Many a tales been told about this particular gentleman but nevertheless i would not feel secure in my writing if i did not at least pen down my thoughts on this extraordinary man.Born Malcolm Little on may 19 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska to mother Louis Norton and father Earl Little. He had what can be called a traumatic childhood. Father assassinated by the black legions(racist organization)which he was very outspoken about propelled his mother to having a nervous breakdown. This led her to being committed to a mental institution. Her children distributed amongst various orphanages and foster homes.
Malcolm in the middle of all this turmoil managed to stay focused in school for he was intelligent and had a hunger for knowledge, graduating first in his class in junior high.
However he soon lost interest when a favorite teacher told him his dream of being a lawyer was un realistic for a "nigger". Malcolm dropped out and was soon immersed in illegal activities by 1942 he was coordinating various narcotics, prostitution and gambling rings, leading to his arrest in 1946.
Malcolm used this period of isolation to further his education .It was during this period of enlightment that he was visited by his brother Reginald and was told of an organization called The Nation Of Islam. Intrigued Malcolm studied the teachings of the organizations leader Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm found common ground with this paticular organization because it spoke against Black oppression so it was no surprise when Malcolm was paroled in 1952 he was a devoted follower. He was rejuvinated and to prove it he dropped his slave name Little and changed it to X which signified the loss of his tribal name.
Malcolm was soon given the chance to exercise his intelligence and outspoken nature in the organization quickly being promoted to minister and spokesperson. Given the authority and responsibility to spread the ideals of the organization Malcolm was credited for increasing membership from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.
But of course a man surrounded by crowds and controversy immediately becomes a media magnet hence his rise to fame. This new found fame eclipsed that of his mentor Elijah.
The Nation Of Islams"TNOI"increasing numbers soon attracted the attention of the FBI leading to infiltrations of the organization. Malcolm’s faith was dealt a strong blow when came to light Elijahs secret relations with 6 different women within TNOI. Shocking to Malcolm because he strictly adhered to The prophet Muhammad’s teachings and remained celibate until his marriage to Betty Shabaz. Malcolm even though he faced pressure to keep the matter quiet was deeply hurt and betrayed hence him breaking away to form the Muslim.Inc. That same year Malcolm travelled for hajj and came back with a new outlook towards life. You see he always thought people of different race would never get along and yet in Mecca he witnessed people of different race and walks of life come together as one to worship one GOD.
Malcolm soon started singing a different tune he believed if America could accept Islam then racism would be wiped out.
A very dangerous message that led to several attempts on his life the last that claimed his life. Shot on stage 15times from close range. February 21 1965.Age 39.Prononced dead on arrival at the hospital, his wife later gave birth to twins that year.
3 members of TNOI were convicted of the murder. But rare are things ever that Black and white Malcolm X was assassinated for in my opinon for his sphere of influence. This may sound corny but Malcolm was never meant to survive in this world he was too good for it. Can you imagine the level of his influence today if he was allowed to live?
What an inspiration! Malcolm said, “remove the word freedom from your vocabulary if you are not willing to die for it “such passion such devotion for what he believed in .We can all take something from his way of life. He overcame a traumatic childhood to become one of the most influential people in history. Malcolm all i can say is that is your teacher must have been a damn fool for you achieved what a lawyer would never in 5 life times may ALLAH continue to shower you with blessings.
To his family i say take heed! You are more than privileged to have had the honor to carry his name.
To you the reader i leave you with EL-HAJJ MALIK EL-SHABAZ'S letter from Mecca.
*Pleasant reading*
Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this Ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors.
I have been blessed to visit the Holy City of Mecca. I have made my seven circuits around the Ka'ba, led by a young Mutawaf named Muhammad. I drank water from the well of the Zam Zam. I ran seven times back and forth between the hills of Mt. Al-Safa and Al-Marwah. I have prayed in the ancient city of Mina, and I have prayed on Mt. Arafat.
There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white.
America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered 'white'--but the 'white' attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color.
You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to re-arrange much of my thought-patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. This was not too difficult for me. Despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it. I have always kept an open mind, which is necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search for truth.
During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass, and slept in the same bed (or on the same rug)--while praying to the same God--with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and in the actions in the deeds of the 'white' Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan, and Ghana.
We were truly all the same (brothers)--because their belief in one God had removed the white from their minds, the white from their behavior, and the white from their attitude.
I could see from this, that perhaps if white Americans could accept the Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in reality the Oneness of Man--and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm others in terms of their 'differences' in color.
With racism plaguing America like an incurable cancer, the so-called 'Christian' white American heart should be more receptive to a proven solution to such a destructive problem. Perhaps it could be in time to save America from imminent disaster--the same destruction brought upon Germany by racism that eventually destroyed the Germans themselves.
Each hour here in the Holy Land enables me to have greater spiritual insights into what is happening in America between black and white. The American Negro never can be blamed for his racial animosities--he is only reacting to four hundred years of the conscious racism of the American whites. But as racism leads America up the suicide path, I do believe, from the experiences that I have had with them, that the whites of the younger generation, in the colleges and universities, will see the handwriting on the walls and many of them will turn to the spiritual path of truth--the only way left to America to ward off the disaster that racism inevitably must lead to.
Never have I been so highly honored. Never have I been made to feel more humble and unworthy. Who would believe the blessings that have been heaped upon an American Negro? A few nights ago, a man who would be called in America a 'white' man, a United Nations diplomat, an ambassador, a companion of kings, gave me his hotel suite, his bed. ... Never would I have even thought of dreaming that I would ever be a recipient of such honors--honors that in America would be bestowed upon a King--not a Negro.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds.
Sincerely,
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
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