You probably know Malcolm X as one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement— a much-discussed subject at Kennedys and King — and that he was assassinated in front of his wife and daughters on February 21, 1965.
But there’s so much the world has forgotten about the African American activist. Keep reading to find out.
1. Malcolm X was Born Malcolm Little
Malcolm X changed his last name ‘Little’ because it belonged to a slave ancestor. Since he didn’t know his original African name, he replaced it with an ‘X’. However, this isn’t where he stopped.
After performing the Hajj in 1964, Malcolm changed his name again to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
2. Malcolm X Had a Turbulent Childhood
Growing up, we all have growing pains and rebellious phases. So did Malcolm, but in the context of an America led by white supremacists. Malcolm’s parents supported a black nationalist organization, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).
They supported equality and celebrated black pride and had to move from Nebraska to Wisconsin to evade the Ku Klux Klan threat. However, an offshoot of the organization, Black Legion, followed them to Milwaukee.
The white supremacists set fire to the family’s house and made life as difficult for them as possible. When Malcolm’s father died two years later, there were murmurs that the Black Legion had killed him, although that’s circumstantial at best.
After his mother was institutionalized, Malcolm and his siblings were separated and scattered across various homes, which is how they grew up.
3. Malcolm X Taught Racial Separatism (At First)
Malcolm’s parents may not have had the chance to do much towards black pride, but Malcolm did. He traveled across city and state lines spreading his message through in-person sermons and radio broadcasts.
On the surface, his message was the same as Martin Luther King’s. However, on closer inspection, you’ll find that he was skeptical of racial equality and advocated for racial separatism, which is the exact opposite of MLK’s message of love, peace, and harmony.
4. Malcolm X Changed Tack After Traveling to Mecca
The pilgrimage to Mecca apparently did Malcolm X a lot of good. It broadened his worldview and made him realize that the problem wasn’t with the white race but the culture and traditional backdrop of the enslavers and the enslaved.
When he saw people performing Hajj regardless of skin color, he realized his role in the Civil Rights Movement wasn’t to separate black and white people or see the latter as the problem. It was to fight racism and its enablers and advocate for all black people, regardless of their religious affiliations.
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