Malcolm XLily Sackett

May 19, 1925

• Born Malcolm Little• Lived in Omaha, Nebraska • First son of Earl and Louise Little

1931

• His family was harassed because of the hatred that his father, Earl Little, a strong believer in civil rights garnered. Their home was burned down and his family was forced to move

• Grew up in various foster homes due to his father, being found dead on streetcar tracks when he was 6 and his mother, Louise Little, being committed to a mental hospital shortly afterwards

TIMELINE- BACKGROUND “Children have a lesson adults should learn, to not be ashamed of failing, but to get up and try again. Most of us adults are so afraid, so cautious, so 'safe,' and therefore so shrinking and rigid and afraid that it is why so many humans fail. Most middle-aged adults have resigned themselves to failure.”

1938

• Enrolled in West Junior High School, in Lansing, Michagan. • He was the only black student. • He dropped out at age 15 because although he excelled academically, his teachers turned down

his idea of being a lawyer, saying it was impractical and impossible due to his race.

1940-

1941

• Malcolm travels to Boston to be with his half-sister Ella. He is inspired by her strong character but is also exposed to the criminal world.

1943-

1944

• Malcolm moved to Harlem, New York, where he dodged the draft and began involved in

criminal activity, adopting the nickname “Detroit Red” • Indicted for larceny. He goes back to Boston, receiving a three month suspended

sentence and one year of probation.

“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.”

1946-

1948

• Malcolm is convicted of Larceny a second time, as well as breaking and entering and carrying a weapon. He is sentenced to 8 years in Charleston Prison where he becomes an avid reader, resolved to bettering himself

• Transferred to Concord Reformatory for 15 months. Influenced by family and letters from Elijah Muhammad. • Malcolm converts to the Nation of Islam• Transferred to Norfolk Prison Colony, Massachusetts, where there is a great library

1953

• Malcolm is released from prison early after only six years• Receives the “X" in his name from The Nation of Islam

1958-

1959

• 1958-Marries a nurse named Betty Saunders in JanuaryTheir first child, daughter Attallah, is born in November.

• He travels worldwide as an ambassador for the Nation of Islam.

“If you don’t stand for something you fall for everything.”

ACTIVISM

SPEECHES “You don’t have a peaceful revolution, you don’t have a turn-the-cheek revolution. There’s no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.”

• Because Malcolm X was such an articulate and passionate speaker, he won large numbers of followers and critics from early on in his career

• Early 1960s- radical voice of the Civil Rights movement

• Placed the American Civil Rights Movement within a global context, speaking on colonialism, Africanism and socialism

http://newsone.com/184281/top-5-malcolm-x-speeches/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhg6LxyTnY8

ISLAM “The true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to recognize that anger can blind human vision, America is the first country … that can actually have a bloodless revolution.”

• In the 50s and 60s Malcolm was a major representative of the Nation of Islam (different sect of Islam). During his involvement, the number of members jumped from 400 to 40,000.

• Epiphany at Mecca- returned to US optimistic about race relations, was beginning an ideological transformation when he was assassinated.

http://americafrom1865.blogspot.com/2011/04/white-backlash-and-end-of-modern-civil.html

DEATH “It’ll be the ballot or it’ll be the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death. And if you’re not ready to pay the price don’t use the word freedom in your vocabulary.”

• February 21, 1965 - Malcolm X was preparing to deliver a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, New York

• Three gunmen stormed the stage and shot him at point blank range 15 times

• Norman 3X Butler, Thomas 15X Johnson, and Talmadge Hayer (seen left to right below) were convicted in his murder, all members of the Nation of Islam.

http://afox11.dyndns-pics.com/yd/yde699.jpg

LEGACY A LEGACY

citations

•Sources: 

•Book: Primary 

•X, Malcolm, and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York City: Ballantine, 1973. 512. Print.

•Myers, Walter Dean. Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary. New York: Scholastic, 1993.

•Web: Secondary 

•"Malcolm X." Malcolm X. Web. 4 May 2015. <http://malcolmx.com/>.

•Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 12 May 2015. .

•"The Ballot or TheBullet Speechby Malcolm X." The Ballot or the Bullet Speech by Malcolm X. Web. 20 May 2015.

•Photos and Videos: Visual

•"Blanton Blog." Blanton Blog. Web. 10 May 2015. .

•"Malcolm X - Multimedia Pictures: Gallery Three." Malcolm X - Multimedia Pictures: Gallery Three. Web. 10 May 2015.

•"Top 5 Malcolm X Speeches." News One RSS. 19 May 2011. Web. 18 May 2015.

•"America From 1865." : White Backlash and the End of the Modern Civil Rights Era. Web. 20 May 2015.

•Newspaper: Media

•"Malcolm X Is Assassinated in 1965." NY Daily News. Web. 10 May 2015.