Biography Of Malcolm X

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MALCOLM X Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925 to Earl and Louise Little. Bernard Aquina writes, because of his mixed blood Malcolm was very unusual looking. His grandfather on his mother’s side was Scottish, which gave Malcolm his light skin and sandy-blond hair and eyes that were a mixture of brown, blue, and green (Aquina 4). Even in his younger years Malcolm showed signs of exceptional intelligence. He was close to his father and would often accompany him in his old touring car to Garveyite meetings. It was in these meetings where Malcolm learned his sense of self-pride. According to Renee Graves and many other authors, Earl Little was an outspoken Baptist who would preach for Marcus Garvey (Graves 5).…show more content…
He moved to live with her in Boston where she resided in the neighborhood of Sugar Hill; on the border of Roxbury, Boston’s black ghetto (Diamond 25). Malcolm did not like the uppity neighborhood and spent his time in Roxbury. He gained a lot of comfort in the ghetto, specifically when he became friends with “Shorty”. Within a few days, Shorty landed Malcolm a job as a shoe shiner where he would make extra cash by selling condoms, drugs and hustling women. Malcolm Little had adopted a new way in life. Shorty showed him how to dress “hep”. In the movie, Malcolm X, by Spike Lee Malcolm is shown having a mixture of chemicals applied to his hair to make it straight, like a white man’s. It is in these scenes the movie begins to show a bias for the black man, rarely seen in mainstream media. The movie aims toward the struggles of black race and portrays the stereotype the white man would use to classify its…show more content…
Once Malcolm was release from prison and Muhammad received word of this, he asked Malcolm to give talks about his life experiences and his conversion to Muslim. He took on the name Malcolm X. The “X” representing the unknown name taken from his ancestors when they were brought to the U.S. as slaves. Malcolm did so well at his sermons he was asked to travel in place of Muhammad, who was ill, and preach in his name. Malcolm did what was asked of him as he now worshiped Elija Muhammad. Elija promoted Malcolm too minister of temple #7 on the corner of Lenox and 116 Street. Through his working, he met his wife Betty. She was a converted Muslim and understood and supported

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