essay on malcom x

May 19, 1925 to February 21, 1965

As the nation’s most visible proponent of  Black Nationalism , Malcolm X’s challenge to the multiracial, nonviolent approach of Martin Luther King, Jr., helped set the tone for the ideological and tactical conflicts that took place within the black freedom struggle of the 1960s. Given Malcolm X’s abrasive criticism of King and his advocacy of racial separatism, it is not surprising that King rejected the occasional overtures from one of his fiercest critics. However, after Malcolm’s assassination in 1965, King wrote to his widow, Betty Shabazz: “While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had the great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem” (King, 26 February 1965).

Malcolm Little was born to Louise and Earl Little in Omaha, Nebraska, on 19 May 1925. His father died when he was six years old—the victim, he believed, of a white racist group. Following his father’s death, Malcolm recalled, “Some kind of psychological deterioration hit our family circle and began to eat away our pride” (Malcolm X,  Autobiography , 14). By the end of the 1930s Malcolm’s mother had been institutionalized, and he became a ward of the court to be raised by white guardians in various reform schools and foster homes.

Malcolm joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) while serving a prison term in Massachusetts on burglary charges. Shortly after his release in 1952, he moved to Chicago and became a minister under Elijah Muhammad, abandoning his “slave name,” and becoming Malcolm X (Malcolm X, “We Are Rising”). By the late 1950s, Malcolm had become the NOI’s leading spokesman.

Although Malcolm rejected King’s message of  nonviolence , he respected King as a “fellow-leader of our people,” sending King NOI articles as early as 1957 and inviting him to participate in mass meetings throughout the early 1960s ( Papers  5:491 ). Although Malcolm was particularly interested that King hear Elijah Muhammad’s message, he also sought to create an open forum for black leaders to explore solutions to the “race problem” (Malcolm X, 31 July 1963). King never accepted Malcolm’s invitations, however, leaving communication with him to his secretary, Maude  Ballou .

Despite his repeated overtures to King, Malcolm did not refrain from criticizing him publicly. “The only revolution in which the goal is loving your enemy,” Malcolm told an audience in 1963, “is the Negro revolution … That’s no revolution” (Malcolm X, “Message to the Grassroots,” 9).

In the spring of 1964, Malcolm broke away from the NOI and made a pilgrimage to Mecca. When he returned he began following a course that paralleled King’s—combining religious leadership and political action. Although King told reporters that Malcolm’s separation from Elijah Muhammad “holds no particular significance to the present civil rights efforts,” he argued that if “tangible gains are not made soon all across the country, we must honestly face the prospect that some Negroes might be tempted to accept some oblique path [such] as that Malcolm X proposes” (King, 16 March 1964).

Ten days later, during the Senate debate on the  Civil Rights Act of 1964 , King and Malcolm met for the first and only time. After holding a press conference in the Capitol on the proceedings, King encountered Malcolm in the hallway. As King recalled in a 3 April letter, “At the end of the conference, he came and spoke to me, and I readily shook his hand.” King defended shaking the hand of an adversary by saying that “my position is that of kindness and reconciliation” (King, 3 April 1965).

Malcolm’s primary concern during the remainder of 1964 was to establish ties with the black activists he saw as more militant than King. He met with a number of workers from the  Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee  (SNCC), including SNCC chairman John  Lewis  and Mississippi organizer Fannie Lou  Hamer . Malcolm saw his newly created Organization of African American Unity (OAAU) as a potential source of ideological guidance for the more militant veterans of the southern civil rights movement. At the same time, he looked to the southern struggle for inspiration in his effort to revitalize the Black Nationalist movement.

In January 1965, he revealed in an interview that the OAAU would “support fully and without compromise any action by any group that is designed to get meaningful immediate results” (Malcolm X,  Two Speeches , 31). Malcolm urged civil rights groups to unite, telling a gathering at a symposium sponsored by the  Congress of Racial Equality : “We want freedom now, but we’re not going to get it saying ‘We Shall Overcome.’ We've got to fight to overcome” (Malcolm X,  Malcolm X Speaks , 38).

In early 1965, while King was jailed in Selma, Alabama, Malcolm traveled to Selma, where he had a private meeting with Coretta Scott  King . “I didn’t come to Selma to make his job difficult,” he assured Coretta. “I really did come thinking that I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King” (Scott King, 256).

On 21 February 1965, just a few weeks after his visit to Selma, Malcolm X was assassinated. King called his murder a “great tragedy” and expressed his regret that it “occurred at a time when Malcolm X was … moving toward a greater understanding of the nonviolent movement” (King, 24 February 1965). He asserted that Malcolm’s murder deprived “the world of a potentially great leader” (King, “The Nightmare of Violence”). Malcolm’s death signaled the beginning of bitter battles involving proponents of the ideological alternatives the two men represented.

Maude L. Ballou to Malcolm X, 1 February 1957, in  Papers  4:117 .

Goldman, Death and Life of Malcolm X , 1973.

King, “The Nightmare of Violence,”  New York Amsterdam News , 13 March 1965.

King, Press conference on Malcolm X’s assassination, 24 February 1965,  MLKJP-GAMK .

King, Statement on Malcolm X’s break with Elijah Muhammad, 16 March 1964,  MCMLK-RWWL .

King to Abram Eisenman, 3 April 1964,  MLKJP-GAMK .

King to Shabazz, 26 February 1965,  MCMLK-RWWL .

(Scott) King,  My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. , 1969.

Malcolm X, Interview by Harry Ring over Station WBAI-FM in New York, in  Two Speeches by Malcolm X , 1965.

Malcolm X, “Message to the Grassroots,”  in Malcolm X Speaks , ed. George Breitman, 1965.

Malcolm X, “We Are Rising From the Dead Since We Heard Messenger Muhammad Speak,”  Pittsburgh Courier , 15 December 1956.

Malcolm X to King, 21 July 1960, in  Papers  5:491 .

Malcolm X to King, 31 July 1963, 

Malcolm X with Haley,  Autobiography of Malcolm X , 1965.

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Early years and conversion to Islam

Malcolm x and the nation of islam.

• Final years and legacy

What role did Malcolm X play in the emergence of the Black Power movement?

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Malcolm X was one of the most significant figures within the American Black nationalist movement. Many of the ideas he articulated, like race pride and self-defense, became ideological mainstays of the Black Power movement that emerged in the 1960s and ’70s. He first rose to prominence in the late 1940s, as a member of the Nation of Islam , a religious organization that mixes elements of traditional Islam and Black nationalism. He continued his activism after leaving the Nation. His iconic status, if not solidified during his lifetime, was certainly achieved shortly after his death with the publication of the acclaimed The Autobiography of Malcolm X .

Malcolm X was born in 1925 as Malcolm Little. His father was killed while Malcolm was still very young, possibly by white supremacists . His mother was institutionalized for mental health issues, and the children of the family were dispersed among foster homes or the homes of relatives. Though an excellent student, Malcolm dropped out of school in the eighth grade because of the racial discrimination he faced from teachers. He was incarcerated in 1946 on charges of burglary. His time in prison would be an inflection point for the philosophical and political trajectory of his life.

After hearing about the Nation of Islam from his brother, who was already a member, Malcolm converted to the religion while serving prison time for burglary charges. Born in 20th-century America, the Nation combines elements from Black nationalism and traditional Islam. Malcolm X parted ways from the organization in 1964 and undertook the hajj —the traditional Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. It was then that he adopted Sunni Islam , along with the name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.

Malcolm X’s ideas were often at odds with the message of the civil rights movement . Martin Luther King, Jr. , for example, expounded nonviolent strategies such as civil disobedience and boycotting to achieve integration, while Malcolm advocated for armed self-defense and repudiated the message of integration as servile. But Malcolm X’s philosophy evolved. He pressed the Nation of Islam to involve itself more in the civil rights movement during his final years in the organization. He also renounced his previously held separatist views after converting to orthodox Islam, and he expressed a desire near the end of his life to work more closely with the civil rights movement.

Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem , New York. Three members of the Nation of Islam —the religious group to which he had once belonged—were convicted of his murder. (Two were exonerated in 2021.) Prior to this, hostilities between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam had been mounting, the former having begun to receive death threats from the latter.

Malcolm X (born May 19, 1925, Omaha , Nebraska , U.S.—died February 21, 1965, New York , New York) was an African American leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam who articulated concepts of race pride and Black nationalism in the early 1960s. After his assassination , the widespread distribution of his life story— The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965)—made him an ideological hero, especially among Black youth.

Born in Nebraska, while an infant Malcolm moved with his family to Lansing , Michigan. When Malcolm was six years old, his father, the Rev. Earl Little, a Baptist minister and former supporter of the early Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey , died after being hit by a streetcar, quite possibly the victim of murder by whites. The surviving family was so poor that Malcolm’s mother, Louise Little, resorted to cooking dandelion greens from the street to feed her children. After she was committed to an insane asylum in 1939, Malcolm and his siblings were sent to foster homes or to live with family members.

Malcolm excelled in school, but after one of his eighth-grade teachers told him that he should become a carpenter instead of a lawyer, he lost interest and soon ended his formal education. As a rebellious youngster, Malcolm moved from the Michigan State Detention Home, a juvenile home in Mason, Michigan, to the Roxbury section of Boston to live with an older half sister, Ella, from his father’s first marriage. There he became involved in petty criminal activities in his teenage years. Known as “Detroit Red” for the reddish tinge in his hair, he developed into a street hustler, drug dealer, and leader of a gang of thieves in Roxbury and Harlem (in New York City).

