best biography malcolm x

Civil rights activist Malcolm X was a prominent leader in the Nation of Islam. Until his 1965 assassination, he vigorously supported Black nationalism.

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Malcolm X was a minister, civil rights activist , and prominent Black nationalist leader who served as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and 1960s. Due largely to his efforts, the Nation of Islam grew from a mere 400 members at the time he was released from prison in 1952 to 40,000 members by 1960. A naturally gifted orator, Malcolm X exhorted Black people to cast off the shackles of racism “by any means necessary,” including violence. The fiery civil rights leader broke with the Nation of Islam shortly before his assassination in 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, where he had been preparing to deliver a speech. He was 39 years old.

FULL NAME: Malcolm X (nee Malcolm Little) BORN: May 19, 1925 DIED: February 21, 1965 BIRTHPLACE: Omaha, Nebraska SPOUSE: Betty Shabazz (1958-1965) CHILDREN: Attilah, Quiblah, Lamumbah, Ilyasah, Malaak, and Malikah ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Taurus

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the fourth of eight children born to Louise, a homemaker, and Earl Little, a preacher who was also an active member of the local chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and avid supporter of Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey .

Due to Earl Little’s civil rights activism, the family was subjected to frequent harassment from white supremacist groups including the Ku Klux Klan and one of its splinter factions, the Black Legion. In fact, Malcolm Little had his first encounter with racism before he was even born. “When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, ‘a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home,’” Malcolm later remembered. “Brandishing their shotguns and rifles, they shouted for my father to come out.”

The harassment continued when Malcolm was 4 years old, and local Klan members smashed all of the family’s windows. To protect his family, Earl Little moved them from Omaha to Milwaukee in 1926 and then to Lansing, Michigan, in 1928.

However, the racism the family encountered in Lansing proved even greater than in Omaha. Shortly after the Littles moved in, a racist mob set their house on fire in 1929, and the town’s all-white emergency responders refused to do anything. “The white police and firemen came and stood around watching as the house burned to the ground,” Malcolm later remembered. Earl moved the family to East Lansing where he built a new home.

Two years later, in 1931, Earl’s dead body was discovered lying across the municipal streetcar tracks. Although the family believed Earl was murdered by white supremacists from whom he had received frequent death threats, the police officially ruled his death a streetcar accident, thereby voiding the large life insurance policy he had purchased in order to provide for his family in the event of his death.

Louise never recovered from the shock and grief over her husband’s death. In 1937, she was committed to a mental institution where she remained for the next 26 years. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and placed in foster homes.

In 1938, Malcolm was kicked out of West Junior High School and sent to a juvenile detention home in Mason, Michigan. The white couple who ran the home treated him well, but he wrote in his autobiography that he was treated more like a “pink poodle” or a “pet canary” than a human being.

He attended Mason High School where he was one of only a few Black students. He excelled academically and was well-liked by his classmates, who elected him class president.

A turning point in Malcolm’s childhood came in 1939 when his English teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he answered that he wanted to be a lawyer. His teacher responded, “One of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic... you need to think of something you can be... why don’t you plan on carpentry?” Having been told in no uncertain terms that there was no point in a Black child pursuing education, Malcolm dropped out of school the following year, at the age of 15.

After quitting school, Malcolm moved to Boston to live with his older half-sister, Ella, about whom he later recalled: “She was the first really proud Black woman I had ever seen in my life. She was plainly proud of her very dark skin. This was unheard of among Negroes in those days.”

Ella landed Malcolm a job shining shoes at the Roseland Ballroom. However, out on his own on the streets of Boston, he became acquainted with the city’s criminal underground and soon turned to selling drugs.

He got another job as kitchen help on the Yankee Clipper train between New York and Boston and fell further into a life of drugs and crime. Sporting flamboyant pinstriped zoot suits, he frequented nightclubs and dance halls and turned more fully to crime to finance his lavish lifestyle.

In 1946, Malcolm was arrested on charges of larceny and sentenced to 10 years in prison. To pass the time during his incarceration, he read constantly, devouring books from the prison library in an attempt make up for the years of education he had missed by dropping out of high school.

Also while in prison, Malcolm was visited by several siblings who had joined the Nation of Islam, a small sect of Black Muslims who embraced the ideology of Black nationalism—the idea that in order to secure freedom, justice and equality, Black Americans needed to establish their own state entirely separate from white Americans.

He changed his name to Malcolm X and converted to the Nation of Islam before his release from prison in 1952 after six and a half years.

Now a free man, Malcolm X traveled to Detroit, where he worked with the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad , to expand the movement’s following among Black Americans nationwide.

Malcolm X became the minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem and Temple No. 11 in Boston, while also founding new temples in Hartford and Philadelphia. In 1960, he established a national newspaper called Muhammad Speaks in order to further promote the message of the Nation of Islam.

Articulate, passionate, and an inspirational orator, Malcolm X exhorted Black people to cast off the shackles of racism “by any means necessary,” including violence. “You don’t have a peaceful revolution. You don’t have a turn-the-cheek revolution,” he said. “There’s no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.”

His militant proposals—a violent revolution to establish an independent Black nation—won Malcolm X large numbers of followers as well as many fierce critics. Due primarily to the efforts of Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam grew from a mere 400 members at the time he was released from prison in 1952, to 40,000 members by 1960.

By the early 1960s, Malcolm X had emerged as a leading voice of a radicalized wing of the Civil Rights Movement, presenting a dramatic alternative to Martin Luther King Jr. ’s vision of a racially-integrated society achieved by peaceful means. King was critical of Malcolm’s methods but avoided directly calling out his more radical counterpart. Although very aware of each other and working to achieve the same goal, the two leaders met only once—and very briefly—on Capitol Hill when the U.S. Senate held a hearing about an anti-discrimination bill.

A rupture with Elijah Muhammad proved much more traumatic. In 1963, Malcolm X became deeply disillusioned when he learned that his hero and mentor had violated many of his own teachings, most flagrantly by carrying on many extramarital affairs. Muhammad had, in fact, fathered several children out of wedlock.

Malcolm’s feelings of betrayal, combined with Muhammad’s anger over Malcolm’s insensitive comments regarding the assassination of John F. Kennedy , led Malcolm X to leave the Nation of Islam in 1964.

That same year, Malcolm X embarked on an extended trip through North Africa and the Middle East. The journey proved to be both a political and spiritual turning point in his life. He learned to place America’s Civil Rights Movement within the context of a global anti-colonial struggle, embracing socialism and pan-Africanism.

Malcolm X also made the Hajj, the traditional Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during which he converted to traditional Islam and again changed his name, this time to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

After his epiphany at Mecca, Malcolm X returned to the United States more optimistic about the prospects for a peaceful resolution to America’s race problems. “The true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to recognize that anger can blind human vision,” he said. “America is the first country... that can actually have a bloodless revolution.”

Just as Malcolm X appeared to be embarking on an ideological transformation with the potential to dramatically alter the course of the Civil Rights Movement, he was assassinated .

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X took the stage for a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. He had just begun addressing the room when multiple men rushed the stage and began firing guns. Struck numerous times at close range, Malcolm X was declared dead after arriving at a nearby hospital. He was 39.

Three members of the Nation of Islam were tried and sentenced to life in prison for murdering the activist. In 2021, two of the men—Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam—were exonerated for Malcolm’s murder after spending decades behind bars. Both maintained their innocence but were still convicted in March 1966, alongside Mujahid Abdul Halim, who did confess to the murder. Aziz and Islam were released from prison in the mid-1980s, and Islam died in 2009. After the exoneration, they were awarded $36 million for their wrongful convictions.

In February 2023, Malcolm X’s family announced a wrongful death lawsuit against the New York Police Department, the FBI, the CIA, and other government entities in relation to the activist’s death. They claim the agencies concealed evidence and conspired to assassinate Malcolm X.

