Biography of Malcolm X essays

Biography of Malcolm X essays Malcolm X was a minister and Civil Rights Activist who taught a message of self-realization and personnel responsibility to many people. His views that the Western nations were racist and the black people must gather together to form their own society, had an immense influence on Black Nationalists and the black separatist movements of the 1950s and 1960s. His legacy remains in his teachings in which he significantly raised the consciousness of African Americans in the United States and his ideals on interracial harmony. Malcolm X was originally born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was born into a family of eight children. His mother, Louise Norton Little who was inter-racial, was a homemaker and his father, Earl Little whom was African American, was a Baptist Minister and passionate supporter of Marcus Garvey. His fathers activism in the civil rights movements provoked many death treats from white supremacist organizations forming the family to move twice before 1929. And on November 7 of that year the family home in Lansing, Michigan was burned down allegedly by the Ku Klux Klan. These treats resulted with the death of Earl Little on September 23, 1931. Earls mutilated body was found lying across the towns trolley tracks. Several years later Malcolms mother had an emotional breakdown resulting from the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution. All of the children were split up and put in separate foster homes or orphanages. While in school Malcolm was an excellent student he was always at the top of his class, until one teacher told him that his dream of being a lawyer was not something a black person aspires for. Malcolm then lost interest in school and dropped out and moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he worked odd jobs. He later moved to Harlem, New York where he committed petty crimes. By 1942 Malcolm was involved in various unlawful activi...