Malcolm X: biography of this African-American activist

Malcolm X combined the struggle for black rights with propaganda in favor of Islam.

Malcolm X is one of the most important and, at the same time, controversial figures in black history. An advocate of African-American rights and highly critical of the white powers in the United States, he promoted the contact of blacks with their African roots.

His life is fascinating and, although not everyone liked him, his political project for the black race has been the spark for the creation of black nationalism. Let's take a closer look at his life through this biography of Malcolm X in abridged format.

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Malcolm X Biography

Malcolm X's life is very intense, as is his activity as an advocate for the rights of African Americans and defender of the Islamic faith.

Early years

Malcolm X's birth name was Malcolm Little and he was born in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, on May 19, 1925.Nebraska, United States, on May 19, 1925. He was the son of a Protestant pastor and a mulatto woman who was born the result of a white man's rape of a black woman. Malcolm X's childhood was hard. He had to live through the constant relocations of his family, which suffered constant aggressions from racist groups.

While still a child, he experienced the murder of his father, a staunch defender of workers' rights. After this misfortune, Malcolm's mother was admitted to a psychiatric hospital because she lost custody of her children after the death of her husband.

Following these events, who was still called Malcolm Little, went from foster home to foster home. went from foster home to foster home, experiencing the harsh conditions under which blacks were treated, who had no support from their families.who did not have the support of their families.

He moved to New York, where he became a street criminal. He became involved in shady activities, such as drug trafficking, robberies and prostitution. He would later become involved in the Boston and New York underworld. However, in 1945 he was eventually arrested and sentenced to eight to ten years in prison.

Entry into the Nation of Islam

During his time in prison he gave up drugs and began to study by correspondence.. It was during the seven years he was incarcerated that he came into contact with an organization, influenced by other inmates, that would be instrumental for the rest of his life and in shaping his thinking: the Nation of Islam.

This organization was was a Muslim religious movement that was led by Elijah Muhammad which posited the idea that Allah's favorite race was black and that whites were the personification of the devil, a race doomed to imminent extinction.

In 1952, after leaving prison, Malcolm visited the leader of the Nation of Islam in Chicago, Illinois. It is during the course of this visit that Malcolm Little would sacrifice his last name for that of a simple X, an act laden with meaning. The X symbolized the African surname lost by blacks when a white master enslaved one of their ancestors..

Malcolm X's influence within the organization was not long in coming. In 1953 he was appointed assistant minister of the Number One Temple of the Nation of Islam in Detroit and, at the end of the same year, he himself founded the Eleventh Temple in Boston.

The following year he would found Number Twelve in Philadelphia, and would be chosen to lead Temple Number Seven in Harlem. He would also be the founder of the newspaper Muhammad Speaks.

The organization was contrary to many of the ideas advocated by the Civil Rights Movement.. It advocated the idea that blacks and whites should remain separate. In fact, they advocated the creation of a new, all-black country in the southern United States as a stopgap measure so that blacks could return to Africa.

Malcolm X, already a minister of the Nation of Islam, argued that the black race was the original race of mankind, and that the true religion of black mankind was Islam, while Christianity was the religion of the white man. It held that Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the organization, was the personification of Allah, and that Elijah Muhammad was the personification of Allah. and that Elijah Muhammad was his messenger.

But it was not only his views and his membership in a black supremacist organization that aroused controversy. The FBI opened an investigation of Malcolm X in 1953 opened an investigation of Malcolm X in 1953 because he had declared himself a communist, something very controversial in the midst of the Cold War.a very controversial issue in the midst of the Cold War.

Meeting with Fidel Castro and other world leaders

If the FBI was already suspicious of Malcolm X's communist activities, Fidel Castro's 1960 visit to New York was a clear indicator of his sympathies against American capitalism. Fidel Castro had set foot on American soil with the intention of meeting at the United Nations General Assembly. Because of Malcolm X's impressive statements as an active member of the Nation of Islam, Fidel Castro wished to meet with him privately.

Also, at the same General Assembly, Malcolm X was invited to visit events held by the Nation of Islam. was invited to visit events held by newly independent African nations, including Gamal Abdel Nasser, Fidel Castroincluding Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Ahmed Sékou Touré of Guinea and Kenneth Kaunda of the African National Congress of Zambia.

