Malcolm X

Term Paper Title	Malcolm X
# of Words	1029
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.12

Malcolm X

     Typically regarded by contemporary society as a black militant, Malcolm X championed the rights of the black people and urged them to develop racial unity.  He was known for his leadership first of the nation of Islam, sometimes known as the Black Muslims, and later as his own organization of Afro-American Unity.
     Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 19, 1925. (Clark, 29)  The family included seven brothers and sisters, soon moved to Lansing, Michigan.  There they were harassed by whites that resented the Black Nationalist views of the father, Earl Little, and organizer for Marcus Garvey�s �back-to-African� movement. (Clark, 36)  When Malcolm was only six years old, his father was murdered.  His mother later suffered a nervous breakdown, and the family was split by welfare agencies.  Later in his life Malcolm came to believe that white people had destroyed his family. (Clark ,69).
     Placed in a mason, Michigan school, he became a fine student and dreamed of becoming a lawyer.  His teacher however, reportedly told him that because he was black he should learn carpentry instead.  �Discouraged, he left school after the eighth grade to live with a relative in Boston, Massachusetts�.   Research indicates that Malcolm shined shoes, worked at a soda fountain, in a restaurant, and on a railroad kitchen crew. (Goldman, 44)  In 1942,he moved to the black Harlem section of New York City.  He lived as a hustler; he went back to Boston, where he organized a burglary ring.  In 1946,he was sent to prison for burglary. (Goldman ,79).
     While serving in prison, Malcolm studied the Islamic religion as practiced by the group that later became known as the Nation of Islam.  They lived by ethical conduct with other blacks, but taught that whites were �devils.�  Released from prison in 1952, Malcolm joined a brother in Detroit, Michigan. Malcolm then replaced his slave name in Muslim tradition with X to symbolize his �true African family name.�(Goldman, 84)  Malcolm X assisted the national Muslim leader, Elijah Muhammad, by starting many new Muslim groups throughout the United States.  He worked to instill racial pride in his African American listeners and reminded them of the sufferings, under white domination. (Goldman, 85)  In the 1954, he returned to New York to become minister of Harlem�s Muslims temple, and in 1957 he founded the Muslim newspaper, �Muhammad Speaks.�(Goldman, 89)
By the early 1960�s, the Nation of Islam had become nationally known.   Malcolm X was was their first national minister and their most recognized spokesman.  He was disgraced for his remark that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was a case of � the chickens coming home to roost.�(Perry, 132)  Many people liked Kennedy, and Malcolm�s comment was an offence.
     In 1964, X broke with the Nation of Islam and began building his own Organization of Afro-Americans Unity (OAAU).  He made the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, to learn about �true Islam.�(Perry, 138) Impressed by the fellowship he observed among p...

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