MALCOLM X: BIOGRAPHY, POPULARITY, ACTIVISM, ISLAM, DEATH - ARTE - 2025

Malcolm X (1925-1965) was a preacher and minister of Islam, famous for his activism for the rights of African Americans. He quickly stood out for his qualities for oratory, which facilitated the dissemination of his ideals.

He was a person who constantly raised his voice against the mistreatment of which blacks were victims by whites in the United States. It also motivated many to embrace her identity, her black skin, and other unapologetic features.

Portrait of Malcolm X, by Ed Ford, World Telegram staff photographer, via Wikimedia Commons

His role in history has been controversial since, although his intention was for the rights of his people to be respected, early in his public career he displayed a non-peaceful body of ideas that promoted racism and violent behavior.

Regardless of the stumbling blocks he had, Malcolm X was one of the most influential men in the social struggle in the United States of America.

He belonged for several years to a religious organization called the Nation of Islam; After separating from the ideology of that group and its leader, he created his own organization called Muslim Mosque Inc.

After his conflicts with the Nation of Islam escalated, Malcolm X began receiving serious threats against his integrity, culminating in his assassination in 1965 while giving a speech in New York.

The historical figure of Malcolm X remains one of the heroes within the African American community in the fight for his civil rights.

Biography

Early years

Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the son of Earl Little's second marriage to Louise Helen Little.

His father, a minister of the Baptist Church, was a follower of the ideas of Marcus Gravy and a member of the Universal Association for Black Development.

That is why Malcolm received during his childhood a clear example of the fight for rights from his parents. From the marriage between Earl and Louise 7 children were born of which Malcolm was the fourth. However, Earl had three children from a previous union.

Little's fight for people's rights put him in a vulnerable position for attacks and constant harassment from groups defending the supremacy of the white race. In fact, the Little ones moved twice because of the threats they constantly received.

They first settled in Wisconsin and from there they moved to Michigan. In 1929, the Little house was burned down, but when Earl Little tried to report the event, they rebuked him that he had probably been the author of the event to collect the insurance.

These charges were later dropped, however, authorities concluded that it was a domestic accident.

Orphan

Two years after the fire on his property, Earl Little was found dead near a streetcar. This was also declared by the authorities as an accident.

Some speculate that he was actually the victim of a murder by white supremacists, since the wounds on his body did not correspond to those caused by a run-over.

One of the insurances that Earl had bought agreed to pay Louise Little $ 18 a month, while the other said her husband's death was a suicide and paid nothing for his death.

Louise had a new relationship from which a child was born, but her father abandoned her. She was very affected by the whole situation and was diagnosed with paranoia when she tried to report that her family was still being harassed.

From that moment on, the family disintegrated and Louise was admitted to a hospital for people with mental problems.

The life of Malcolm and his brothers changed drastically since they were sent to different places, although they continued to communicate constantly.

Broken dreams

Despite all the difficulties Malcolm had faced, he remained for a time an excellent student, interested in public speaking and pursuing a college career when the time came.

His life took a turn after he told a professor that he wanted to be a lawyer and received the answer that this goal was not feasible and that he should concentrate on something more appropriate for his race such as a manual profession.

Malcolm Little left school when he was 15 years old and moved to Detroit with Ella, his older sister, who was the daughter of Earl's first marriage. Since then he began to work and every day his rebellion was increasing.

Young rebel

He soon became involved in the crime scene in both Boston and New York City, where he moved in 1943.

In Harlem and Detroit he found a community of African Americans much larger than the one he had known, but he also learned that blacks were often subject to negative stereotypes and he decided to make a space for himself within what society expected of him.

After two years in New York he returned to Boston, where he and a friend reportedly started a relationship with a couple of wealthy white girls. Together with them they undertook a series of robberies in the girls' neighborhood.

When discovered, they alleged that they did not know them and that they had been kidnapped by Malcolm and his partner while they were committing their misdeeds.

In 1946 Malcolm Little was arrested and sentenced to serve 8 to 10 years in Charlestown State Prison.

Jail

The beginning of Malcolm's sentence was marked by deep religious disappointment. He did not allow a God to exist, since black people were victims of constant injustice.

Another prisoner told him that if he was not interested in finding comfort in religion, he could do so with reading, since it allowed him to transport himself to other places with his imagination and forget the harsh reality of his day to day life. Malcolm listened to him and became a voracious reader.

In parallel, some of his brothers began writing to him about an organization called the Nation of Islam that promoted issues such as self-reliance for blacks, a return to Africa, and liberation from white oppressors.

At first he was not very convinced, but his brother Reginald told him that if he followed the precepts of Islam he would get out sooner thanks to his faith.

In addition, he explained that in their new religion they considered whites to be demons on earth and that blacks were currently suffering the calamities of hell.