While in prison for robbery from 1946 to 1952, he underwent a conversion that eventually led him to join the Nation of Islam , an African American movement that combined elements of Islam with Black nationalism . His decision to join the Nation also was influenced by discussions with his brother Reginald, who had become a member in Detroit and who was incarcerated with Malcolm in the Norfolk Prison Colony in Massachusetts in 1948. Malcolm quit smoking and gambling and refused to eat pork in keeping with the Nation’s dietary restrictions. In order to educate himself, he spent long hours reading books in the prison library, even memorizing a dictionary. He also sharpened his forensic skills by participating in debate classes. Following Nation tradition, he replaced his surname, “Little,” with an “X,” a custom among Nation of Islam followers who considered their family names to have originated with white slaveholders.

After his release from prison Malcolm helped to lead the Nation of Islam during the period of its greatest growth and influence. He met Elijah Muhammad in Chicago in 1952 and then began organizing temples for the Nation in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston and in cities in the South. He founded the Nation’s newspaper, Muhammad Speaks , which he printed in the basement of his home, and initiated the practice of requiring every male member of the Nation to sell an assigned number of newspapers on the street as a recruiting and fund-raising technique. He also articulated the Nation’s racial doctrines on the inherent evil of whites and the natural superiority of Blacks.

Malcolm rose rapidly to become the minister of Boston Temple No. 11, which he founded; he was later rewarded with the post of minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem, the largest and most prestigious temple in the Nation after the Chicago headquarters. Recognizing his talent and ability, Elijah Muhammad, who had a special affection for Malcolm, named him the National Representative of the Nation of Islam, second in rank to Muhammad himself. Under Malcolm’s lieutenancy, the Nation claimed a membership of 500,000. The actual number of members fluctuated, however, and the influence of the organization, refracted through the public persona of Malcolm X, always greatly exceeded its size.

An articulate public speaker, a charismatic personality, and an indefatigable organizer, Malcolm X expressed the pent-up anger, frustration, and bitterness of African Americans during the major phase of the civil rights movement from 1955 to 1965. He preached on the streets of Harlem and spoke at major universities such as Harvard University and the University of Oxford . His keen intellect, incisive wit, and ardent radicalism made him a formidable critic of American society. He also criticized the mainstream civil rights movement, challenging Martin Luther King, Jr. ’s central notions of integration and nonviolence. Malcolm argued that more was at stake than the civil right to sit in a restaurant or even to vote—the most important issues were Black identity, integrity , and independence. In contrast to King’s strategy of nonviolence, civil disobedience , and redemptive suffering, Malcolm urged his followers to defend themselves “by any means necessary.” His biting critique of the “so-called Negro” provided the intellectual foundations for the Black Power and Black consciousness movements in the United States in the late 1960s and ’70s ( see Black nationalism ). Through the influence of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X helped to change the terms used to refer to African Americans from “Negro” and “coloured” to “Black” and “Afro-American.”

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Malcolm X: A Radical Vision for Civil Rights

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X waiting for press conference, March 26, 1964.

Wikimedia Commons

When most people think of the civil rights movement, they think of Martin Luther King, Jr., whose "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, and his acceptance of the Peace Prize the following year, secured his place as the voice of non-violent, mass protest in the 1960s.

Yet the movement achieved its greatest results—the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act—due to the competing and sometimes radical strategies and agendas of diverse individuals such as Malcolm X, whose birthday is celebrated on May 19. As one of the most powerful, controversial, and enigmatic figures of the movement he occupies a necessary place in social studies/history curricula.

Malcolm X’s Black Separatism

Malcolm X’s embrace of black separatism shaped the debate over how to achieve freedom and equality in a nation that had long denied a portion of the American citizenry the full protection of their rights. It also laid the groundwork for the Black Power movement of the late sixties.

Malcolm X believed that blacks were god's chosen people. As a minister of the Nation of Islam, he preached fiery sermons on separation from whites, whom he believed were destined for divine punishment because of their longstanding oppression of blacks.

Whites had proven themselves long on professing and short on practicing their ideals of equality and freedom, and Malcolm X thought only a separate nation for blacks could provide the basis for their self-improvement and advancement as a people.

In this interview at the University of California—Berkeley in 1963, Malcolm X addresses media and violence, being a Muslim in America, desegregation, and other issues pertinent to the successes and short-comings of the civil rights movement. 

Malcolm X and the Common Core

The Common Core emphasizes that students’ reading, writing, and speaking be grounded in textual evidence and the lesson Black Separatism or the Beloved Community? Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. , which contrasts Malcolm X and Martin Luther King’s aims and means of achieving progress for black American progress in the 1960s, provides a wealth of supplementary historical nonfiction texts for such analysis.

This lesson helps teachers and students achieve a range of Common Core standards, including:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 —Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9 —Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.4 —Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.

The background to the teacher section, written by a scholar of African American political thought, will benefit both novice teachers and those who seek to deepen their understanding of this seminal figure.

In the activity section, students gain an understanding of Malcolm X’s ideas and an appreciation for his rhetorical powers by diving into compelling and complex primary source material, including an exclusive interview with the journalist Louis Lomax (who first brought Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam to the attention of white people) and by reading and listening to a recording of Malcolm X’s “Message to the Grassroots.”

The assessment activity asks students to evaluate both visions for a new and “more perfect” America. In this way they will gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of civil rights movement writ large.

In the extending the lesson section, the evolution of Malcolm X’s views are traced and considered.

After he left the Nation of Islam in March 1964, Malcolm felt free to offer political solutions to the problems that afflicted black Americans. He advised black Americans to (1) engage in smarter political voting and organization (for example, no longer voting for black leaders he viewed as shills for white interests); and (2) fight for civil rights at the international level .

One of Malcolm X’s last speeches, "The Ballot or the Bullet," is crucial, and a close reading of it will help students understand how his thinking about America and black progress was evolving.

More Common Core Connections

Teachers may also wish to use a radio documentary accessible through the NEH-supported WNYC archive that includes a rare interview with Malcolm X and goes on to explore his legacy and relationship with Islam through interviews with friends, associates, and excerpts from his speeches.

Last and not least, the NEH-supported American Icons podcast on The Autobiography of Malcolm X surveys The Autobiography ’s  appeal and includes riveting passages read by the actor Dion Graham. Teachers can listen to both podcasts as they begin to plan lessons around the text, or they may choose to listen with students in order to introduce them to the debates the text continues to spark around race, rights, and social justice. This activity would help students meet another of the ELA Standards.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.5 —Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

Additional Resources

• American Icons podcast on The Autobiography of Malcolm X
• WNYC Archive: Rare Interviews and Audio with Malcolm X

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Civil rights activist Malcolm X was a prominent leader in the Nation of Islam. Until his 1965 assassination, he vigorously supported Black nationalism.

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Quick Facts

Early life and family, time in prison, nation of islam, malcolm x and martin luther king jr., becoming a mainstream sunni muslim, assassination, wife and children, "the autobiography of malcolm x", who was malcolm x.

Malcolm X was a minister, civil rights activist , and prominent Black nationalist leader who served as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and 1960s. Due largely to his efforts, the Nation of Islam grew from a mere 400 members at the time he was released from prison in 1952 to 40,000 members by 1960. A naturally gifted orator, Malcolm X exhorted Black people to cast off the shackles of racism “by any means necessary,” including violence. The fiery civil rights leader broke with the Nation of Islam shortly before his assassination in 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, where he had been preparing to deliver a speech. He was 39 years old.

FULL NAME: Malcolm X (nee Malcolm Little) BORN: May 19, 1925 DIED: February 21, 1965 BIRTHPLACE: Omaha, Nebraska SPOUSE: Betty Shabazz (1958-1965) CHILDREN: Attilah, Quiblah, Lamumbah, Ilyasah, Malaak, and Malikah ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Taurus

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the fourth of eight children born to Louise, a homemaker, and Earl Little, a preacher who was also an active member of the local chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and avid supporter of Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey .

Due to Earl Little’s civil rights activism, the family was subjected to frequent harassment from white supremacist groups including the Ku Klux Klan and one of its splinter factions, the Black Legion. In fact, Malcolm Little had his first encounter with racism before he was even born. “When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, ‘a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home,’” Malcolm later remembered. “Brandishing their shotguns and rifles, they shouted for my father to come out.”

The harassment continued when Malcolm was 4 years old, and local Klan members smashed all of the family’s windows. To protect his family, Earl Little moved them from Omaha to Milwaukee in 1926 and then to Lansing, Michigan, in 1928.

However, the racism the family encountered in Lansing proved even greater than in Omaha. Shortly after the Littles moved in, a racist mob set their house on fire in 1929, and the town’s all-white emergency responders refused to do anything. “The white police and firemen came and stood around watching as the house burned to the ground,” Malcolm later remembered. Earl moved the family to East Lansing where he built a new home.

Two years later, in 1931, Earl’s dead body was discovered lying across the municipal streetcar tracks. Although the family believed Earl was murdered by white supremacists from whom he had received frequent death threats, the police officially ruled his death a streetcar accident, thereby voiding the large life insurance policy he had purchased in order to provide for his family in the event of his death.

