Malcolm X

Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an <a href="/facts/African_American/pTgcAdo8">African American</a> <a href="/facts/Revolutionary/lf2244Ca">revolutionary</a>, <a href="/facts/Islam_in_the_United_States/FN9N54D3">Muslim</a> minister and <a href="/facts/Human_rights_activist/tXfjFn2v">human rights activist</a> who was a prominent figure during the <a href="/facts/Civil_rights_movement/llwscvvR">civil rights movement</a> until <a href="/facts/Assassination_of_Malcolm_X/BMf83KyG">his assassination</a> in 1965. A spokesman for the <a href="/facts/Nation_of_Islam/f3gAVleH">Nation of Islam</a> (NOI) until 1964, after which he left the movement, he was a vocal advocate for Black empowerment and the promotion of <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islam</a> within the African American community. He is also a celebrated figure within African American and Muslim communities for his pursuit of racial justice.
Malcolm spent his adolescence living in a series of <a href="/facts/Foster_home/Mk45mcTf">foster homes</a> and with various relatives, after his father's death and his mother's hospitalization. He committed various crimes, being sentenced to eight to ten years in prison in 1946 for <a href="/facts/Larceny/ezHhNXtl">larceny</a> and burglary. In prison, he joined the Nation of Islam, adopting the name Malcolm X to symbolize his unknown African ancestral surname while discarding "the white <a href="/facts/Slavemaster_name/gw9yxruV">slavemaster name</a> of 'Little'", and after his parole in 1952, he quickly became one of the organization's most influential leaders. He was the public face of the organization for 12 years, advocating Black empowerment and <a href="/facts/Black_separatism/ta7M4aHE">separation of Black and White Americans</a>, as well as criticizing <a href="/facts/Martin_Luther_King_Jr./dhWS0DP0">Martin Luther King Jr.</a> and the mainstream civil rights movement for its emphasis on non-violence and <a href="/facts/Racial_integration/2uw7Nbhq">racial integration</a>. Malcolm X also expressed pride in some of the Nation's social welfare achievements, such as its free <a href="/facts/Drug_rehabilitation/XgbbjBL5">drug rehabilitation</a> program. From the 1950s onward, Malcolm X was subjected to surveillance by the <a href="/facts/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation/UY93jwX6">Federal Bureau of Investigation</a> (FBI).
In the 1960s, Malcolm X began to grow disillusioned with the Nation of Islam, as well as with its leader, <a href="/facts/Elijah_Muhammad/YRox51uG">Elijah Muhammad</a>. He subsequently embraced <a href="/facts/Sunni_Islam/WYo0zeq0">Sunni Islam</a> and the civil rights movement after completing the <a href="/facts/Hajj/eDC5AalN">Hajj</a> to <a href="/facts/Mecca/udqyuk0k">Mecca</a> and became known as "<a href="/facts/El-Hajj/lSvNIBpD">el-Hajj</a> Malik el-Shabazz", which roughly translates to "The Pilgrim Malcolm the Patriarch". After a brief period of travel across Africa, he publicly renounced the Nation of Islam and founded the Islamic <a href="/facts/Muslim_Mosque%2c_Inc./WPrFLCRG">Muslim Mosque, Inc.</a> (MMI) and the <a href="/facts/Pan-African/IGqVoWGk">Pan-African</a> <a href="/facts/Organization_of_Afro-American_Unity/HxK5G87X">Organization of Afro-American Unity</a> (OAAU). Throughout 1964, his conflict with the Nation of Islam intensified, and he was repeatedly sent death threats. On February 21, 1965, he was assassinated in New York City. Three Nation members were charged with the murder and given <a href="/facts/Life_imprisonment_in_the_United_States/3EffvrAG">indeterminate life sentences</a>. In 2021, two of the convictions were vacated. Speculation about the assassination and whether it was conceived or aided by leading or additional members of the Nation, or with law enforcement agencies, has persisted for decades.
He was posthumously honored with <a href="/facts/Malcolm_X_Day/7upFCImG">Malcolm X Day</a>, on which he is commemorated in various cities across the United States. Hundreds of streets and schools in the US have been renamed in his honor, while the <a href="/facts/Audubon_Ballroom/AU5Vp6MC">Audubon Ballroom</a>, the site of his assassination, was partly redeveloped in 2005 to accommodate the <a href="/facts/Malcolm_X_and_Dr._Betty_Shabazz_Memorial_and_Educational_Center/9bl67E9s">Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center</a>. <a href="/facts/The_Autobiography_of_Malcolm_X/zdhU0A2y">A posthumous autobiography</a>, on which he collaborated with <a href="/facts/Alex_Haley/9dHnbaEX">Alex Haley</a>, was published in 1965.

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Malcolm X