Malcolm agreed to convert: he stopped eating pork, smoking and began to pray to Allah several times a day. From 1948 Malcolm was in contact with the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad, who suggested that he put his past behind him. In the following video you can see an interview of Malcolm X:

Nation of Islam

He officially embraced the new faith of the Nation of Islam in 1950, when he left his last name and was renamed Malcolm X, as suggested by the group he had joined.

They considered that having lost their tribal name they only had one unknown which they represented with the letter "X", consequently they should not keep the surnames imposed by whites on their ancestors.

When they demonstrated that their conversion was sincere, they were assigned new Muslim surnames and names that were in line with their beliefs.

Malcolm began to be observed by the FBI when he wrote a letter to President Truman expressing his discontent with the war in Korea and his ideological affiliation as a communist.

In 1952 he received parole and that same year he traveled to meet the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad. Since then he began to collaborate with the organization and the following year he was appointed assistant minister in Detroit.

He was tasked with expanding the organization and in the next ten years the group grew from about 500 members to roughly 30,000 people.

He soon became chief minister of Boston and then Harlem, the second largest community in the Nation of Islam. He also created the Philadelphia, Springfield (Massachusetts), Hatford (Connecticut) and Atlanta (Georgia) chapters. They all grew up quickly.

Growing popularity

Since 1955, Malcolm X was one of the faces of the African-American civil rights movement. Despite that, his name really resonated strongly in the activist community beginning in 1957.

That year a member of the Nation of Islam was being attacked by the New York police and upon seeing the injustice, three other men, who happened to be also members of the organization, tried to stop that attack.

They too were victims of police violence, but the case of one named Hinton Johnson stood out. When Malcolm X learned that the 4 beaten men had been arrested, he went to the police station, but they did not want to allow him to visit.

However, they had to agree to avoid further disturbances. Malcolm had come with a small fraction of the Fruit of Islam, which consisted of a kind of religious militia.

These were formed outside the police compound and they were joined by people who were in the vicinity, forming a group of about 500 people.

Then they allowed Malcolm to see the injured. What he found was a seriously injured Hinton Johnson who was not given medical assistance.

Consequences

Malcolm X requested that an ambulance be called and together with the Fruit of Islam and others present marched to the hospital. They withdrew on Malcolm's orders when he deemed Johnson's life safe.

Although the police officers who participated went unpunished, this served to consolidate the fame not only of Malcolm X, but of the Nation of Islam.

Marriage

In 1955 Malcolm met Betty Sanders, who was attending the Nation of Islam meetings, although she had not yet joined the group. She adopted the Muslim faith a year later and began using the name Betty X.

The couple could not date as it contravened the teachings of their religion. Therefore, they used to meet frequently at group meetings and other outings organized by the Nation of Islam.

In 1958 they married and from the union of the couple 6 daughters were born: Atallah (1958), Qubilah (1960), Ilyasah (1962), Gamilah (1964), Malika and Malaak (1965). The last two were twins and were born after the murder of their father.

National fame

In 1959 Malcolm X traveled abroad for the first time, specifically to Africa, a continent where he had the opportunity to visit countries such as Ghana, Sudan, Nigeria and the United Arab Republic. The purpose of this journey was to coordinate a tour that Elijah Mohammad would take in the region.

Also that year a documentary called The Hate That Hate Produced was aired, in which the Nation of Islam was shown as a black segregationist and racist group.

Although it was approached with a negative approach, the exhibition earned them much fame and a large following throughout the United States.

In 1960 Malcolm X attended the General Assembly of the United Nations. There he met various heads of state and that year he met privately with Fidel Castro during his visit to the United States.

Towards acceptance

Malcolm X harshly criticized other leaders of the civil rights movement, such as Martin Luther King Jr., for their peaceful approach.

He considered that there were issues more relevant than integration, such as black identity or real independence. Malcolm claimed that these all-important points should be defended through the use of "all necessary means."

One of his great achievements was promoting acceptance of the black natural look.

Terms of Service

He also took on the task of changing that language with which they referred to his people. The word “blacks” was replaced by “black”. Although they mean the same thing, the first had a negative charge.

Thanks to his efforts, the term "person of color" was not used and instead the term that is currently preferred, which is "African American", began to be used.

However, this language is very typical of the United States, since each community in different nations finds different connotations to the words with which they are designated.

At this time, Malcolm X received a lot of media coverage and was constantly invited to speak at the most important universities in the country.

Break with Muhammad

There were several events that disenchanted Malcolm from the religious group led by Elijah Muhammad.

In 1962, the Los Angeles Police Department murdered a black Muslim man in front of a mosque. His name was Ronald Stokes and he was unarmed.

That case was taken to court and the responsible officer was released by the jury (consisting only of white people) after a short deliberation that took less than half an hour.

Meanwhile, 14 members of the Nation of Islam related to the incident were charged with attacking the police. They received less favorable treatment by the jury, which convicted 11 of those men as guilty.

