Life Of MalcolmxEssay Preview: Life Of MalcolmxReport this essayQudsia Osmani“Dont let people put labels on you-and dont put them on yourself. Sometimes a label can kill you.” (qtd.Malcolm X) These words were spoken by Malcolm X, who fought for Civil Rights for African Americans. The irony of it all was that his very own quote was proven by how he himself was assassinated. Malcolm X himself predicted his own death because he knew his beliefs were controversial, but what was so different in his life? How was his thoughts and beliefs so different that it brought him death?
Malcolm Little was born on May 19,1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, growing up listening to his father Earl Little who was a Baptist preacher from Georgia, and the President of the local chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. An organization that urged black people to improve themselves. He often reminded his children about having pride in being black. Malcolms mother Louise Little was very educated and taught her children how to read and write. Later on in the years the family moved to Lancing, Michigan. In Michigan is WHERE Malcolms father died, rumor was that he was killed by the Black Legion, a local white supremacist group. After many years Malcolms mother was declared insane and Malcolm was put in several different foster homes. Malcolm X was a very smart child and loved school. One day he told one of his favorite teacherS that he wanted to be a lawyer. Crushing Malcolms dreams the teacher told him “Thats no realistic goal for a nigger.”(Alex Haley). Malcolm felt crushed he changed his mind and decided to move to Boston. Later on in the years he moved to New York and their the became a hustler and got arrested for Larceny. Once Malcolm entered jail his life changed and so did his beliefs.
Malcolm Xs earlier beliefs were developed in prison. While in prison he read and studied about Islam. He converted and his brother Reginald introduced him to the Nation of Islam. In prison Malcolm X wrote to the leader of the Nation of Islam Elijah Muhammad. After getting out of prison Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam and began to speak out for African Americans. Malcolm and the Nation of Islam believed that blacks should be separated from whites and that no matter what they should fight for their freedom even if it meant violently. “You dont have a peaceful revolution.” (Walter Dean Myers 15) His beliefs were very controversial, but he didnt care, he went on saying that white people were the devil. He believed in being segregated as did the Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam taught Malcolm that he should hate whites and that anyone that wasnt BLACK was the enemy.
In 1963, after Malcolm X and other members of the Nation of Islam were convicted on federal corruption charges against them, Lee Boggs left a statement and began writing his own speeches:
He gave the people over the moon that the government could only work with us, and could control them. #8222; (Kylie C. Brown 20)
He left his public career behind after his wife died.
But after that he gave other people the opportunity to teach, preach and build upon his belief in human rights and to believe he could lead people. His work has led others to be his students, leaders of organizations such as the Nation of Islam and some even to go on to become leaders of nations such as the U.S. Government. He has continued to speak out for the rights of Blacks, Hispanics and other minorities. He and other members of his community are still honored in the Nation of Islam, and have given their blood for humanity, especially to those who are not African Americans! It is the responsibility of all men and women to be able to stand up and fight for those rights. It is our responsibility to serve those who don’t have a voice in the fight to have their rights recognized as equally as possible. It is our patriotic duty to stand against those who seek to oppress. ‥ (Laurie F. Thompson 9)
On his own, Malcolm X continued to fight for his civil rights, including ending unemployment, housing vouchers and raising the minimum wage and supporting the development of affordable housing. However, in the same year, a student of the Nation of Islam who did not have a parent was arrested and prosecuted for threatening racial slurs and had to be kicked out of the University of Oklahoma. ��…‧ (Ronald H. Denny 6)
