Racism Vs. Malcolm X: Civil Rights Activist

Born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm X was a prominent black nationalist leader who served as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and '60s. Articulate, passionate and a naturally gifted, inspirational orator, Malcolm X exhorted blacks to cast off the shackles of racism "by any means necessary", means that included violence. Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little and was exposed to civil rights activism since childhood. Little's father, Earl Little, was a civil rights activist, a member of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, and was, as a result, constantly harassed by the Ku Klux Klan. Little and his family were subject to much racism and discrimination, Little having many such encounters as a child. For instance, at the age of four, a racist mob set the Littles' house on fire, and the town's all-white firemen

Little and his siblings were separated and placed into foster homes. Little's extreme hate for white supremacists is easily justified by his childhood experience, breaking apart his family at such a young age, leaving X with no loved ones. In his early 20s, Little was approached by his siblings, persuading him to join the Nation of Islam, a small sect of black Muslims who wholeheartedly embraced the ideology of black nationalism and pride, an idea to secure freedom, justice, and equality for black Americans. Little quickly converted to Islam and adopted the surname of "X", dropping his former surname of "Little". Malcolm X became an outspoken member of the Nation of Islam, rapidly gaining followers because of his proposals of using any means necessary, that especially included violence, to gain equality. By the '60s, X had emerged as one the leading voices of the radicalized Civil Rights