Biographical Sketch and Accomplishments: Malcolm X (Essay Sample)

Biographical Sketch and Accomplishments
Name
Institution
Biographical Sketch and Accomplishments
Malcolm X
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925. Malcolm was the seventh child of his father and the fourth child of his mother. His father, Reverend Earl Little was not only a Baptist cleric, but also a director of the Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Movement society of the 1920. His mother on the other hand, Louis Norton Little was a homemaker occupied with rearing eight of the nine children seared by Reverend Earl Little. His father’s activist movements impelled death threats by the white supremacist organization known as, Black Legion (Malcolm, 2015). Following the death of his father in 1929 after their Lansing Michigan home was torched to the ground, and the institutionalization of his mother in the years that followed, Malcolm and his siblings were slip up among several orphanages and foster families.
In the year 1964, Malcolm together with his childhood friend Malcolm Jarvis were arrested and incarcerated for ten years on the count of burglary, however, Little was released on parole on his seventh year. During his time in prison, he furthered his education and underwent a period of enlightenment. This was facilitated by numerous visits by his brother Reginald who had converted to Islam and joined the Nation of Islam. Intrigued by his brother’s revelations, Malcolm begun to study the doctrines of Elijah Muhammad, the then leader of Nation of Islam. By the time of he was released on parole in 1952, Malcolm had renounced his “slave name” Little, and adopted the initial X as his surname to represent the unknown (Malcolm, 2015). Due to his intelligent nature, Malcolm was appointed minister of Nation of Islam and was charged with establishing mosques in cities such as Michigan, Harlem, and Detroit. Credited for increasing the NOI associates from 500 in 1952 to 30, 000 in 1963, Malcolm spread the agenda of the religious organization through radio, television, as well as newspaper columns. In this regard, Malcolm founded the Nation of Islam newspaper that propagated the ideologies of the movement. In the year 1959, Malcolm was featured in a television program titled, The Hate That Hate Produced, with Mike Wallace that was aired for one week (GaleResearchInc, 2016). Seeing as the program catapulted Malcolm’s fame to the extent of overshadowing Elijah Muhammad’s fame, the government took interest in the movement and infiltrated the organization. Following his appearance in the Mike Wallace program, Malcolm was invited to participate in numerous speaking engagements, forums and debates on television and radio stations as well as universities.
In 1963 however, Malcolm’s faith in Elijah Muhammad and the movement wavered when he made the shocking discovery that Muhammad had had relations resulting to children with six women belonging to the organization. Seeing as he Malcolm had adhered to the doctrines of the organization, which included a vow of celibacy till he wed Betty Shabazz in 1958, Malcolm was unable to overcome the weight of the betrayal. Thus, shortly after his discovery, Malcolm terminated his relationship with the movement and went on to form his own religious movement, which was referred to as Muslim Mosque Inc. in 1964. In the same year, he went to pilgrimage in Mecca and returned to America with a renewed outlook on integration. In addition, Malcolm ministered to the renowned professional boxer Cassius Clay who then decided to convert to Muslim and on February 1964, Cassis Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali. On February 21, 1965, Malcolm was shot 15 times at close range in one of the forums that he was called to lead at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York. Malcolm died at the age of 39 and it was later ascertained that his assassins were members of the NOI.
Muhammad Ali
Boxer, social activist, and philanthropist, Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Junior in January 17, 1942. Born to a father who was a painter and a mother who was a cleaning lady, Ali was raised in Louisville, Kentucky. Cassius Clay displayed boxing tendencies at an early age as he was known for participating in bouts in and out of the ring. In an odd twist of fate, Ali discovered his boxing talent when his bike was stolen at the age of 12. On reporting the incidence to Joe Martin, a police officer, Ali asserted that if the culprit was found he would fight him. Martin’s response to Ali was that he should acquire training before challenging people to a fight. It was then that Martin begun to teach Ali on how to spar and gradually he developed his boxing career as he began his training in Louisville Columbia Gym. Martin went further when he decided to feature Ali on his show, “Tomorrows Champions”(Myers, 2016).With the help of Fred Stoner, an African American trainer, Ali learned the art of boxing and perfected the art of moving with grace and ease of dancer, a technique for which he was known for. In 1954, Ali participated and won his first unprofessional fight. Two years later in 1956, Ali went on to win the Golden Gloves under the novice lightweight category. Three years later in 1959, Ali further went on to win two tournaments, the Amateur Athletics Union’s National title for the lightweight class and the National Golden Gloves Tournament of champions.
The year 1960 marked a milestone in Ali’s career as he landed a spot in U.S Olympic boxing team and went on to compete in the Olympics games where he won a gold medal under the lightweight division (Myers, 2016). Not only did Ali win the medal, but also he won the biggest contract ever signed by a professional contract. The contract was an agreement between Ali and a group of elite fans who were referred to as Louisville Sponsors. In the year 196 and 1964, Ali won a match against British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper and Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight titleholder of the world. Popularly referred to as “the greatest’ Ali was often heard boasting of his success in the industry. His style, which was a combination of speed and great punching power, won Ali the title of ‘the greatest” and the description of “floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.” Outside the boxing ring, Ali was known for his strong opposition of the Vietnam War in 1967 (Myers, 2016). By this time, Ali had converted to Islam as evidenced by the change of his name to Muhammad Ali, which means beloved of Allah. The end of his boxing career saw his increased involvement in social and political issues.
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