On May 19, 1925, a great civil rights activist was born. Malcolm X was born in Omaha, Nebraska with the original surname "Little". Malcolm lived with his father Earl Little and his mother Louis Little. At the age of 6, his father was run over by a streetcar, supposedly belonging to the Black Legion, a notorious sub-branch of the KKK. The assaulters had placed the body on railroad tracks, making the incident look like an accident or making it look like Earl Little had committed suicide. This voided the life insurance that Earl had bought for Malcolm and the rest of his family. After hearing the news, Malcolm's mother, Louis, had a series of mental breakdowns. When she was delivered to a local mental institution, Malcolm left the family to continue his education. When a teacher in high school told him that he could not become a lawyer, which Malcolm’s lifetime dream was, he dropped out of high school and set out on his own.
When Malcolm X dropped out of high school, he had no where to live or go. A street criminal took him in and showed him a taste of what it was life to be a criminal. Malcolm loved what he saw. At first, he partied at nightclubs once a week. Later, he started to frequent them. Still harmless, but this was only the first stage. After a few months, he started to buy and sell marijuana and crack. He became the notorious drug-dealer known as “Detroit Red”. In addition to drug-dealing, Malcolm also targeted many wealthy white families for burglaries. He was arrested when he was caught wearing a watch that he had recently stolen. Malcolm was sent to Charlestown State Prison to serve out a 10 year sentence. He met an inmate there who persuaded him to read a book whenever he got the chance. He read a couple of books and was instantly amazed at how much he could learn from a couple of pages. He read more and more books every day. Somewhere in the middle of his sentence, a fellow black man approached him. He told Malcolm about the Nation of Islam, a religious group that promotes the Islamic culture and believes in equality for everybody, whites and blacks alike. After giving it a bit of thought, Malcolm accepted the man’s offer to join the Nation of Islam. He read books on standing up for rights for the next few years. By the time he was out of prison, Malcolm X was ready to assist the Nation of Islam to achieve their goal.
The Nation of Islam was a small, but very religious, group of people. They believed in equality for all people. Their founder was Farrad Muhammad. He recruited over 300 people to the Nation of Islam. A couple of years later, Farrad mysteriously disappeared. 100 years later, historians still haven’t found the body. After his disappearance, Elijah Muhammad, an assistant of Farrad, became the new leader of this group. Many people in the Nation of Islam disliked Elijah and his plans for a new movement. Before the followers could rebel, Malcolm X, at the time known as Malcolm Little, had joined the Nation of Islam, after hearing about it from a fellow black man in the prison he was sent to. Malcolm changed his last name from Little to X, to hide the name his ancestors were given by their owners when slavery still existed. The new Malcolm X learned the ways of the Nation of Islam from Elijah Muhammad himself. He became a new man.
The newly risen Malcolm X quickly gained popularity throughout the South. He made a large number of appearances, most of which had a speech involved in it. These speeches mesmerized the audience with it’s powerful words and statements. Many people believed that he was the second Martin Luther King Jr. That statement was not held true. Martin Luther King wanted to lead a non-violent rebellion to get what he wanted. He would never endanger the life of any man, black or white, male or female. Malcolm X teased him for his cowardly ways. Malcolm wanted to get revenge for what the whites had done to his family and his race. It was obvious that Malcolm wanted violence in his famous speech: “The Ballot or The Bullet”. This speech was about the voting rights of black people. Even before the speech was given, an act had passed that blacks were allowed to vote, but no one did so because if a black was to vote, then he or she would be beaten up and harassed by a gang. Malcolm X’s speech inspired those who were scared to vote, to vote and to fight back against the gang if they were apprehended. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King respected each other, but they were still great rivals.
In 1963, Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad had a argument about their plans for a revolution. Malcolm X, known for being ill-tempered, left the Nation of Islam for good. He continued giving inspiring speeches. Two years later, in 1965, Malcolm X was giving a speech in the famous Audubon Ballroom, when suddenly a commotion was made in the back of the room. Malcolm tried to calm them down, but they ignored him. A few seconds later, gunshots were heard and Malcolm X was seen dropping to the ground with blood leaking everywhere. Thomas Hagen was the man who shot Malcolm. He was standing to the side of the crowd, and when everybody’s attention was given to the back, he shot his gun several more times. 13 bullets were found in Malcolm’s body during the autopsy. The crowd was enraged at Malcolm’s death, and proceeded to beat Hagen. Hagen was captured and sent to a local hospital, then to a jail. Later discoveries show that Hagen and his team were from the Nation of Islam and were very angry that Malcolm had left the Nation of Islam. He was only 39.
Five years ago, Thomas Hagen, currently age 74, was released from Lincoln Correctional Facility and was put on parole. Many people were angry about this decision. Zead Ramadan, Board Chairman of The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, said "I personally find it strange that for a couple decades any person convicted in the assassination of such an iconic figure would be allowed such leniency". Hagen was allowed to roam about for 5 days a week, but was to be imprisoned 2 days of the week. During those 5 days, he spent time with his family and earned money at a local fast-food restaurant. His release will also cause some very awkward moments. What would happen when Hagen meets Malcolm X’s family? The result might be a catastrophe.