Malcolm X Influence On Black History Writing Assignment (Essay Sample)

Malcolm X Influence On Black History
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Malcolm X Influence On Black History
Introduction
Malcolm X, previously known as Malcolm Little was born on 19th may 1925 in Omaha a place called Nebraska but grew up in Lansing in Michigan. Malcolm was a real man who had the great passion of bringing change in the world by his trust in the civil rights and the Islam religion. Malcolm's belief was that the white and blacks were all equal, and there was no need why the blacks should underrate themselves and assume that the white were more superior than them. His beliefs are what triggered the black Americans to stand firm and fight for their rights in the 1950s and the 1960s when he was serving as the prominent spokesman for the Nation of Islam (Bracey, 2008). It was during this time through his effort that brought a significant impact on the Islam nation where many people converted into Islam religion thus bringing a drastic increase in the Islam population in America. Malcolm’s effort in bringing peace and uniformity was not just restricted to America, but he went further to visit different nations including those in Africa and middle east preaching his words of freedom and actively enforcing his beliefs
Early Life
Malcolm X was born on 19th may 1925 in Omaha and was named Malcolm little. He was the son of his mother Louise and his father Earl Little the staunch preacher who was a conspicuous figure in the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Both Malcolm’s parents trusted Marcus Garvey as the black nationalist leader of their time (Conyers, 2007). The fact that Earl Little was involved in civil rights activism, actually brought a significant negative impact on his family who experienced everyday provocation from various whites’ groups. Malcolm grew up experiencing all kind of rejections and harassments from groups such as Ku Klux Klan riders. His father, Earl, later evacuated them from Omaha where he was born in Lansing in Michigan.
The fact that they switched their home from Omaha was not a solution because the rate of racism in their new home region was worse to an extent that their house was burnt to ashes without any support from the all-white emergency department (Finkelman, 2009). The situation kept on worsening each and every day and in 1931 Earl was murdered and through corruption it was declared that the death of his father was a murder case and because of that, there was no any compensation to his family. His mother could not withstand the shock and was admitted to a mental institution. Malcolm was then had no option but to join his relatives.
Malcolm joined the West junior high school, but he later dropped out of school due to the harassments from the teachers and moved to Boston city to stay with her sister Ella. He then became a shoe shiner in the streets of Boston where he then become a drug peddler and joined the city’s underground criminals (Jennings, 2006). In 1946, he was arrested and jailed for ten years. It is in the period that he was in prison that he learned more about justice and equity. He then converted to Islam religion when he was freed in 1952 and changed his name to X instead of Little.
Malcolm and The Nation of Islam
Malcolm was now a free man. He then moved to a place called Detroit in Michigan to work with Elijah Muhammad who was the leader of the Islam nation. The Islam believed that:
1. No white was to be a member of the group and in fact, they considered then their enemies.
2. The whites were harassing them by all means, both psychologically and physically.
3. The aim of the white was to underrate them and make them feel in superior.
4. They could not survive financially without depending on the whites.
5. The aim of the white was to bring conflict and contradictions among the black themselves.
The aim of the Islam was:
1. To ensure the blacks are well educated with the right skills and knowledge.
2. To actively enforce the rights of the blacks to maximally defend themselves.
3. To improve the rate or standards of economic development of the black nation.
According to Malcolm, the ways of the nation of Islam were the best to follow and practice. Malcolm was elected the leader of the temple in Harlem and Boston (Rosemont, & Kelley, 2009). He then started developing other temples in various regions of Michigan and even came up with a movement with an aim of attracting more young black men into the temple to hear and learn the Islam ways. Malcolm went to an extent of launching a newspaper by the name Muhammad Speaks so as to boost the spread of the Islam knowledge.
Malcolm kept the spirit of determination, and he would inspire the blacks to take charge of their lives and reject the psychological and physical torture from the whites. The efforts of Malcolm, however, could not be appreciated by few middle-class blacks who kept on denying and discriminating his opinions. Malcolm still insisted in achieving his dreams; he went to an extent of marrying a woman from the Islam community Betty X with whom they were blessed with four daughters.
In around 1959, Malcolm was now a conspicuous leader in the nation of Islam, and he could visit many countries across America, Middle East, and Africa to spread the gospel that he believed (Pinn, 2001). As the spokesman of the Nation of Islam, he managed to inspire many blacks into Islam and even trigger the attention of other Americans into the Islam nation. Malcolm becomes a conspicuous figure in the Nation of Islam to an extent that the blacks started fighting each other, they separated when they began viewing Malcolm as a threat to the Nation of Islam. Some followed Mohammad while others stacked to the teaching of Malcolm.
Malcolm later isolated himself from the Nation of Islam and started his union the Muslim Mosque Incorporated, which was a political organization meant to support the black Americans. Malcolm later traveled to Mecca for holy pilgrimage and on embarking to America, he abandoned his name to El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Jennings, 2006). He then agreed to work with any white who was willing and ready to assist the blacks but unfortunately he was shot during his speech on 21st February 1965.<...