Malcolm+X+-+F08

Malcolm X (1925-66) I was born Malcolm Little and grew up wanting to become a lawyer, yet with such racial tensions and segregation, even my teacher told me I would never become one. My life really never was steady because my father was a supporter of the Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, he was assasinated and that led the destruction of my mother. At this time all my brother and sisters were put into different foster homes, and we carried on life. This led to many years of petty crimes, and finally one which sent me to jail. It is during this period that my brother told me of a group called the Nation of Islam, which led to my estensive research on their goals and policies. The leader of this religious group taught that "white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success." They fought to keep the Nation of Islam a state of their own, away from whites. I actively became a leader in 1952, taking the surnam 'X' because it signified my lost tribal name. I was so succesful in my working and preaching that I increased the organizations members from 500 to 30,000 in just 11 years. I became a great public speaker, receiving much acclaim that led me to surpass the leader of the Nation of Islam (Elijah Muhammed) in popularity. Yet my faith in this movement was dealt a huge blow when I found out about Elijah's six different relationships. The Nation of Islam had preached that one must remain celibate until his/her marriage, yet here the leader of the movement was at fault. In 1964 I terminated my relationship with the Nation of Islam and founded the Muslim Moque, Inc. The same year I went on a pilgrimage to Mecca,which proved to be life changing. It gave me a new outlook on life and integretion, and I came to the realization of not only preaching to African Americans, but all races. By 1965 my relationship with the Nation of Islam had great deterred, and now was receiving death threats. I had many assasination attempts at me, until one final one on that fateful day in February, 1965.

Bibliography: <[|http://america.eb.com/america/article?articleId=384966&query=**malcolm**+x]> [Accessed December 21, 2008].
 * Malcolm** X " Advice to the Youth of Mississippi," //Annals of American History.//

"Biography of Malcolm X." __Africa Within__. 22 Dec. 2008 http://www.africawithin.com/malcolmx/malcolm_bio.htm.

"The Official Web Site of Malcolm X." __CMG Worldwide__. 22 Dec. 2008 http://www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/about/bio3.htm.