Malcolm X married Betty Shabazz in 1958. The couple had six daughters: Attilah, Quiblah, Lamumbah, Ilyasah, Malaak, and Malikah. Twins Malaak and Malikah were born after Malcolm died in 1965.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

In the early 1960s, Malcolm X began working with acclaimed author Alex Haley on an autobiography. The book details Malcolm X’s life experiences and his evolving views on racial pride, Black nationalism, and pan-Africanism.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X was published in 1965 after his assassination to near-universal praise. The New York Times called it a “brilliant, painful, important book,” and Time magazine listed it as one of the 10 most influential nonfiction books of the 20 th century.

Malcolm X has been the subject of numerous movies, stage plays, and other works and has been portrayed by actors like James Earl Jones , Morgan Freeman , and Mario Van Peebles.

In 1992, Spike Lee directed Denzel Washington in the title role of his movie Malcolm X . Both the film and Washington’s portrayal of Malcolm X received wide acclaim and were nominated for several awards, including two Academy Awards.

In the immediate aftermath of Malcolm X’s death, commentators largely ignored his recent spiritual and political transformation and criticized him as a violent rabble-rouser. But especially after the publication of The Autobiography of Malcolm X , he began to be remembered for underscoring the value of a truly free populace by demonstrating the great lengths to which human beings will go to secure their freedom.

“Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression,” he said. “Because power, real power, comes from our conviction which produces action, uncompromising action.”

• Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression because power, real power, comes from our conviction which produces action, uncompromising action.
• Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.
• 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.
• If you are not willing to pay the price for freedom, you don’t deserve freedom.
• We want freedom now, but we’re not going to get it saying “We Shall Overcome.” We’ve got to fight to overcome.
• I believe that it is a crime for anyone to teach a person who is being brutalized to continue to accept that brutality without doing something to defend himself.
• We are non-violent only with non-violent people—I’m non-violent as long as somebody else is non-violent—as soon as they get violent, they nullify my non-violence.
• Revolution is like a forest fire. It burns everything in its path. The people who are involved in a revolution don’t become a part of the system—they destroy the system, they change the system.
• If a man puts his arms around me voluntarily, that’s brotherhood, but if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that’s not brotherhood, that’s hypocrisy.
• You get freedom by letting your enemy know that you’ll do anything to get your freedom; then you’ll get it. It’s the only way you’ll get it.
• My father didn’t know his last name. My father got his last name from his grandfather, and his grandfather got it from his grandfather who got it from the slavemaster.
• To have once been a criminal is no disgrace. To remain a criminal is the disgrace. I formerly was a criminal. I formerly was in prison. I’m not ashamed of that.
• It’s going to be the ballot or the bullet.
• America is the first country... that can actually have a bloodless revolution.

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By: History.com Editors

Updated: December 18, 2023 | Original: October 29, 2009

Malcolm X was a minister, a leader in the civil rights movement and a supporter of Black nationalism. He urged his fellow Black Americans to protect themselves against white aggression “by any means necessary,” a stance that often put him at odds with the nonviolent teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. His charisma and oratory skills helped him achieve national prominence in the Nation of Islam, a belief system that merged Islam with Black nationalism. After Malcolm X’s assassination in 1965, his bestselling book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, popularized his ideas and inspired the Black Power movement.

Malcolm X: Early Life

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska . His father was a Baptist preacher and follower of Marcus Garvey . The family moved to Lansing, Michigan after the Ku Klux Klan made threats against them, though the family continued to face threats in their new home.

In 1931, Malcolm’s father was allegedly murdered by a white supremacist group called the Black Legionaries, though the authorities claimed his death was an accident. Mrs. Little and her children were denied her husband’s death benefits.

Did you know? In 1964, Malcolm X made a pilgrimage to Mecca and changed his name to el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.

At age 6, the future Malcolm X entered a foster home and his mother suffered a nervous breakdown. Though highly intelligent and a good student, he dropped out of school following eighth grade. He began wearing zoot suits , dealing drugs and earned the nickname “Detroit Red.” At 21, he went to prison for larceny.

Nation of Islam

It was in jail that Malcolm X first encountered the teachings of Elijah Muhammad , head of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, or Black Muslims, a Black nationalist group that identified white people as the devil. Soon after, Malcolm adopted the last name “X” to represent his rejection of his “slave” name.

Malcolm was released from prison after serving six years and went on to become the minister of Mosque No. 7 in Harlem, where his oratory skills and sermons in favor of self-defense gained the organization new admirers: The Nation of Islam grew from 400 members in 1952 to 40,000 members by 1960. His admirers included celebrities like Muhammad Ali , who became close friends with Malcolm X before the two had a falling out.

His advocacy of achieving “by any means necessary” put him at the opposite end of the spectrum from Martin Luther King, Jr. ’s nonviolent approach to gaining ground in the growing civil rights movement .

After King’s “ I Have a Dream ” speech at the 1963 March on Washington, Malcolm remarked: “Who ever heard of angry revolutionists all harmonizing ‘We Shall Overcome’ … while tripping and swaying along arm-in-arm with the very people they were supposed to be angrily revolting against?”

Malcolm X’s politics also earned him the ire of the FBI , who conducted surveillance of him from his time in prison until his death. J. Edgar Hoover even told the agency’s New York office to “do something about Malcolm X.”

In 1958, Malcolm X married Betty Shabazz (née Betty Sanders), a native of Detroit, Michigan , after a lengthy courtship.

The couple had six children, all daughters: Attallah, Qubilah, Ilyasah, Gamilah Lumumba and twins Malikah and Malaak. Several of Malcolm X’s children have been outspoken activists in the civil rights movement and other causes.

Organization of Afro-American Unity

Disenchanted with corruption in the Nation of Islam, which suspended him in December 1963 after he claimed that President John F. Kennedy’s assassination was “the chickens coming home to roost,” Malcolm X left the organization for good.

A few months later, he traveled to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where he underwent a spiritual transformation: "The true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to recognize that anger can blind human vision," he wrote. Malcolm X returned to America with a new name: El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

In June 1964, he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity, which identified racism, and not the white race, as the enemy of justice. His more moderate philosophy became influential, especially among members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC ).

Malcolm X Assassination

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated by three gunmen at an Organization of Afro-American Unity rally in the Audubon Ballroom in New York City .

Though it was initially believed that the three assassins were members of the Nation of Islam and were affiliated with religious leader Louis Farrakhan, the killing remains controversial and no consensus exists on who the killer(s) actually were.

In 2021, Muhammad Aziz was exonerated after being convicted in 1966 for the killing along with Khalil Islam and Mujahid Abdul Halim. Halim, who admitted to the shooting but later said Aziz and Islam were not involved, was paroled in 2010.

Malcolm X had predicted that he would be more important in death than in life, and had even foreshadowed his early demise in his book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Malcolm X is buried in Ferncliff Cemetery, New York.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Malcolm X began work on his autobiography in the early 1960s with the help of Alex Haley , the acclaimed author of Roots . The Autobiography of Malcolm X chronicled his life and views on race, religion and Black nationalism. It was published posthumously in 1965 and became a bestseller.

The book and Malcolm X’s life have inspired numerous film adaptations, most famously Spike Lee’s 1992 film Malcolm X starring Denzel Washington .

Quotes by Malcolm X

“If you have no critics, you'll likely have no success.”

“Stumbling is not falling.”

“There is no better teacher than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.”

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

“You can't separate peace from freedom, because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.”

Malcolm X. Biography.com . ‘Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X.’ New York Times. People and Ideas: Malcolm X. PBS . Malcolm X’s 5 surviving daughters: Inside lives marred by tragedy and turmoil. New York Post . A man exonerated in the killing of Malcolm X is suing New York City for $40 million. NPR .

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Author Interviews

Malcolm x biography wins national book award.

