The Autobiography of Malcolm X, told to Alex Haley, follows Malcolm X from a broken childhood and a criminal youth to prison, the Nation of Islam, Mecca and his murder in 1965. For readers of American history, race and personal change.
Author · 1 summary
Malcolm X
American minister and activist
- Born
- 19 May 1925
- Died
- 21 February 1965 (aged 39)
- Birthplace
- Omaha, Nebraska, United States
- Nationality
- American
- Occupation
- Minister, Activist
- Known for
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X and his role as a leading voice of Black nationalism
- Wikipedia
- Read the article
About Malcolm X
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska. His father, a Baptist preacher and follower of Marcus Garvey, died in 1931. The death was ruled an accident, but the family believed white supremacists killed him. His mother was later committed to a mental hospital, and he grew up in foster homes in Michigan.
He moved to Boston and then Harlem, and in 1946 he went to prison for burglary. There he joined the Nation of Islam and replaced his surname with an X. After his release he became its best-known minister and called for Black self-reliance and separation from white America. Critics accused him of preaching racial hatred.
In 1964 he broke with the Nation of Islam, made the pilgrimage to Mecca and turned to Sunni Islam and a broader view of race. On February 21, 1965, he was assassinated while he spoke at a rally in Manhattan. The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), written with the journalist Alex Haley from interviews, appeared that year. It traces his life from street hustler to minister and argues that a person can remake himself completely.
Books by Malcolm X
New books, occasionally