Malcolm+Little

“ There is no better adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed its own lesson how to improve your performance the next time ” -Malcolm X (Brainy Quote). Malcolm X one of the many famous faces from the civil rights movement. He witnessed tons of the ups and downs of his time and had a lo
 * Introduction**

t to say about it. Malcolm “opposed to show respect to whites” (Brennan). Unlike some of his fellow human-rights activists, Malcolm believed violence could help stop racism(Payne). He did not see eye to eye with many preachers but he did support his points and beliefs. Malcolm X is definitely in the book of great and impacting African Americans in history.

Malcolm Little was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska (Brennan 163). Malcolm’s father, Earl Little, was a freelance preacher for a very influential Black Nationalist group. His mother, Louise, came from a West Indian family. Malcolm was the fourth child on six that they had. His family was constantly harassed by white-supremacist groups (Brennan 164).
 * Personal Background**

His father was lynched by white-supremacists (Walton). His mother was later sent to a psychiatric hospital due to mental breakdowns from stress. Social worker placed Malcolm and his siblings into foster care. In his early teens he ran into trouble. He was expelled from school and sent to a juvenile detention home. While attending he was the only black student, received good grades, and was even elected to be class president (Brennan164). When Malcolm was asked what he wanted to do when he g ot older he responded, a lawyer. He was told that that was an unrealistic goal and became withdrawn (Brennan 165).

Malcolm later converted to Muslim (Payne). In The 1960s Malcolm rose through the ranks of The Nation of Islam (Esposito). While in the Nation of Islam h e changed his name to El-Haij Malik El-Shabazz (Brennan 165). Little started his first temple in Hartford (Payne). Malcolm had completely changed his life-style (Simon). He had gone from ex-convict to formidable critic of African American society. Towards the end of his life he converted to Sunni Islam and focused on Pan-Africanism (Esposito). He spent much of his life traveling in the Middle East and Africa before he was assassinated (Payne). Malcolm died on February 21, 1965 (Brennan 163).

In the beginning of his life Malcolm was always considered a troublemaker (Brennan 164). Although he was constantly causing trouble, at times he was very disciplined (Payne). He had always been a committed father and husband (Brennan 165). From a young age he was an excellent student and extremely competitive with others (Walton) (Payne). Many people would call him bright and god looking (Simon).
 * Personality Traits**

Numerous of his peers would call him a true believer (Walton). When speaking he spoke with a fiery passion (Walton). Malcolm was dedicated to Elijah’s teachings and very thing he had to say (Esposito). People that ever got to interact with him would describe him as a respectable black man (Simon). Little had always been very witty when speaking (Payne). Malcolm never failed to be charismatic towards anyone or anything Simon).

Towards the end of his life Malcolm was tolerant (Brennan 165). When converting he adjusted well to new teachings (Payne). Throughout his life he was recognized as highly controversial figure (Esposito). Malcolm hardly ever disappointed people when I came to being dynamic (Simon). When Little set his mind on a specific goal he worked hard to achieve it (Esposito). If there was one trait that Malcolm X had it was diligence (Brennan 166).

Throughout his entire lifetime Malcolm X was racially discriminated (Brennan 166). One of his earliest memories was seeing his own house being burnt to the ground by white supremacists in 1929 (Simon). Little was limited most of the time because of racial attitudes towards him. The majority of his young life his family was harassed by racists (Brennan 166). In his early years he turned to drugs and crime (Esposito). He was later arrested and jailed for selling drugs and theft (Simon). From then his life was continually spiraling (Payne).
 * Obstacles**

While in jail the hardest thing for Malcolm to do was change his ways (Simon). Converting to Islam was not any easy task for Little (Brennan 166). He had experienced an intellectual and social transformation (Esposito). Even though he had changed his ways he still had racial issues in the Nation of Islam (Walton). The media had mixed feeling about Malcolm. Since he was such a controversial person he was loved and hated at the simultaneously. Malcolm was always considered a troublemaker so when he had said something that had offended The Nation of Islam he was expelled. Just as it was not easy to convert to The Nation of Islam, it was not easy getting excluded (Payne).

Malcolm X, a very controversial African American figure, left quite the legacy for people to follow (Brennan 168). He was one of the many activists that challenged the mainstream civil-rights movement and non-violent pursuits (Esposito). His incredible leadership was mostly credited to the increase of the Nation of Islam. Just like several other civil-rights activists Malcolm had an extraordinary and powerful style of preaching (Brennan 168). Little never failed to teach people about segregation while giving speeches (Payne). Little spoke out on a variety of civil and human rights issues (Esposito).
 * Historical Significance**

Throughout his life Malcolm was able to bring up historical pilings. He was the first black leader to “pin back the ears of reporters as they ate out of his hand” (Payne). Malcolm was socialist that did not understand that racism came from capitalist exploitation. If there was one thing that he was certain of it was that he was determined to end the degradation of his race (Simon). Little was sure to spread his teachings from Islam in the black community (Brennan 168). To the black youth he was a mentor, friend and spiritual counselor (Walton).

Malcolm usually referenced the teachings of Elijah Muhammad when trying to get through to his supporters (Esposito). Little was an incredible black leader who stressed the ‘Black Power’ philosophy. He became concerned because he believed that if blacks did not use violence they would end up losing control of their own movement (Simon). He very often promoted power for black people and to fight against oppression of black people (Walton). The rise of Black Power is mostly attributed to Malcolm X (Brennan 169). Though Malcolm shaped foundations for Black Power, he was assassinated before they very became very popular (Payne). Malcolm was the person who really commercialized the phrase ‘Black Power’ and brought it up to society’s eyes (Simon). Little was sure to make all of his speeches prominent and had an effect of people (Walton). He highlighted the importance of fighting back against racism and not backing down (Esposito). All through his life Malcolm was not tolerant toward racists and did not think very kindly of them (Walton). Malcolm never really was one to fit in and when it came to his opinion he made sure people knew what he thought. With this Malcolm changed the course of African American History (Simon). With out a doubt he was one of the most important African America leaders in history. (Brennan 169).

Brainy Quote Brennan Carol. //American Social Reforms Movements: Biographies.// "Malcolm X." Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2007. Print. **SE#4** Esposito John L."Ed. (2004). Malcolm X." //The Islamic World: Past and Present//. 2004 //Oxford University Press//. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. **SE#3** Payne, Les."Malcolm X: Hero or history's footnote?." //New Crisis//. 01 Jan. 2001: 22. //eLibrary//. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. **SE#5** Simon, John J., Spellman, A B., Gardner, Jigs.. "Malcolm X-His Legacy." //Monthly Review// 9(2005):25. //eLibrary//. Web. 09 Dec. 2014. **SE#6** Walton, Anthony. "Death of a nation." //Harper's//. 01 Sep. 2000: 65. //eLibrary//. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. **SE#2** Wellington, Lorenzo, Darryl.. "A Man for Many Seasons." //Dissent// 4(2011):100. //eLibrary//. Web. 02 Oct. 2014. **SE#1**
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