Tamara Payne won the National Book Award for a book largely written by her father, Les Payne. It's called The Dead Are Arising, a biography of Malcolm X. Payne speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965

As the nation’s most visible proponent of  Black Nationalism , Malcolm X’s challenge to the multiracial, nonviolent approach of Martin Luther King, Jr., helped set the tone for the ideological and tactical conflicts that took place within the black freedom struggle of the 1960s. Given Malcolm X’s abrasive criticism of King and his advocacy of racial separatism, it is not surprising that King rejected the occasional overtures from one of his fiercest critics. However, after Malcolm’s assassination in 1965, King wrote to his widow, Betty Shabazz: “While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had the great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem” (King, 26 February 1965).

Malcolm Little was born to Louise and Earl Little in Omaha, Nebraska, on 19 May 1925. His father died when he was six years old—the victim, he believed, of a white racist group. Following his father’s death, Malcolm recalled, “Some kind of psychological deterioration hit our family circle and began to eat away our pride” (Malcolm X,  Autobiography , 14). By the end of the 1930s Malcolm’s mother had been institutionalized, and he became a ward of the court to be raised by white guardians in various reform schools and foster homes.

Malcolm joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) while serving a prison term in Massachusetts on burglary charges. Shortly after his release in 1952, he moved to Chicago and became a minister under Elijah Muhammad, abandoning his “slave name,” and becoming Malcolm X (Malcolm X, “We Are Rising”). By the late 1950s, Malcolm had become the NOI’s leading spokesman.

Although Malcolm rejected King’s message of  nonviolence , he respected King as a “fellow-leader of our people,” sending King NOI articles as early as 1957 and inviting him to participate in mass meetings throughout the early 1960s ( Papers  5:491 ). Although Malcolm was particularly interested that King hear Elijah Muhammad’s message, he also sought to create an open forum for black leaders to explore solutions to the “race problem” (Malcolm X, 31 July 1963). King never accepted Malcolm’s invitations, however, leaving communication with him to his secretary, Maude  Ballou .

Despite his repeated overtures to King, Malcolm did not refrain from criticizing him publicly. “The only revolution in which the goal is loving your enemy,” Malcolm told an audience in 1963, “is the Negro revolution … That’s no revolution” (Malcolm X, “Message to the Grassroots,” 9).

In the spring of 1964, Malcolm broke away from the NOI and made a pilgrimage to Mecca. When he returned he began following a course that paralleled King’s—combining religious leadership and political action. Although King told reporters that Malcolm’s separation from Elijah Muhammad “holds no particular significance to the present civil rights efforts,” he argued that if “tangible gains are not made soon all across the country, we must honestly face the prospect that some Negroes might be tempted to accept some oblique path [such] as that Malcolm X proposes” (King, 16 March 1964).

Ten days later, during the Senate debate on the  Civil Rights Act of 1964 , King and Malcolm met for the first and only time. After holding a press conference in the Capitol on the proceedings, King encountered Malcolm in the hallway. As King recalled in a 3 April letter, “At the end of the conference, he came and spoke to me, and I readily shook his hand.” King defended shaking the hand of an adversary by saying that “my position is that of kindness and reconciliation” (King, 3 April 1965).

Malcolm’s primary concern during the remainder of 1964 was to establish ties with the black activists he saw as more militant than King. He met with a number of workers from the  Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee  (SNCC), including SNCC chairman John  Lewis  and Mississippi organizer Fannie Lou  Hamer . Malcolm saw his newly created Organization of African American Unity (OAAU) as a potential source of ideological guidance for the more militant veterans of the southern civil rights movement. At the same time, he looked to the southern struggle for inspiration in his effort to revitalize the Black Nationalist movement.

In January 1965, he revealed in an interview that the OAAU would “support fully and without compromise any action by any group that is designed to get meaningful immediate results” (Malcolm X,  Two Speeches , 31). Malcolm urged civil rights groups to unite, telling a gathering at a symposium sponsored by the  Congress of Racial Equality : “We want freedom now, but we’re not going to get it saying ‘We Shall Overcome.’ We've got to fight to overcome” (Malcolm X,  Malcolm X Speaks , 38).

In early 1965, while King was jailed in Selma, Alabama, Malcolm traveled to Selma, where he had a private meeting with Coretta Scott  King . “I didn’t come to Selma to make his job difficult,” he assured Coretta. “I really did come thinking that I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King” (Scott King, 256).

On 21 February 1965, just a few weeks after his visit to Selma, Malcolm X was assassinated. King called his murder a “great tragedy” and expressed his regret that it “occurred at a time when Malcolm X was … moving toward a greater understanding of the nonviolent movement” (King, 24 February 1965). He asserted that Malcolm’s murder deprived “the world of a potentially great leader” (King, “The Nightmare of Violence”). Malcolm’s death signaled the beginning of bitter battles involving proponents of the ideological alternatives the two men represented.

Maude L. Ballou to Malcolm X, 1 February 1957, in  Papers  4:117 .

Goldman, Death and Life of Malcolm X , 1973.

King, “The Nightmare of Violence,”  New York Amsterdam News , 13 March 1965.

King, Press conference on Malcolm X’s assassination, 24 February 1965,  MLKJP-GAMK .

King, Statement on Malcolm X’s break with Elijah Muhammad, 16 March 1964,  MCMLK-RWWL .

King to Abram Eisenman, 3 April 1964,  MLKJP-GAMK .

King to Shabazz, 26 February 1965,  MCMLK-RWWL .

(Scott) King,  My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. , 1969.

Malcolm X, Interview by Harry Ring over Station WBAI-FM in New York, in  Two Speeches by Malcolm X , 1965.

Malcolm X, “Message to the Grassroots,”  in Malcolm X Speaks , ed. George Breitman, 1965.

Malcolm X, “We Are Rising From the Dead Since We Heard Messenger Muhammad Speak,”  Pittsburgh Courier , 15 December 1956.

Malcolm X to King, 21 July 1960, in  Papers  5:491 .

Malcolm X to King, 31 July 1963, 

Malcolm X with Haley,  Autobiography of Malcolm X , 1965.

Historical Material

Maude L. Ballou to Malcolm X

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Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother was the National recording secretary for the Marcus Garvey Movement which commanded millions of followers in the 1920s and 30s. His father was a Baptist minister and chapter president of The Universal Negro Improvement Association who appealed to President Hoover that Marcus Garvey was wrongfully arrested. Earl’s civil rights activism prompted death threats from the white supremacist organization Black Legion, forcing the family to relocate twice before Malcolm’s fourth birthday.

Regardless of the Little’s efforts to elude the Legion, in 1929 their Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground. Two years later, Earl’s body was found lying across the town’s trolley tracks.

Police ruled both incidents as accidents, but the Little’s were certain that members of the Black Legion were responsible. Louise suffered emotional breakdown several years after the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution. Her children were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages.

Eventually Malcolm and his buddy, Malcolm “Shorty” Jarvis, moved back to Boston. In 1946 they were arrested and convicted on burglary charges, and Malcolm was sentenced to 10 years in prison. (He was paroled after serving seven years.) Recalling his days in school, he used the time to further his education. It was during this period of self-enlightenment that Malcolm’s brother Reginald would visit and discuss his recent conversion to the Muslim religion. Reginald belonged to the religious organization the Nation of Islam (NOI).

Intrigued, Malcolm began to study the teachings of NOI leader Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad taught that white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success. Among other goals, the NOI fought for a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white people. By the time he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm was a devoted follower with the new surname “X.” (He considered “Little” a slave name and chose the “X” to signify his lost tribal name.)

Intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was appointed as a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit, Michigan and Harlem, New York. Malcolm utilized newspaper columns, as well as radio and television to communicate the NOI’s message across the United States. His charisma, drive and conviction attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was largely credited with increasing membership in the NOI from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.

