Personal Information about Malcolm:
Malcolm was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was one of the eight children of Early and Louise Little. Malcolm's family was constantly targeted by the Ku Klux Klan, because his father was a civil rights activist. Their home was even set on fire in 1929 after they moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Earl Little died in 1931, in what the police say was a "streetcar accident" but Malcolm's family believed that his father was murdered by white supremacist. Malcolm dropped out of school as a teenager after a teacher told him that he would never become a lawyer like he wanted to. He then went to New York, where he became a criminal and was arrested for burglary. While he was in prison he began reading about Elijah Muhammad. In 1958 he married a woman named Betty Shabazz and they had six daughters together.
Summary of Why He Was Assassinated:
Malcolm X was the son of Earl Little who was a Civil Right's activist. Malcolm studied Elijah Muhammad who was a NOI leader. Elijah taught people that white people did not want black people to have more power than them. After many years Malcolm became a devoted follower and got the surname "X." He became a spokes person for the Nation of Islam. This caused Malcolm to be a target for the media and it caused many controversies. Malcolm went on a week long TV show with Mike Wallace and it caught the government's attention. FBI agents started to secretly spy on the NOI. Shortly after this, Malcolm found out that Elijah Muhammad, his mentor was having many relationships at one time. Some of those relationships even resulted in children. After he learned about this information, Malcolm decided to no longer support the NOI. Malcolm had many enemies at the time, because the things he said caused many controversies. On February 21, 1965 Malcolm was shot at an event at the Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom.
This is a picture of Elijah Muhammad who was Malcolm's mentor. |