Malcolm Little was born in the American South. His father, a Christian minister, was murdered by white racists in 1931. Several years later, because of their great poverty, and her mental illness, he and his siblings were taken from their mother by social workers and put into a children's home. He was later fostered but got into trouble (he was once sent to reform school for putting a thumb tack on a teacher's chair).

Although a brilliant student he drifted into a life of petty crime. While in prison he became converted to the Nation of Islam (the Black Muslims) and when released he became one of their most effective evangelists and leaders.

After a pilgrimage to Mecca he left the Nation of Islam and became a "mainstream" Muslim, but he was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam in 1965, leaving three daughters and a widow pregnant with twins.

He is known as one of the most influential of all the civil rights activists of the 1950s and 1960s.

References

Dever, Maria, and Dever, Aileen. Relative Origins: Famous Foster and Adopted People. (Portland: National Book Company, 1992)
Dictionary of American Biography
Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia, 1993-97
Runnel, Jack. Malcolm X. (New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989) (Black Americans of Achievement)
X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. (New York: Ballantyne, 1992)
Dyson, Michael Eric. Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995)
Oxford Companion to African American Literature, edited by William L. Andrews, Frances Smith and Trudier Harris. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997) ("Malcolm X")
A film biography, Malcolm X, was made in 1992, directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington
Moritz, Elke. "Malcolm X." [Includes portraits]. Available at: http://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~moritz/malcolm.html
"The Nation of Islam Online." Available at: http://www.noi.org/

Indexes

African
USA
20th Century
Civil Rights, Advocacy
Muslim
Other Religions
Exile or Persecution (religious, Political or Social)
Criminal Convictions, Imprisonment
Murdered, Assassinated
School-age Years, Adolescence
Child Removed from Home by Social Services
Parental Illness (Mental or Physical), Addiction
Child Committed Criminal Offenses
Poverty
Others ("Strangers")
Institutional Care
Parent(s) Died, Disappeared or Became Incapacitated
Birth Sibling(s) Separated