The crowds and controversy surrounding Malcolm made him a media magnet. He was featured in a week-long television special with Mike Wallace in 1959, called “The Hate That Hate Produced.” The program explored the fundamentals of the NOI, and tracked Malcolm’s emergence as one of its most important leaders. After the special, Malcolm was faced with the uncomfortable reality that his fame had eclipsed that of his mentor Elijah Muhammad. Racial tensions ran increasingly high during the early 1960s. In addition to the media, Malcolm’s vivid personality had captured the government’s attention. As membership in the NOI continued to grow, FBI agents infiltrated the organization (one even acted as Malcolm’s bodyguard) and secretly placed bugs, wiretaps, cameras and other surveillance equipment to monitor the group’s activities.

Malcolm’s faith was dealt a crushing blow at the height of the civil rights movement in 1963. He learned that his mentor and leader, Elijah Muhammad, was secretly having relations with as many as six women within the Nation of Islam organization. As if that were not enough, Malcolm found out that some of these relationships had resulted in children.

Since joining the NOI, Malcolm had strictly adhered to the teachings of Muhammad – which included remaining celibate until his marriage to Betty Shabazz in 1958. Malcolm refused Muhammad’s request to help cover up the affairs and subsequent children. He was deeply hurt by the deception of Muhammad, whom he had considered a living prophet. Malcolm also felt guilty about the masses he had led to join the NOI, which he now felt was a fraudulent organization built on too many lies to ignore.

Shortly after his shocking discovery, Malcolm received criticism for a comment he made regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. “[Kennedy] never foresaw that the chickens would come home to roost so soon,” said Malcolm. After the statement, Elijah Muhammad “silenced” Malcolm for 90 days. Malcolm, however, suspected he was silenced for another reason. In March 1964 Malcolm terminated his relationship with the NOI. Unable to look past Muhammad’s deception, Malcolm decided to found his own religious organization, the Muslim Mosque, Inc.

That same year, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The trip proved life altering. For the first time, Malcolm shared his thoughts and beliefs with different cultures, and found the response to be overwhelmingly positive. When he returned, Malcolm said he had met “blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers.” He returned to the United States with a new outlook on integration and a new hope for the future. This time when Malcolm spoke, instead of just preaching to African-Americans, he had a message for all races.

After Malcolm resigned his position in the Nation of Islam and renounced Elijah Muhammad, relations between the two had become increasingly volatile. FBI informants working undercover in the NOI warned officials that Malcolm had been marked for assassination. (One undercover officer had even been ordered to help plant a bomb in Malcolm’s car).

After repeated attempts on his life, Malcolm rarely traveled anywhere without bodyguards. On February 14, 1965 the home where Malcolm, Betty and their four daughters lived in East Elmhurst, New York was firebombed. Luckily, the family escaped physical injury.

One week later, however, Malcolm’s enemies were successful in their ruthless attempt. At a speaking engagement in the Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965 three gunmen rushed Malcolm onstage. They shot him 15 times at close range. The 39-year-old was pronounced dead on arrival at New York’s Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

Fifteen hundred people attended Malcolm’s funeral in Harlem on February 27, 1965 at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ (now Child’s Memorial Temple Church of God in Christ). After the ceremony, friends took the shovels away from the waiting gravediggers and buried Malcolm themselves.

Later that year, Betty gave birth to their twin daughters.

Malcolm’s assassins, Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. The three men were all members of the Nation of Islam.

The legacy of Malcolm X has moved through generations as the subject of numerous documentaries, books and movies. A tremendous resurgence of interest occurred in 1992 when director Spike Lee released the acclaimed movie, Malcolm X. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design.

Malcolm X is buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

BlackPast is dedicated to providing a global audience with reliable and accurate information on the history of African America and of people of African ancestry around the world. We aim to promote greater understanding through this knowledge to generate constructive change in our society.

Malcolm x (1925-1965).

Malcolm X, one of the most influential African American leaders of the 20th Century, was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925 to Earl Little, a Georgia native and itinerant Baptist preacher, and Louise Norton Little who was born in the West Indian island of Grenada.  Shortly after Malcolm was born the family moved to Lansing, Michigan.  Earl Little joined Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) where he publicly advocated black nationalist beliefs, prompting the local white supremacist Black Legion to set fire to their home.  Little was killed by a streetcar in 1931. Authorities ruled it a suicide but the family believed he was killed by white supremacists.

Although an academically gifted student, Malcolm dropped out of high school after a teacher ridiculed his aspirations to become a lawyer.  He then moved to the Roxbury district of Boston, Massachusetts to live with an older half-sister, Ella Little Collins.  Malcolm worked odd jobs in Boston and then moved to Harlem in 1943 where he drifted into a life of drug dealing, pimping, gambling and other forms of “hustling.”  He avoided the draft in World War II by declaring his intent to organize black soldiers to attack whites which led to his classification as “mentally disqualified for military service.”

Malcolm was arrested for burglary in Boston in 1946 and received a ten year prison sentence. There he joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) .  Upon his parole in 1952, Malcolm was called to Chicago, Illinois by NOI leader, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad .  Like other converts, he changed his surname to “X,” symbolizing, he said, the rejection of “slave names” and his inability to claim his ancestral African name.

Recognizing his promise as a speaker and organizer for the Nation of Islam, Muhammad sent Malcolm to Boston to become the Minister of Temple Number Eleven. His proselytizing success earned a reassignment in 1954 to Temple Number Seven in Harlem. Although New York’s one million blacks comprised the largest African American urban population in the United States, Malcolm noted that “there weren’t enough Muslims to fill a city bus.  “Fishing” in Christian storefront churches and at competing black nationalist meetings, Malcolm built up the membership of Temple Seven.  He also met his future wife, Sister Betty X, a nursing student who joined the temple in 1956.  They married and eventually had six daughters.

Malcolm X quickly became a national public figure in July 1959 when CBS aired Mike Wallace’s expose on the NOI, “The Hate That Hate Produced.”  This documentary revealed the views of the NOI, of which Malcolm was the principal spokesperson and showed those views to be in sharp contrast to those of most well-known African American leaders of the time. Soon, however, Malcolm was increasingly frustrated by the NOI’s bureaucratic structure and refusal to participate in the Civil Rights Movement.  His November 1963 speech in Detroit, “Message to the Grass Roots,” a bold attack on racism and a call for black unity, foreshadowed the split with his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muhammad.  However, Malcolm on December 1, in response to a reporter’s question about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, used the phrase “chickens coming home to roost” which to Muslims meant that Allah was punishing white America for crimes against black people.  Whatever the personal views of Muslims about Kennedy’s death, Elijah Muhammad had given strict orders to his ministers not to comment on the assassination.  Malcolm defied the order and was suspended from the NOI for ninety days.

Malcolm used the suspension to announce on March 8, 1964, his break with the NOI and his creation of the Muslim Mosque, Inc.  Three months later he formed a strictly political group (an action expressly banned by the NOI), called the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) which was roughly patterned after the Organization of African Unity (OAU) .

His dramatic political transformation was revealed when he spoke to the Militant Labor Forum of the Socialist Worker’s Party.  Malcolm placed the Black Revolution in the context of a worldwide anti-imperialist struggle taking place in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, noting that  “when I say black, I mean non-white—black, brown, red or yellow.”  By April 1964, while speaking at a CORE rally in Cleveland, Ohio, Malcolm gave his famous “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech in which he described black Americans as “victims of democracy.”

Malcolm traveled to Africa and the Middle East in late Spring 1964 and was received like a visiting head of state in many countries including Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, and Ghana. While there, Malcolm made his hajj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia and added El-Hajj to his official NOI name Malik El-Shabazz.  The tour forced Malcolm to realize that one’s political position as a revolutionary superseded “color.”

The transformed Malcolm reiterated these views when he addressed an OAAU rally in New York, declaring for a pan-African struggle “by any means necessary.”   Malcolm spent six months in Africa in 1964 in an unsuccessful attempt to get international support for a United Nations investigation of human rights violations of Afro Americans in the United States.  In February 1965, Malcolm flew to Paris, France to continue his efforts but was denied entry amidst rumors that he was on a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) hit list.  Upon his return to New York, his home was firebombed.  Events continued to spiral downward and on February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan.

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Cite this entry in APA format:

Source of the author's information:.

Robert L. Jenkins and Mafanya Donald Tryman, The Malcolm X Encyclopedia (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002); Eugene V. Wolfenstein, The Victims of Democracy: Malcolm X and the Black Revolution (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981); Karl Evanzz, The Judas Factor: The Plot to Kill Malcolm X (New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1992); Malcolm X with Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (New York: Grove Press, 1965).

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13 Best Malcolm X Books of All Time

Our goal : Find the best Malcolm X books according to the internet (not just one random person's opinion).

• Type "best malcolm x books" into our search engine and study the top 5+ pages.
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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024

• Best Malcolm X Books

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

As told to alex haley.

By Any Means Necessary

Trials and tribulations of the making of malcolm x.

Martin & Malcolm & America

A dream or a nightmare.

James H. Cone

The FBI File

Clayborne Carson

A Life of Reinvention

Manning Marable

The Judas Factor

The plot to kill malcolm x.

Karl Evanzz

The End of White World Supremacy

Four speeches.

The Death and Life of Malcolm X

Peter Goldman

The Assassination of Malcolm X

Allison Stark Draper

Seventh Child

A family memoir of malcolm x.

Rodnell P. Collins

Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power

Jack Barnes

Malcolm X Speaks

Selected speeches and statements.

Making Malcolm

The myth and meaning of malcolm x.

Michael Eric Dyson

• 5 Books Every Muslim Should Read On Malcolm X And His Legacy - The Muslim Vibe themuslimvibe.com
• Books About Malcolm X - Malcolm X Resources - LibGuides at Cornell University guides.library.cornell.edu
• What Books Best Capture Malcolm X's Legacy? - Philly's Hip Hop and R&B Station. wrnbhd2.com
• Teaching About Malcolm X - Social Justice Books socialjusticebooks.org
• Books By and About Malcolm X - Malcolm X: Selected Resources - Library Guides at Penn State University guides.libraries.psu.edu

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Malcolm x , alex haley.

466 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 29, 1965

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“I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity–because you can hardly mention anything I’m not curious about. I don’t think anybody ever got more out of going to prison than I did. In fact, prison enabled me to study far more intensively than I would have if my life had gone differently and I had attended some college. I imagine that one of the biggest troubles with colleges is there are too many distractions, too much panty-raiding, fraternities, and boola-boola and all of that. Where else but a prison could I have attacked my ignorance by being able to study intensely sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day?” “The ability to read awoke inside of me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.”

“Despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who tried to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it.”

“Don't strike the puppet. Strike the puppeteer.”

“I learned early that crying out in protest could accomplish things. My older brothers and sister had started to school when, sometimes, they would come in and ask for a buttered biscuit or something and my mother, impatiently, would tell them no. But I would cry out and make a fuss until I got what I wanted. I remember well how my mother asked me why I couldn't be a nice boy like Wilfred; but I would think to myself that Wilfred, for being so nice and quiet, often stayed hungry. So early in life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.”

“And if I can die having brought any light, having exposed any meaningful truth that will help to destroy the racist cancer that is malignant in the body of America—then, all of the credit is due to Allah. Only the mistakes have been mine.”

“If Malcolm X were not a Negro, his autobiography would be little more than a journal of abnormal psychology, the story of a burglar, dope pusher, addict and jailbird—with a family history of insanity—who acquires messianic delusions and sets forth to preach an upside-down religion of ‘brotherly’ hatred.” -Saturday Evening Post, Sept. 12, 1965

“So as a black man and especially as a black American, any stand that I formerly took, I don’t think that I would have to defend it because it’s still a reaction to the society, and it’s a reaction that was produced by the society; and I think that it is the society that produces this that should be attacked, not the reaction that develops among the people who are the victims of that negative society.” -From the Pierre Berton Show, taped at Station CFTO-TV in Toronto, January 19, 1965

That morning was when I first began to reappraise the “white man”. It was when I first began to perceive that “white man,” as commonly used, means complexion only secondarily; primarily it described attitudes and actions. In America, “white man” meant specific attitudes and actions toward the black man, and toward all other non-white men. But in the Muslim world, I had seen that men with white complexions were more genuinely brotherly than anyone else had ever been. That morning was the start of a radical alteration in my whole outlook about “white” men.

” True , sir! My trip to Mecca has opened my eyes. I no longer subscribe to racism! I have adjusted my thinking to the point where I believe that whites are human beings … as long as this is borne out by their humane attitudes toward Negroes.” They picked at his “racist” image. “I’m not a racist. I’m not condemning whites for being whites, but for their deeds. I condemn what whites collectively have done to our people collectively.” The Times’ Handler, beside me, was taking notes and muttering under his breath, “Incredible! Incredible!” I was thinking the same thing.

”I believe in recognizing every human being as a human being – neither white, black, brown, or red; and when you are dealing with humanity as a family there’s no question of integration or intermarriage. It’s just one human being marrying another human being …

عاهدتُ الله ألا أنسى أن الإسلام هو الذي أعطاني الأجنحة التى أحلِّق بها اليوم، ولم أنس ذلك أبدًا.. لم أنسه لحظة واحدة مالكوم إكس

Nobody can give you freedom Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything If you're a man take it من أروع المذكرات التى قرأتها في حياتي مذكرات مالكوم اكس او الحاج مالك الشباز . كيف كان مفكر وقائدا ومدافع عن حقوق السود وفاضحا للممارسات العنصرية لدي البيض وتاريخهم الدموي وفى نفس الوقت باحث عن الحقيق�� لم يتوقف يوما عند رأي ثابت .. غير رأيه وحياته بالكامل عندما دخل السجن وخرج منه مؤمنا بالاسلام ولكن عن طريق الأليجا محمد وبعد اثنا عشر عاما معه وبعد ذهابه للحج عرف الاسلام على الحق , وعرف أن ليس كل انسان أبيض شيطان ولكن يجب ان نحاسبه على أفعاله وليس لونه . ومن اكثر ما أعجبني فى شخصية مالكوم أنه قارئا وفاهما لتاريخ وواعياً وناقدا للبرجوازية السوداء كما يحب أن يوصفها والفرق بين أسود الحقل وأسود المنزل وكيف كان واعيا فى رأيه في انتخابات الرئاسة عندما قارن بين الذئب والثعلب بين الرئيس جونسون ومنافسه وان الذئب افضل للسود لأنه يكرههم صراحة وان زمجرة الذئب ستبقهيم اكثر احتراسا ومستعدا للقتال ولكن الثعلب الذي يضحك علانية لهم ويظهر أنه يحبهم ويمارس اضهاده سرا سيبقيني غافلا ً وقرأة مالكوم وفهمه لمسيرة واشنطت التى تحولت من مظاهرة غاضبة الى اجتماع راق كسياق الخيل كان مفكرا عظيما وقائدا الله يرحم الحاج مالك الشباز . إن حسن المعاملة لا يعني لي شيئاً ما دام الرجل الأبيض لن ينظر إلى كما ينظر الى نفسه , قد يشاركني فى الحلو ولكن لن يشاركني المر, وعندما تتغول فى أعماق نفسه تجد أنه مازال مقتنعا أنه أفضل مني إنى لا أدافع عن العنف ولكن اذا داس رجل علي قدمي فإنني سأدوس على أصابع قدمه إن الأمريكي الأسود لا يريد الا حقوقه الانسانية ان يكرم كبني ادم , الا يفر منه البيض كما لو أنه مصاب يالطاعون, ألا يعزل فى الأحياء الزنجية كالحيوان , ألا يعيش مختفياً وأن يمشي مرفوع الرأس كبنى أدم. النجمة الناقصة لان الترجمة فى اول الكتاب كانت سيئة ولكن كمذكرات تستحق اكثر من خمس نجوم

