Malcolm X

Essay by njgal2006High School, 11th gradeA+, May 2005

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Malcolm X was one of the most influential black-American leaders of the 1950s and 1960s. He went from a petty criminal into an important defender of the rights of blacks. Malcolm X was born in Omaha, Nebraska where his mother was a homemaker and his father was an outspoken Baptist minister and an avid supporter of Marcus Garvey. Many things from Malcolm X's childhood led to him becoming a civil rights leader. Malcolm X became a notorious minister of the Nation of Islam where he gave sermons about the teachings of Elijah Mohammed. After leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm's way of thinking would change drastically.

Many things from Malcolm's childhood influenced him to become a civil rights leader. When he was younger he has many memories of things the Ku Klux Klan did to his family. In one of his memories he remembers the KKK simply trying to scare his family while his dad was out of town giving a sermon somewhere else and they scared Malcolm's family by knocking all their windows out.

At another time his dad was home and they set his house on fire and that time Malcolm's dad shot at the KKK members. Soon after that his dad died and it was said that he killed himself but it was obvious that the KKK was involved in his death. After his dad died his mom was put into an asylum and Malcolm's siblings were put into foster care. Many of his sisters were raped by white men. He was put into a detention hall and was in a class with all whites and was always called a nigger. His teacher also told him that he could not be a lawyer because of his color and he was often reminded of all the things...