Malcolm X

Malcolm X

Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, one of seven children. His father was a preacher and Malcolm was very marked and psychologically affected by his death ruled out by the police as an accident. However Malcolm strongly believed it was in reality a disguised murder perpetuated by the black legion, a racist group.

The absence of a paternal figure caused little Malcolm to slowly fall into crime, Malcolm shoplifted and stole many things as a kid and after getting caught a great number of times was taken away from his mother and put in a white couple’s home. He then lived another great trauma when the state decided to incarcerate his mother in a mental hospital.

After a few years in his new home Malcolm decided to drop out to go live in Boston with his sister but he also traveled to New York. Malcolm in those two cities slowly became a known and respected drug dealer and pimp nicknamed Detroit red because of the way he dressed. The police eventually managed to send him to prison for organizing a robbery ring. He was locked up for 10 years Malcolm used the time behind bars to educate himself in the prison library where he learned the fundamentals of grammar and increased his vocabulary. It was here that a few inmates introduced Malcolm to a new religion and movement, The Nation of Islam. Malcolm's younger brother, Reginald, already a member, visited him and told him about Islam and about Allah. Much of what Reginald said confused Malcolm, but two phrases took root in his head, "The white man is the devil" and "The black man is the brainwashed". Malcolm learned that if he wanted to join, he would have to accept its theology and submit completely to its founder and leader, Elijah Muhammad.

For a very long time Malcolm X was then one of the group’s most powerful speakers encouraging afro Americans to begin a violent revolution but after having mocked Kennedy’s death the group abandoned him and Malcolm felt betrayed. This didn’t stop Malcolm which continued his speeches and was still very opposed to Martin Luther King’s peaceful methods.

Several attempts on Malcolm’s life were made and after a few months one ended up successful when he was shot by what appears to have been one of nation of Islam’s hitmen.