يجب أن نتعلم من الأطفال عدم الخجل من الفشل و أن نقوم و نعيد الكرة . إن معظم الكبار يرزحون تحت الخوف و الحذر و يركنون إلى الأمان و لذلك تجدهم مجفلين و متصلبين و خائفين و لذلك يفشل أكثرهم

لقد غيرت القراءة مجرى حياتي تغييرا جذريا و لم أكن أهدف من ورائها إلى كسب أية شهادات لتحسين مركزي و إنما كنت أريد أن أحيا فكريا

نعم كتبت رسالة من مكة تريدون الآن أن تعرفوا ان كنت قد قلت فيها إنني اقبل البيض كإخوة ؟ و أنا أجيب بأن ما رأيته في أرض الإسلام و شعرت به و كتبته في تلك الرسالة قد وسع دائرة تفكيري و أنني وجدت عندي مشاعر أخوة و حبا أخويا اتجاه مسلمين بيض لم يكونوا يعيرون انتباها لجنس أي مسلم آخر أو لونه . لقد أوسع الحج نطاق تفكيري و فتح بصيرتي فرأيت في اسبوعين ما لم أره في تسع و ثلاثين سنة ، رأيت كل الأجناس و الألوان من البيض ذوي العيون الزرق حتى الأفارقة ذوي الجلود السوداء و قد ألفت بين قلوبهم الوحدة والأخوة الحقيقية فأصبحوا يعيشون و كأنهم ذات واحدة في كنف الله الواحد . لم أر بينهم لا دعاة عنصرية و لا ليبراليين ، و لغتهم على كل حال لا تتسع لمثل هذه المصطلحات . نعم كنت أدين البيض كلهم بشدة و لكنني اكتشفت الآن أن هناك بيضا قادرين على أن يكنوا للإنسان الأسود مشاعر أخوة صادقة . و لقد فتح الإسلام الصحيح عيني على أن إدانة كل البيض كإدانة البيض للسود ،شئ خطأ. نعم اقتنعت بأن هناك بيضا يودون بإخلاص معالجة العنصرية الزاحفة لتخريب هذه البلاد . و قد غير موقفي ما رأيته و عشته في البقاع المقدسة من أخوة لم تقتصر علي وحدي، و لكنها شملت كل من كانوا هناك على إختلاف جنسياتهم و ألوانهم

لو كان عندي الوقت لتعلمت العاميات الإفريقية و اللغة الصينية التي أعتقد أنها ستصبح أقوى لغة سياسية في المستقبل . و قد بدأت فعلا في تعلم اللغة العربية التي أعتقد أنها ستصبح أقوى لغة روحانية في المستقبل . لو كان عندي الوقت لدرست لمجرد أن الدراسة ستمنحني الشعور بالسعادة و لصنفت المعارف و تصديت لها لأنني أهتم بكل شئ

نعم كنت أحب دوري الذي قالوا عنه انه (ديماجوجي) و كنت أعرف أن المجتمعات تقتل أحيانا من يعملون على إحلال التغيير فيها و إذا مت و كنت قد سلطت بعض الضوء على حقيقة هامة من شأنها أن تستأصل السرطان العنصري الخبيث من جسد أمريكا فالفضل كله يرجع الى الله ، و أما الأخطاء فهي لي

عندما انشق الأرض عن القمر كانت الكائنات البشرية فيها سوداء ، و هذه الكائنات هي التي بنت مكة المكرمة . و كان يوجد بينها أربعة و عشرون عالما اعتزلهم احدهم و أسس قبيلة قوية تسمى قبيلة (شباز) هي التي ينتمي زنوج أمريكا اليها

على أن هناك عددا كبيرا من المنشورات عن الإسلام بالإنجليزية و لذا فإن التعلل بعدم المعرفة ليس عذرا كما أنه لا ينبغي للمسلم الحق أن يسمح لغيره بتضليله !

قد قلت لهم عندما زرت مكة أن الخطأ خطأهم لأنهم لايفعلون كل ما يجب للتعريف بالإسلام الحقيقي في الغرب فيتركون الباب مفتوحا أمام المشعوذين و المضللين

ثم خرجت أتمشى فأثار إنتباهي ، بعد الأسابيع التي قضيتها في البقاع المقدسة ، تصنع اللبنانيات و تأنقهن . بعد نساء البقاع المقدسة اللاتي كن في منتهى البساطة و الرقة ، كانت النقلة عنيفة إلى هؤلاء اللبنانيات النصف عربيات النصف فرنسيات اللاتي يدل لباسهن و سلوكهن في الشارع على أنهن أكثر حرية و أكثر جرأة . كان التأثير الأوروبي واضحا على التراث اللبناني ، و اتضح لي أن القوة و الضعف المعنويين للبلدان يظهران بسرعة على مظهر النساء في تلك البلدان و سلوكهن في الشارع و لا سيما الشابات ، لأن انحطاط الأخلاق و ذهابها ينعكسان على النساء و يأتيان نتيجة سيادة الماديات . راقب النساء في أمريكا و ستفهم ما أعنيه .

و ذات صباح في أواسط صيف 1964 طلبني (ملكوم إكس) هاتفيا و قال إنه سيسافر بعد يومين أو ثلاثة لقضاء بضعة أسابيع في الخارج ثم كتب لي من القاهرة و (الصيف الطويل الحار) الذي تكهن به يصطخب بالأحداث و الإضطرابات الزنجية التي شملت ضواحي فلادلفيا و روشستر و بروكلين و هارليم و مدنا أخرى . عند ذلك أقر اجتماع للمثقفين الزنوج حقيقة مفادها أن الدكتور مارتن لوثر كينج يضمن ولاء الطبقة الزنجية المتوسطة ، و أن ولاء الطبقة الزنجية الدنيا لا يضمنه إلا ملكوم إكس ، و زادت الجريدة قائلة : (إن الزنوج يحترمون هذين الرجلين لأنهم يثقون في نزاهتهما و يعرفون أنهما لن يخوناهم ابدا . إن ملكوم إكس غير قابل للفساد و الزنوج يعرفون ذلك و يحترمونه على أساسه . و هم يعرفون كذلك أنه ينتمي إلى طبقتهم الدنيا و يعتبرونه منهم و ‘إليهم . إن ملكوم إكس سيقوم بدور عظيم بعدما انتقل الصراع العنصري إلى مدن الشمال .. و إذا كان الدكتور كينج يظن أنه ضحى بعشر سنوات من الزعامة المتألقة فسوف يكون عليه أن يغير رأيه لأنه لم يعد يستطيع أن يتحرك الآن إلا في اتجاه واحد و هو الإتجاه نحو ملكوم إكس) . و قصصت تلك المقالة و بعثت بها إلى ملكوم إكس في القاهرة ...

قل لأخيك ألا ينسانا . قل له إن عليه و على أمثاله الزنوج المعتدلين الذين وصلوا أن يتذكروا دائما أننا نحن المتطرفين من مهد لهم الطريق !

عندما وقّع ملكوم إكس على عقد هذا الكتاب حدق في و قال : (أريدك أن تكون كاتبا لا مترجما) . و قد حاولت أن أكتب حياته بتجرد . كان شعلة من نار و لذلك مازلت لا أستطيع أن أتصور أنه أصبح جثة فأشعر كأنه ... ((مر إلى فصل موالي سيكتبه المؤرخون)) ...

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Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam a... Read all Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination. Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.

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• Trivia Malcolm X 's widow, Dr. Betty Shabazz , served as a consultant to this film.
• Goofs Malcolm watches television news footage of race riots, including the March 1965 attack on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama and the 1967 Newark, New Jersey Riots. Both incidents took place after Malcolm was assassinated in February 1965.

Malcolm X : We were discussing the disciples. What color were they?

