Who was Malcolm X?

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. His father, a Baptist minister, was an outspoken follower of Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), the black nationalist leader. (A nationalist is a person who promotes one nation’s culture and interests over all others.) Garvey supported a “back-to-Africa” movement for African Americans. During Malcolm’s early years, his family moved several times because of racism (dislike and poor treatment of people based on their race). They moved from Omaha, Nebraska, after being threatened by the Ku Klux Klan, a group that believes that white people are superior to all other races.

While living in an all-white neighbourhood in Michigan their house was burned. When Malcolm was six years old, his father was mysteriously murdered. The black community was convinced that white people had committed the crime. Three of Malcolm’s four uncles were also murdered by white people. By the 1930s the nation had fallen into the Great Depression, a decade-long period of great economic hardship. Work was scarce, and Malcolm’s family struggled. For a time his mother and her eight children lived on public welfare. When his mother became mentally ill, Malcolm was sent to a foster home. His mother remained in a mental institution for about twenty-six years. The children were divided among several families, and Malcolm lived in various state institutions and boarding houses. At thirteen Malcolm was charged with delinquency (behaving in a way that is against the law) and was sent to a juvenile detention home (a place where young people are held in custody). He dropped out of school at the age of fifteen.

The awards he won were, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture, and, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. Malcolm X (May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965) was a minister, human rights activist and prominent black nationalist leader who served as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and 1960s. Due largely to his efforts, the Nation of Islam grew from a mere 400 members at the time he was released from prison in 1952 to 40,000 members by 1960. Articulate, passionate and a naturally gifted and inspirational orator, Malcolm X exhorted blacks to cast off the shackles of racism “by any means necessary,” including violence. The fiery civil rights leader broke with the group shortly before his assassination on February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, where he had been preparing to deliver a speech.

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X took to the stage of the Audubon Ballroom, a site often used for civic meetings. His wife, Betty Shabazz, and four children were in the crowd. Malcolm X was 39 when he was gunned down in 1965. Malcolm X is remember by religious leaders and protest on which they focus on racial problems towards colored people.

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