Malcolm X

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Malcolm X Malcolm’s family was a victim of racism before he was even born. His father, Reverend Earl Little, had experienced the death of three of his brothers by white men and one by lynching. This caused Rev. Little to become a preacher of Marcus Garvey’s pro-black and Back-to-Africa beliefs. Because of these beliefs, Malcolm’s family was often a target of racist acts. Due to an incident by the Ku Klux Klan while Malcolm’s mother was still pregnant with him they moved from Omaha to Milwaukee. There their were still many hate crimes. They a couple more times and then to Lansing, Michigan. Malcolm experienced friction between his parents and child abuse of his older siblings by his mother, Louise. One night in September 1931 (Malcolm was six years old), after a fight caused Rev. Little to take a walk, Malcolm and his family were awakened by the terrible news of their father’s death by beating. A large insurance policy which Rev. Little had signed, refused to pay. With only menial jobs to support the nine person family, Louise began receiving welfare checks. With this came the deterioration of her pride and eventually psychological downfall. Soon after, the family fell into poverty and could not feed itself. Louise was committed to a mental institution in Kalamazoo, Michigan and the younger children were placed in foster homes. Malcolm Had already been removed from his mother’s custody and was in foster care for juvenile delinquency. The welfare agency managed to put Malcolm in the home of a nearby family. Things were fine for a while but he was expelled from school for disruptive behavior. He then moved to a detention home where he showed how he was able to be reformed. Shortly after, he was accepted into the local school, nearly all white. In this school he interacted well with the white students and got high marks. Then in eighth grade a teacher asked him if he had any thoughts on a future career. The teachers response to Malcolm’s answer of “lawyer” changed Malcolm forever. The teacher said Malcolm should try to get a career suited for his kind, such as carpentry. Malcolm could not deal with the fact that although his scores were high, society shill said he had little chance for success in a legal field. Malcolm was the unable to associate with whites as he had before. Shorty after he moved to live with a relative in Maso... ... middle of paper ... ...etty “She’s the only person I’d trust with my life” On Martin Luther King Jr. “He got the peace prize and we got the problem” 1964 On Christianity “I find it difficult {to believe} that....Christians accuse {Black Muslims} of teaching racial supremacy or..hatred, because their own history and ....teachings are filled with it” 1960 On Integration “...when you’ve got some coffee that’s too black, which means it’s too strong, what do you do? You integrate it with cream...But if you pour too much cream in it you won’t even know you ever had coffee. It used to be hot, it becomes cool. It used to be strong, it becomes weak. It used to wake you up, now it puts you to sleep.” 1963 On Extremism “Yes I’m am extremist. The black race...is in extremely bad condition.” On Mecca “The holiest and most sacred city on earth. The fountain of truth, love, peace, and brotherhood.” 1964 On Earthly Rewards “Whenever I walk the street and see people ready to get with it, that’s my reward.” 1964 “I am not a racist in any form whatever. I don’t believe in any form of racism. I don’t believe in any form of discrimination of segregation. I believe in Islam.” 1964

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