Louise never recovered from the shock and grief over her husband’s death. In 1937, she was committed to a mental institution where she remained for the next 26 years. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and placed in foster homes.

In 1938, Malcolm was kicked out of West Junior High School and sent to a juvenile detention home in Mason, Michigan. The white couple who ran the home treated him well, but he wrote in his autobiography that he was treated more like a “pink poodle” or a “pet canary” than a human being.

He attended Mason High School where he was one of only a few Black students. He excelled academically and was well-liked by his classmates, who elected him class president.

A turning point in Malcolm’s childhood came in 1939 when his English teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he answered that he wanted to be a lawyer. His teacher responded, “One of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic... you need to think of something you can be... why don’t you plan on carpentry?” Having been told in no uncertain terms that there was no point in a Black child pursuing education, Malcolm dropped out of school the following year, at the age of 15.

After quitting school, Malcolm moved to Boston to live with his older half-sister, Ella, about whom he later recalled: “She was the first really proud Black woman I had ever seen in my life. She was plainly proud of her very dark skin. This was unheard of among Negroes in those days.”

Ella landed Malcolm a job shining shoes at the Roseland Ballroom. However, out on his own on the streets of Boston, he became acquainted with the city’s criminal underground and soon turned to selling drugs.

He got another job as kitchen help on the Yankee Clipper train between New York and Boston and fell further into a life of drugs and crime. Sporting flamboyant pinstriped zoot suits, he frequented nightclubs and dance halls and turned more fully to crime to finance his lavish lifestyle.

In 1946, Malcolm was arrested on charges of larceny and sentenced to 10 years in prison. To pass the time during his incarceration, he read constantly, devouring books from the prison library in an attempt make up for the years of education he had missed by dropping out of high school.

Also while in prison, Malcolm was visited by several siblings who had joined the Nation of Islam, a small sect of Black Muslims who embraced the ideology of Black nationalism—the idea that in order to secure freedom, justice and equality, Black Americans needed to establish their own state entirely separate from white Americans.

He changed his name to Malcolm X and converted to the Nation of Islam before his release from prison in 1952 after six and a half years.

Now a free man, Malcolm X traveled to Detroit, where he worked with the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad , to expand the movement’s following among Black Americans nationwide.

Malcolm X became the minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem and Temple No. 11 in Boston, while also founding new temples in Hartford and Philadelphia. In 1960, he established a national newspaper called Muhammad Speaks in order to further promote the message of the Nation of Islam.

Articulate, passionate, and an inspirational orator, Malcolm X exhorted Black people to cast off the shackles of racism “by any means necessary,” including violence. “You don’t have a peaceful revolution. You don’t have a turn-the-cheek revolution,” he said. “There’s no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.”

His militant proposals—a violent revolution to establish an independent Black nation—won Malcolm X large numbers of followers as well as many fierce critics. Due primarily to the efforts of Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam grew from a mere 400 members at the time he was released from prison in 1952, to 40,000 members by 1960.

By the early 1960s, Malcolm X had emerged as a leading voice of a radicalized wing of the Civil Rights Movement, presenting a dramatic alternative to Martin Luther King Jr. ’s vision of a racially-integrated society achieved by peaceful means. King was critical of Malcolm’s methods but avoided directly calling out his more radical counterpart. Although very aware of each other and working to achieve the same goal, the two leaders met only once—and very briefly—on Capitol Hill when the U.S. Senate held a hearing about an anti-discrimination bill.

A rupture with Elijah Muhammad proved much more traumatic. In 1963, Malcolm X became deeply disillusioned when he learned that his hero and mentor had violated many of his own teachings, most flagrantly by carrying on many extramarital affairs. Muhammad had, in fact, fathered several children out of wedlock.

Malcolm’s feelings of betrayal, combined with Muhammad’s anger over Malcolm’s insensitive comments regarding the assassination of John F. Kennedy , led Malcolm X to leave the Nation of Islam in 1964.

That same year, Malcolm X embarked on an extended trip through North Africa and the Middle East. The journey proved to be both a political and spiritual turning point in his life. He learned to place America’s Civil Rights Movement within the context of a global anti-colonial struggle, embracing socialism and pan-Africanism.

Malcolm X also made the Hajj, the traditional Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during which he converted to traditional Islam and again changed his name, this time to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

After his epiphany at Mecca, Malcolm X returned to the United States more optimistic about the prospects for a peaceful resolution to America’s race problems. “The true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to recognize that anger can blind human vision,” he said. “America is the first country... that can actually have a bloodless revolution.”

Just as Malcolm X appeared to be embarking on an ideological transformation with the potential to dramatically alter the course of the Civil Rights Movement, he was assassinated .

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X took the stage for a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. He had just begun addressing the room when multiple men rushed the stage and began firing guns. Struck numerous times at close range, Malcolm X was declared dead after arriving at a nearby hospital. He was 39.

Three members of the Nation of Islam were tried and sentenced to life in prison for murdering the activist. In 2021, two of the men—Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam—were exonerated for Malcolm’s murder after spending decades behind bars. Both maintained their innocence but were still convicted in March 1966, alongside Mujahid Abdul Halim, who did confess to the murder. Aziz and Islam were released from prison in the mid-1980s, and Islam died in 2009. After the exoneration, they were awarded $36 million for their wrongful convictions.

In February 2023, Malcolm X’s family announced a wrongful death lawsuit against the New York Police Department, the FBI, the CIA, and other government entities in relation to the activist’s death. They claim the agencies concealed evidence and conspired to assassinate Malcolm X.

Malcolm X married Betty Shabazz in 1958. The couple had six daughters: Attilah, Quiblah, Lamumbah, Ilyasah, Malaak, and Malikah. Twins Malaak and Malikah were born after Malcolm died in 1965.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

In the early 1960s, Malcolm X began working with acclaimed author Alex Haley on an autobiography. The book details Malcolm X’s life experiences and his evolving views on racial pride, Black nationalism, and pan-Africanism.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X was published in 1965 after his assassination to near-universal praise. The New York Times called it a “brilliant, painful, important book,” and Time magazine listed it as one of the 10 most influential nonfiction books of the 20 th century.

Malcolm X has been the subject of numerous movies, stage plays, and other works and has been portrayed by actors like James Earl Jones , Morgan Freeman , and Mario Van Peebles.

In 1992, Spike Lee directed Denzel Washington in the title role of his movie Malcolm X . Both the film and Washington’s portrayal of Malcolm X received wide acclaim and were nominated for several awards, including two Academy Awards.

In the immediate aftermath of Malcolm X’s death, commentators largely ignored his recent spiritual and political transformation and criticized him as a violent rabble-rouser. But especially after the publication of The Autobiography of Malcolm X , he began to be remembered for underscoring the value of a truly free populace by demonstrating the great lengths to which human beings will go to secure their freedom.

“Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression,” he said. “Because power, real power, comes from our conviction which produces action, uncompromising action.”

• Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression because power, real power, comes from our conviction which produces action, uncompromising action.
• Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.
• You don’t have a peaceful revolution. You don’t have a turn-the-cheek revolution. There’s no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.
• If you are not willing to pay the price for freedom, you don’t deserve freedom.
• We want freedom now, but we’re not going to get it saying “We Shall Overcome.” We’ve got to fight to overcome.
• I believe that it is a crime for anyone to teach a person who is being brutalized to continue to accept that brutality without doing something to defend himself.
• We are non-violent only with non-violent people—I’m non-violent as long as somebody else is non-violent—as soon as they get violent, they nullify my non-violence.
• Revolution is like a forest fire. It burns everything in its path. The people who are involved in a revolution don’t become a part of the system—they destroy the system, they change the system.
• If a man puts his arms around me voluntarily, that’s brotherhood, but if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that’s not brotherhood, that’s hypocrisy.
• You get freedom by letting your enemy know that you’ll do anything to get your freedom; then you’ll get it. It’s the only way you’ll get it.
• My father didn’t know his last name. My father got his last name from his grandfather, and his grandfather got it from his grandfather who got it from the slavemaster.
• To have once been a criminal is no disgrace. To remain a criminal is the disgrace. I formerly was a criminal. I formerly was in prison. I’m not ashamed of that.
• It’s going to be the ballot or the bullet.
• America is the first country... that can actually have a bloodless revolution.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Malcolm X — Learning to Read: Malcolm X’s Journey to Intellectual Liberation

Learning to Read: Malcolm X's Journey to Intellectual Liberation

• Categories: Malcolm X

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Published: Aug 1, 2024

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Table of contents

The power of literacy: a catalyst for personal transformation, overcoming adversity: the role of books in empowering the marginalized, legacy of learning: the continued relevance of malcolm x's message, bibliography.

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Malcolm X Essay | Essay on Malcolm X for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Malcolm X Essay:  Known in Black History for being a man who handled his business by any means necessary. When talking about the Civil Rights Movement, we can’t skip this name called Malcolm X. Malcolm was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist born as Malcolm Little on May 19 in Omaha, NE.

Throughout 2020, dozens of statues dedicated to slave traders and slave owners were pulled down. It was a startling reminder of just how deeply embedded the slave trade, and the racism, which followed in its wake are in our society. And yet, even in the most unassuming places, you can find stories of black power and civil rights. You need to know where to look.

