Malcolm X Biography, Nation of Islam, Assassination

Malcolm X, whose real name is Malcolm Little, was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nevada. He was famous for being a leader in the nation of Islam. He wanted the Blacks to accept themselves the way that they were and his other main belief was that Blacks were more superior than the whites. He died February 21, 1965 in Manhattan, New York.

He and his family moved around a lot, but, he spent most of his childhood in Michigan. His father died when he was six years old. The police said that his father’s death was an accident but a lot of people think that he was murdered since he was one of the main leader in The UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association). Since his father was gone, his family was very poor and was often hungry. He went to live with a foster family at the age of 13 and dropped out of school at the age of 15 and moved to Boston. Since he was Black, he felt like he had no opportunities and started stealing.

While in prison for stealing, his brother sent him a letter about the Nation of Islam that he had joined and he wanted Malcolm to come join him. The Nation of Islam believed that Blacks were superior than whites and that whites were evil. In 1952, Malcolm decided to join that movement and change his last name to “X” because it represented his real African name that was taken away by the whites. After getting released from prison, he became a minister for the Nation of Islam and became the leader for Temple Number 7 in Harlem. As the Nation of Islam grew, he became more and more famous. Leaving the Nation of Islam In 1964, Malcolm X started to have concerns about his leader Elijah Muhammad. When the president, John F. Kennedy was assassinated, his leader asked him to remain silent but, Malcolm X spoke up anyway. After he was punished for his act of rebellion by his leader, he decided to leave the Nation of Islam.

Malcolm X had many enemies. On February 14, 1965 his house was burned down, then a few days later, on February 15th as he was saying a speech in New York City, he was fatally shot by three members of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X’s

Malcolm X helped put in place the 14 and 15th amendment since, before that they had been declared but not actually put in place. He helped the african americans realized that they should not blend in society but stand out and stand up for themselves to get more rights.