Taking a Stand
In Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary by Walter Dean Myers, conflict is the essence of Malcolm Little’s life, he became the person he was by facing many hardships in life. From his brightful youthful beginning to his tragic yet predictable death, he was always faced with conflict. But under certain circumstances, the challenges he faced allowed him to thrive more so than ever, primarily in his youth, early adulthood and the later stages of his life. Malcolm may have not been a symbol for peace, but he was the symbol for something else, he was the symbol for taking a stand against injustice, even at the cost of a life. A young Malcolm, as radiant as he was, was subject to the injustices of a Jim Crow society. Malcolm’s father,
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Malcolm became affiliated with the crime scene soon enough, all of which had caught up with him when he was caught with a stolen watch causing him to serve ten years. During that time he was prompted by his brother to write to Elijah Muhammad the leader of the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad wrote back, telling Malcolm that in an honest society, no man should have to turn to crime, and that he was the product of an unjust system. Though he missed ten years of his life, Malcolm had learned an invaluable lesson. He learned how to recognize evil.
At the very last stage of his life, Malcolm was marked for death and the conflict became personal. The word on the street was that Malcolm X was a dead man, everybody knew that, even him. Malcolm knew he’d never die a natural way, with the way he lived his life he was bound for death. Malcolm received numerous death threats, not only from white supremacists, but from his former organization, the Nation of Islam. On February 21st, 1965, Malcolm X was shot and killed at the Audubon Ballroom. Malcolm X was dead, but his cause was still living in the hearts of the many that followed him and the hearts of his