Malcolm X Dbq

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On November 21, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. received a letter from the FBI telling him to kill himself. Along with sending such a hateful letter such as this, they also wiretapped King’s house. Not only did the FBI wiretap MLK, but they also tapped other prominent leaders during the civil rights movement. The FBI had a large effect on the entirety of the civil rights movement, including the fate of leaders such as MLK, Malcolm X, and Fred Hampton. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover felt as though MLK was a threat to the United States. The FBI did many things, including sending a hateful letter, smearing MLK’s image, and even wiretapping his house to attempt to get rid of this “threat”. The letter that the FBI sent him contained hateful speech that told MLK to kill himself. The …show more content…

He had a rough childhood, including the death of both of his parents. Malcolm X, originally Malcolm Little, committed many crimes, which led to him being sentenced to prison for about 9 years. During this time, Malcolm joined the Nation of Islam. He was the public face of the Nation of Islam for 12 years until he left. He left because the leader, Elijah Mohammad, was a pedophile. This departure from the Nation of Islam indirectly led to Malcolm X’s death. How are these two events related? They are related because the person who assassinated Malcolm was a member of the nation of Islam. The FBI smeared Malcolm X’s name to stir up controversy and prevent him and Martin Luther King from collaborating. They smeared his image by taking his word and taking it out of context. This led to Malcolm X being viewed as a violent person. The FBI spread misinformation and fanned the flames towards the Nation of Islam. All of this combined with the fact that the Nation of Islam did not like Malcolm X eventually culminated in his assassination. Like Malcolm X, another important leader of the Civil Rights movement who was wrongfully assassinated was Fred