Ayahna Simpson
Civil rights
Malcom X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X was an influential person. He was a leader of the 60's civil rights movement, and a former minister of the Nation of Islam. He had many different views throughout his lifetime and was characterized as an African American radical activist. Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925, the son of Louise and Earl Little of Omaha, Nebraska. During his childhood he was an excellent student. Before dropping out in the 8th grade, he was receiving good grades and was voted class president. He dropped out when a teacher told him that his dream job was unrealistic, and told him to aim for something more realistic, like being a carpenter. His family eventually moved to Boston when he should of been starting high
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By 1946 Malcolm was in jail for robbery. He served a 7 year sentence in Charlestown, MA. While in prison, Malcolm became a follower of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of a small, urban religious group the Nation of Islam. On his release from prison Malcolm became a member of the Black Muslim Movement. Also, he changed his name from Little to X, because he felt that Little was a name given to his slave ancestors by whites. Malcolm eventually became a popular voice of The Nation. The Nation of Islam preached racial separation. They thought it was a better idea for whites and blacks to remain separate. The Nation could see that Malcolm was gaining a lot of attention in the public eye, and thought it wasn’t good attention, so Malcolm X get silenced for 90 days. However, before the "silence" was lifted Malcolm left the Nation of Islam and started his own organization. Also he converted to an orthodox Muslim. Malcolm X went on a required pilgrimage for orthodox Muslims to Mecca in 1964 and there began to consider changing his views toward racial separation. He became more optimistic, and he started to preach about racial brotherhood and about how whites could help with the Civil Rights struggle. After the