![]() He became the chief spokesman and field recruiter for NOI leader Elijah Muhammad. With his charisma and eloquence, Malcolm rose rapidly in the Nation of Islam. Malcom X was released in 1952 after six years in prison. He joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) and changed his name to Malcolm X, eliminating that part of his identity he called a white-imposed slave name. He read voraciously while serving time and converted to the Black Muslim faith. In 1946, Malcolm Little was sent to prison for burglary. After completing the eighth grade, Malcolm Little dropped out when a teacher told him that his dream of becoming a lawyer was unrealistic for a "nigger." 2Īs a teenager, Malcolm Little made his way to New York, where he took the street name Detroit Red and became a pimp and petty criminal. He and the other young children were scattered among foster families. She was committed to a state mental institution when Malcolm was 12. Malcolm's mother, Louise, battled mental illness and struggled to care for her eight children during the Great Depression. His family suspected he'd been murdered by white vigilantes. In 1931, Malcolm's father was found dead. A defiant Earl Little shot at the arsonists as they got away. After the family moved to Lansing, Michigan, white terrorists burned the Littles' home. Earl Little's political activism provoked threats from the Ku Klux Klan. His father, Earl, was a Baptist preacher and follower of the black nationalist Marcus Garvey. He was born Malcolm Little in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm X never directly called for violent revolution, but he warned that African Americans would use "any means necessary" – especially armed self defense – once they realized just how pervasive and hopelessly entrenched white racism had become. ![]() But in the spring of 1964, when Malcolm X gave his "Ballot or the Bullet" speech, he was regarded by a majority of white Americans as a menacing character. Malcolm X is now popularly seen as one of the two great martyrs of the 20th century black freedom struggle, the other being his ostensible rival, the Rev. Malcolm X was assassinated at age 39, but his political and cultural influence grew far greater in the years after his death than when he was alive. The blazing heat of Malcolm X's rhetoric sometimes overshadowed the complexity of his message, especially for those who found him threatening in the first place. He was an unrelenting truth-teller who declared that the mainstream civil rights movement was naïve in hoping to secure freedom through integration and nonviolence. Malcolm X was a polarizing figure who both energized and divided African Americans, while frightening and alienating many whites. He was an apostle of black nationalism, self respect, and uncompromising resistance to white oppression. Malcolm X was one of the most dynamic, dramatic and influential figures of the civil rights era. Symphon圜ast The great orchestras in concert.Saint Paul Sunday In-studio music and conversation. ![]()
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