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Long and Short Essays on Malcolm X for Students and Kids in English

We provide the student with essay samples on a long argumentative essay of 500 words and a short argumentative essay of 150 words on Malcolm X.

Long Essay on Malcolm X 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Malcolm X is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

On February 2, 1847, an escaped American slave named Frederick Douglass, one of the fathers of the civil rights movement, readied himself to deliver a scorching lecture about the evils of slavery to the people of this city. He would trade bread with poor white children in return for that “more valuable bread of knowledge.” Armed with the power of knowledge, Douglass strived to educate others. In 1845 Douglass published his first autobiography. This harrowing account detailed his resistance in the face of brutal oppression from men like Edward Covey. A renowned “slave breaker.”

Moreover, the celebrity status also had to put Douglass at risk, and news soon reached him that his former master wanted him back. He would trick other kids into teaching him. But they delivered more than needlework: they raised funds to buy Douglass’ freedom and establish his newspaper. He continued to educate the American public about the realities and horrors of slavery. Inspired by the life he led and the clarity of his rhetoric, Coventry’s people responded by helping to purchase his freedom. Throughout his youth, he did everything he could to steal an education from those who would withhold it from him.

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He uses to tell local children that he could write just as well as them, and when they refused to believe him, he would challenge them to write letters in the mud and sound out the appropriate noises. Over weeks and months and years, he stole an education letter by letter, word by word. It was that experience that ultimately led Douglass to Britain and Coventry. His autobiography’s publication made Douglass a modern celebrity and highlighted the suffering that he and other slaves experienced. He asked the women of Coventry and beyond to donate needlework to the anti-slavery bazaar in Boston to help fund his anti-slavery work. With his freedom at risk Douglass toured Britain and Ireland. In packed auditoriums in places like St. Mary’s Guild Hall in Coventry, he found an audience eager to listen to his story and support his cause.

One hundred twenty years after Douglass came to Coventry, a very different sort of American Civil Rights leader found himself in the small town of Smethwick near Birmingham’s city in England. Here Malcolm X was faced with the type of racism that was disturbingly similar to what he might have found in Birmingham, Alabama. He was born in Malcolm Little in May of 1925. Malcolm X has been exposed to the concept of pan-Africanism, thanks to his parents’ adherence to the ideas of the Jamaican-born activist Marcus Garvey. Growing up in Michigan, X would later describe how he internalized that time’s racism, changing his appearance and attitudes to be more widely accepted by his white peers.

Malcolm was a part of a big family with his parents Louise Norton Little and his father, a Baptist minister Earl little, a civil rights activist. His father was continuously protesting for the rights of other black people.

Short Essay on Malcolm X 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Malcolm X is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Due to this continuous protesting, Malcolm X was killed and founded along the railroads. From there not being able to handle the mental stress, Malcolm’s mother had a mental breakdown, which forced all eight of her children to go to foster care and orphanages. He lost both father and mother. The only comforting thing is his friend Boston.

His conversion to the nation as a relatively new African-American reinterpretation of the Muslim belief system set him on a new path, reawakening his interest in the pan-African movement.

The racism that x found here was sadly all too familiar to so many black Americans like him. In 1964 Peter Griffiths, a Conservative MP, won a parliamentary seat for this region on the back of an openly racist campaign telling voters that if they wanted a black person for a neighbour that they should vote for Labour. During this time, Malcolm would go through a period of self-enlightenment, furthering his education and changing his religion to Islam and being a Muslim as a part of the Nation of Islam.

10 Lines on Malcolm X Essay in English

1. Malcolm X was a Minister and human-rights activist of African-American descent. 2. He was a prominent figure of the American civil rights movement, a political and social struggle by African 3. Americans to end racial segregation and discrimination that lasted more than a decade. 4. Malcolm X had a chaotic childhood because his family home was burned down by White Supremacists, and his father was also murdered. 5. He spent six-and-a-half years in prison due to multiple arrests and started his long interest in the Nation of Islam, a black self-reliance movement that aimed to return the African diaspore to their Motherland. 6. The “X” in Malcolm X stands for his unknown African Name/ Surname that he’d never know due to removed/ violated roots. 7. The FBI started maintaining a file on Malcolm X after he wrote a direct letter to President Harry Truman denouncing the Korean War while declaring himself as a Communist. 8. Muhammad Ali was inspired by Malcolm X to join the Nation of Islam. He primarily preached about Black Pride and the effective separation of the races. 9. He left the Nation of Islam after JFK’s assassination and had a significant change in his political views after v a pilgrimage to Mecca. 10. Malcolm X was Assassinated in 1965 by terrorists from the Nation of Islam.

FAQ’s on Malcolm X Essay

Question 1.  Why Malcolm X’s father was killed?

Answer:  His father was continuously protesting for the rights of other black people. So his father was killed.

Question 2. Where was Malcolm X born?

Answer:  He was born in Omaha, Nebraska.

Question 3. When was Malcolm X born?

Answer: He was born on May 19, 1925.

Question 4. How many people were born with Malcolm X?

Answer:  He was the 4th child of his parents among eight children in his family.

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The New York Public Library

Archives & manuscripts, the malcolm x collection : papers 1948-1965 [bulk 1961-1964] d.

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Biographical/historical information

Scope and arrangement, administrative information, using the collection.

Malcolm X was an African American nationalist leader and minister of the Nation of Islam who sought to broaden the civil rights struggle in the United States into an international human rights issue, and who subsequently founded the Muslim Mosque Incorporated and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City on February 21, 1965. Writings, personal memorabilia, organizational papers and printed matter documenting Malcolm X's activities and opinions as the Nation of Islam's first National Minister, and following his separation from the organization and his embrace of orthodox Islam in early 1964, as a prominent advocate of human rights and self-determination for African-Americans.

The Malcolm X Collection is divided into nine series, the bulk of which range from 1961 to 1964. The papers consist of personal and family memorabilia, correspondence, writings and notes, selected organizational records and printed matter. They provide an in-depth documentation of Malcolm X as Black Muslim theologian, black nationalist ideologue, propagandist for the Nation of Islam, and skilled organizer — with occasional glimpses of his private or family life. Overall, the collection's original order has been preserved.

The The Malcolm X collection : papers are arranged in nine series:

This small group of personal items includes two address books (1958-1961), a notebook with details of the Shabazz family vacation in Miami in January 1964, hotel receipts from 1961 to 1965, and various items found in Malcolm X's heavily scored copy of the Quran and in one of the two address books. In this latter group are several newspaper clippings, some disparaging notes about Martin Luther King, Jr., described as the "hare in the bushes" without the desire "to run for self", and a 1961 letter from a member of Mosque No. 7 in New York who found himself "obligated to recognize the good work that you are doing for the Nation of Islam", while deploring that "with the pace of things going so fast, it is a rare occasion for me to see you, lest I interfere or detain you at your busiest moments". In his autobiography, Malcolm X explained how the demand on him to speak all over the country grew dramatically with the publication of C. Eric Lincoln's book, The Black Muslims in America in 1961. Letters, airline tickets, hotel bills, currency exchange slips, customs declarations, telephone messages, visitors' cards and an announcement for a public lecture in Ghana in the Middle East and West Africa Trip folder, amount to a day to day itinerary of Malcolm X's first major trip abroad in 1964.

Miscellaneous items in this and the next series include invoices for the Corona Mosque in Queens, a prescription for Phenobarbitol, one to be taken "as needed for nerves", an invoice for a new 1962 Oldsmobile, various receipts (camera shop, book stores, a master tailor), household expenditure lists in Malcolm X's hand, a message from one Dr. Adams at Bellevue Hospital, and an airline questionnaire where the subject listed the year of his first airline flight as 1956 and his highest level of education as elementary school.

This small but significant group of documents includes both incoming and outgoing correspondence, receipts and other household-related items. The earliest document in this series is a 1955 letter to a friend where Betty Shabazz, then Betty X Saunders, a nursing student, discusses the difficulty of conforming to the Nation of Islam's religious strictures against socializing with whites, whether at meal times, in class projects, or at a dance party her class was organizing. The outgoing correspondence also includes three letters to Elijah Muhammad, two of them written during the period of her husband's silencing. The earlier letter (February 18, 1963) was written at Muhammad's suggestion to "tell you what I thought about the trip to Philadelphia (critical points)". She went on to confide that "Ministers' wives have a full time job keeping the minister happy so he can do his job", but also felt that she could do other "constructive things" and was "wasting away". The second letter dated January 5, 1964 was an appeal "to come out to see you one week end", adding that "I have no one that I feel I can talk to but you". The last letter written three months later, three days before Malcolm X's official separation from the NOI, was an attempt to elucidate the charges against herself and against her husband "beside speaking against past President JFK". "In your letter, you stated my action toward the Muslims since my husband was sat down is deserving of time, how have I acted? " she wrote.

