“We didn't start the fire. It was always burning since the world’s been turning.” The easily recognizable lyrics come from Billy Joel’s hit song “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” references many national and international events taking place in the mid-to-late 1900’s. As the song lists the events that shaped the world, one leader who started his own continuing fire is mentioned: Malcolm X. X influenced the civil rights movement in unheard of ways. The fire he started lasted from his birth to his death and left an interesting legacy for newer generations. Malcolm Little was born into a family who had already ignited a fire within the civil rights movement. His father, Earl Little, had been an involved member of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement …show more content…
Malcolm dropped out of school and began to illegally sell drugs which consequently landed him in jail for over ten years (“Malcolm” par. 8). In prison, he tried to catch up on his education, since he was only 15 when he dropped out of school. He used his time wisely and eventually began to follow Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam, which was a group that allowed people to freely voice their opinions and beliefs. (“Facts” par. 6). Malcolm became affiliated with the group very …show more content…
Unfortunately his involvement with Elijah Muhammad ended up costing him his life in February of 1965 when he was shot fifteen times by the members of his previous affiliation (“Abridged” par. 13). After Malcolm X’s death, he was mostly criticized for his encouragement of violence during the civil rights movement (“Facts” par. 21). But, whereas some saw him as a “rabble rouser,” others saw him as a hero for “demonstrating the great lengths to which human beings will go to secure their freedom (“Malcolm” par. 18). Malcolm was usually known as the bad version of Martin Luther King, while others acknowledged him as the one who was willing to do anything for himself and his oppressed people (Myers page