children were divided among several families, and Malcolm lived in various state institutions and boarding-houses.
Education
He dropped out of school at the age of 15.
Career
Living with his sister in Boston, Malcolm worked as a shoeshine boy, soda jerk, busboy, waiter, and railroad dining car waiter. At this point he began a criminal life that included gambling, selling drugs, burglary, and hustling. In 1946 Malcolm was sentenced to 10 years for burglary.
In prison he began to transform his life. His family visited and wrote to him about the Black Muslim religious movement. (The Black Muslims' official name was the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, and the spiritual leader was Elijah Muhammad, with national headquarters in Chicago.) Malcolm began to study Muhammad's teachings and to practice the religion faithfully. In addition, he enlarged his vocabulary by copying words from the dictionary, beginning with "A" and going through to "Z."
In 1952 Malcolm was released from prison and went to Chicago to meet Elijah Muhammad. Accepted into the movement and given the name of Malcolm X, he became assistant minister of the Detroit Mosque. The following year he returned to Chicago to study personally under Muhammad and shortly thereafter was sent to organize a mosque in Philadelphia. In 1954 he went to lead the mosque in Harlem.
Malcolm X became the most prominent national spokesman for the Black Muslims. He was widely sought as a speaker, and his debating talents against white and black opponents helped spread the movement's message. During this period Malcolm X, following Elijah Muhammad, urged black people not to participate in elections because to do so meant to sanction the immoral political system of the United States.
For at least two years before 1963, some observers felt that there were elements within the Black Muslim movement that wanted to oust Malcolm X. There were rumors that he was building a personal power base to succeed Elijah Muhammad and that he wanted to make the organization political. Others felt that the personal jealousy of some Black Muslim leaders was a factor.
On December 1, 1963, Malcolm X stated that he saw President John F. Kennedy's assassination as a case of "The chickens coming home to roost." Soon afterward Elijah Muhammad suspended him and ordered him not to speak for the movement for 90 days.
On March 8, 1964, Malcolm X publicly announced that he was leaving the Nation of Islam and starting two new organizations: the Muslim Mosque, Inc., and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He remained a believer in the Islamic religion. During the next months Malcolm X made several trips to Africa and Europe and one to Mecca, during which he changed his views on white people. He changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. He announced that he planned to internationalize the black struggle by taking black people's complaints against the United States before the United Nations. For this purpose he sought aid from several African countries through the Organization of Afro-American Unity. At the same time he stated that his organizations were willing to work with other black organizations and with progressive white groups in the United States on voter registration, on black control of community public institutions such as schools and the police, and on other civil and political rights for black people.
He began holding meetings in Harlem at which he enunciated the policies and programs of his new organizations. On a Sunday afternoon, February 21, 1965, as he began to address one such meeting, Malcolm X was assassinated.
Malcolm Little (X) has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. He was a courageous advocate for the rights of blacks, was largely responsible for the spread of Islam in the black community in the United States. His influence on the political and social thinking of African Americans has been enormous, he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He also was the author of thr famous book The Autobiography of Malcolm X, where he emphasized his main ideas Pan-Africanism, black self-determination, and black self-defense.
(In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, origi...)
Politics
Malcolm X criticized capitalism, advocated black nationalism. Malcolm X argued that if the U.S. government was unwilling or unable to protect black people, black people should protect themselves. He said that he and the other members of the OAAU were determined to defend themselves from aggressors, and to secure freedom, justice and equality "by whatever means necessary".
Views
Malcolm X believed that the white man is evil, doomed by Allah to destruction, and that the best course for black people is to separate themselves from Western, white civilization-culturally, politically, physically, psychologically. Malcolm X and the Black Muslims were calling for racial separation. He believed that the civil rights gains made in America were only tokenism. He castigated those African Americans who used the tactic of nonviolence in order to achieve integration and advocated self-defense in the face of white violence. He urged black people to give up the Christian religion, reject integration, and understand that the high crime rate in black communities was essentially a result of African Americans following the decadent mores of Western, white society.
But later, after several trips to Africa and Europe and one to Mecca, he wrote that he no longer believed that all white people were evil and that he had found the true meaning of the Islamic religion.
Quotations:
"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything."
"I don't even call it violence when it's in self defense; I call it intelligence."
"Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery."
"The future belongs to those who prepare for it today."
"Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it."
"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time."
Personality
Physical Characteristics:
Besides his skill as a speaker, Malcolm X had an impressive physical presence. He stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed about 180 pounds (82 kg).
Quotes from others about the person
In China, the People's Daily described Malcolm X as "a martyr killed by ruling circles and racists" in the United States; his assassination, the paper wrote, demonstrated that "in dealing with imperialist oppressors, violence must be met with violence".
Connections
In 1957 Malcolm X met Betty Sanders, a young student nurse in New York; she shortly became a member of the Black Muslims, and they were married in 1958; they had six daughters.
Father:
Earl Little
Mother:
Louise Helen Norton Little
Spouse:
Betty Shabazz
Daughter:
Attallah Shabazz
Daughter:
Qubilah Shabazz
Daughter:
Ilyasah Shabazz
She is an author, most notably of a memoir, Growing Up X, community organizer, social activist, and motivational speaker.