The incoming correspondence includes letters from Elijah Muhammad's wife and daughter, Clara and Harriett Muhammad, and Elijah Muhammad's special instructions for Ramadan in 1962. Orthodox Islam follows the lunar calendar in the observance of Ramadan, but Muhammad had set December as Ramadan month for his followers, "because we were once Christian believers and we used to worship this month as the month Jesus was born". His instructions called on married couples to "take no pleasure during this month", and on all his followers "not to forget in our prayers that the enemy has killed one of our brothers this year - the first we have lost since Allah's coming - due to the murderous hands of the devils". NOI member Ronald Stokes had been killed earlier that year in a police shooting at the Los Angeles Mosque. Letters to her from Malcolm X are filed in the next series. There are several letters from her adoptive mother in Detroit, ending typically: "Write when you feel like it. Your worried lonely mother". The Condolence file, more than 70 letters and cards, includes messages of sympathy from prominent figures across the country, many of which were read by Ruby Dee at the funeral service for Malcolm X. Other documents in the series include a selection of charity slips or receipts for contributions paid first to Muhammad's Mosque No. 7 and later to the Muslim Mosque, Inc.

• Correspondence 1948-1965 0.6 linear feet

The Writing series is divided into the following subseries: Major Addresses, Interviews, Radio Scripts, Religious Teachings, Diaries, and Speech Notes. For the most part the documents within each subseries have been kept in the order they were found. However, documents that reveal a clear relationship to another category have been moved to the appropriate subseries (i. e. alternate versions of a lecture, various drafts of a speech) and arranged chronologically when possible. In the main, the writings in this series are dated pre-December 12, 1963 or until Malcolm X's silencing. But there are several speeches, in addition to the travel diaries of Malcolm X's trips to Africa and the Middle East, that date after March 12, 1964, following his split from NOI.

Divided into General, New York Mosque and Other Cities subseries, these selected files and working papers are not the actual records of the Nation of Islam, nor are they necessarily the extent of NOI-related documents once in Malcolm X's possession. The General subseries opens with the form letter addressed to "W. F. Muhammad... Dear Saviour Allah, Our Deliverer", that new recruits were required to copy without fault before they would be granted an X as the replacement of their "slave name". Louis Lomax wrote that "The Black Muslims have little or no liturgy". The file "Lessons and Questions, Prayers" holds some of the few documents that form the NOI creed. "Actual Facts" and "Student Enrollment, Rules of Islam", are the first sets of questions and answers that the new convert had to memorize by rote and in sequence. Then came "Lesson No. 1" and "Lesson No. 2", which also came in the form of questions and answers, to be memorized textually. These basic documents, together with a selection of prayers and a glossary of some twenty words or concepts, were the cornerstone of the convert's new worldview. Also included here is a set of nine questions answered by Malcolm X on December 25, 1963, during the period of his silencing, "to the best of my knowledge and understanding of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's Mission (message and work) among us". Two other documents, "English Lesson C-1" and "The Problem Book", and two additional texts distributed among Muslims, "The Sacred Ritual of the Nation of Islam" and a religious cryptogram, "Teachings for the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in a Mathematical Way", that only W. D. Fard, it was said, could interpret, are other tenets of the NOI dogma that are not available in this collection.

The Elijah Muhammad file consists of printed matter and carbon copies of pronouncements by and about Muhammad. Also included are letters and directives from Muhammad to his ministers across the country. A four-page introductory essay entitled "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad" argues that the historical Muhammad was not an actual prophet, or Allah's final messenger. "The Holy Quran was not meant for that Muhammad 1400 years ago in Arabia.... The Injil [New Testament] prophecies last right up to the resurrection, but how could the Holy Quran be the fulfillment (destroy) [sic] of the Injil prophecies when there was no resurrection in Muhammad's days 1400 years ago". Elijah Muhammad, on the other hand, was the last messenger, "raised up from among the dead" by the Mahdi (W. D. Fard or God in person). He and his followers were the real fulfillment of prophecy. "I am here to tell you", Muhammad wrote in a 1958 untitled pronouncement, "why America does not want you to accept Islam...not the 'old' Islam, but the 'New Islam'.... Ours is a new government and a new religion". Muhammad further clarifies that the United States was not alone in keeping the Black Man at the bottom of civilization. "I have seen the Black Man even in Africa and Asia working as the burden-bearer (doing all the heavy work) while the Brown Man sat in the shade". In a broadside, "What Is Un-American? Problems of the Black Man in Africa, Asia, America the Same", written in response to a 1961 report by the California State Senate Fact-Finding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities, he reaffirmed his Twelve-Point Program as the only salvation for African Americans.

The Muhammad Speaks file includes correspondence and typed articles by Abdul Naeem, a Brooklyn-based Pakistani immigrant who served as a go-between between Muhammad and the orthodox Islamic world, and articles by Charles P. Howard whose syndicated column, "United Nations Report", appeared in the NOI newspaper. Publicity Material in this subseries include leaflets, broadsides and a souvenir journal, advertising public appearances by Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad. The Printed Matter file consists of articles and essays by scholars such as C. Eric Lincoln, August Meier, J. Schacht, professor of Arabic and Islamics at Columbia University, and by law enforcement agencies.

This series is very sketchy, containing many gaps in the documentation. The MMI survived its founder for about a year, at which point the papers were reportedly dispersed. Included here are several statements by Malcolm X (March 1964) announcing his separation from the Nation of Islam, and his rationale for launching a new group. Malcolm X insisted he did not leave NOI of his own free will, but that he had been driven out by the "Chicago officials". The philosophy of the MMI was to be Black Nationalism. The switch to orthodox Islam came during his pilgrimage to Mecca in April 1964. In statements issued in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, and in Lagos, Nigeria, the author told the story of his conversion to "true Islam", which "removes racism" and "concerns itself with the human rights of all mankind, despite race, color or creed". James Shabazz, Malcolm X's personal assistant and Vice-President of the new organization, handled the day-to-day business of the group. His list of twelve questions put to Malcolm X, indicating the areas of responsibility entrusted by the latter to his associates can be found here.

In this series is a group of letters Shabazz sent on May 14, 15 and 16, 1964, to a wide array of national and international contacts, thanking the latter for their assistance to the MMI leader during his pilgrimage, and expressing Malcolm X's new disposition for "mutual cooperation" with leaders of the civil rights movement. The only substantive response to these letters in the collection came from James Farmer, Executive Director of the Congress of Racial Equality. Malcolm X's itinerary during the Hajj, his schedule of activities immediately after his return to the U. S. in early June, and a log of telephone calls received by his office at the Theresa Hotel during that period, give a sense of the tremendous interest occasioned by Malcolm X's new orientation.

Also included is a copy of the certificate from the office of the Supreme Imam of Al-Azhar University designating Malcolm X as "one of the Muslim community...with his true and correct faith", with the responsibility "to propagate Islam and offer every available assistance and facilities to those who wish conversion to Islam". A leaflet in the same file boldly advertised twenty "stipend-bearing" scholarships to Al-Azhar University and fifteen additional scholarships to the University of Medina in Saudi Arabia, and called on people to join the MMI, the Organization of Afro-American Unity and the Organization of Afro-American Students. Malcolm X had developed a strong NOI chapter in Philadelphia and retained a strong base of support in that city. The Philadelphia file in this series gives some indication that the MMI leader was planning to develop an MMI chapter there with the help of a local barber, "Brother Aaron". The remaining files in the series deal with mosque attendance, donations and charity slips, and the sale of the Theresa Hotel. There are also leaflets and publicity material, including a March 22, 1964 Spanish-language flyer advertising a talk by Malcom X at the Rockland Palace on "El Nacionalismo de la Raza de Color en Harlem".

Malcolm X founded the OAAU to broaden the scope of the African-American civil rights movement into a struggle for human rights with international linkages. Partly due to his prolonged trips abroad, he only played a limited role in the day-to-day life of the new organization. An early draft of the OAAU's "Basic Aims and Objectives" called for organizing "the Afro-American community block by block", and proposed to join or to form political clubs, and to establish local businesses "to stop the flow of millions of dollars that leave our community weekly, never to return". But superimposed on that grassroots "organization of the people" was the expectation of a leadership structure "patterned after the letter and the spirit of the Organization of African Unity", with the purpose of uniting "Afro-Americans and their organizations around a non-religious, non-sectarian program for human rights". These two contrasting views are reflected in the collection through Malcolm X's statements from abroad and in local efforts to organize a membership base for the new organization.

The correspondence file includes carbon copies of Malcolm X's well-publicized June 30, 1964 telegrams to Martin Luther King, Jr. in St. Augustine, Georgia, and to James Forman, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, in Mississippi, proposing to "immediately dispatch some of our brothers there to organize our people into self-defense units capable of retaliating against the Ku Klux Klan in the only language it understands". Also included are OAAU acting chair, Lynn Shifflet's invitation, on behalf of Malcolm X, to representative African-American leaders and personalities, to a roundtable discussion on the so-called Harlem Riot of 1964; and a two-page letter from Ana Livia Cordero, Puerto-Rican independence activist and the wife of African-American expatriate writer Julian Mayfield, who had launched the first international branch of the OAAU in Ghana, on approaches to the Puerto Rican community in New York.

The file Working Papers consists of research material, and suggestions and recommendations from two OAAU research groups. At an initial May 30, 1964 meeting chaired by Malcolm X, it was decided that the new group would start work at the local level in Harlem. "When we control New York City, we will then be a model for other U. S. cities". The organization would try to mobilize mass resistance against Governor Rockefeller's "No Knock" and "Search and Seizure" laws, and against police brutality. In subsequent meetings, the group laid out its organizational structure, dealt with issues of membership and finances, debated the nature of its relationship with the civil rights movement, analyzed some of the "social, political and economic facts in Harlem", and attempted to define a basic policy on education, on self-defense and on culture. Also included are personal commentaries from Sara Mitchell, a prime contributor to this file.

