Who is Malcolm X?

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha Nebraska to Earl and Louise Little. Later in his adult life he would also come to be known as El-Haji Malik El-Shabazz.

At an early age, Malcolm became aware of the violence surrounding racism when three of his uncles were killed horribly by white racists. Malcolm's father, a known vocal activist also fell prey to the Black Legion, a group who had especially made black persecution an agenda. His body was found dead and although the authorities would maintain that there was no foul play, the Little family believed otherwise. Later on, Malcolm's mother suffered a break down, was declared insane and was committed to a mental hospital.

Growing up, Malcolm exhibited much of his innate intelligence eventually going on to the top of his class in high school. He dropped out of school though when one of his teachers dissuaded him from his dream of becoming a lawyer. He relocated to Boston and lived with his sister Ella Little-Collins. Malcolm took on odd jobs and brushed elbows with the underworld as he became involved in the criminal world of drugs and prostitution. Malcolm was eventually arrested for burglary, served seven years in the state prison of Massachusetts and was released on parole.

In his time in prison, his brother Reginald communicated to him extensively about the Nation of Islam (NOI) of which Reginald was a convert. Malcolm also later converted and became acquainted with Elijah Muhammad, one of the leading figures in the NOI. With Muhammad, Malcolm's civil rights activism grew. After leaving prison, he changed his last name to X as a symbol of his African name which was not known to him and of his rejection of the slave names assigned by the whites to the blacks.

With his charisma and intelligence, Malcolm quickly grew in popularity and eventually became an NOI spokesman and minister, becoming even more known than Elijah Muhammad. It was at this time that Malcolm gained his reputation as an activist leader who championed and spoke with fire about the rights of the black people. As a result of his popularity however, tensions began to boil among the upper echelons of the NOI.

In 1964, Malcolm left the NOI. One factor that contributed to his decision was that he had learned that Elijah Muhammad, the person he had trusted and looked up to as a leader and a role model, had affairs with a number of women and even had children with some of them. Malcolm had also become disheartened with some of the NOI members who clearly used the organization's money for personal gain. On this same year, he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and became a Sunni Muslim.

Some months after he returned he was assassinated at a speaking engagement in Manhattan. He was shot several times by three men who were later identified as members of the NOI.

Even in death though, Malcolm remains to be an epitome of a true champion of equality.