“A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything”(“Quotes”). The meaning of the quote is a person who strongly stands on what they believe, and if they do not have a clear consion people will try to persuade them into different beliefs causing them not to think for themselves. Malcolm X made this powerful quote for all african americans to look upon and hope for the better. He developed a way of thinking towards African American rights, because they were not treated fair by the whites. Most whites made African American lives difficult by calling them out of their name and also treating them like they were nothing. Malcolm X played a significant role to better society in multiple ways (Myers)
Malcolm little known to be famous by the name
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Out of eleven children malcolm was the seventh. A few years later Malcolm and his family moved to the state of Lansing, Michigan. As Malcolm grew up he faced racial slurs from whites because they disliked his father, Earl Little, views on the black nationalist. Malcolm's father became an organizer for Marcus Garvey’s “back-to-Africa” movement. When Malcolm was six years old his family had to separate. His mother suffered from the death of his father and had a nervous breakdown causing the family to be departed by welfare agencies. Malcolm believed that white people destroyed his family causing him to take on the belief of Nation of Islam, known as the Black Muslims. Malcolm was placed in numerous schools, he became a good student and took on the dream of being a lawyer. Most of his teachers recommended him to take on carpentry instead. This discouraged Malcolm so he dropped out of school after the eighth grade to live with one of his siblings in Boston, Massachusetts. As Malcolm tried to make a living, he found …show more content…
Malcolm believed, that the only way to force a white man to compromise their stand and give justice and freedom to African Americans was to fight back with violence.“We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us”(“Quotes”). Malcolm was prepared to act against white provocation in the year of 1957. He led a large group of followers and surrounded a harlem police station. The police had no choice but to beat the black muslims. Malcolm X achieved quick result with his violent approach, which also led to other problems. Malcolm did not care about the punishment, he wanted to see if the end was reachable. Malcolm proved to the people that he was determined to find the end of African American favour (Salzman).
Malcolm never had the chance to fully speak his mind until he departed from Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam in 1963. “A race of people is like an individual man; until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own culture, affirms its own selfhood, it can never fulfill itself ”(“Quotes”). Malcolm was free to make his own philosophy about African American struggles, after he departed from muhammad’s religious structure. Most people changed their way of thinking because they understood Malcolm when he delivered his speech, causing less hatred amongst whites and blacks
Malcolm believed that Negro in America were lost. He was a strong advocate for tying race religion and together. “We don’t separate our color from our religion ”(25pg ). Islam is the native religion of black people, but when they
During his stay in prison, Malcolm continually lashed out at the guards and fellow inmates. After realizing that this would never get him anywhere, he began to study the teachings of Islam. With the aid of a fellow convict he cam to the mindset that it was his new mission in life to convert fellow blacks in order to unify them as a people. He felt that there was no real way that blacks and whites could come to a mutual agreement in America, and the only solution would be a great Diaspora back to his "homeland" of Africa.
Malcolm X while in prison completed his first transformation. Like many great figures and history makers had a low point in is life. At this time Malcolm was into drugs, hustling, women and money. He became so dependant on making a lot of money he and some of his friends decided to rob the house of an old white man. They were caught for this crime and were not only charged with this crime but were also charged with having sex with white women. Malcolm and his friend "Shorty" were sentenced to six years in prison. The two white women that were Malcolm and Shorty’s accomplices were sentenced to a year in jail. During the first couple days of prison Malcolm was coming off a drug high and was having withdrawals. These withdrawals led Malcolm into solitary confinement for two months. When he was let out of his chamber he met the man that would later be responsible for Malcolm’s transformation. This man was a follower of the nation of Islam and the great Alijah Muhammad. Malcolm learned a great deal form him. This shows us that even in the worst of circumstances we can learn and become better. This transformation was a great test for Malcolm and starts to let us see what a great influence he would end up being in the lives of many Americans.
