Trevor Paul

Mrs. Stanford

AP Language

19 March 2021

The Life of Malcolm X

Malcolm X is one of the most influential and yet misunderstood figures of the civil rights

movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Often overshadowed by Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm

X continues to have a legacy of one of the strongest leaders during the civil rights movement and

someone who has stuck with what he believed in, something that likely lead to his death. He was

someone who fought for what was right, whether he had people on his side or not. His life was

short but his legacy is not and will live on for generations to come. He furthered the civil rights

movement with every speech that he made and pushed forward history with every step. He is

often mentioned as a side note to Martin Luther King Jr, but is discussed in Stamped by Jason

Reynalds and Ibram X. Kendi, as someone who was much more than the radical side figure to

MLK (Kendi 162).

He was born Malcolm Little in Omaha Nebraska on May 19, 1925 (1930 Census). When

he was young he participated in the UNIA which often led to early experiences of racism in his

home community, often by the Ku Klux Klan. His stretch for activism when he was a young man

would eventually bring him to his turn towards faith and his conversion to Islam upon learning

about the Nation of Islam when he was about twenty-three years old from his brother (X 104). It

was later told that he believed it to be one of the most important things to ever happen in his life.

He would then go on to dive further into faith in the coming months and years until. Eventually,

it grew on him to the point where he believed that Islam and Elijah Muhammed were the greatest
things to ever happen to him . He believed that he had found his true purpose in faith and

quickly became a minister in the Nation of Islam of a temple in New York.

He was in prison for stealing a watch when he joined the Nation of Islam (Mc Gill 1). He

changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X, the X is used to symbolize that they were

likely unaware of their real last names and that those they had were likely given to them by slave

owners when they were brought here or freed. While he was the minister of a temple, he taught

and preached the beliefs of the Nation of Islam, and with his good speaking skills and charisma,

he became a very powerful member of the Nation eventually becoming second in command,

only behind Elijah Muhammed himself. During this time in his life, he fully believed in the

Nation and it was the key to his life that he needed as he continued his activism. He reinforced

the Nation’s teachings during this time, many of which included the Black Nationalism

movement as well as the Black Power Movement. As of this period in his life, it is unclear in

retrospect whether or not he actually believed many of these teachings or if later, when he was at

the top, Elijah Muhammed had a much greater influence on him than was apparent from the

outside. Also, something to think about, during the entirety of his own autobiography, he refers

to Elijah Muhammed as Mr. Muhammed.

Towards the end of his time at the Nation, he would begin to disagree with Elijah

Muhammed on the direction that they would like to take the Nation. Malcolm X argued for a

more moderate approach by that time while Elijah Muhammed still pushed for radicalism from

his followers. Also during this time, it came out that Elijah Muhammed had been having multiple

affairs and around eight illegitimate children during those affairs. Malcolm X stated he had little

idea that this was happening and formally disowned him for his behaviors. It was shortly after
this that he began his departure from the Nation and the road to his eventual death only a year

later in 1965.

He had been debating leaving the Nation of Islam for some time before he went public

about it. He had disagreements with Elijah Muhammed as well as with the philosophy of the

Nation as a whole and shortly after he left he was quoted saying that he felt like a pawn to Elijah

Muhammed, further casting doubt that he actually be lieved in some of the radicalism that was

being preached and whether or not he even wanted to reach them. When he left he also attempted

to convince the young Cassius Clay to come with him shortly after Elijah Muhammed had given

him the name Muhammed Ali, Ali later stated that this was one of his biggest regrets. He left the

Nation shortly after and converted to Sunni Islam and changed his name once more to el-Hajj

Malik el-Shabazz (X 215). For the next year, he would be constantly hunted by the Nation of

Islam for his departure and words against the nation, a hunt that would eventually end with his

death in 1965.

On the fourteenth of February, 1965, at 2:45 A.M, a Molotov Cocktail was thrown

through one of the windows causing a loud explosion and forcing him, his children, and his

pregnant wife to flee the household (Doeden 51). He was speaking at Audubon Ballroom on

February 21, 1965, when one Talmadge Hayer appeared to have killed him on stage. He was

reportedly a member of the Nation of Islam, one of many assassins that had been sent to kill him

over the last year since he had left the nation. The incident on February 14 was a warning shot,

the last of many that had been coming. Often, the famous photograph of him looking at an

apartment window with an ak-47 is shown as propaganda. When in reality, he was simply

defending himself against the same people that brought him to that position. However, it is

disputed by many witnesses the true number of assassins, some claiming many more than just
one person (Guardian). His death sent a shockwave through the African-American community

and the civil rights movement as a whole. He had given a sense of pride and of prowess over

those who had never felt that way under oppression and he gave meaning to the lives of many,

many people (Kendi 176). It is likely that in the wake of his death stood the civil rights

movement in a standstill for some time. Only to be shocked even worse just two years later with

the death of Martin Luther King Jr.

Malcolm X today leaves behind a legacy of confusion among many people who may

casually hear about him. Because of media representation and propaganda at the time, it is often

seen as Malcolm X versus Martin Luther King Jr. which was simply not true. They often

disagreed over the route to get to equality in American but did not disagree on the desired

outcome. Malcolm X was a hero to all affected by inequality in the United States and is still

often looked down on next to other major figures of the time. His life told a story of rising up to

become one of the most powerful figures in a revolution, including being able to control

thousands of people with just his hands, then being brought down by the same people that brung

him to the top. His life has influenced millions of people to this day, even if they down know it.

He died in a mystery but the rest of his life will live on as it continues to teach us everyday about

the civil rights movement and the strong people that fought in it.
 Works Cited

“1930 Census Report.”

Doeden, Matt. A Marked Man: the Assassination of Malcolm X. Twenty-First Century Books,

2013.

McGill, Sarah Ann. “Malcolm X.” Malcolm X, Aug. 2017.

Reynolds, Jason. Stamped. Little, Brown and Co., 2020.

X., Malcolm, et al. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Ballantine Books, 2015.