Malcolm Little (later going by the name Malcolm X) was born in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925. His father, Earl, was a leader for the local section of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and was a prominent spokesman for civil liberties. Earl was targeted by a white supremacy group called the Black Legion and was killed by a streetcar in 1926. The family knew it was the Black Legion that murdered Earl even though the authorities ruled it an accident. Malcolm's mother, Louise, went insane and was put in a mental institution for never recovering from this trauma. Malcolm had a difficult time forgiving the sins that were committed on his family. As a young teenager, Malcolm was a strong student that aspired to be a lawyer. However, he dropped out of school when his eighth grade teacher told him it was unrealistic for a black man to be a lawyer. With his life falling apart, Malcolm moved to Harlem in 1943 and became involved in theft, gambling, and drug dealing. He was "mentally disqualified for military service" when the draft came around. Malcolm was sent to prison for ten years for robbery. While in prison, he began to enjoy studying again. His brother Philbert told him about the Nation of Islam (NOI), a religion he had recently joined. Malcolm was perplexed by Islam and Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm's interest in the Black Muslims led to his immediate conversion in 1952 after receiving parole and release from jail.
Once Malcolm joined the Nation of Islam, he changed his name to Malcolm X in order to remove "Little", which he felt was his slave name. Malcolm quickly moved through the ranks in the Nation of Islam and became a strong teacher of the beliefs. Malcolm X adopted many radical beliefs about white people being evil and often supported very immoral beliefs about society. When Elijah Muhammad eventually betrayed Malcolm's trust, Malcolm left the Nation of Islam because he could not support a deceitful religion. Malcolm displayed a great amount of faith when he changed his beliefs, instead of supporting an incorrect cause. He founded the Muslim Mosque Inc. after his departure and began to preach to everyone in society. Shortly after meeting Martin Luther King, Malcolm converted to Sunni Islam and made a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Malcolm came back from this pilgrimage with an altered faith. He became accepting of the rest of society and left the anger and violence that plagued his past behind. Malcolm continually went against the beliefs of the Nation of Islam and had many disagreements with the fundamental truths he used to accept. Malcolm's strong faith in his new religion made him defiant and bold in his speeches and he converted thousands of people on his trips around the world.
In February of 1965, assassins from the Nation of Islam charged a speech Malcolm was giving at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan and shot Malcolm sixteen times.
The trouble Malcolm faced in the early stages of his life was made up for in the later part of his life because of the strong faith he had. Even though he changed his beliefs, Malcolm always took a strong stand on his beliefs and many people were converted by his strong convictions. His faith never wavered and he held true to his words even when assassination attempts became more and more common.
