Malcolm X had been a well-known leader in his community as an African American in the 1960’s. However, there was one thing he lacked, a proper education. If you were to hear him speak you would have never guessed that all he knew was street slang. Malcolm had spent seven years in prison where he self-taught himself to read and write. Malcolm X had the perseverance and true desire to pursue his education. During his time in prison he had also converted to the Nation of Islam as a disciple for Elijah Muhammad. All started when he was at Charlestown Prison. This is where he first met Bimbi. Malcolm X would command attention when he said something. Malcolm had been an articulate hustler on the streets, to a leader of African Americans during the 1960s. Bimbi however would take charge of conversations. It Malcolm had desired the very same for himself. He was jealous of the knowledge the man had over him. Malcolm stated, “I became increasingly frustrated at not being able to express what I wanted to convey in letters that I …show more content…
This would soon turn into a crash and burn soon after realizing there had been so many words Malcolm never knew. He was relentless and continued to figure out a better way. Malcolm then requested a dictionary, some pencils and tables. The idea had slightly changed, he would copy directly from the text into his tables to then read it back to himself over and over. He was proud of himself for the amount he had written the first day. Not only that but he could remember on what most meant and if he did not he would go back over the ones he forgot. Then he would continue right back where he left off. He stated, “I was lucky enough to reason also that I should try to improve my penmanship. It was sad. I couldn’t even write in a straight line.” (Malcolm X). It is truly remarkable on this all. He had all odds against him for these skills and he never once had the idea to give