Biography Malcolm X Essay Example For Students

Biography Malcolm X Essay The name Malcolm X still stirs emotions of fear and hatred in many Americans. When he was murdered in the Ballroom in Harlem on February 21, 1965, he was world-famous as the angriest black man in America. This is true because unlike Martin Luther King Jr. , Malcolm X advocated freedom for blacks by any means necessary. For him, even the use of violence was a viable solution to fight racial discrimination. Because of such views some people still associate Malcolm X with the Black Panther movement of the sixties which they believe was a radical and violent organization. But portraying Malcolm X simply as a violent black activist fails to represent the whole picture. It does not take into account the post-Mecca Malcolm X when he recanted his black separatism message and started to support unity among all people. When we review Malcolm Xs life from his birth to his tragic death, then we will find a courageous leader who was able to do the following: First, he was able to turn his own personal life around. From a common criminal he became a leader of his people. Second, he was able to persuade others to what he believed in. In other words, he was a man full of charisma. Third, he was able to admit his mistakes and correct them even if meant losing his status and life. He fought for what he believed in which was justice, and he was not afraid to reverse his ideas when he found them erroneous. First of all, Malcolm X was able to turn his own personal life around. He turned all his beliefs and ways of life upside down when joining the Nation of Islam. Before joining the nation of Islam, he was a hustler who tried to earn enough money for his excessive life style. He was selfish and lost all his conscience. He did not fear any other people or death and used every kind of drugs. Although he hated the whites, he felt inferior and wanted to be like them. Because of this he straightened his hair and had a white girlfriend. He lived a life of crime, forming his own house robbing gang. He was arrested for robbery in February 1946, and sentenced to prison for seven years. When he was in prison, he had a prejudice against the Christian religion that he thought was a tool of the white society to keep the Negroes down. This led him to the perception that there must be a religion for the black people. His rebellious nature was not formed without any cause. He had reasons to his rebellious nature. The rebellious nature in Malcolm X has its beginning in the violent death of his father at the hands of white bigots. Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska to Louise and Earl Little. Earl was a Baptist minister from Reynold, Ga. and became an organizer for Marcus Garveys Universal Negro Improvement Association, which wanted all Afro-Americans to go back to the land of their ancestors, Africa. Because of the fathers advocacy for Garvey movement, Malcolms family was terrorized by the Ku Klux Klan which was an organization of white racists. In September 1931, the white racists of Lansing killed Malcolms father and laid him on a railway track, claiming he committed suicide. This was not the end of the tragedies of his life, just the beginning. In the years that followed, Malcolms mother, Louise, deteriorated emotionally and mentally and in 1939, was committed to a mental institution in Kalamanzoo, Michigan by the white authorities. Malcolm had been removed from his mother and went to school in Mason, Michigan, living with different families. Malcolm did well in Mason and graduated from junior high school at the top of his class academically and athletically, but he was discouraged from continuing academically past the eighth grade due to his race. His whole childhood was miserable. His family, his desire for education, and his hope for the future were destroyed by the whites. And this can do more than explain why he became a troublemaker and a hustler during his young adulthood. Despite all these disadvantages and his previous criminal life, Malcolm became a follower of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of a small black cult, the Nation of Islam, while in prison. William Golding's Lord Of The Flies EssayA pilgrimage to Mecca is obligatory for orthodox Muslims, and there he began to consider changing his views towards integration. In Mecca, he saw that it was possible for black and white people to live in brotherhood, of which he was deeply touched. After the pilgrimage he adopted the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. This trip changed his points of view profoundly. He became less militant and even admitted that sometimes white people can help the black movement. He also got rid of Mr. Muhammads doctrines and taught the real Islam he experienced in the East. When he heard of the Black Muslims plot to kill him, he did not feel any fear. He just wanted his family to be safe. His home in Queens, New York, which Malcolm X shared with his wife and his six children was firebombed in early February 1965, but the family survived. Even with the death threats and the bombing of house, the Black Muslims could not stop him. When Malcolm X was delivering a speech in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on February 21, 1965, he was assassinated by the Black Muslims. Before he died, he declared that he would be glad if he could have helped the black people, but that all credit is due to Allah. Only the mistakes were his. Malcolm X showed us that where one comes from is not important. What is important is where one is heading. He started his young adulthood as a common criminal and also was once associated as a hatemonger. But after his pilgrimage to Mecca, he began preaching the message of unity among all people. In February 1965, he was assassinated while preaching this message of unity. Anybody can make mistakes, in fact, we improve as a person by learning from our mistakes. But accepting that our ideas and actions were mistakes and learning from them is very hard processes. Sometimes during those processes, we do not accept that we are wrong or we just give up. But Malcolm X learned from his mistakes and towards the end of his life became a man of peace who was willing to lay down his life for his cause. All in all, Malcolm X was a courageous leader who was able to turn his own personal life, able to persuade others to what he believed in, and able to admit his mistakes and correct them even if meant losing his status and life. He fought for what he believed in which was justice. He also influenced others to fight for their rights. Furthermore, he was ready to revise his ideas if he found them wrong and change them and learn from those mistakes. The leader of the Black Muslim movement was the self-nominated Messenger of Allah, Elijah Muhammad. But the man who made the radical group popular was his minister Malcolm X. The phenomenon that was Malcolm X became one of the most popular Afro-American leaders in a short time. Although he was dismissed by his leader Muhammad, his popularity did not diminish. When he was assassinated by the Black Muslims in 1965, newspapers all over the world paid tribute to him as a great Negro leader. Malcolm X certainly was a great leader who influenced lots of black peoples lives. Not only did he influence the blacks of his generation, but also the future generations. His influence is still felt in our time. Thousands of black people all over the world could be seen wearing black baseball caps with a big white X on it, meaning that black Afro-Americans, who had lost their original surnames, were no longer willing to bear their former slave-masters name. The name Malcolm X should not be remembered as the a violent black activist, but as one of the most greatest Negro leaders in American history who was virtuous and who influenced lots of black people to fight for human rights.