Malcolm X Biography Essay

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Tyrek Maycock February 6, 2012 Music Class Ms.Casalta Malcolm X He was born as “Malcolm little” in Nebraska. His father Earl, an outspoken Baptist minister and supporter of Marcus Garvey, the president of the UNIA-ACL and leader of the African Redemption Movement, was murdered in Lansing, Michigan in 1931. Malcolm later dropped out of high school, and moved to Boston; where he worked as a shoe shiner at a Lindy Hop nightclub; in his autobiography, he says that he once shined the shoes of Duke Ellington (and other notable musicians); after some time, he moved to Harlem, New York, where he became involved in drug dealing, gambling, prostitution, racketeering, and robbery; he also faked insanity, in order to avoid the World War II draft; Little was arrested for burglary, in 1946, and sentenced to ten years imprisonment (he was paroled after seven). Nation of Islam: While incarcerated, he was introduced to the religion of Islam and became a member of the Nation of Islam. By the time he was released in 1952, Malcolm was a devoted follower. In keeping with the Nation of Islam tradition that the true family names of African-Americans had been lost during the era of slavery, he changed his surname to “X” to signify his lost African family name.…show more content…
Malcolm concentrated on the black urban population of the north and rejected Martin Luther King Jr.Message of non-violence in favor of militant Black Nationalism. He was largely credited with increasing membership of the Nation of Islam from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963. He married Betty X (later Betty Shaba) in 1958. In addition to the media, Malcolm had attracted the attention of the FBI. Agents infiltrated the organization and used bugs, wiretaps and other surveillance equipment to monitor the group’s

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