Celebrating The Birthday Of Malcolm X
Check out some powerful photos and information about the leader and activist known to us as Malcolm X.
“I am not educated, nor am I an expert in any particular field… but I am sincere and my sincerity is my credential.”
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska to Louise Norton Little and Earl Little. Malcolm noted, “When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, a party of hooded Klu Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home… Brandishing their shotguns and rifles, they shouted for my father to come out.”
A white supremacist group called The Black Legion was said to be responsible for Malcolm’s father’s death. It was his brother Reginald who belonged to the religious organization, The Nation of Islam (NOI) that visited Malcolm during his ten-year stint in prison for burglary that got him interested in Islam.
Malcolm began to study the teachings of NOI leader Elijah Muhammad. He later converted and joined the nation and changed his last name from “Little” to “X” to signify his lost tribal name.
Malcolm was appointed as a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam after his release from prison, he established mosques across the country and helped the organization grow 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.
His faith in Elijah Muhammad dwindled after finding out about his extra-marital relations that resulted in children. Malcolm’s statement about John F. Kennedy’s assassination caused him to be silenced for 90 days.
He eventually ended up leaving NOI and after a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Malcolm spoke of integration and saw life in a new light. “Human rights are something you were born with. Human rights are your God-given rights. Human rights are the rights that are recognized by all nations of this earth.”
After denouncing NOI, Malcolm created new enemies and at a speaking engagement in the Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965, gunmen opened fire and took the life of the born leader.
His message still lives on and we are only left to wonder how he would have affected the future generations had he been on earth longer.
