Malcolm X and Black Power

   Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was born to parents Louise Norton Little (mom), and Earl Little (father). His father was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. As a result of Earl’s civil rights activism, the family suffered death threats from the white supremacist organizations forcing the family to relocate twice before Malcolm’s fourth birthday. In 1929, their Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground. Two years later, Earl’s body was found lying across trolley tracks. The Littles were certain that members of the Black Legion (white supremacist organization) were responsible however, the police ruled these events as accidents. As a result of these incidents, Louise suffered emotional breakdown several years after and was committed to a mental institution, leaving her children split up among various foster homes and orphanages.

    In 1938, Malcolm X was kicked out of school and sent to a juvenile detention home in Mason, Michigan. He attended Mason High School wherein He excelled academically and was well liked by his classmates. This reality would soon change for Malcolm in 1939, when his English teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up to which he replied with a lawyer. His teacher responded, "One of life's first needs is for us to be realistic. . .you need to think of something you can be. . .why don't you plan on carpentry?" Malcolm X dropped out of school the following year, at the age of 15.

  Malcolm then moved to Boston and found himself caught up in a lifestyle of drug selling and other crimes. In 1946, he and a friend were arrested and convicted on burglary charges causing Malcolm to be sentenced for 10 years and ultimately serving out 7 of those years imprisoned.

During this period of imprisonment, Malcolm’s brother Reginald would visit and discuss his recent conversion to the Muslim religion. Reginald himself belonged to the religious organization the Nation of Islam (NOI). Consequently he introduced Malcolm to the organization and Malcolm then began to study the teachings of NOI leader Elijah Muhammad. In 1952 Malcolm paroled and was also a devoted follower to the NOI with the new surname “X” (He considered “Little” to be a slave name and chose the “X” to signify his lost tribal name.) Malcolm was later appointed as a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm x was also charged with the task of establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit, Michigan, and Harlem. Through television, radio and newspaper columns, Malcolm X would communicate the NOI’s message across the United States. Malcolm X was articulate, passionate and inspirational to many. He exhorted black people to cast off racism "by any means necessary," one of which being violence.

"You don't have a peaceful revolution, you don't have a turn-the-cheek revolution. There's no such thing as a nonviolent revolution."

His militant proposals won him large numbers of followers as well as many fierce critics. Ultimately, as a result of his efforts, Malcolm was largely credited with increasing membership in the NOI from around 500 in 1952 to around 40,000 in 1960.

At the height of the civil rights movement in 1963, Malcolm’s faith was greatly damaged. He learned that his mentor and leader, Elijah Muhammad, was secretly having relations with as many as six women within the Nation of Islam organization, some of these relationships resulted in children. This revelation severed Malcolm’s relations with the NOI that would not be fixed again. As a result of a statement Malcolm made on the assassination of President JFK, Elijah Muhammad “silenced” Malcolm for 90 days. Malcolm, however, suspected he was silenced for another reason.

Malcolm X resigned from the NOI and took a trip to Mecca. There he discovered that orthodox Muslims preach equality of the races. Upon his return to the states he continued his engagement with the mainstream of the Civil Rights Movement, however, this time he was now open to voluntary racial integration as a long-term goal. This “new” Malcolm X would be short lived because on February 21, 1965 he was assassinated by members of the NOI at a rally in which he was speaking. three gunmen rushed Malcolm onstage and shot him 15 times at close range, consequently Malcolm died. Interestingly, Malcolm X had predicted that, though he had but little time, he would be more important in death than in life. Foreshadowing of his martyrdom is found in The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

  Malcolm X's ideals became the foundation for the Black Power movement itself. This movement, which gained prominence after Malcolm's death, began in the late 1960s. Its ultimate goal was to achieve “self-determination” for people of African descent. "Black Power" emphasized racial pride and the creation of black political and cultural institutions in order to promote black collective interests and values.

 The term was coined by Stokely Carmichael and Willie Ricks. Together they organized the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). This organization was committed to  nonviolence, however, the "Black Power" movement as a whole transitioned into more violent actions. One of the more violent and infamous groups were The Black Panther Party. This

organization was dedicated to socialism through the medium of violence. After years of violence, many left the movement and the police began arresting violent partakers within the movement.

Works Cited

"Biography." Malcolm X. N.p., 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

http://malcolmx.com/biography/

History.com Staff. "Malcolm X." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/malcolm-x

Fairclouth, Adam. "BBC - History - Better Day Coming: Civil Rights in America in the 20th Century." BBC News. BBC, 2003. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/civil_rights_america_04.shtml

Muir, Hugh. "Malcolm X: the man behind the myth." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 07 Apr. 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/07/malcolm-x-man-behind-myth