Created on 10/20/2003 8:39 PM Have you ever wondered about Black History Month and what it means to us? Well listen! And listen up carefully… Black History Month is a great month dedicated to the lives, history and the past well being of all black people all around the world throughout all the ages till now and the strong phenomena behind them. Today, we see them as role models, national heroes, stars and most of all people that will be remembered for all time. It is our duty to therefore honour, respect and follow after their courage, success and reputation. This October I have chosen to present a strongly fascinating and encouraging essay about a man who stood up for the human rights of millions and millions of black people all across the globe which effected both then and now. He was positively a stubborn ideological hero. His boldness, braveness and public outcries without ceasing all soured him up to the utter most well recognized position on the world stage. My great audience, this is a wonderful yet chilling reminder of the man who was and forever will be known as MALCOLM X. It all began on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA when Malcolm Little (as he was known then) was finally born. His rather busy mother, Louise Norton Little, was a homemaker occupied with a family of eight children. His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Earl's civil rights activism prompted death threats from the white supremacist organization Black Legion, forcing the family to relocate twice before Malcolm's fourth birthday. Regardless of the Little's efforts to stop the Legion from their menace, in 1929 their Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground, and two years later Earl's mutilated body was found lying across the town's trolley tracks. Police
ruled both accidents, but the Little's were certain that members of the Black Legion were responsible. Louise had an emotional breakdown several years after the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution. Her children were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages. Surprisingly, through all the trauma, Malcolm who as small as he was, then became a smart, focused student and graduated from junior high at the top of his class. However, when a favourite teacher told Malcolm his dream of becoming a lawyer was "no realistic goal for a nigger," Malcolm changed his mind ...
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ruled both accidents, but the Little's were certain that members of the Black Legion were responsible. Louise had an emotional breakdown several years after the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution. Her children were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages. Surprisingly, through all the trauma, Malcolm who as small as he was, then became a smart, focused student and graduated from junior high at the top of his class. However, when a favourite teacher told Malcolm his dream of becoming a lawyer was "no realistic goal for a nigger," Malcolm changed his mind and lost interest in school. Soon, he dropped out of school, spent some time in Boston, Massachusetts working in various odd jobs, and then travelled to Harlem, New York where he committed petty crimes. By 1942 Malcolm was coordinating various prostitution and gambling rings. Eventually Malcolm and his buddy, Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis (as he was known to Malcolm then), moved back to Boston, where they were arrested and convicted on burglary charges in 1946. Malcolm placated himself by using the seven-year prison sentence to further his education. It was during this period of self-enlightenment that Malcolm's brother Reginald visited and discussed his recent conversion to the Muslim religious organization the Nation of Islam. Intrigued, Malcolm studied the teachings of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. As time went by, his leader Muhammad taught that white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success. Among other goals, the Nation of Islam fought for a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white people. By the time that he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm was a devoted follower of Islam. He had a new surname "X" because he considered "Little" a slave name and then chose the "X" to signify his lost tribal name. Intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was appointed a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit, Michigan and Harlem, New York. Malcolm utilized newspaper columns, radio and television to communicate the Nation of Islam's message across the United States. His charisma, drive and conviction attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was largely credited with increasing membership in the Nation of Islam from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963. The crowds and controversy surrounding Malcolm made him a media magnet. He was also featured in a weeklong television special with Mike Wallace in 1959, "The Hate That Hate Produced", which explored the fundamentalism of the Nation of Islam and Malcolm's emergence as one of its most important leaders. After the special, Malcolm was faced with the uncomfortable reality that his fame had eclipsed on him because of his mentor Elijah Muhammad. Racial tensions ran increasingly high during the early 1960s. In addition to the media, Malcolm's vivid personality had captured the government's attention. As membership in the Nation of Islam continued to grow, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agents infiltrated the organization (one even acted at Malcolm's bodyguard) and secretly placed bugs, wiretaps and cameras surveillance equipment to monitor the group's activities. As a result, Malcolm's faith was dealt with a crushing blow at the height of the civil rights movement in 1963. He learned that Elijah Muhammad was secretly having relations with as many as six women in the Nation of Islam, some of which had resulted in children. Since his conversion Malcolm had strictly adhered to the teachings of Muhammad, including remaining celibate until his marriage to Betty Shabazz in 1958. Out of anger Malcolm then refused Muhammad's request to keep the matter quiet. He was deeply hurt by the deception of Muhammad, whom he had considered a prophet, and felt guilty about the masses he had led into what he now felt was a fraudulent organization. After that whole fiasco, when Malcolm received criticism after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy for saying, "Kennedy never foresaw that the chickens would come home to roost so soon," Muhammad "silenced" him for 90 days. Malcolm suspected he was silenced for another reason. In March 1964 he terminated his relationship with the Nation of Islam and founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. In that same year, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia then returned back to the United States with a new outlook on integration. This time, instead of just preaching to African-Americans, he had a message for all races. Relations between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam had become volatile after he renounced Elijah Muhammad. Informants working in the Nation of Islam warned that Malcolm had been marked for assassination (one man had even been ordered to help plant a bomb in his car). After repeated attempts on his life, Malcolm rarely travelled anywhere without bodyguards. On February 14, 1965 the home where Malcolm, Betty and their four daughters lived in East Elmhurst, New York was firebombed (the family escaped physical injury). At a speaking engagement in the Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965 three gunmen rushed Malcolm onstage and shot him 15 times at close range. The 39-year-old was tragically pronounced dead on arrival at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Fifteen hundred people attended Malcolm's funeral in Harlem on February 27, 1965 at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ (now Child's Memorial Temple Church of God in Christ). After the ceremony, friends took the shovels from the gravediggers and buried Malcolm themselves. Later that year, Betty gave birth to their twin daughters. Malcolm's assassins, Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. The three men were all members of the Nation of Islam. The legacy of Malcolm X has moved through generations as the subject of numerous documentaries, books and movies. A tremendous resurgence of interest occurred in 1992 when director Spike Lee released the acclaimed Malcolm X movie. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design. Malcolm X is buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. I therefore dedicate this essay in memory of Malcolm X The End By Emmanuel Yemi