Of the people whose names are mentioned in history, some men like Thomas Edison are praised for their genius minds, while others such as Adolf Hitler are criticized for leaving a depressing legacy behind. While it is relative easy to notice the type of legacies these two men left, legacies of other men are often vague and they seem to be imbedded in gray shadows. This is how many people view the life of Malcolm X. Malcolm X during his lifetime had influenced many African Americans to step up for their rights against the injustices by the American government. One on hand, he has been criticized for his hard stances that resemble extremism, while on the other hand he has been praised him for his effort in raising the status for African Americans. The extremes in viewing his life from the modern day perspective have often come from reading his climatic speech The Ballot or the Bullet that he gave in many cities across America in 1964. When he was with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X favored Blacks to be separated from the Whites, and during this time he strongly opposed White Supremacy. This also seems quite prevalent in his speech The Ballot or the Bullet. However, one events during the last year of his life reveal that he wanted the Blacks and the Whites to coexist as peaceful Americans.
Malcolm X, born in 1925 as Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska lived with the knowledge that his family house was burned down and that his father was killed by the Ku Klux Klan because he refused to vacate an area that was “supposed” to be for Whites only. His father was an independent man who wanted to fend for his family by himself and not have to rely on anyone
However, it was what happened in his life that made Malcolm X the man who people remember today. From a very early age, Little lived in fear of racism and hate groups, much of it rooting from his father’s murder by white supremacists. He was effectively orphaned by 13, as his mother was placed in a mental institution, and lived until he was 20 in several different foster homes. He was arrested for a crime and once released, went on to commit several crimes, including using and distributing drugs, etc. It was when he was imprisoned that he found the Nation of Islam, who helped him when he was released from prison to find a new life. From them, he was able to attain great oratory skills and create an environment when he spoke in which the people around him, white and black alike, felt empowered and equal. Once he discovered corruption and began to disdain the Nation of Islam, he became independent and was later assassinated. However, he along with MLK, were empowered by their stories, Malcolm’s being one of hatred, poverty, hope, and truth, that changed him to become a stimulus for African American equality in
Malcolm X became one of the leading figures during the civil rights movement with his great ideas and speaking abilities. Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X led the Nation of Islam in the United States. The Nation existed as a growing organization and the government felt that it would turn into a violent association. The FBI became intensely interested in Malcolm after his joining with Elijah Muhammad and began to tap Malcolm X and try to find charges against him so he...
“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” (X). 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 that they are supreme and should not be degraded for their skin color. He learned at a very early age if he wanted something in life, he had to make some noise
When Malcolm x was known as Malcolm Little which was from his birth until during his time in prison went he converted to the Nation of Islam ( Malcolm X 154-172) he experienced traumatic events that laid the foundation in terms of how he came to view white people u...
Malcolm X was particularly firm in his opinions of the nonviolent strategies advocated by Martin Luther King, Jr. During a November 1963 address, Malcolm ridiculed the theory that African Americans could achieve their freedom nonviolently. "The only revolution in which the goa...
Malcolm dropped out of school after 8th grade when a teacher told him to try and be a carpenter instead of a lawyer he then turned to crime and became known as “Detroit Red”. He was later arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was let out on parole after serving seven. After he was released he went to the Nation of Islam to follow behind Elijah Muhammad in hope to learn more about his beliefs and to become a part of the Nation of Islam.
Later in 1937, Malcolm’s mother Louise, who never got over her husband’s death, was admitted into a mental institution. Malcolm and his other siblings were split up into various foster homes (Malcolm X bio, 2013). Youth Malcolm graduated junior high at the top of his class, with aspirations of being a lawyer, until a teacher told him that being a lawyer was “no realistic goal for a nigger,” suggesting that he be something practical, like a carpenter (J. Simon, 26).... ... middle of paper ...
Malcolm X gains his first part of credibility from him simply being a civil rights activist. He was an extremely prominent figure
Malcolm X or Malcolm Little and also known as “El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz”, was an African-American Muslim minister and a human rights activist. He had a hard child a young adult life. His admirers he was a courageous speaking for the rights of blacks, a man who accuses white America in the meanest terms for their crimes against black Americans; critics accused him of preaching racism and violence. “He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history along with martin luther king jr.” based on some of the things malcolm has done, Martin luther king jr. definitely had a different way of approaching issues. with both of their totally different way of getting their point across, discussion could be made on who was more effective in the civil rights movement as a whole. If Malcolm x wasn't around and fighting for civil right around the same time as MLK was doing it here he probably would of had much of a chance and would have just been killed, he in a way motivated the whole world into fighting for civil rights in their country, without his “black power” philosophy. he was easily in the top five people that got the civil right movement to follows it course and end up get equality for black and white.