Malcolm X | EssayIvy.com

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Malcolm X

Malcolm X was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in a family of eight children. His parents

named him Malcolm Little. He was the son of a Baptist preacher known as Earl Little. As a

preacher, Malcolm’s father was a supporter of Marcus Garvey of the Back to Africa Movement.

At the age of four, Malcolm’s family relocated to Lansing, Michigan, where his father made an

effort to supplement the family’s income by opening a store. He also continued preaching.

However, a faction of white supremacist was angry with the fact that he had moved into that

region. Consequently, his home was destroyed and firebombed (Gormley 12).

After two years Earl was found dead on the trolley tracks. It was reported that he had

been ran over by a car. Despite the police report, Malcolm was of the view that his father was

killed and just put on the tracks to make it look like an accident. As a result Malcolm’s mother

had to struggle to bring up Malcolm and his seven siblings. In an effort to support his siblings, he

often stole candy and food from stores in the neighborhood. He was caught a number of times

and the court ruled that his mother was not able to control his son. Malcolm was sent to a

friendly white couple who would take care of him. After two years Malcolm’s mother got

stressed due to the pressure of parenting. As a result, she had a nervous breakdown and she was

taken to a mental hospital where she lived until her death (Gormley 14).

As a student, Malcolm performed well in school as he always topped in class. However,

he lost interest in school when one of his teachers said that his dream of becoming a lawyer

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would not be achieved as this was an unrealistic goal especially for a black person. He made a

decision to go to Boston, Massachusetts, where he did odd jobs before he found himself in

Harlem, New York. While at Harlem, Malcolm X engaged in petty crimes (Perry 23). Later on

he graduated into a hardened criminal by engaging in more serious crimes like drug dealing and

robbery with violence. His regular criminal acts got him arrested in the year 1946 prompting his

repatriation to Boston for committing burglary. He was slapped with a ten year prison sentence.

While in prison, he remembered his days in school and used that time to educate himself. It is

during his stay in prison that he got introduced to the Muslim religion by his brother Reginald

who often visited him. Malcolm was attracted to the religion and he began to read the teachings

of the Nation of Islam (NOI) that was led by Elijah Muhammad. According to Elijah

Muhammad’s teachings, the white people were created in order to prevent African Americans

from getting empowered and attaining social, economic, and political success (Decaro 9). The

Nation of Islam had several goals for the black people and among them was to fight for a

separate region that would be inhabited by the black people. In the year 1952, Malcolm was

released on parole and he adopted a new name, Malcolm X because he had become a dedicated

follower of the Islamic faith (Decaro 10).

Given the treatment that the black people received from the whites, one can easily

understand why Malcolm X was attracted to the faith. As an African American, his family as

well as the black population in America faced racism from the white population. The Islamic

faith presented the white populace as devil people. They mistreated the black people especially

prisoners like Malcolm X, who gave an account of the kind of mistreatment they received from

the white. Malcolm had experienced the ugly side of racism throughout his life and the Islamic

faith easily attracted him as he felt at peace within it. Following his conversion to Islam,

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Malcolm ceased being dishonest in search for wealth and he stopped using drugs, as well. He

also played a part in the spread of the Muslim faith. Since he was an intelligent person, he was

promoted to the level of a minister and he became the spokesperson of the Muslims. The leader

of NOI gave him the responsibility of putting up mosques in different towns. The fact that

Malcolm was charming, confident, and that he had the drive, he was able to recruit many

members into the NOI (Benson and Cosgrove 42).

In spite of his dedication to the NOI, he was disappointed when he learnt that the leader

of NOI was having sexual affairs in secret with six women. Some of these affairs led to birth of

several illegitimate children. As a member of NOI, he strictly followed the teachings taught by

Elijah which was inclusive of maintaining celibacy until marriage. Once Malcolm learnt about

Elijah’s affairs, Elijah went as far as to tell him to keep his evil acts as a secret. However,

Malcolm X did not do as he had been instructed. He felt guilty for converting so many people

into NOI yet the leader of NOI did not follow the teachings that he taught to his members. He

decided to leave NOI (Burlingame 98).

Malcolm X had a strong viewpoint on matters regarding race. Following this, he was able

to work with civil rights activists like Martin Luther King. Both Malcolm X and Martin Luther

King believed that people of all races should be treated equally. Whilst both held this idea, their

approaches were different. Malcolm X sought to segregate the black people so that they could

live together as one community. Martin encouraged people of all races to work together as it

would benefit all of them in the end. As a result, his teachings were widely known by people. In

the case of Malcolm X, what he taught did not appeal to the general populace as he only taught

what he understood. However, his point of view changed after he left NOI (Burlingame 100).

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After Malcolm left NOI, he formed a religious group referred to as Muslim Mosque, Inc.

In the same year that he formed this group, he went to Mecca for pilgrimage. This move changed

his views on race. He began to share his beliefs and thoughts to people from other cultures and

he received a positive response. His change on the view of race was evidenced in the belief that

people are not evil because of their color skin, but their actions. After his pilgrimage in Mecca he

went back to America whereby he had a fresh viewpoint on relations between people of different

races. Instead of preaching to the black people, he preached to the people of all races. After

Malcolm publicly announced that he had left NOI, his relationship with Elijah became sour

(Burlingame 92).

As a leader, Malcolm X was a controversial person. He was celebrated for fighting for

the rights of the black people. Currently, people remember him for his intelligence and his

speeches. Other people remember him for the fact that he expressed himself without caring about

the negative response he would obtain. The fact that he advocated for violence is the key reason

why African Americans condemned him. While he lived an unsteady life, he accomplished a lot

in his life. Through his preaching he was able to pass on the message of hope. His message of

equality among people of all races is respected by people of all races up to date and it will

continue to do so for many years to come. In spite of the great contributions that Malcolm X

made in the American history, his life was cut short at young age of thirty nine years following

an assassination. Three people shot him. It is believed that the murder suspects were members of

NOI as Malcolm had fallen out with Elijah. Elijah denied that NOI had anything to do with

Malcolm’s X death. Following his death, there were different reactions from African American

community. For instance, Martin Luther King was saddened by the death of Malcolm X and he

wrote a telegram to Malcolm’s widow expressing his heartfelt condolence. However, some

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African Americans such as Elijah Muhammad appeared to be happy about Malcolm’s death as

he argued that Malcolm’s death was as a result of his foolishness.

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Works Cited

Benson, Michael and Cosgrove, Martha. Malcolm X. New York: Lerner Publications, 2005.

Print.

Burlingame, Jeff. Malcolm X: “I Believe in the Brotherhood of Man, All Men”. New York:

Enslow Publishers, Inc, 2011. Print.

Decaro, Louis Malcolm and the Cross: The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, and Christianity. New

York: NYU Press, 2000. Print.

Gormley, Beatrice. Malcolm X: A Revolutionary Voice. New York: Sterling Publishing

Company, Inc, 2008. Print.

Perry, Theresa. Teaching Malcolm X. New York: Psychology Press, 1996. Print.

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