Born: May 19, 1925 Died: February 21, 1965

Malcolm Little known as Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha Nebraska. Malcolm was the fourth born of eight children to Louise Norton and Earl Little. Earl was an outspoken Baptist minister who preached about civil rights which often made him receive death threats from white supremacists and the family had to move twice before Malcolm turned the age of four Milwaukee Wisconsin, and Lansing, Michigan.

Not long after moving to Michigan to escape from the racial discrimination his home was burnt down by white supremacist and two years after that his father Earl was found in the middle of the street dead. The police ruled that both of these incidents were accidents. Years after the death of her husband Louise had a sever mental breakdown and was sent to a mental institution. Her children were split up and were sent to live at different foster homes and orphanages.

Growing up Malcolm was an amazing student and graduated Junior High at the top of his class. But one day he told one of his favorite white teachers that he wanted to be a lawyer and they said that to become a lawyer was “no realistic goal for a nigger,” which made him give up on school entirely and drop out. He spent some time after that incident in Boston, Massachusetts working many odd jobs, and then he traveled to Harlem, New York where he committed crimes like coordinating various narcotics, prostitution and gambling rings

Eventually Malcolm moved back to Boston with his buddy, Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis. They were arrested and convicted on burglary charges in 1946, and Malcolm was sentenced to prison for 10 years and he was paroled after serving seven years. Remembering his school days of the past, he decided to get a better education. It was during this self-enlightenment period that Malcolm's brother Reginald visited and they talked about his recent conversion to Muslim. Reginald belonged to the religious organization called the Nation of Islam (NOI).

Malcolm was very intrigued and began to follow the teachings of NOI leader Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad taught that white society actively worked to keep African- Americans from empowering themselves and achieving economical, social and political success. By the time Malcolm was paroled in 1952, he had become a devoted follower with the new surname "X." which stuck with him for the rest of his life. Malcolm was later appointed as National spokesman of the NOI and made a minister. Malcolm was assigned to establish new Mosques in cities such as Harlem, New York, and Detroit, Michigan. Malcolm was credited with increasing membership in the NOI from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.

Malcolm discovered that Elijah Muhammad was having relations with multiple members of the NOI and he could of possibly had children with some of them. The reason this was so bad was because Muhammad said you must stay celibate until marriage and Malcolm followed that and Muhammad didn’t. Malcolm denied all of Muhammad's In March 1664 Malcolm left the NOI and created his own religious group called the Muslim Mosques INC.

Malcolm went to the Mecca, Saudi Arabia and it turned out to be life altering. He shared thoughts with people and they in turn responded in a positive way. When Malcolm returned, he said that he had met "blonde- haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers."

After Malcolm left the Nation of Islam and renounced Elijah Muhammad, the NOI had marked Malcolm for assassination by FBI informants working undercover in the NOI. After repeated attempts on his life, Malcolm rarely traveled anywhere without bodyguards. On February 14, 1965 the home of Malcolm, Betty and their four daughters lived was firebombed. Luckily, the family escaped with no physical injury.

Malcolm's enemies were successful in their ruthless attempt. While he was at a speaking engagement in the Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965 three gunmen rushed Malcolm while he was on the stage. They shot him 15 times at close range. The 39- year-old was pronounced dead when he arrived at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Fifteen hundred people attended Malcolm's funeral in Harlem on February 27, He paved the way for African Americans to stand up for there selves for civil rights.

Picture of Malcolm Malcolm X info Malcolm x info Video of Malcolm X