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.