Anniversary of Malcolm X's Death

"We declare our right on this earth...to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary" - Malcolm X

(Malcolm X)

Malcolm X was born as Malcolm Little on May 19th 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. In 1926 his Little and his family moved to Lansing, MI. Little’s family was harassed by a group of white supremacists. In 1929 his home was burned down by the white supremacists. In 1931 Little’s father was killed by the white supremacist group and it was covered up to be a street car accident. In 1938 Little’s mother had a mental breakdown and she was committed to a mental hospital. Little and his siblings were sent to foster care.

(Malcolm X as a child)

At age 14 Little moved to the Roxbury section of Boston, MA. In 1943 he moved to the Harlem section of New York City, NY. There he engaged in multiple illegal activities such as drug dealing, gambling, racketeering, robbery, and pimping. He had the nickname of “Detroit Red” which he got because of his red hair.

(Malcolm X as a young adult)

In 1945 Little and 4 others committed a series of burglaries. In 1946 he was arrested and began serving an 8-10 year sentence at Charlestown State Prison for larceny and breaking and entering.

(Mugshot of Malcolm X)

While in prison Little began to learn about the Nation of Islam. In 1948 Little wrote to the leader of the NOI, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Elijah Muhammad convinced Little to convert to Islam and to renounce his past. Also while in prison Little read a vast amount of literature. In 1950 Little started to call himself Malcolm X. The X expressing the unknown since his real last name was lost due to slavery. In 1952 Malcolm X was released from prison and went to visit Elijah Muhammad in Chicago, IL.

(Elijah Muhammad (Left) and Malcolm X (Right))

In 1953 Malcolm X was appointed as assistant minister of the Nation's Temple Number One in Detroit, MI. Later that year he established Temple Number 11 in Boston, MA. The FBI started to watch him in 1953. In 1954 he expanded Temple Number 12 in Philadelphia, PA. He was then selected to lead Temple Number 7 in Harlem, New York City, NY. In 1955 he established 3 more temples, one in Springfield, MA, Hartford, CT, and Atlanta, GA. Also in 1955 he met Betty Sanders and after she joined the NOI in 1956 they started to date. In 1957 4 NOI members were beaten and arrested by police for intervening in an act of 2 police officers brutally beating a man. One of the men was beaten so bad that it caused brain hemorrhaging. When Malcolm X heard of this he organized a group and demanded that the man be sent to the hospital. At 1st the police denied that the man had been arrested but after the crowd grew to about 500 they let the man go to the hospital. After this incident the NYPD kept surveillance on Malcolm X. The NYPD also sent officers in to infiltrate the NOI.  In 1958 he proposed to Betty Sanders and they were married 2 days later.

(Betty Shabazz (Left) and Malcolm X (Right))

They had 6 daughters together. In September of 1960 he was introduced to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, NY. He met many leaders including Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Ahmed Sékou Touré of Guinea, Kenneth Kaunda of the Zambian African National Congress and, Fidel Castro of Cuba.

(Fidel Castro (Left) and Malcolm X (Right))

During Malcolm X’s time with the NOI he was accused of many things such as a hate monger, a black supremacist, prejudice, a violence-seeker, a segregationist, a threat to improved race relations and anti semitic. In 1963 he called the March on Washington the “Farce on Washington” and he heavily criticized people who took the non-violence stance in the Civil Rights movement, because he believed in self defense against violence that were brought upon him. Malcolm X inspired boxer Cassius Clay (Later known as Muhammad Ali) to join the NOI and mentored Louis X (Later known as Louis Farrakhan).

(Muhammad Ali (Left) and Malcolm X (Right))

When Malcolm X was asked about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 he described it as  "chickens coming home to roost" which meant that he was killed because of some actions which he has done in the past is now catching up with him. After making these comments the NOI suspended Malcolm X from preaching for 90 days. The NOI also started to see Malcolm X as a threat because he was getting bigger than the organization. On March 8th, 1964 Malcolm X left the NOI. He then converted to be a Sunni Muslim. Malcolm X then founded the Muslim Mosque Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. On March 26th, 1964 he met with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

(Dr. King (Left) and Malcolm X (Right))

In April of 1964 Malcolm X took a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia (which is where muslims go as part of their religious duty). Going to Mecca and seeing different races practice Islam, changed his views of racial problems in the US. He also traveled to several other countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanganyika, Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Sudan, Senegal, Liberia, Algeria, Morocco, France and the UK.

(Malcolm X (Center) during his trip to Africa and the Middle East)

Throughout 1964 Malcolm X received many death threats from the NOI. On February 14th, 1965 Malcolm X’s house was destroyed by a fire lit by an arsonist.

(A picture of Malcolm X with a rifle looking out of a window from Ebony magazine)

On February 21st, 1965 Malcolm X was going to make a speech in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom. In the audience there was a disturbance, while Malcolm X’s bodyguards went to settle the disturbance 3 armed men ran up and shot Malcolm X. All 3 of the gunmen were arrested. Malcolm X was 39 years old.

(Malcolm X’s funeral)

Today is the 51st anniversary of his death. Take time to remember this great revolutionary and activist today.

Books of Malcolm X

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965) by Malcolm X and Alex Haley

Movies of Malcolm X

• Malcolm X (1992)

Videos of Malcolm X

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENHP89mLWOY  “MALCOLM X: OUR HISTORY WAS DESTROYED BY SLAVERY”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRSgUTWffMQ  “MALCOLM X: WHO TAUGHT YOU TO HATE YOURSELF?”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izy6BiCV3Nw  “MALCOLM X: THE KU KLUX KLAN KILLED MY FATHER”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhg6LxyTnY8  “MALCOLM X: BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY”

Songs referencing Malcolm X

• “Ghetto Gospel” by 2Pac
• “Words of Wisdom” by 2Pac
• “When Will They Shoot?” by Ice Cube
• “Bring the Noise” by Public Enemy
• “Revolution” by Arrested Development
• “Self Destruction” by The Stop the Violence Movement”