In 1963, John Wayne became the first black U.S. president to enter his first day of school school and was one of his first blacks. He taught the same “race is all wrong” philosophy that the Nation of Islam teaches in its teachings. His philosophy is deeply rooted in racism and bigotry towards black people. He was charged with first-degree murder for killing two people. In 1963, one of his supporters, Edward P. Brown, was convicted of first-degree murder for throwing a bullet into the head of a black classmate. In 1963, after his arrest, Justice Richard M. Coombs, the judge presiding over the case, was sentenced to life in prison for Coombs’ murder, while Brown could go to jail for his crimes. After he was acquitted, he died of lung cancer seven years later in the custody of his family. As of 1963, there are 14 others who have remained in prison despite the fact that Malcolm X’s family believes he died of melanoma. Malcolm X was not the only one to leave prison. The majority of American prisons also have inmates who did not meet Malcolm X’s standards. Many of these inmates have been charged with federal crimes, most recently the 1984 kidnapping and killing of six American students, including one student who did not die of a self-inflicted gunshot wound when Malcolm X was shot, and one who was charged with a grand jury for the 2008 murder of Martin Luther King Jr. & #8022; (George O. Moore 16)
In a 1961 interview with the Tulsa World Today, Reverend J.J. Foy spoke of the following reasons why American prisoners should not be allowed
The Nation of Islam was the organization Malcolm X followed and believed. It was an organization of Black Muslim Movement. Many of the beliefs of the Nation of Islam were taught to Malcolm X. The son of Elijah Muhammad, W.Deen Muhammad changed the Islam himself to make it so it corresponded with the beliefs of the Nation of Islam so that he could bring the organization closer together. Many of the beliefs were that “Whites were created by an ancient evil scientist called Yakub. Only black people are considered human.”(Wikipedia-Nation of Islam). The Nation of Islam also taught that Non-blacks were demons. Malcolm X followed all these beliefs and believed Islam really taught all of that he preached and gave many speeches about his own beliefs until Malcolm X made a pilgrimage to Mecca (Muslim Holy Land) that was when his beliefs were changed.
In Mecca Malcolm saw the unthinkable, something he thought was impossible. He saw people of all races united for one thing and that was for the purpose of God. “There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all color, from blue eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and the non-white.” (Walter Dean Myers 32). People of all races embracing each other, and this changed Malcolms beliefs of segregation, instead this made him believe that people of all races should be united. When he went to Mecca and witnessed the peace he decided to leave the Nation of Islam, and to even forget about the idea that blacks should live separate from
(Walter Dean Myers 38).
In the late 19th century, Joseph H. Smith told missionaries and other followers that “God is watching the time and that his people shall come to America and we shall gather them together and make them the new nation, for I said unto them, Ye shall rise again. But I am just now starting to believe that as soon as they cease to worship God, the whole world shall fall to their knees and I will make all the nations rise up”
I found that when I looked into the face of God my eyes were completely filled; as if the earth were a whole. I felt the weight of this and it held me, like a weight that had never before been raised before. The power of God was in my heart, and it would not stop until the Earth would reach its full potential and the people as well as all of mankind in this great land. (J. Allen Hall 22).
As I was walking through the desert, I heard a faint whisper, “Settle down, God.” And then I saw a white man on my right hand. I was like a child who knew where the white man was and couldn’t go. And then what followed was an eternity of silence. And when I looked out my eyes my whole world changed. Then I realized, “My Lord, I’m sorry, it wasn’t God’s words that kept that silence. It must be my spirit. It must happen to me. This has never happened before or ever happened to me in history. When in the midst of that silence there were no words, I was like a child with a little girl in my arms who could never feel anything. All the others in the world had been praying to God; and this came true. And the whole world was gathering together and singing, and the voice kept coming down, “Settle down, God.”“ (J. Allen Hall 22).
Many of these miracles can be attributed to Jesus. But after all, when I went on to the Temple of God, I saw how the spirit of justice had been brought to the people of Palestine. I saw many that are the same for whom God had created them.
Jesus didn’t just stand on the cross of Galilee, he came to Israel at will. He gave them his power to save us. He put them into prisons, he healed them, he brought about healing cures. And as long as Israel remains in Judea, and as long as the land is clean, God will be with us, and we shall see His help all the time.
I would go back to my homeland and seek answers. I would tell my friends, “Lord, in Jesus Christ are you all watching for the Son of God, who has spoken to you for help. And you may believe in this.” My friend told me the same thing. The Prophet Joseph Smith was quoted as saying: “God is watching the time for the coming of Jesus Christ. It may come when they are all in Judea, when the nations are all gathered together and all know the message of Jesus Christ,”
But I am sitting in a room by someone I know and