Chaplain Gill : Well, I don't think we know that for certain.

Malcolm X : But they were Hebrews, were they not?

Chaplain Gill : That's right.

Malcolm X : As was Jesus. Jesus was also a Hebrew.

Chaplain Gill : Why don't you just ask your question.

Malcolm X : What color were the original Hebrews?

Chaplain Gill : I have told you - that we don't know that for certain.

Malcolm X : Then you can't believe for certain - that Jesus was white.

Chaplain Gill : Just - just a moment. Just a moment. God is white.

[pointing to a painting of a white Jesus hanging on the wall]

Chaplain Gill : Isn't it obvious?

Malcolm X : Well, that

[nodding to the painting]

Malcolm X : is obvious, but we don't know if it's obvious that God is white. The honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that Jesus did not have blond hair and blue eyes. The honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that the images of Jesus that are on prison walls and churches throughout the world are not historically correct; because, history teaches us that Jesus was born in a region where the people had color. There's proof in the very Bible that you've asked us to read in Revelations, first chapter, verses 14 and 15, that Jesus had hair like wool and feet the color of brass.

Chaplain Gill : Just - just what're you saying?

Malcolm X : l'm not saying anything. l'm proving to you that Jesus was *not*, and I quote one of my lndian brothers here, he was not a paleface. Amen.

• Crazy credits At the end of the credits the film is dedicated to Alex Haley, author of the book the movie is based on. There is also a picture of the book and a special note that says: "Read 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X'"
• Connections Edited from JFK (1991)
• Soundtracks Someday We'll All Be Free Written by Donny Hathaway (as Donny E. Hathaway) and Edward U. Howard Used by permission of WB Music Corp. and Kuumba Music Publishing Company Produced by Arif Mardin Performed by Aretha Franklin Courtesy of Artista Records, Inc.

User reviews 224

• Apr 19, 2005

Everything New on Prime Video in May

• How long is Malcolm X? Powered by Alexa
• Was Malcolm really killed by members of the Nation of Islam?
• Can Malcolm's conversion & rebirth to Islam be attributed to one person alone, namely Baines?
• November 18, 1992 (United States)
• United States
• Cairo, Egypt
• Largo International N.V.
• JVC Entertainment Networks
• 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $33,000,000 (estimated)
• $48,169,910
• Nov 22, 1992

Technical specs

• Runtime 3 hours 22 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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MALCOLM X: A Definitive Biography of Malcolm X, Chronicling His Journey from Adversity to Activism and Beyond [Print Replica] Kindle Edition

Prepare to be captivated by the extraordinary life story of a true trailblazer. Malcolm X's journey is a testament to the power of resilience, determination, and the relentless pursuit of justice.

Have you ever wondered what drove this iconic figure to challenge the status quo and become a voice for the voiceless? Prepare to be immersed in a gripping narrative that will leave you inspired and forever changed.

This comprehensive biography delves deep into the life and legacy of Malcolm X, painting a vivid portrait of a man who refused to be silenced. From his humble beginnings to his meteoric rise as a civil rights leader, you'll be taken on a journey that will captivate your heart and ignite your passion for social change.

This book offers:

• A unique, multifaceted perspective on Malcolm X's life and the impact he had on the world
• Insightful exploration of the pivotal moments and key decisions that shaped his remarkable path
• Compelling storytelling that brings to life the struggles, triumphs, and personal transformations of this iconic figure
• A deeper understanding of the social and political landscape that influenced Malcolm X's worldview

Prepare to be moved, challenged, and empowered as you uncover the profound and inspiring story of Malcolm X. This book is not just a biography – it's a call to action, a reminder that one person can make a difference, and a testament to the enduring power of courage, conviction, and the pursuit of justice.

This book is the perfect gift for anyone who seeks to understand the complexities of the civil rights movement, the power of individual voices, and the enduring legacy of a true trailblazer. Unlock the secrets of Malcolm X's life and let his story inspire you to forge your own path towards positive change.

• Reading age 5 - 18 years
• Language English
• Publication date May 12, 2024
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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D3R1DS7T
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 12, 2024
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
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• #1 in Biographies of Social Activists
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Civil rights leader Malcolm X inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame

Malcolm x is the 27th inductee and first black person in the nebraska hall of fame..

LINCOLN - Omaha-born civil rights leader Malcolm X, who would've been 99 on May 19, became the first Black person to be inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in the State Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday.

State lawmakers, community members, and Malcolm X's family attended the ceremony, which took place nearly two years after he was chosen for this honor. JoAnna LeFlore-Ejike, the Executive Director of the Malcolm X Foundation, who nominated him, emphasized the significance of this recognition.

"He was born Malcolm Little in Omaha during a heightened period of racial tension, and he evolved into the human rights hero that we know and love today," said LeFlore-Ejike.

"From here on out, the induction of Malcolm X into the Hall of Fame can be a tool for educators, historians and emerging leaders to not only explain the importance of collaboration ... but also how to tell the full story of the transformation of Malcolm X," added the head of the Malcolm X Foundation.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925 to his parents, Earl and Louise Little, his family moved to Milwaukee soon after his birth after the Klu Klux Klan threatened them. The young Malcolm and his six siblings were eventually placed into the foster care system after his father died and his mother was institutionalized.

While in prison from 1946 to 1952 for robbery charges in Massachusetts, Malcolm Little converted to the  Nation of Islam  and stopped smoking, gambling and eating pork. He dedicated his time in prison to self-education through reading books and participating in many of the prison courses.

Shortly after his release in 1952, he moved to Chicago, became a minister under Elijah Muhammad, and changed his name to Malcolm X. He went on to become a prominent and controversial figure in the Civil Rights Movement , advocating for change with an approach that differed from that of other leaders, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

More: NYC will pay men exonerated in Malcolm X's killing $36 million, admitting 'grave injustices'

During his life, he had six daughters, one of whom spoke at his induction ceremony. "While my father and his family did not remain long in Omaha after his birth, it is here that the roots of Malcolm X were planted," Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X's daughter, said at the ceremony.

"Let Malcolm's dedication to truth and justice inspire us all, ensuring that future generations understand the full story of my father's life and transformation as it relates to your own journeys," said Shabazz.

Inductees into the Nebraska Hall of Fame are chosen every five years. They must either have been born in Nebraska, gained prominence while living in the state or been influenced by Nebraska while residing in the state. They must also have been deceased for 35 or more years.

A bronze bust of Malcolm X sculpted by Nebraska artist Nathan Murray will be permanently displayed in the cavernous halls of the Nebraska Capitol alongside other inductees, including Standing Bear, William "Buffalo Bill" Cody and author Willa Cather. Murray, a nationally recognized artist, was selected last year to sculpt the bust.

"I wanted to come at the project with a sense of respect for who Malcolm X was," Murray said at the ceremony. "I know how important this piece is for the state of Nebraska, and I'm really happy to have my work honored here as well as Malcolm X's and all his contributions to not just the state of Nebraska or the United States, but for the world."

More: A look at Malcolm X

Last month, Malcolm X was also recognized after the Nebraska Legislature voted to honor his life and legacy by declaring May 19, his birthday, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, or Malcolm X Day.

Ernie Chambers, an 86-year-old Omaha native and civil rights activist who served a record 46 years in the Nebraska Legislature, said he did not expect to see this induction in his lifetime.

"I never thought that I'd live long enough to see a white, conservative, Republican governor of a white, ultra-conservative state like Nebraska participate in the adoption of Malcolm X," Chambers said at the ceremony.

Ahjané Forbes contributed to the reporting of this story

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Malcolm X celebrations to mark 99th birthday and Hall of Fame induction

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Black nationalist and Muslim leader Malcolm X, circa 1965, talking to a woman inside Temple 7, a Halal restaurant patronized by black Muslims and situated on Lenox Avenue and 116th Street, Harlem, New York. (Richard Saunders/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

OMAHA — Omaha-born human rights leader Malcolm X, who would have turned 99 years old on May 19, is being commemorated at two upcoming events.

