X'd Out

"Cool it brothers..." The last words of Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little (1925-1965). On February 21st 1965 Malcolm X was shot 16 times in Manhattan, New York.

Every one's heard of Martin Luther King Jr. but not everyone has heard about Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr. is an American hero, and he should be. But I believe there is someone else that we as a country have been overlooking, Malcolm X.

Growing up Malcolm did not have the easiest life. In 1931 Malcolm's father was found dead, his death was ruled as a suicide. After his father's death his mother had a nervous breakdown and was declared legally insane. She was then committed to the state mental hospital. Malcolm and his 7 brothers and sisters were split up and sent to foster homes. His mother remained committed until Malcolm and his siblings released her 26 years later. Malcolm's education stops at junior high school. He had aspirations of being a lawyer, but one of his teachers told him that being a lawyer was not a realistic goal for a black man like himself. Malcolm moved to Boston to live with his half sister. After living in Boston he moved to New York City in 1943. After some time in Harlem, he began to involve himself in things such as robbery and drugs. In early 1946 he returned to Boston and was arrested for burglary. Two days later her was indicted, once again, for carrying firearms. On January 16th he was sentenced to eight to ten years in prison. He began serving his time on February 27th. It was in prison when Malcolm converted to Islam. On August 7th 1952 he was released from prison.

It was directly after he was released from prison that he changed his name to "X". The "X" symbolized the rejection of slave names, and the absence of an African inherited name. This led many members of the Nation of Islam to change their surnames to "X." In 1953 the FBI opened a file on Malcolm, calling him a communist. A few years later he became the minister of the Nation of Islam Temple Number Eleven. Soon Malcolm was seen as one of the most influential figures in the movement. (After his friend Elijah Muhhamah) He even got the famous boxer, named Cassius Clay, to convert to the Nation of Islam, and change his name...to Muhammad Ali. (Later in life Ali would go on to become the most famous boxer in the world, and he would leave Nation of Islam, and would join mainstream Islam) Malcolm publicly announced his break from the Nation of Islam on March 8th, 1964.

There were numerous assassination attempts on Malcolm X. Only one was successful. In 1965 in Audubon Ballroom which is in Harlem, New York, Malcolm X would give his last public speech. About three minutes into his speech three men stood up and shot him 16 times. Before being shot Malcolm said, "Cool it brothers..." but they didn't cool it. By the times the paramedics had arrived, he was already dead. The shooters were arrested at the scene of the crime.

Malcolm X stood for black power, he had a huge impact on African American Rights. He gave numerous speeches, all very passionate. And they all told the brutal truth...or what he thought to be the truth.