It was in prison that he discovered Islam and went on to become one of the most prominent Ministers of the Nation of Islam after his release, and became known as Malcolm X. Here, using the prison library, he completely reformed and self-educated himself from a person that could barely speak proper English, to one who was later able to debate Harvard professors. A life which would inevitably lead to either death or prison. Thus, Malcolm experienced firsthand, from his very childhood, the bitter taste of being on the receiving end of a prejudiced system which didn’t favour people like him.Įventually, Malcolm became a school drop-out who was hustling in the streets of Harlem, known as Detroit Red, engaging in theft and drug-dealing amongst other vices. He believed the State Welfare was pivotal in the ultimate break up of his family due to the derogatory manner in which they were treated. His father was killed allegedly by the Black Legion – a white supremacist organisation his mother was later sent to mental hospital whilst Malcolm and his siblings were sent to foster homes. Both his parents were Black Nationalists, whose activism, is evident to the reader, as having left an impression on young Malcolm Little.
In his autobiography, which was narrated to and written by Alex Haley, Malcolm takes the reader on his extraordinary life journey starting from his incredibly painful childhood. He certainly was willing to sacrifice his life, if that’s what it took to stand up for what he believed in something that he saw coming, and which indeed materialised when he was assassinated aged 39, in February 1965, on the speech podium of Audubon ballroom in Harlem, New York. Only one will do.’ Younge goes on, ‘Malcolm X was one such man.’ This encapsulates the charismatic, fearless, selfless and unapologetic character of Malcolm in the face of injustices. In his introduction of the book, Gary Younge (as cited in X, 2007) quotes James Baldwin, ‘The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.
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