Malcolm X (Malcolm Little, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz) was an American Muslim minister who was born May 19, 1925 in Nebraska but moved to Lansing, Michigan. His family was usually harassed by the Black Legion, a White racist. Earl, Malcolm’s father, a Baptist minister, passionately spoke out about civil rights and accused the Black Legion of  burning down their family’s home. His father suddenly died in a car accident even though family members of Malcolm think the Black Legion murdered him.

     At a young age, his mother,  Louise Little was not able to feed her children due to poverty . This unfortunately caused Malcolm and his siblings to be  put  into foster homes or sent to live with some family members.   

     Malcolm was a leader in the civil rights movement during  1964 and a supporter of Black nationalism.  His decision to join the Nation was from having a conversation with his brother, Reginald. He decided to join the Nation of Islam in 1952 during the period of its greatest growth and influence, a black nationalist group, and later founded his own organization, the Organization of Afro-American Unity after breaking it off with the Nation of Islam during 1964 while being there since 1962. 

      Malcolm X indicated his frustrations during the civil rights movement from 1955-1965. He addressed the streets of Harlem and spoke at important Universities, for example Harvard University. His public speaking and media appearances contributed to increased awareness and interest. He was a person who expressed an unfavorable of the civil rights movement’s emphasis on nonviolence and advocated for self defense, often clashing with the well known  

    Martin Luther King, Jr during the civil rights movement about his central ideas of nonviolence and integration. The most important and influential issues were Black independence, identity, and being segregated . He urged Black Americans to protect themselves against white aggression “by any means necessary.”

     His speeches had a powerful impact on his people, who were mostly African Americans in the northern and western cities. The majority  of them were tired of being told to wait for justice, freedom, equality, and respect as people of America and many also felt that he took action with their complaints better than the Civil Rights Movement did.  

      On stage at the Audubon Ballroom, February 21, 1965, while Malcolm X was preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity he was gunned down and shot multiple times while he was with his pregnant wife Betty Shabazz and his four daughters in the front row.​​ The three members of  the Nation Islam Khalil Islam, Mujahid Abdul Halim, and Muhammad A. Aziz. They were arrested for first degree murder.