Malcolm X: The Most Controversial Civil Rights Activist

Improved Essays
“I believe in human beings and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.” This was a quote from Malcolm X saying that all human beings should be given the peace and freedoms that everyone deserves. Malcolm X would appreciate the nation we have created thus far. Malcolm was by far the most controversial civil rights activist; he was different from other civil rights activists because of his fight back stance, unlike Martin Luther King who had more of a non-violent stance.
Malcolm X had a troubled youth, but in prison his experience there had turned him into the man he was in the Nation of Islam. In 1929, his Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground, two years later his father’s dead body was found

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    For a majority of Malcolm X’s career in the Civil Rights Movement, he was a part of the Nation Of Islam. He played a large part in using his speaking skills to influence others to join the Nation Of Islam. They believed that Christianity was “the white man’s religion” (US History.org) and that it was forced on African Americans while in slavery. He pushed for African American nationalism and wanted African Americans to set up their own schools, churches, and support networks. Malcolm X along with the Nation Of Islam pushed the message that whites could not be trusted and that African Americans should be proud of their heritage and to set up strong communities without the help of whites.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Malcolm X Research Paper

    • 1253 Words
    • 6 Pages

    According to the article, Malcolm was a very smart child, however, lost faith in the school system. He was told because of the color of his skin, he wouldn’t accomplish anything in life. After dropping out of school, Malcolm became another statistic of a black man living in American. He was involved in a series of crimes, which led to his imprisonment for ten years. According to the article, while incarcerated he learn the teaching of Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam.…

    • 1253 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Research Question: What motivated Malcolm X’s acceptance of true Islam and how did this change his beliefs about the American civil rights movement? The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley Value This document is co-written by Malcolm X making it a primary source.…

    • 1971 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, was born in Omaha Nebraska. His father was also a civil rights activist and a Baptist. Malcolm is one of eight children. Malcolm’s father was kidnapped while his mother was still pregnant with him. His father was taken by the Klu Klux Klan and was not found until Malcolm was six years old.…

    • 73 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1929, their home in Lansing Michigan is burned down. About two years later, his dad’s body is found dead, lying on the train tracks. Many believe these two incidents were an accident, but Malcolm X’s family has a different opinion, they believe that the Black Legion had something to do with it. Springing forward to 1946, he was sent to jail due to being charged for burglary. During this…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    For this paper, I had the privilege of interviewing my mother, Ms. Avianne Philbert. Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, at the age of 12 she and her family moved to America as many did in order to find a better opportunity to raise their family. Upon asking her what her take on American history is, we got to talking longer and discovered that her favorite American History movie is Malcolm X. She reflected on what black history and religion in the movie meant to her, and how it relates to America from its creation to its current state. At the end of the interview, her ultimate view was that Malcolm X and his change from the beginning of his journey to the end is much like America then and now, in that when the past is used as a learning tool, even the staunchest of ideologies can change for the better.…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While living in Boston he underwent a dramatic change, which continued until he learned about the Nation of Islam while in prison at the age 21. In Boston Malcolm began to explore the city and get the fell of Boston. He saw rich town and ghetto. When he look around the area he was living in he fund it fill of Hill Negroes (40). He realized that all these black people are breaking their back trying to imitate white people (40).…

    • 1119 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Throughout history, African Americans have dealt the most with discrimination. For decades and to this day, they are fighting for equal rights. Blacks have had less opportunities to succeed in life and voice their opinions. Because of these on going issues, the Black Panther Party (BPP) was formed in 1966. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (later dropped ‘ for Self-Defense’) were considered the voice of those oppressed during this period of time (Trueman).…

    • 1243 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Today, over half a century after his death, Malcolm X’s philosophies have formed many black pride groups and continue to express black America’s contempt of their oppression. Malcolm X was one of the most influential social warriors of the 20th century because he never gave up fighting for his beliefs and gave a powerful voice to black Americans. Malcolm X’s childhood important in explaining his revolutionary theories on black American’s suffering. Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19th, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska (Phillips).…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although the civil rights movements in the 1950s and 1960s were based on racial and political issues, the role that religion, being Christianity and Islam, played seems to be apparent. There are two main figures that need to be discussed when dealing with civil rights, and they are Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Despite the two characters had different perspectives on how to approach the relevant occurrences and followed diverse religions, the final subject seems to have had a strong impact on the decisions they took and on their course of action. The first figure to consider is…

    • 2128 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in 1925. When Malcolm was six, his father was fatally hit by a streetcar. Some theorize it was racially motivated, but it is still unknown. He and his multiple siblings were put in foster care or with family members; this was the start of his troubled childhood. He eventually got involved in the crime scene.…

    • 91 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After his father’s death, six year old Malcolm was placed in foster care. Malcolm X experienced the worst of the system and learned from an early age about how racism was ingrained into society. Because of his condemnation of racism and his demands that blacks rise up and free themselves from the metaphorical and literal chains of their oppressors, whites feared and shied away from him and gravitated to the easier-to-swallow teachings of Martin Luther King. After a life changing pilgrimage to Mecca, Malcolm X founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity and began to preach socialism. In 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated in New York.…

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Did you know that mlk started college at age 15.King being an orator made people think about him. Being a peaceful protester made people notice him. He was also a great leader which let him have followers. And his hard life made him aware of was going on in the world. His legacy helped him become an important civil rights leader.…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout history, there are people who stand as beacons to motivate, enlighten, and enrich others’ lives. Malcolm X was one of those guiding people, and his frank autobiography reveals his metamorphosis into his “own divine path.” As an articulate revolutionary Malcolm X’s book outlines his hero's journey. THE WORLD OF THE COMMON DAY is the background context of a hero, and Malcolm’s struggle starts before he was born. First of all, his West Indian grandmother was raped by a white man which accounts for his mother’s and his light complexion.…

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s was a movement fighting for African-American rights and integration that was defined by nonviolence and civil disobediences. These nonviolent beliefs were mainly popularized by activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. who believed that civil rights could be gained with as little trouble as possible through nonviolence such as sit-ins and bus boycotts. By showing restraint, African-Americans would give whites as little reason possible to punish them. However, not everyone that was apart of the Civil Rights movement agreed with his nonviolent approach to gaining rights and freedoms. A prominent opponent to Martin Luther King’s beliefs was Malcom X. While King and other African-American leaders…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays