12/8/21, 12:33 PM Malcolm X: Quotes, Movie & Autobiography - HISTORY

UPDATED: JAN 21, 2021 · ORIGINAL: OCT 29, 2009

Malcolm X
HISTORY.COM EDITORS

Malcolm X was an African American

leader in the civil rights movement,
CONTENTS minister and supporter of Black
nationalism. He urged his fellow Black
1. Malcolm X: Early Life Americans to protect themselves against
white aggression “by any means
2. Malcolm X and The Nation of necessary,” a stance that often put him at
Islam odds with the nonviolent teachings of
3. Organization of Afro-American Martin Luther King, Jr. His charisma and
Unity oratory skills helped him achieve national
prominence in the Nation of Islam, a
4. The Autobiography of Malcolm
belief system that merged Islam with
X
Black nationalism. After Malcolm X’s
5. Sources assassination in 1965, his bestselling
book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X,
popularized his ideas and inspired the
Black Power movement.

Malcolm X: Early Life

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. His father was a
Baptist preacher and follower of Marcus Garvey. The family moved to Lansing,
Michigan after the Ku Klux Klan made threats against them, though the family
continued to face threats in their new home. In 1931, Malcolm’s father was allegedly
murdered by a white supremacist group called the Black Legionaries, though the
authorities claimed his death was an accident. Mrs. Little and her children were
denied her husband’s death benefits.

Did you know? In 1964, Malcolm X made a pilgrimage to Mecca and changed his name
to el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.

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12/8/21, 12:33 PM Malcolm X: Quotes, Movie & Autobiography - HISTORY

At age 6, the future Malcolm X entered a foster home and his mother suffered a
nervous breakdown. Though highly intelligent and a good student, he dropped out of
school following eighth grade. He began wearing zoot suits, dealing drugs and earned
the nickname “Detroit Red.” At 21, he went to prison for larceny.

Malcolm X and The Nation of Islam

It was in jail that Malcolm X first encountered the teachings of Elijah Muhammad,
head of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, or Black Muslims, a Black nationalist group
that identified white people as the devil. Soon after, Malcolm adopted the last name
“X” to represent his rejection of his “slave” name.

Malcolm was released from prison after serving six years and went on to become the
minister of Mosque No. 7 in Harlem, where his oratory skills and sermons in favor of
self-defense gained the organization new admirers: The Nation of Islam grew from
400 members in 1952 to 40,000 members by 1960. His admirers included celebrities
like Muhammad Ali, who became close friends with Malcolm X before the two had a
falling out.

His advocacy of achieving “by any means necessary” put him at the opposite end of
the spectrum from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s nonviolent approach to gaining ground in
the growing civil rights movement. After Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech
at the 1963 March on Washington, Malcolm remarked: “Who ever heard of angry
revolutionists all harmonizing ‘We Shall Overcome’ … while tripping and swaying along
arm-in-arm with the very people they were supposed to be angrily revolting against?”

Malcolm X’s politics also earned him the ire of the FBI, who conducted surveillance of
him from his time in prison until his death. J. Edgar Hoover even told the agency’s
New York office to “do something about Malcolm X.”

READ MORE: 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Malcolm X

Organization of Afro-American Unity

Disenchanted with corruption in the nation of Islam, which suspended him in
December 1963 after he claimed that President John F. Kennedy’s assassination was
“the chickens coming home to roost,” Malcolm X left the organization for good. A few
months later, he traveled to Mecca, where he underwent a spiritual transformation:
"The true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to recognize that anger can
blind human vision," he wrote. Malcolm X returned to America with a new name: El-
Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

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12/8/21, 12:33 PM Malcolm X: Quotes, Movie & Autobiography - HISTORY

In June 1964, he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity, which identified

racism, and not the white race, as the enemy of justice. His more moderate
philosophy became influential, especially among members of the Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Malcolm X Assassination

Malcolm X was assassinated by a Black Muslim at an Organization of Afro-American

Unity rally in the Audubon Ballroom in New York City on February 21, 1965.

Malcolm X had predicted that he would be more important in death than in life, and
had even foreshadowed his early demise in his book, The Autobiography of Malcolm
X.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Malcolm X began work on his autobiography in the early 1960s with the help of Alex
Haley, the acclaimed author of Roots . The Autobiography of Malcolm X chronicled his
life and views on race, religion and Black nationalism. It was published posthumously
in 1965 and became a bestseller.

The book and Malcolm X’s life have inspired numerous film adaptations, most
famously Spike Lee’s 1992 film Malcolm X starring Denzel Washington.

Malcolm X is buried in Ferncliff Cemetery, New York.

READ MORE: The Explosive Chapter Left Out of Malcolm X's Autobiography

Sources
Malcolm X. Biography.com.

Malcolm X. Britannica.

‘Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X.’ New
York Times.

People and Ideas: Malcolm X. PBS.

Citation Information
Article Title
Malcolm X

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12/8/21, 12:33 PM Malcolm X: Quotes, Movie & Autobiography - HISTORY

History.com Editors

Website Name
HISTORY

URL
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/malcolm-x

Access Date
December 8, 2021

Publisher
A&E Television Networks

Last Updated
January 21, 2021

Original Published Date

October 29, 2009

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