Malcolm X (1925-1965) emerged as one of the most significant pioneers of the African American political movement, drawing attention with his life and resistance, and becoming a highly debated figure.
Malcolm was born into a family of six children and experienced a difficult childhood and youth. At the age of six, his father Earl was killed. Following this, his mother was deceived by a man and left stranded, leading to her psychological breakdown and confinement in a mental institution due to subsequent economic hardships. Young Malcolm and his siblings were placed in foster care.
Malcolm began working at various jobs at a young age. He engaged in various illegal activities in the predominantly Black neighborhoods of Detroit and later Harlem, including drug trafficking, gang activities, theft, and pimping. In 1945, he went to Boston and formed a gang for robbing wealthy white individuals, leading to his capture and imprisonment.
Until that age, Malcolm had been subjected to constant discrimination and experienced a hidden resentment due to racial segregation, mistreatment by whites, and injustices. It was in prison that he was introduced to reading, thanks to a fellow inmate. Through visits from his siblings, he became involved in a political organization called the Nation of Islam and was steered towards a different path.
The group known as the Nation of Islam consisted of individuals who had adopted Islam, but it espoused different teachings. Its leader, Elijah Muhammad, essentially declared himself a prophet. The teachings of this group supported the idea that Blacks were superior to whites, that whites were devils, and that the white race would soon perish (in a somewhat cult-like manner).
During this period, Malcolm X's vocal opposition to the Korean War, expressed in a letter to the U.S. president while he was in prison, led to the initiation of an FBI file on him, marking the beginning of surveillance and investigation.
After his conditional release in 1952, he began using the name Malcolm X and, following a visit to Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, was appointed to deliver sermons in their mosques, amassing numerous followers through his influential speeches and propaganda.
Subsequently, Malcolm X gathered a significant following through his fiery and often violent sermons, advocating for Black superiority, the establishment of a separate Black nation within America, and the return of whites to their ancestral lands in Africa.
Malcolm X's star rose dramatically in 1957 when two Black members of the Nation of Islam were severely beaten by police in New York. Malcolm X, accompanied by a group of nearly 100 people, went to the police station and demanded that his friend be treated for his injuries, but the police took no action. This marked the first instance of a Black uprising, and due to Malcolm X's insistence, the crowd outside the station swelled to almost five thousand people. With a single hand gesture, Malcolm X dispersed the crowd without incident. Witnesses to the event claimed they had never seen such power in anyone.
Malcolm X was subsequently put under close surveillance by the FBI, and agents were infiltrated into the Nation of Islam movement. His speeches advocating for the organization of the oppressed and the need for protection led to an incredible influx of members, further boosting Malcolm X's popularity.
During this period, Malcolm X became acquainted with true Islam and began to criticize the Nation of Islam movement for its teachings. Due to his dissent against Elijah Muhammad and his belief in reports of Elijah's affairs with women, he fell out of favor and left the Nation of Islam movement in 1964.
Under the banner of the Muslim Mosque, he began giving speeches and sermons to spread his movement. However, his speeches led to increasing animosity from the Nation of Islam community.
Later, Malcolm X was offered the opportunity to learn the teachings of Sunni Muslims by a few of his friends. He was told that he needed to familiarize himself with true Islam. During his pilgrimage to Mecca, he encountered the teachings of genuine Islam and, according to his own account, felt awakened. After performing the Hajj, he made his second visit to African countries, meeting with numerous African leaders including Gamal Abdel Nasser, delivering major conferences in several African nations, and winning the affection of the people.
Following these visits, he delivered conferences in France and was invited to speak at a university in the UK. Malcolm X's popularity had soared to the extent that his speech was broadcast by the BBC.
Prominent figures in the Nation of Islam movement began to express that they needed to learn about him, and throughout 1964, he received constant threats. In response, Malcolm X took measures to protect himself and his family.
On February 21, 1965, during a speech in Manhattan, Malcolm X was assassinated, shot from a distance of eight meters. Malcolm X is remembered in history as the person who endeared Islam to America. It is said that he not only initially defended true Islam, but ultimately found the right path. His childhood home was burned down by the KKK.
Born Malcolm Little, he later adopted the name Malcolm X, and after his pilgrimage, he took on the name Malik El-Shabazz. Malcolm X married a member of the movement and had six children.
Many notable individuals, including the famous boxer Muhammad Ali, were drawn to his movement. In his speeches in Europe, he stated that what the Nazis did to Jews was being done to Blacks in the West.
In the film depicting his life, Denzel Washington played the lead role and was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal.
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