Questions 4 Dr. Shabaka

1. How is the economy doing in Liberia?

2. What is being done to better the lives of Liberians in Liberia?

Malcolm X

Malcolm Little was born in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, to Earl Little and Louise Helen. In 1943 he moved to New York City. There he worked again briefly for the New Haven Railroad. Malcolm found work as a shoe shiner at a Lindy Hop nightclub. After some time in Harlem, he became involved in drug dealing, gambling, racketeering, robbery and steering prostitutes. During this time, his friends and acquaintances called him "Detroit Red". Between 1943 and 1946, when he was arrested and jailed in Massachusetts, Malcolm traveled between Boston and New York City three more times. In early 1946, Malcolm returned to Boston. On January 12, he was arrested for burglary trying to steal a stolen watch he had left for repairs at a jewelry shop. Two days later, Malcolm was indicted for carrying firearms. On January 16, he was charged with Grand Larceny and Breaking and Entering. Malcolm was sentenced to eight to ten years in Massachusetts State Prison. On August 7th, 1952, Malcolm received parole and was released from prison. In 1952, after his release from prison, Malcolm went to meet Elijah Muhammad in Chicago. Soon after their meeting, he changed his last name to "X". Malcolm explained the name by saying, "The 'X' is meant to symbolize the rejection of 'slave names' and the absence of an inherited African name to take its place. The 'X' is also the brand that many slaves received on their upper arm." This was the reason that led many members of the Nation of Islam to change their last names to X. Malcolm was a minister and spokesmen for the nation of Islam. On February 21, 1965 in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom, Malcolm had just begun delivering a speech when a disturbance broke out in the crowd of 400. A man yelled, "Get your hand outta my pocket! Don't be messin' with my pockets!" As Malcolm and his bodyguards moved to quiet the disturbance,[20] a man rushed forward and shot Malcolm in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. Two other men charged the stage and fired handguns at Malcolm, who was shot 16 times. Angry onlookers in the crowd caught and beat the assassins as they attempted to flee the ballroom. Malcolm was pronounced dead on arrival at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Malcolm's funeral was held on February 27, 1965, at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, also in Harlem.

Be Happy, Vacation Time

African American Lives

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/

Watch:Channel 13 February 13, 2008 9:00

1. Who is Dr. Henry Gates?
Henry Louis Gates, Jr, is one of the most powerful academic voices in America. In 1997 Gates was voted one of Time Magazine's "25 Most Influential Americans." An article in Time asserted, "Combine the braininess of the legendary black scholar W.E.B. DuBois and the chutzpah of P.T. Barnum, and the result is Henry Louis Gates, Jr." He is most recognized for his extensive research of African American history and literature, and for developing and expanding the African American Studies program at Harvard University. The first black to have received a Ph.D. from Cambridge, Gates is the author of many books, articles, essays, and reviews, and has received numerous awards and honorary degrees. Gates, who has displayed an endless dedication to bringing African-American culture to the public, has co-authored, co-edited, and produced some of the most comprehensive African-American reference materials in the country. Booklist declared that Gates "is doing for African Americans in the U.S. what Tocqueville did for Europeans."

Gates was born on September 16, 1950, in Keyser, West Virginia, a city surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains. Gates's father, Henry Louis, Sr. worked at the local paper mill during the day, and worked at the telephone company as a janitor at night. His mother, Pauline Coleman Gates, cleaned houses in addition to caring for her two children. Gates described his father as being an extraordinary storyteller and credited his mother with instilling a great deal of self-confidence in both he and his brother. She was fascinated by the teachings of Malcolm X but also wanted her children to be able to work and live within an integrated society. Pauline was involved with her children's education and was the first black PTA member in their community. As Louis entered his teenage years his mother began a long struggle with depression and was hospitalized. Profoundly affected, the young Gates made a deal with God: If his mother came home from the hospital, he would devote his life to Christ. His mother did come home and Gates became heavily involved with his church, but as the 1960s unfolded with race riots, assassinations, and anti-war movements, he turned his focus outward.

2. Choose an interviewee and discuss the following:
The historical events of his/ her family.
Discuss the historical significant.