Malcolm X Thesis

Born Malcolm Little May 19th, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. 1952 is when he later changed his name to what we all know now as “Malcolm X”. Malcolm is a black activists whose voice started to be heard in the mid 1950s as a member of the nation of islam. But, unlike Martin Luther King jr, Rosa Parks, and others, I don’t think Malcolm X gets the recognition he deserves as a black man who wanted the best for his people in some of the darkest times in history. Loved, and inspired so many people. But, also hated at the same time.

In 1938, Malcolm X was kicked out of school and sent to a juvenile detention home in Mason, Michigan. The white couple who ran the home treated him well, but he wrote in his autobiography that he was treated more like a "pink

To pass the time during his jail time. Malcolm X read constantly, getting any books from the prison library in an attempt make up for the years of education he had missed by dropping out of high school. Also while in prison he was visited by several siblings who had joined to the Nation of Islam, a small sect of black Muslims who embraced the idea of black nationalism, the idea that in order to secure freedom, justice and equality, black Americans needed to establish their own state entirely separate from white Americans. Malcolm X converted to the Nation of Islam while in prison, and upon his release in 1952 he abandoned his birth last name "Little," which he considered a relic of slavery, in favor of the surname "X"-a tribute to the unknown name of his African ancestors. Now a free man, Malcolm X traveled to Detroit, Michigan, where he worked with the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad, to expand the movement 's following among black Americans nationwide. Malcolm X became the minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem and Temple No. 11 in Boston, while also founding new temples in Harford and Philadelphia. In 1960 he established a national newspaper, Muhammad Speaks, in order to keep promoting the message of the Nation of

Articulate, passionate and a naturally gifted and inspirational orator, Malcolm X encouraged blacks to cast off the shackles of racism "by any means necessary," including violence. "You don 't have a peaceful revolution," he said. "You don 't have a turn-the-cheek revolution. There 's no such thing as a nonviolent revolution." Such militant proposal a violent revolution to establish an independent black nation won Malcolm X large numbers of followers as well as many fierce critics. As Malcolm name started to become more popular not only in the world of muslims, but in the country, the Nation of Islam grew from around 400 members at the time he was released from prison in 1952, to 40,000 members by 1960.

By the early 1960s, Malcolm X had became one of the leading voices of the Civil Rights Movement, presenting a different way to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's vision of a racially integrated society achieved by peaceful means. Dr. King was highly critical of what he viewed as Malcolm X 's views. "I feel that Malcolm has done himself and our people a great disservice," King