The balance of this series comprises declarations and statements by Malcolm X upon launching the new organization. Included are his July 17, 1964 address to the OAU in Cairo, a series of research notes prepared by James Shabazz on the legality of rifle clubs in New York and elsewhere, copies of the OAAU newsletter, Blacklash, membership receipts, miscellaneous financial records, a complete set of the resolutions and recommendations adopted at the first OAU assembly of heads of state and government in Addis Ababa in July 1964, including a resolution against "Racial Discrimination in the United States of America", which is attributable to Malcolm X.

This is a broad mix of printed matter on individuals, organizations and subjects of interest to Malcolm X, and typescripts of stories written about Malcolm X, some of them after his death. The Africa file is a compilation of research papers by mostly black scholars on African Americans and Africa, African messianic movements, Africa in antiquity, and the African press. The Muhammad Ali file is mostly newspaper and magazine articles, including a two-page Associated Press report stipulating that "Scholars at Islam's 1,000 year-old university welcomed Cassius Clay's statement that he is a Moslem" but expressed "reservations about the 'Black Muslim' movement in the United States". The file dates from the mid-February 1964 period when the athlete was training for his championship fight against Sonny Liston, and attests to some of Malcolm X's activities and thinking during the later period of his silencing. Invited with his family for a winter vacation at the young boxer's training camp, Malcolm X is credited with recruiting Ali to the NOI. In a little known February 19, 1964 interview Malcolm X circumvented his silencing to tell the Miami News, through a third party, of his admiration for "The Champ", and to predict that "when warmer weather begins to appear in the North, the problem is going to get worse in 1964 than it was in 1963". Malcolm X presumably counted on his friendship with the young athlete to woo him to his side in the feud with his mentor, but the outspoken Ali quickly put any such hope to rest. "I don't know much what Malcolm X is doing", he told the Norfolk Journal and Guide, "but I do know that Muhammad is the wisest". (March 14, 1964).

Taken together, the Civil Rights files in this and the Printed Matter series attest to Malcolm X's intense preoccupation throughout 1963 with the nonviolence and integration movement represented by King. The annotated and underscored articles, noting every hesitation or setback, comforted the author in his claim that the civil rights movement was controlled by the white-Jewish "liberal establishment", and was running out of steam. The Education folder complements other materials in the NOI series. The Group on Advanced Leadership (GOAL) convened the November 1963 Grassroots Leadership Conference in Detroit at which Malcolm X delivered his celebrated speech, "Message to the Grassroots". The file documents the split between the GOAL group, led by Richard B. Henry, and the more conservative Detroit Council for Human Rights, which had initially called for a Northern Negro Leadership summit, with the exclusion of known nationalists and communists, including the Black Muslims. The Rev. Albert Cleague, who represented GOAL on the Council, insisted that "all black men, regardless of their views, should sit down and hammer out a concerted policy for a united civil rights push in the North".

The slim Martin Luther King file includes material by and critical of King's nonviolent strategy. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) folder consists mostly of educational or promotional material leading to and following the MFDP Challenge to the white Democratic delegation at the 1964 National Democratic Convention. The Monroe "Kidnapping" file includes a draft article by the same title by Julian Mayfield, and printed matter of the Committee to Aid the Monroe Defendants. The story of the Monroe incident is told in Robert F. Williams's Negroes with Guns (Third World Press, 1975). The Repatriation Commission file contains a 25-page report to Prime Minister Michael Manley of Jamaica by a 1961 "Back to Africa" mission that traveled to five African states to explore the conditions for "Africans living abroad" to return to the "ancestral land". The original manuscripts in this series include "A Fallen Star" by Ruby Williams, a disillusioned Black Muslim who aspired to tell "the naked truth" of some of Elijah Muhammad's shortcomings, and "Malcolm", a screenplay by Betty L. Rhea, completed in 1974.

• Printed Matter 1959-1965 1.6 linear feet

Custodial history

The papers form the larger part of the Malcolm X collection, stored initially in the Shabazz family home in Mount Vernon and later sold at a storage auction in Miami. The Shabazz family regained control of the papers after cancellation of the public auction by Butterfields Auctioneers in Los Angeles, and deposited them at the Library for a period of 75 years.

Source of acquisition

Estate of Betty Shabazz, December 2002

Processing information

Processed by Andre Elizee, Millery Polyne and Lisann Lewin, with the expert assistance of Mr. Abdullah Abdur-Razzaq (formerly known as James 67X and James Shabazz), 2004-2005

Accessioned by Andre Elizee, January 2004

Separated material

The following records have been transferred:

Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division - Film and Audio Materials

Photographs and Print Division - 22 archival boxes and binders of photographs, slides and negatives.

Related Material

Malcolm X Material in Other Collections And Repositories

Schomburg Center, MARB: Organization of Afro-American Unity Collection, 1964-1965. 0.2 lin. ft.

Schomburg Center, MARB: John Henrik Clarke Papers, box 24. 1.0 lin. ft.

Schomburg Center, MARB: David Garrow / Freedom of Information Act Materials on the Civil Rights Movement, SCM 92-42, boxes 19-20. 1.6 lin. ft.

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI: Malcolm X Collection, 1941-1955. 0.5 lin. ft.

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Conditions governing use.

Reproductions, including scans, photographs, and photocopies, are prohibited.

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Malcolm X Learning To Read Summary

When Malcolm X was in prison, he decided to educate himself. He started by teaching himself how to read. Learning to read was a difficult process for Malcolm X, as he had never received any formal education. However, he persevered and eventually became an accomplished reader.

Malcolm X’s experience of learning to read is significant for several reasons. Firstly, it highlights the importance of education. Secondly, it demonstrates the ability of black people to overcome the disadvantages imposed on them by slavery and racism. Finally, it shows that Malcolm X was a self-motivated individual who was willing to work hard to achieve his goals.

In “Learning to Read,” an excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which is included in Reading From the Inside Out, author Malcolm X laments his illiteracy while incarcerated for fighting against white people. When he was on the street, Malcolm realized that he wasn’t the most fluent hustler any more because he used to be.

Facing a long jail sentence, he decided to educate himself in order to gain power and knowledge. Learning how to read and write was his way of gaining power over the white man who had oppressed him and his people for so long.

Malcolm X grew up during a time when black people were treated like slaves. They were denied basic rights and were forced to work in terrible conditions. Malcolm X’s family was no exception. His father was killed by white supremacists, and his mother was sent to a mental hospital. Malcolm X was sent to live with different relatives, but none of them could provide him with the stability or love he needed. As a result, he turned to a life of crime.

In prison, Malcolm X realized that he needed to change his life if he ever wanted to be free. He started reading everything he could get his hands on, and he quickly realized that education was the key to success. Learning to read and write gave him the power to communicate his ideas and reach people who might not have otherwise listened to him.

Malcolm X’s story is an inspiration to black people everywhere. He showed that it is never too late to learn, and that education can be the key to freedom. Learning to read allowed him to gain the knowledge and power he needed to fight for equal rights for all black people. Black people today continue to face many of the same challenges that Malcolm X did, but his story reminds us that we have the power to change our lives and make a difference in the world. Learning to read is just the first step.

Bimbi was chosen as a result of his wide vocabulary and knowledge gained from reading, therefore he took over conversations. Malcolm was both impressed and aspiring to be as intelligent. “Bimbi made me envious of his enormous store of information,” says Malcolm. When he began serving time, the highest degree that he had achieved up to that point in his life was eighth grade. So Malcolm begins reading in order to acquire the same elegant speech that Bimbi does, but there’s a snag:

The dictionary is written in standard English, a language Malcolm wasn’t familiar with. So he uses a technique where he would sound out the word then break it down into smaller pieces. He also reads the dictionary from front to back. Learning how to read was a turning point for Malcolm X because now he could gain knowledge that was previously inaccessible to him. It allowed him to connect with people and engage in intellectual conversations.

Not only did reading improve his speaking abilities, but it also broadened his perspective. He became interested in history, particularly African American history, and began to see the world differently. This newfound knowledge led him to become an activist and spokesperson for the black community. Learning to read was instrumental in shaping Malcolm X into the leader he became.

Malcolm X was born in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was the fourth of seven children born to Louise Little and Earl Little. His father was a Baptist minister and active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Malcolm’s parents worked to instill pride in their children for their African heritage. Unfortunately, the family faced racism and violence from white supremacists.

When Malcolm was six years old, his father’s body was found lying across trolley tracks after being hit by a streetcar. The coroner ruled it an accident, but Malcolm’s mother believed that Earl had been murdered by white racists. Two years later, Louise had a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized. The children were then split up and sent to different foster homes.

At the age of thirteen, Malcolm was living in a white foster home in Michigan. He was a good student and had dreams of becoming a lawyer. However, his aspirations were dashed when he was accused of breaking into a neighbor’s home. He was then sentenced to ten years in prison.

It was while he was incarcerated that Malcolm began to educate himself. He started by reading books from the prison library, including biographies of famous African Americans such as Frederick Douglass and Marcus Garvey. He also tutored other inmates who were struggling with reading. It was through these experiences that Malcolm realized the importance of education.

