Malcolm X

1925-1965

Malcolm Little was born in 1925 in a black family, but was brought up in a white family. He originally wanted to become a lawyer, but was told by his English teacher that it wasn't a realistic goal for a black person even though Malcolm was a very smart child. This contributed to his increases rebelliousness and damaged his self-esteem.

He was a black leader who, apart from Martin Luther King, had more impact on America in the late 50s and early 60s than anyone else. He instilled more fear in the white American society and addressed the anger and despair of urban blacks more effectively than any other black leader. He wasn't the leader of any organisation and had no program or plan of action to pass on, after he was killed in 1965.

Malcolm did not have it easy while growing up. He was expelled from school, took usual unskilled jobs in black ghettos, drifted into drugs, pimping and gambling and was jailed in 1946 for burglary. However, prison changed him. He started reading a lot about black people's history in America and converted to Islam. He was released in 1952 and blamed all his wrong-doings on white racism after he had gained new sense of purpose in prison. He also changed his last name to X representing the African-last name he never had, due to slavery. Malcolm expressed the anger of urban blacks and the 300 year white-control over black people through extreme statements. He lashed out on black Christian leaders claiming that "Churches should be bombed and preachers killed".

Malcolm was not like other civil rights leaders. He was against their non-violence and their policy of working with white people to pass bills and reforms. Neither did he believe that there could ever be a separate back state in USA. Malcolm was radical - compared to other civil rights leaders- since he wanted to put pressure on other civil rights leaders to be bolder, and which made some white people fear that if they did not accept his demands the uprising of black people would be much worse.This was beneficial for Martin Luther King, since he could use Malcolm's arguments and threats to put pressure on white people making them support civil rights.