Abandonment of the Nation of Islam

Given Malcolm X.'s controversial views, the media portrayed him as an apostle of violence, the media portrayed him as an apostle of violence, emphasizing his message of rejection of the white man and portraying him as an African-American supremacist.The media also emphasized his message of rejection of the white man and portrayed him as an African-American supremacist.

On December 1, 1963 he was asked about his opinion regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, implying that he was happy about the event. Also, when asked about the assassination of Patrice Lumumba and Medgar Evers, black rights activists, and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, he came to say the same as with President Kennedy.

These comments drew the ire of society, both black and white. Even the Nation of Islam had issued a message of condolences to the Kennedy family and had ordered its ministers not to comment on the assassination. Malcolm X was publicly censured by the Nation of Islam and, despite retaining his post, banned from speaking publicly for 90 days. and, despite retaining his job, he was banned from speaking publicly for 90 days.

But rivalry within the organization between Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X caused the former to organize more effective ways to silence him. An assassination plot began to be orchestrated. Suspecting this, Malcolm X decided in 1964 to officially break with the organization, saying that the Nation of Islam had become too rigid with its religious doctrine.

At this time he opted for an even more active political struggle, denouncing that neither the Nation's individual reform actions nor even Martin Luther King's civil rights campaign would lead to black liberation. Violence was necessary. It was then that founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. (Muslim Mosque, Inc.) movement within American society.

Contact with Sunnism

Malcolm X wanted to fulfill the religious precept of pilgrimage to Mecca, taking the opportunity to visit seven Muslim countries. It was during this trip that he changed his racial stance, realizing that it was possible for all races to be united..

Thus, he stopped preaching separatism and segregation and shifted to a position more in favor of black nationalism, as opposed to the white nationalism in which the United States of America was based.

His visit to several Muslim countries allowed him to have contact with the Sunnis, who encouraged him to learn to be more pro-black nationalist.who encouraged him to learn in depth about what Islam was according to them.

Despite his friendlier view of race relations, he still defended the idea that African-Americans had every right to defend themselves against aggressors in a proportional manner, with all necessary violence. He continued to reject the pacifist message of nonviolence of the civil rights campaign. of the civil rights campaign.

His popularity remained remarkable, and he went on to hold several lectures on many college campuses, emphasizing the opportunity he had in being able to speak to college students and make them understand his struggle. He also spoke to political parties, such as the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), the largest Trotskyist party in the United States.

Threats and assassination

From the top of the Nation of Islam, plans were already underway to end Malcolm X's life even after he left the organization. He was also the victim of threats made anonymously, calling him and his wife saying he deserved to be dead.

In June 1964 the Nation of Islam sued him claiming Malcolm X's Queens home.. The organization was successful, and Malcolm X was ordered to vacate the house.

On February 14, 1965, the night before it was decided to hold a hearing to postpone the eviction date, that same house was set on fire. Malcolm X and his family miraculously survived and, despite the event, no one could be charged.

But it was not long before the final tragedy struck. On February 21 of that same year, while in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom, Malcolm X began speaking at a meeting of the Organization of African American Unity. As he spoke, someone shouted "Nigger, get your hands out of my pocket!" causing a commotion. Malcolm X's bodyguards came to find out what was going on, while another man shot him in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. with a sawed-off shotgun.

Nothing could be done for his life, declaring him officially dead at Columbia University Medical Center.

Legacy of Malcolm X

Malcolm X has been described as one of the most influential African-Americans in history, ranking with Martin Luther King or Richard Wright.on par with Martin Luther King or Richard Wright. He is credited with raising the self-esteem of African Americans and reconnecting them with their pre-slavery African roots. It is also thanks to Malcolm X that Islam had a greater impact in the United States.

Many blacks saw in the figure of Malcolm X the real fight that needed to be made to win their rights, something they saw the civil rights movement doing too softly and which did not seem to get them anywhere.

She is also credited with having managed to change the image of beauty, which until then had been monopolized in America by whites. Thus, at the end of the 1960s, and thanks to the inspiration of Malcolm X., the slogan of "The Beauty of the Women's Movement" was born, the slogan "black is beautiful" was born..

Several decades later, in the late 80s and early 90s, thanks to hip-hop icons such as Public Enemy, the figure of Malcolm X had a resurgence among black youth, and his name was marketed as merchandising material. In 1992, the film Malcolm Xa film adapted from the activist's autobiography, starring Denzel Washington and directed by Spike Lee, was released in theaters in 1992.