Malcolm X: Human Rights Activist

“I’m for the truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole” (Haley 421). This quote by Malcolm X represented his attitude towards equality and self-empowerment. The true Malcolm X was a passionate human rights activist as well as an extremely outspoken man during the fifties and sixties. X encouraged millions of African Americans to fight for what they believed in and to take pride in their ethnicity. X persuaded a multitude of African Americans into believing they are supreme and should not be degraded for their skin color. He learned at a very early age from his family’s poverty if he wanted something

X decided if he wanted to challenge the human rights for African American equality, he would have to elaborate his word choice and be obstreperous. Born in Omaha, Nebraska Malcom X was faced with the challenges of discrimination and always moving from home to home due to the issues that came along with being black. The fear of discrimination impacted X’s childhood, which influenced him to establish the organization of Afro-American Unity, promote black supremacy, and the emphasis of Pan-Africanism. This information leads the readers to a various obvious question: How did Malcolm X positively impact the lives of many African Americans during a tumultuous period? To clearly understand the tremendous affect Malcolm X had on the African American community, the reader must fully scrutinize the following main points: his early years, his personality, his career, and ultimately, the legacy which remained after his assassination. As a result, Malcolm X’s impact comes not only from his actions and reactions, but also by his drive and willingness for African American

Without a doubt, X’s early life obstacles are evident from these examples of suspense. X’s quest for quality began on 19 May 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was born into a world of discrimination to Earl and Louise Helen Norton Little (Magill 2373). He was the fourth born child, always having to live up to the expectations of his older brothers and sister. During X’s early years, his family moved several times from the conflict of racism. Living in Omaha was a horrifying time for X and his family. The Little’s were forced to move to Lansing, Michigan after being threatened by the Ku Klux Klan, a group that believes Caucasians are superior to all races, especially superior to African Americans (2373). While living in an all-white neighborhood in Lansing, their house was mysteriously burned down with no explanation. This act of racism frightened X, he never wanted to endure the feeling of being helpless again. Nevertheless, discrimination entered X’s life once again. When X was six years old, X’s father was unexpectedly murdered by the Black Legion, a secret vigilante white supremacist organization in the Midwest which branched from the Ku Klux Klan. The authorities claimed his father’s death was an accident, and his family was denied the death benefit. X’s father death sparked the Little’s struggles, and the surviving family was so poor that X’s mother, Louise