Malcolm X

Born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz

 May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965

Malcolm X was an African American revolutionary, Muslim minister, and human rights activist who emerged as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the civil rights movement. He was a vocal advocate for Black empowerment, self-determination, and the promotion of Islam within the African American community. Though often accused of preaching racial violence, he is widely celebrated for his uncompromising stand on racial justice and dignity.

Malcolm was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Louise Little, a Grenadian-born writer and activist, and Earl Little, a Baptist lay preacher and organizer with the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) founded by Marcus Garvey. His parents instilled strong values of Black pride and independence, but their activism also made them targets of white supremacist threats. After multiple relocations due to Ku Klux Klan harassment, the family settled in Lansing, Michigan, where in 1931, Earl died under suspicious circumstances. Though officially labeled a streetcar accident, many believed he had been killed by the white supremacist Black Legion.

Following her husband’s death, Louise struggled to support her seven children and was eventually institutionalized. Malcolm, then a young boy, was placed in foster care and later lived with various relatives. His turbulent upbringing continued into adolescence, and he eventually moved to Boston and New York, engaging in petty crimes and hustling. In 1946, he was arrested for larceny and burglary and sentenced to 8–10 years in prison.

Prison marked a turning point in Malcolm’s life. While incarcerated, he encountered the teachings of the Nation of Islam (NOI), led by Elijah Muhammad, and underwent a personal transformation. Rejecting his “slave name” of Little, he adopted the surname X to symbolize his lost African identity. Upon his release in 1952, he quickly rose through the ranks of the NOI, becoming one of its most charismatic and effective spokespersons.

For the next 12 years, Malcolm X was the public face of the Nation of Islam. He preached Black self-reliance, economic independence, and racial separation from white society. He criticized the mainstream civil rights movement’s emphasis on non-violence and integration, particularly opposing the strategies of Martin Luther King Jr. Instead, Malcolm championed the right to self-defense and emphasized that freedom, justice, and equality must be attained “by any means necessary.”

Malcolm was admired for his eloquence, fearlessness, and the social impact of the NOI, which included initiatives like its free drug rehabilitation program. However, his militant rhetoric and growing prominence attracted intense FBI surveillancestarting in the 1950s.

By the early 1960s, Malcolm began to distance himself from the Nation of Islam due to internal tensions and disillusionment with Elijah Muhammad's leadership. After a pilgrimage to Meccain 1964, Malcolm embraced Sunni Islam and adopted a more inclusive view of racial unity and human rights. He took the name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, meaning “The Pilgrim Malcolm the Patriarch.”

He returned to the U.S. with a broadened political vision, advocating for a global Black liberation movement. He founded two new organizations: the Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI)and the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), modeled in part after the Organization of African Unity. He called for African Americans to take their case for human rights to the United Nations, linking the Black struggle in the U.S. with anticolonial movements worldwide.

Malcolm’s public split from the Nation of Islam escalated tensions, and he began receiving frequent death threats. On February 21, 1965, while preparing to address a crowd at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City, Malcolm X was assassinated. He was 39 years old. Three NOI members were convicted of his murder. In 2021, two of those convictions were vacated after new evidence surfaced, reviving long-standing suspicions about the role of law enforcement or internal conspiracy in his killing.

Malcolm X’s legacy continues to resonate. He has been posthumously honored with Malcolm X Day, celebrated in several U.S. cities. Numerous schools, streets, and institutionsbear his name. The Audubon Ballroom was transformed in 2005 to house the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. His posthumous autobiography, written with Alex Haleyand published in 1965, remains one of the most influential American memoirs and a cornerstone of African American literature and political thought.