Following this verdict, Malcolm X tried to enlist Elijah Muhammad's support to take revenge. As he did not obtain it, he began to feel increasingly disillusioned with the leader of the Nation of Islam.

Disappointment

The second event that put distance between Malcolm and the spiritual leader of the group was when he learned of the adventures that Muhammad had with girls belonging to the organization.

At first Malcolm doubted the veracity of that information, but it was Muhammad's own son who confirmed it, in addition to the same women with whom he contacted. For a time he tried to find a justification with biblical precedents.

One of Malcolm X's most intense and frontal conflicts with the Nation of Islam occurred after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Despite being forbidden to comment, Malcolm said he was happy about the event, and that it was a case of "chickens coming home to sleep." In response to this, Elijah Mohammad banned Malcolm from speaking in public for 90 days.

Despite this, there was a deeper concern from the leader of the Nation of Islam and it was that, in reality, Malcolm X had become the visible face of the movement.

Definitive separation

In January, Malcolm was removed from his post as second-in-command of the religious organization and ministerial privileges at his mosque were removed.

During that same month, he met with boxer Cassius Clay whom he convinced to convert to the Nation of Islam.

Clay became Muhammad Ali at an annual convention of the Muslim group and the person responsible for his conversion, Malcolm X, was not even invited.

On March 18, 1964, Malcolm announced that he was permanently separating from the Nation of Islam, although he remained a Muslim. Then he also made it clear that he wanted to work freely with others who were promoting civil rights.

Independent activist

In March, when the Civil Rights bill was debated, Malcolm X briefly met in front of the Senate with Martin Luther King Jr.

Although they had not been very close, the two spoke briefly and allowed the press to photograph the meeting.

Malcolm had decided to create his own religious organization called Muslim Mosque Inc. He also founded the Organization of African American Unity, to dedicate himself to promoting the fight for the rights of blacks.

Pilgrimage

As is the custom for Muslims, Malcolm decided to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. The journey began in April; around the same time he joined Sunni Islam.

He was briefly detained in Jeddah, as they questioned whether he really was a Muslim. After the matter was settled, Prince Faisal appointed him an official guest and granted him an audience.

That trip changed Malcolm's perception of the integration of the races, as he saw Muslims from all over the world pilgrimage in harmony, united by their faith and treating each other as equals.

He also visited other countries in Africa such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanganyika, Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Sudan, Senegal, Liberia and Morocco. She returned in June 1964 and received extensive coverage during her trip from both local and international media.

National star

He was a frequent guest at events in which he participated as a speaker, one of his greatest qualities from an early age. By the late 1950s he had adopted the Muslim name "Malik El-Shabazz", but the media always referred to him as Malcolm X.

His fame crossed North American borders, as other countries wished to keep him in mind when they held debates about ethnic identity or civil rights.

In 1964 he also visited Paris and London and his debate in Oxford was televised on the national channel. That same year, Malcolm's family managed to get his mother discharged from the mental hospital and reunited with her children.

Threats

Since 1964, Malcolm X and his family had been receiving messages making it clear that their lives were at constant risk.

On one occasion a bomb was planted on Malcolm's vehicle; in another, Elijah Muhammad said that hypocrites like Malcolm should be beheaded and his headless image began to become popular in the Nation of Islam media.

Malcolm X appeared on the cover of Ebony magazine for September 1964, holding a carbine and looking out the window, signaling that he was ready to protect his family.

In March 1964, the Shabazz family, a surname adopted by Malcolm, his wife and daughters, were asked to vacate their home and hand over all their properties to the Nation of Islam.

Days before the eviction that had been scheduled, in February 1965, the property where the Shabazz were based caught fire.

Death

Malcolm X, or "El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz" was assassinated on February 21, 1965 at a conference at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan.

Three days earlier, Malcolm himself had claimed in an interview that there were members of the Nation of Islam trying to assassinate him.

When they learned that there was something wrong in that auditorium, it was too late: Malcolm X was shot in the chest by a sawed-off shotgun and two other attackers delivered 16 hits with semi-automatic weapons.

Those present managed to capture Tamaldo Hayer (Thomas Hagan), a member of the Nation of Islam. Norman Butler and Thomas Johnson were later identified as accomplices. All received life jail sentences in 1966.

Butler and Johnson's innocence has been disputed. Hayer never claimed that they were his accomplices and they never accepted his participation in the attack.

References

1. En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Malcolm X. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
2. Mamiya, L. (2020). Malcolm X - Biography, Nation of Islam, Assassination, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: britannica.com.
3. Malcolm, X. and Haley, A. (1965). The Autobiography of Malcolm X. London: Penguin Books.
4. Pbs.org. (2020). Timeline of Malcolm X's Life - American Experience - PBS. Available at: pbs.org.
5. Malcolmx.com. (2020). Biography - Malcolm X. Available at: malcolmx.com.