On Sunday, a celebration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha Milo Bail Student Center is to mark the slain leader’s actual birthday with a soul food dinner, Black heritage program and awards.

The collaboration between the Malcolm X Foundation and the UNO Black Studies Department is to include live performances, speakers and presentation of “X Awards” to community members.

2024 “X Award” winners

Malcolm X Innovator: Marcey Yates

Malcolm X Equity: State Sen. Terrell McKinney 

Shabazz Courage: George Johnson 

The Rowena Moore: Celeste Butler

Malcolm X Speaks Youth: Shailyn Simpson

Transformation Change Agent: Shakur Abdullah, Mondo We Langa, Edward Poindexter 

Dinner is $25; youths 18 and younger can attend for free. Tickets are on sale through noon Sunday.

On Wednesday, May 22, the Nebraska Hall of Fame is scheduled to formally induct Malcolm X as its 27th member. 

A 1 p.m. ceremony in the State Capitol Rotunda is to be followed by a reception in the Nebraska History Museum.

Special guests will include family members of Malcolm X and his foundation’s executive director, JoAnna LeFlore-Ejike, who was also the inductee’s nominator.

LeFlore-Ejike called the induction an opportunity for not only the state but the nation to recognize the historic figure and his contributions as a human rights activist.

“Malcolm X set the blueprint for us to live with courage and prepare the next generation to lead with integrity,” she said in a media release from History Nebraska.

Gov. Jim Pillen and members of the Hall of Fame Commission are among others set to participate in the induction.

The Nebraska Hall of Fame, administered by History Nebraska, was established by the Legislature in 1961 to officially recognize outstanding Nebraskans who made significant contributions to the state and the nation. 

History Nebraska assembled background on the state’s first African-American inductee:

Born Malcolm Little at University Hospital in Omaha on May 19, 1925, Malcolm X was the son of Earl and Louise Little of 3448 Pinkney St., where a campus has been built, and is poised to grow, to commemorate Malcolm X’s legacy.

The family moved to another state when Malcolm X was a baby, as his dad, who helped organize the Omaha chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, faced threats by white supremacist night riders.

Earl Little was allegedly murdered, and shortly afterward, his wife was diagnosed with a mental illness, pushing the state to split up Malcolm and his seven siblings into foster care.

Eventually, Malcolm was sent to Boston to live with his older sister Ella Collins-Little and relocated to New York, where he was convicted of burglary and served, a prison sentence of about 6.5 years. During that time, he became self-educated and converted to Islam prior to his release.

After leaving prison, Malcolm took the name Malcolm X and studied under Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam during his 12-year membership. Malcolm was known for being outspoken about the mistreatment of Blacks and advocated nationwide for their human rights in America. He was documented speaking at numerous institutions across the country and over a dozen nations overseas. 

During his pilgrimage to Mecca, he converted to Orthodox Islam, abandoning concepts of racial antagonism; counseling others about the need for human brotherhood and international cooperation. 

As a result of his travels, Malcolm X formed the Organization of Afro-American Unity and Moslem Mosque Inc. His autobiography was published in 1964, just a few months before his death. Malcolm X was assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965, in New York City.

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Audiobooks for Long-Haul Listening

Some books sprint; others take the scenic route. The heady, highly absorbing titles here earn their marathon run times.

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By Alexander Nazaryan

Alexander Nazaryan writes about politics, culture and science.

Hear me out: Summer, with its hikes and bikes trips, is the perfect season for long audiobooks. I mean, the sound of birds is nice and all. Just not for three hours.

Conventional wisdom suggests you should settle for a beach read — or beach listen, in this case. And believe me, I love a fun, sexy mystery like Emma Rosenblum’s “Bad Summer People .” But I save those for winter, when the shores of Fire Island (where Rosenblum’s novel is set) seem impossibly distant.

Use summer for more ambitious projects. I’ve found long audiobooks to be perfect companions for those 10 weeks or so when the kids go off to camp and the pace of life generally slows.

Below, a few of my favorite supersized listens.

THE DYING GRASS, by William T. Vollmann

Vollmann is not known for accessibility ( his first novel was about insects and electricity), but “The Dying Grass” is a remarkably readable account of the 1877 Nez Perce War, made even more so by Henry Strozier’s sensitive narration. As Brig. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard hounds his Native adversaries across Montana and Idaho, the story soars above the awesome landscape, then peers into the hearts of people below. Believe me, time will fly.

Also try: “The Anatomy of Melancholy,” by Robert Burton; “War and Peace,” by Leo Tolstoy

ON HIS OWN TERMS: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller, by Richard Norton Smith

Here is a storied American family in its third generation, with the Rockefeller brothers taking on newfound civic responsibilities. Nelson was the most ambitious of them and maybe the most tragic, his bid for the presidency undone by a divorce . Paul Michael (“The Da Vinci Code”) narrates with stately confidence.

“Ducks, Newburyport,” by Lucy Ellmann

A woman in Ohio thinks about life. About illness, marriage and Laura Ingalls Wilder. She frets about the pies she bakes for a living. Also, there’s a mountain lion. Written as a single sentence stretching more than 1,000 pages, this remarkable 2019 novel thrums with life, a quality highlighted by Stephanie Ellyne’s energetic narration.

Also try: “1Q84,” by Haruki Murakami; “Hitler,” by Ian Kershaw

THE PASSAGE OF POWER, by Robert Caro

The fourth volume of Caro’s encyclopedic biography of L.B.J. begins with the gruff Texan becoming vice president to John F. Kennedy, an odd man out in an administration of Ivy Leaguers. But then comes a shattering Dallas afternoon. Our most esteemed historian , Caro thrillingly tells the story of how Johnson prods Congress and transforms a grieving nation with his civil rights and Great Society legislation.

GRAVITY’S RAINBOW, by Thomas Pynchon

George Guidall is one of the great audiobook narrators , and his rendition of Pynchon’s masterpiece quickly makes clear why as he captures Tyrone Slothrop’s madcap journey across Europe, which involves orgies and Nazis, a Malcolm X set piece and a good deal about ballistics. I can’t imagine a harder book to narrate — or anyone who could do the job as well as Guidall.

THE DAVID FOSTER WALLACE READER

The immensity of Wallace’s achievement can be daunting, but the “Reader” is a perfect distillation of his fiction and nonfiction alike. While most selections are performed by professionals, there are cameos from the Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale; Wallace’s mother, Sally; and Wallace himself, who died in 2008 .

Also try: “The Covenant of Water,” by Abraham Verghese; “Daniel Deronda,” by George Eliot; “And the Band Played On,” by Randy Shilts

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS, by Marlon James

It is only appropriate that a panoply of narrators (seven in all) take on this kaleidoscopic novel, which is nominally about the 1976 assassination attempt on Bob Marley but is in reality the story of Jamaica. “Brief History” was James’s breakout novel, winning the Man Booker Prize in 2015 . The narration matches the intensity of the prose; it’s as close as you can get to cinema without a screen.

THE SECRET HISTORY, by Donna Tartt

One of the smartest mysteries in the modern American canon, set at a bucolic New Hampshire college. Tartt herself narrates; though she may be a Mississippi native, her voice is neither Deep South nor New England. Like the novel itself, it is entirely her own.

WOLF HALL, by Hilary Mantel

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RANDOM FAMILY, by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

LeBlanc spent more than a decade as a virtual member of a South Bronx family as it struggled with drugs and crime, early pregnancy and poverty. Though the tone of Roxana Ortega’s narration is not always entirely in sync with the text, LeBlanc’s reportage is sensitive but not preachy, an unvarnished portrait of New York’s most neglected borough.

Also try: “Watergate,” by Garrett M. Graff; “Demon Copperhead,” by Barbara Kingsolver; “Lenin’s Tomb,” by David Remnick

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