Malcolm X Biography

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Born Malcolm Little and also known as the great el- Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, Malcolm X was an American and later on converted to a Muslim. He was a human rights activist, and lead the Unity Rally in Harlem, which was one the largest civil rights events in the nation. Malcolm X is one of the greatest screened biographies that correspond with reality. The first section of the film talks about the troubled childhood of Malcolm Little, whose father was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan and one tragedy led to another. His mother was unable to take in the thought of her dead husband; therefore she was shortly placed in a mental institution. Malcolm eventually grows up, naming himself Detroit Red and gets a job as a Pullman porter. Things started to turn …show more content…

The death of his father, the effect it had on Louise Little and him being discouraged by his teacher to pursue his dream job are all shown in the movie and are events that occurred in reality. The verdict stated that Earl Little took his own life by taking a hammer and bashing it in the back of his own head; he then placed himself on the railroad, which resulted in his own death, the movie does not specify who really killed Malcolm’s father. Just like in reality, it is not proven, but highly likely that he was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan since he did receive multiple death threats from them; however the police officially identified his death as a suicide. The movie also showed Malcolm’s mother, Louise Little, in a mental institution after several years from the death of her husband; this event sadly took place in real life too. Louise was unable to recover from the shock of her husband’s death and was placed in a mental hospital in 1937. Having no parents caused the eight siblings to go in a different direction in life; Malcolm was placed in a foster home like shown in the movie and was the only black kid in his class. He excelled academically like shown in the movie and also in reality, but things started to turn when he was asked by his teacher about his future plans. Malcolm shared his thoughts with his teacher about becoming a lawyer; however he was discouraged by him and was …show more content…

Since I already had somewhat background information, I decided that it was best if I wrote my essay specifically about him. I was also curious to know about his last him, after his release from Charlestown Prison; he changed his name to Malcolm X, and the X symbolized the unidentified name of his African ancestors and their tradition that had been lost during slavery. After viewing this film, my opinion changed about how one’s life is affected by so much negativity can drastically improve just by having the right people in your life, I simply learned that is never too late to realize the mistakes one has made and how to fix them. Even after dropping West Junior High School at the age of 15, he was an addict to drugs, went to jail and had no parents support, he now has a position in where an entire film is made about his life. The historical significance of this film is that it is about a man who contributed so much to society, Malcolm X is now known as the African-American leader and is an important figure worldwide, and he also articulated concepts of Black Nationalism in the 1950s and