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MALCOLM XMy decades super star is Malcolm X. He was a Civil Rights activist. I received

information on him from a book called, "Malcolm X By Any Means Necessary,"ByWalter Dean Myers.

CHILDHOOD.

Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His father ( Earl Little) was

a preacher for U.N.I.A (Universal Negro Improvement Association) Malcolm X had

seven siblings: Wilfred, Hilda, Philbert, Malcolm, Reginald, Yvonne, and Wesley.Malcolm X was barely four when the Little's moved to a farmhouse on the out skirts of

Lansing, Michigan. Earl little had taken Malcolm to many U.N.I.A meetings. Malcolm

has seen his father active in the meetings, he seen him speak to crowds of cheering

African Americans. On September 28, 1931 Malcolm was awoken in the middle of thenight by his mother who was screaming; there were police in the living room trying to

calm the crying woman down. They took her to Sparrow hospital where Earl Little lay

dead, he was crushed by a street car. Malcolm X was six when his father died.

EVENT 1

When Malcolm was six years old his father was run over and killed by a streetcar. This event would have a major effect on Malcolm. He saw his father give speeches to

hordes of people. Also, Malcolm had seen the respect that his father had both as a

president of the Omaha branch of the U.N.I.A, and as a spiritual leader. But, everythingchanged on September 28, 1931 when Malcolm was awakened by his sobbing mother.

Police took the family to see earl Little's crushed body. After Malcolms father died

Malcolm felt insecure and scared, he had nights filled with terror of sudden death. The

six year old Malcolm X was afraid to go to sleep in the dark. When Malcolm wasattending the trail of the street car he didn't understand much of what was happening,

except the driver was acquitted. The jury said, Early Little was going back to find his

coat, He was thought to have tripped and fell under the street car, then was run over.Malcolm knew this was obviously a lie to protect the white streetcar driver, William hart.

Malcolm later wrote, Why would my father throw himself in front of a street car only to

be killed, leaving behind all that he cares about."

EVENT 2

Another event that had an impact on Malcolm's life is when he was thirteen on

January, 1939; his mother had a mental breakdown and was considered legally insane.

Malcolm and the other six children were sent to foster homes. By the age of thirteenMalcolm had lost all of his family. He was sent to a juvenile home in Mason, Michigan.

He tried hard to fit in with the new school but, kids that were bigger and stronger than

him would hassle him in school. He tried to fit in; he tried to be as white as possible. But

he wasn't white, and he couldn't act as if he where, because he was still being called anigger by kids who disliked him. He knew there were things he couldn't do because he

was black. Malcolm became quieter, staying more to him self than he had earlier on.

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Malcolm played basket ball for the school team. When he played against other teams, the

kids in the stands would call him racial names and slurs. Despite the criticism Malcolm

still excelled in school.

EVENT 3

Although, there were so many obstacles in Malcolm's life he still kept a steady

pace in his academics. One day, one of Malcolm's teachers asked him what he wanted todo in life. The teacher was one of Malcolm's favorites. He had always done well in his

class, and thought the teacher liked him. Malcolm told the teacher that he wanted to be a

lawyer. Malcolm excepted the teacher to be pleased with his choice since he had alwaysencouraged his pupils, trying to get them to push themselves to explore their limits.

Instead of being pleased with Malcolm's choice, the teacher seemed upset, he reassured

Malcolm that he liked him, but he told Malcolm he had to be realistic. "We all here like

you, you know that. But you've got to be realistic about being a nigger. A lawyer-that's no

realistic goal for a nigger. You need to think about something you can be. Youre goodwith your hands. Why don't you think about carpentry?" -the Autobiography of Malcolm

X. This encounter with the teacher was the turning point in Malcolm's life. The teacherprobably thought he was doing him a favor by preparing him for what life had in store for

a black person. Malcolm's classmates tried to cheer him up, but it wasn't helpful. On that

day, he had given up his dream. His grades where dropping rapidly; going from As toBs then from Bs to Ds. He went from being one of the best students in his school to

one of the worst

WHODIDHEAFFECT

Malcolm X (Or Malcolm Little) was a civil rights activist like Martin Luther king.He was a member of the black Muslims. He saw that his fellow blacks and Muslims had

the care and medical attention they needed. Racial tensions ran increasingly high during

the early 1960s. In addition to the media, Malcolm's vivid personality had captured thegovernment's attention. As membership in the Nation of Islam continued to grow, F.B.I

(Federal Bureau of Investigation) agents infiltrated the organization. One even acted at

Malcolm's bodyguard. The F.B.I secretly placed bugs, wiretaps and cameras surveillanceequipment to monitor the group's activities. The leader of the nation of Islam was Elijah

Muhammad, who was also Malcolms mentor. Malcolm soon realized that Muhammad

had another side that was not a kind leader Malcolm had known. Thus on March 1964 he

terminated his relationship with the Nation of Islam and founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc(The black Muslims.) The Black Muslims were feared by most of the population because

of Malcolm, there were rumors that he had been kicked off te nation of Islam. But he was

actually helping many people. Malcolm started to look like a kind civil rights activistunlike a cruel dictator.