Black activism was thriving during the 1950s and 1960s due to leadership from many strong activists. One in particular that holds a special background goes by the name of Malcolm X. He was an African American leader and figure of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X’s birth name was Malcolm Little and he was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1925 (Malcolm X. ). During the time of Malcolm’s activism, America was chaotic. Other anti-war protests were occurring alongside the civil rights movements. Malcolm X stands out during this time because of his indefatigable efforts to make a change in the United States.
From 1955 to 1965 was the civil rights movement and he wasn’t going to die without the world knowing what he believed needed change (Malcolm X. ). Living a life of many experiences, such as going to prison, taking on a new religion, dropping out of school and becoming a historical hero; Malcolm X holds a precious story for African American history and embodies many prodigious concepts for the history of the United States of America. Malcolm X was born into a troubled home which greatly affected him and the decisions he made. His father, Marcus Garvey was a Baptist minister and was murdered when Malcolm was six years old.
After losing his father, Malcolm grew accustom to a lifestyle filled with poverty. His widowed mother was normally left with only weeds to cook for the children and in 1939, was later committed to an insane asylum. From then on Malcolm and his siblings were sent to live in foster homes or with family members. Malcolm was enrolled in school until eighth grade and made the decision of dropping out due to ‘losing interest’. This decision precluded to a phase of rebellion for Malcolm. He transferred from detention centers to juvenile homes in his early teenage years.
Once becoming older and more insubordinate, he made the change to live with a half sister of his, whose name is Ella. She resided in Boston, which was where Malcolm created his image of being a street hustler. He instigated leading a gang of thieves and dealing drugs (Malcolm X. ). During his sentence in prison for his conviction of robbery, he endured a dramatic religious change. Malcolm joined the Nation of Islam. Once educating himself, Malcolm completely enthralled himself into a new lifestyle. This was the time in his life where he changed his surname from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X.
This was a custom of the Nol because it represented a person escaping from their slave-filled past and replacing their name with an ‘X’ (Malcolm X. ). Wallace D. Fard founded the Nation of Islam in 1930. Fard is also the one who holds the connection to Islam. Followers of NOI believe like other Muslims, that Allah is the higher power and only power, but NOI has redefined some concepts of the Islamic religion as well. NOI has become one of the most well known organizations in black American history. The NOI offers multiple resources and programs to enrich African-Americans.
The Nol’s first era of popularity was in the 1950’s during the time of the civil rights movements. The growth of the nation was the due to the leadership of Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm was a member from 1952-1964 and during his time the membership grew from 400 to around 300,000 (“Nation of Islam. “). Malcolm met Elijah Muhammad in 1952 in Chicago, which instigated the start of creating temples in New York and other various locations on the east side of the United States. Continuing his own journey in the NOI, Malcolm began to mandate different rules in the nation to promote growth and money.
He introduced the idea of having all male members sell a certain quantity of newspapers that he printed in his basement, Muhammad Speaks. Malcolm created racial doctrines on the superiority of blacks and inherent evil of whites. Eventually, Malcolm was named as the National Representative of the Nation of Islam, which is a position following Muhammad (“Nation of Islam. “). In the midst of the successes and failures of Malcolm X’s life, he was able to find time for a love life. On January fourteenth, 1958, Malcolm married Betty Sanders. They had six children together by the time of 1965.
His family life was the basis he built his morals and ideals off of. Once noticing that his message was being expanded among mainstream America, Malcolm made a stronger point to travel. He spoke on various campuses and participated in debates with politicians and civil rights activists on the television and radio (“Malcolm X marries Betty Sanders. “). When visiting other cities and traveling amongst various age groups, his strong message was being relayed in a very lucid way. His radical beliefs disseminated quickly and caught attention to all. Malcolm stood out from most civil right activists at this time, due to his radical beliefs.
He preached that most mainstream activists were foolish to believe that America was going to accept African-Americans through the process of gaining equality. Malcolm believed that the important issues were black identity, integrity and independence. With these three concepts at hand, Malcolm was able to pivot foundations of black power and black consciousness movements. He also part of the force to change terms used to refer to AfricanAmericans (Malcolm X. ). He also reconciled with other radical beliefs at different points in his life, such as separation of races.
After continuing his faith in Mecca in 1964, his views were changed on black separation and wanted to view oppression in a more humanistic method (Greenspan, Jesse. ). Towards the end of Malcolm’s membership to the nation, his relationship with Elijah Muhammad began to wane. Muhammad had a past of violating numerous moral codes of the Nation, which further broke apart their relationship. After more outbreaks and controversy between Malcolm and Muhammad, they permanently concluded their friendship. Shortly afterwards in 1964, Malcolm resigned from the nation.
In this same year, he decided to discover more about his faith and take a pilgrimage to Mecca. Here he encompassed Sunni Islam and adopted a new name, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. Once visiting Africa for the second time, Malcolm was inspired by new solutions for the current civil rights problems occurring in America. A year later, he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity to promote the shift from civil rights to human rights in developing countries. When he returned home he felt as though he was able to connect with all races instead of only focusing on African-Americans (Malcolm X. . Even though Malcolm was undergoing inspiring alterations in his life, his past was still haunting him. He was still a target to most members of the Nation and had been marked for assassination. They were various attacks on him and his family, for instance planting bombs and firebombing his home where his wife and six children resided. After these attacks, his enemies were still out for vengeance. Malcolm had just ended speaking at the Manhattan Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965, when three gunmen shot him on stage.
He was rushed to the New York Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and was pronounced dead upon his arrival. Malcolm had a funeral service on February twenty seventh, 1965 at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ. Fifteen hundred people attended his funeral and buried Malcolm themselves. The three gunmen who shot him were all members of the Nation of Islam. All there were convicted of first-degree murder in 1966 (“Biography. “). Malcolm had been through it all before he was known for the intelligent and articulate man that everyone looked up to.
Growing up in a household with a father as a black activist showed Malcolm the meaning of having a voice. After learning what it takes to accomplish groundbreaking history in America, Malcolm grew a platform for himself through the Nation of Islam, where he founded the Nol newspaper, became various ministers and righteously lead the way through America’s largest civil rights movements. Malcolm put his heart and soul into fighting and voicing opinions across the country to create a diverse attitude toward black power and individualism.
He led he way to the popularity of the Islamic religion in America and craved the path for other civil rights activists. His death represents the era of the civil rights movement well, for it shows that there was still so much to improve on even after he left the Nation of Islam. Malcolm had an impressive life, for he was only alive for thirty-nine years, but made American history within the last ten years of his life. Malcolm X used his own voice to show that people of color are able to make change in a country full of white supremacy and that is something heroic in itself.