After serving six years in prison, Malcolm was released on parole in 1952. He moved to New York City, where he became involved in criminal activity. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to jail for larceny. It was during this time that Malcolm had a life-changing encounter with a fellow inmate named Bimbi. Bimbi was well-educated and spoke eloquently. He would often take over conversations, impressing Malcolm with his vast knowledge.

Inspired by Bimbi, Malcolm began teaching himself how to read. He started with the dictionary, sounding out words and breaking them down into smaller pieces. He also read books from the prison library, including history books about African Americans. Through reading, Malcolm broadened his perspective and gained a better understanding of the world around him.

When he was released from prison, Malcolm moved to Boston and became involved in the Nation of Islam, a black nationalist organization. He quickly rose through the ranks and became one of the organization’s most prominent leaders. He changed his name to Malcolm X and began preaching about black pride and self-defense.

In 1963, he broke with the Nation of Islam and founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. He also helped establish the Organization of Afro-American Unity. As a leader of the black community, Malcolm X advocated for blacks to gain equality through any means necessary, including violence if necessary.

Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965 while giving a speech in New York City. He was shot by three members of the Nation of Islam. At the time of his death, he was 39 years old.

Malcolm X was a significant figure in the civil rights movement. He was a passionate and eloquent speaker who inspired many black Americans to fight for their rights. Learning to read transformed Malcolm from a criminal to a leader. It opened his eyes to the injustices faced by blacks and motivated him to fight for change. Malcolm’s story is an inspiring example of the power of education.

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115 Malcolm X Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best malcolm x topic ideas & essay examples, 💡 most interesting malcolm x topics to write about, ⭐ good research topics about malcolm x, 👍 simple & easy malcolm x essay titles, ❓ malcolm x research questions.

• Malcolm X’s “Ballot or the Bullet” Speech The speech was powerful and motivational, with the speaker masterfully using the rhetorical devices of ethos, pathos, and logos to appeal to his audience.
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Malcolm X’s Leadership Styles Thesis: Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were both charismatic leaders, but the latter was more of a transformational leader as well because of his idealistic views and his ability to inspire his followers to […]
• The Speech “Message to the Grassroots” by Malcolm X When Malcolm refers to black people as a big family and when he constantly repeats the word “common” in regards to the white man as the common enemy, he makes the audience experience a feeling […]
• Comparing MLK with Malcolm X Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were the two major leaders in the Civil Rights Movement of mid 20th century. Though Malcolm X did not live to achieve his goals, his followers were instrumental in […]
• Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read” During Imprisonment The mind of an imprisoned person will want to free itself in spite of the fact that it is tightly coupled to the body of the person.
• The Civil Rights Movement: Martin King and Malcolm X’s Views King also stressed that the major concepts he adopted were taken from the “Sermon on the Mount and the Gandhian method of nonviolent resistance”.
• “A Homemade Education” Book by Malcolm X After the release, Malcolm had the tools he needed to change his life and the lives of many others in America.
• Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass’ Comparison He was challenged in the area of writing and was incapacitated without the skill and ability to write letters to Mr. He was then to be imprisoned, and inside the four walls of the prison, […]
• Malcolm X’s “Ballot or Bullet” Speech: An Analysis There is nothing ethical in Malcolm’s urgings in his overt and covert ‘call to arms’ though he cleverly covers up by giving a choice of either using the ‘Ballot’ or the ‘Bullet’ when he actually […]
• Political Theories of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. The struggle reached a climax in the mid 1960s, and in the midst of it all were two charismatic and articulate leaders, Martin Luther King, Jr.and Malcolm X.
• Aspects of “Learning to Read” Essay by Malcolm X In the essay, he describes how learning to read gave him a new sense of purpose and self-esteem and transformed his life.
• Socio-Religious Philosophies of Malcolm X and King Malcolm X and King have similar socio-religious philosophies in terms of viewing the role of religion in freeing Black people from oppression.
• The Speeches by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X I want to thank you for this interesting and properly built discussion about how justice and the law are combined in the speeches by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. The indefatigable aggressiveness of the […]
• “The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by M. L. King According to the activist, the latter means allowing all people to live freely and without fear, segregation, violence, and the need to fight for their rights.
• Malcolm X: Galvanizing Change Through Speech Malcolm X is remembered as a literary genius, and “The Ballot or the Ballot” is his greatest oratory achievement. In conclusion, in 1964, Malcolm X made the landmark “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech expressing […]
• Malcolm X and His Second Conversion However, Malcolm would never have the opportunity to fully evolve his new worldview, as he was shot and killed in 1965.
• Malcolm X: The Idea of Black Supremacy Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X had an arduous relationship at the beginning of the 1960s due to the rumors of the latter’s marriage, which was prohibited by the organization’s codex and doctrine.
• The Ballot or the Bullet Speech by Malcolm X Malcolm X’s philosophy is partially separatist in nature, but, at the same time, it is filled with the spirit of unity.
• Martin Luther King vs. Malcolm X as Civil Rights Leaders Martin Luther King addressed both black and white people, and his goal was to convince them of Jim Crow’s moral injustice and social discrimination.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X Under the leadership of Martin Luther King, whom the activists chose as their representative and leader, they protested the arrest with a bus boycott that put a strain on the town’s economy.
• Malcolm X and Sherman Alexie In fact, Learning to Read is an account of Malcolm, his life as a prisoner showing how the dictionary contributed to his present position.
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X as Told to Alex Haley After Malcolm X has gained a huge popularity, as he thought, and was suspended from the Nation of Islam, the real fear for his own life attended him more often.
• Freedom: Malcolm X’s vs. Anna Quindlen’s Views However, in reality, we only have the freedom to think whatever we like, and only as long as we know that this freedom is restricted to thought only.
• Malcolm X: Life and Influence in History Upon release on Parole Malcolm becomes a model citizen and an active member of the Detroit temple of the Nation of Islam. Even after his parole, he remained very active in organizing his fellows and […]
• Malcolm X Warns, “It Shall Be The Ballot or The Bullet” Near the beginning of his speech, Malcolm X said: The first step for those of us who believe in the philosophy of Black Nationalism is to realize that the problem begins right here.
• “The Ballot or the Bullet“ the Speech by Malcolm X Malcolm X’s speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” is focused on several themes important for describing the experiences of many African Americans in the sixties.
• Martin Luther King and Malcolm X: Who Is Closer to Success? Martin Luther King Jr.and Malcolm X are remembered for their outstanding fight for civil rights in the United States at a time when the black community faced oppression and inequality in different ways.
• “Malcolm X” (1992) by Spike Lee The movie tells the story of Malcolm Little, also known as Malcolm X, – the Afro-American spiritual leader and a fighter for human rights who lived in the USA in the 1960s. Washington’s talent is […]
• Islam and Racism: Malcolm X’s Letter From Mecca Malcolm’s experience of the pilgrimage has made him believe that real unity and understanding actually can exist between people regardless of their country of birth, the color of skin, or the language they speak.
• John Locke’s vs. Malcolm X’s Political Philosophy In the context of Malcolm X’s view, the American war for independence underpins the notion that American society awaits another fight for the liberation of the black community.
• Emotional Scene in the “Malcolm X” Film The most powerful part of the film was when Malcolm X started his ‘Nation of Islam’ campaign in the streets of the ghetto.
• King Jr. and Malcolm X in African American History Malcolm was able to sell his ideas to the African Americans in various meetings in the streets of Harlem and in major universities across the United States.
• Harrison Bergeron and Malcolm X as Revolutionaries Harrison was the man who was not afraid to stand up to the existing social order and makes some steps to achieve his major goal, which was to make all people free from burdens that […]
• The Activities of Malcolm X This desire elevated him to one of the highly influential African Americans in the long history of the United States and the black community in the country.
• Race Identity Evaluation in the Film “Malcolm X” Considering the points at which Omi’s work crosses the plot of the movie and marking the differences between the two, one can track the slightest implementations of racism in the modern American society, which is […]
• Film Studies: “Malcolm X” But in doings so he earned the wrath of the very people with whom he worked and was assassinated while he was crusading for the cause of equality.
• Malcolm X’s Influence across the World Malcolm was fast and precise in his esteemed roles, and he utilized both the print and broadcast media to pass the NOI’s agenda across the American society.
• Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Comparison In the entire history of the United States, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were the greatest advocators of freedom and civil rights. He believed that the whites were not to be allowed to misbehave […]
• Fight Against the Demonization in «Malcolm X» In light of critics’ remarks in the book “The mistakes of Malcolm X”, the director went beyond propaganda and told the story of a society changer. In this instance, the signifier refers to the negative […]
• Change One’s Life: “Malcolm X” In addition, the film is entertaining and makes the audience stay alert to capture all the happenings in a dynamic manner.
• Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Although Malcolm X did not favor violence, he had a strong objection on the subject of nonviolence philosophy on the blacks.
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X One of the greatest and most influential men that captured the attention of both his friends and enemies, and articulated the struggle, the hunger, and the credence of African-American in the early 1960s is none […]
• Critical Review: Malcolm X by Spike Lee In prison, Malcolm experienced an epiphany, a vision by Elijah Muhammed which aimed to make him understand his role and purpose in life, to promote the deliverance of the black man against the “devil’s curse”.
• The Black Arts Era: Contributions of Malcolm X & Martin Luther King Jr. The era was heralded by the establishment of the Black Arts Movement in Harlem in the decade of the 1960s. Many historians view this movement as the artistic arm of the Black Power movement, representing […]
• Reflection on Malcolm X This is reflected in the speech Malcolm X delivered in a bid to unify the African Americans. In my view, Malcolm X was using these revolutions to spur the African Americans into action.
• Autobiography of Malcolm X Written by Alex Haley, a journalist by profession, The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a description of Malcolm’s life in a country dominated with racial discrimination, poverty, abuse of drugs, and crime.
• Malcolm X’s Legendary Speech: The Ballot or the Bullet
• Strategies and Goals of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X During the Civil Rights Movements
• Malcolm X and His Goals in the Civil Rights Movement in America
• African American Literature: The Autobiography of Malcolm X
• Childhood and Young Adulthood of Malcolm X
• Black Nationalist Movement: Malcolm X
• Martin Luther King and Malcolm X – Two Views, One Cause
• Race and Gender Throughout Malcolm X’s Life
• Malcolm X’s and Black Separatism
• The Black Power Movements vs. The Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King vs. Malcolm X
• The Inspirations From the Life Story of Malcolm X
• Perfect Examples of Freedom Fighters: Martin Luther King, Jr. And Malcolm X
• The Civil Rights Strategies of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King
• The Ideological and Spiritual Transformation of Malcolm X
• Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X: Vision for Equality and Freedom From Racism
• Religious and Social Visions of Malcolm X
• Malcolm X’s Legacy From the Ghetto to Activist
• Breaking Down the Symbolism in Malcolm X’s Life
• Early and Late View of Nation of Islam Leader Malcolm X
• Social Justice and Civil Equality: Martin Luther King and Malcolm X ​
• Icons for the Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X
• The Idea That All Men Are Created Equal: A Contradiction Study of Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X
• Civil Disobedience and Various Approaches of Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X
• Ritual Dimension: Malcolm X’s Hajj
• Contemporary Black Nationalism and Malcolm X
• Philosophies and Tactics of Dr. King and Malcolm X
• Life and Times of Malcolm X Essay
• Malcolm X: A Radical Vision for Civil Rights
• The Impact Malcolm X Had on the Civil Rights Movement
• Societal Structural Changes and the Influence of Malcolm X
• American Civil Rights Leaders: Martin Luther King and Malcolm X
• Malcolm X’s Knowledge and Liberation
• 1960’s Diary Entries Witness to the Assassination of Malcolm X
• Malcolm X’s Ideologies Before Mecca and Following
• Beyond Pan-Africanism: Garveyism, Malcolm X and the End of the Colonial Nation-State
• Civil Rights Leaders: Dr. Martin Luther King vs. Malcolm X
• The Life and Leadership of Malcolm X
• Malcolm X’s Life, Philosophy, and Accomplishments
• African American Leader: Malcolm X: A Man Who Changed American History
• The Life and Influence on the Black Civil Rights Movement of Malcolm X
• Who Is Malcolm X, and Why Is He Famous?
• What Was Malcolm X Best Known For?
• Who Died First, Malcolm X or Martin Luther King?
• Why Was Malcolm X Jailed?
• What Is a Good Thesis Statement for Malcolm X?
• Why Was Malcolm X Important?
• What Was the Purpose of Malcolm X’s Writing?
• What Was Malcolm X Known for Saying?
• What Did Malcolm X Symbolize?
• What Does Malcolm X Tell His Teacher He Wants to Be When He Grows Up?
• How Important Was Martin Luther King Compared to Malcolm X?
• How Martin Luther King Jr, Stokely Carmichael, and Malcolm X Fought for Black Power and Civil Rights?
• Was Martin Luther King Jr’s or Malcolm X’s Doctrines a Better Course of Action for African Americans?
• What Impact Did Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam Have on the Civil Rights Movement?
• What Do Martin Luther King, Jr. And Malcolm X Represent in America, World History, and Culture?
• What Short-Term Impact Did Malcolm X Have on the Black Civil Right Movement 1965-1968?
• What Would Have Happened if Malcolm X Had Not Been Assassinated?
• Why Black Activists Rejected Martin Luther King and Followed Malcolm X?
• Why Does Martin Luther King Have a Public Holiday but Not Malcolm X?
• Why the Life and Journey of Malcolm X Should Be Taught in School?
• How Did Malcolm X Overcome the Obstacles of His Early Life?
• What Did Malcolm X Do Almost to Get Killed by Archie?
• What Was Malcolm X’s Essential Attitude Toward the Issue of Education?
• What Happened to Malcolm X’s Historical Reputation Over Time?
• What Was Malcolm X’s Main Accomplishment?
• What Praises and Criticism Is There of Malcolm X?
• How Did Malcolm X Push for Equality?
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Here's How James Baldwin Changed How One South Asian Author Reads Shakespeare (Exclusive)

On Baldwin's would-be 100th birthday, the author of a Shakespeare adaptation series reflects on how the Black icon impacted her reading of the Bard

Marco Calderon; Anthony Barboza/Getty

I was 38 when I read James Baldwin for the first time. Even though I was an English major in college and earned a Master’s in Fine Arts in creative writing, I had to wait until a social justice theory class in my PhD program before I encountered his essays. This was a failure of the U.S. education system, but felt like a personal failure, as well. Had I sought out Baldwin’s work earlier, I would’ve known exactly what to say whenever someone asked me in an interview: 

Why are you writing Shakespeare adaptations as a South Asian woman?

Marco Calderon

Since my first Shakespeare-inspired romcom Dating Dr. Dil, came out in 2022, I’ve struggled to respond to this question. I usually said something about how there were similarities in the plays to my experiences in South Asian diaspora culture. Shakespeare adaptations in the 90’s were also instrumental in my millennial upbringing. And when my husband and I went to visit the largest private collection of Shakespeare’s folios in Washington, D.C., I wondered what it would be like if Shakespeare was an Indian auntie wreaking havoc on single Desi 30-year-old women. 

It turns out that there is a clearer explanation for my complicated feelings with Shakespeare, and the answer lies in Baldwin. 

James Baldwin was born in Harlem in 1924, and is often described as one of the most influential Black American authors. After a short career as a preacher, he pursued a job as a freelance writer and his first novel, Go Tell it On the Mountain, was published in 1953.

Jenkins/Getty

Baldwin’s work explores identity, racial justice and his experiences as a Black man in America. This brief overview doesn’t do his legacy — the profound impact Baldwin has had on the Black community — justice, so I encourage you to explore Baldwin’s works and read about his influence from Black voices. 

My own entry into Baldwin’s oeuvre was through an essay he published in 1964 titled Why I Stopped Hating Shakespeare . The essay is short, but every word was like a puzzle piece snapping into place in my mind. 

In it Baldwin explains that he first experienced Shakespeare as a symbol of oppression forced onto a Black student in a white-dominated education system because the playwright and his work was never taught in a form that Baldwin could relate to. “I condemned him as one of the authors and architects of my oppression,” he wrote.

 Baldwin was unable to find parallels to his own life in Shakespearean language and experiences, until years later, he heard the murder scene in Julius Caesar. That was the first time he began to understand that Shakespeare’s characters felt emotions that mirrored his own and,  more importantly, he was able to relate to the characters from the perspective of the human experience. 

When Baldwin moved to Paris and had to learn a new language, he approached  Shakespeare similar to the way he learned Jazz or French which was from a position of otherness. This is where Baldwin found a truth that I also find in my own reading of Shakespeare: there is so much focus on how we communicate about Shakespeare versus what is actually being said.

Instead of highlighting Shakespeare’s depiction of common human experiences as a way to bring disparate identities together, educational institutions hyperfixate on Shakespeare as a symbol of greatness. That approach can be isolating at best, especially for readers from marginalized identities. Shakespeare can be great, as long as we can create a common connection with stories from our own communities.

And this is exactly why I write Shakespeare adaptations: because it is decolonization for me. Decolonizing literature is about reinterpreting language, about rediscovery and reclaiming stories. It’s about centering marginalized identity. More importantly, it’s about dreaming of new possibilities for familiar narratives.

Marriage and Masti is an example of decolonized Shakespeare to me. It’s a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night , a play that has scenes that depict transphobia and misogyny. Instead of faithfully translating it, I drew on the themes that resonated with me and my identity. The novel is layered with cultural references, conversations about the way community treats single women versus married ones, and the aching confusion that accompanies falling in love with someone who may not love you back. These are the messages that I relate to in Shakespeare, and what I want to write about, too.

In 2024, we’re celebrating what would’ve been Baldwin’s 100th birthday. I’ve since read most of his essays, and my own copies of his books are beginning to show the signs of well-read affection. This same year,  the last book of my Shakespeare adaptation series will be published. Although I began my journey with Shakespeare adaptations well before I was introduced to Baldwin’s perspective on them, his words give me a sense of peace and encouragement that I didn’t realize how much I needed as a daughter of the diaspora.

Thankfully, there are so many other authors needling away at their adaptations from different perspectives in the global majority. I find comfort in knowing that even though my journey with Shakespeare is coming to an end, it will never just be Baldwin, Shakespeare and me.

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer , from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Marriage and Masti is out Aug. 27, and available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.

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