The life and death of malcolm x
•
The Death and Life of Malcolm X
•
Assassination of Malcolm X
murder in New York City, US
Malcolm X, an African AmericanMuslim minister and human rights activist who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement, was shot multiple times and died from his wounds in Manhattan, New York City, on February21, , at the age of 39 while preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in the neighborhood of Washington Heights. Three members of the Nation of Islam—Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Khalil Islam, and Thomas Hagan—were charged, tried, and convicted of the murder and given indeterminate life sentences, but in November , Aziz and Islam were exonerated.
Speculation about the assassination and whether it was conceived or aided by leading or additional members of the Nation, or by law enforcement agencies, particularly the FBI and CIA, has persisted for decades after the shooting. The assassination was one of four major assassinations of the s in the United States, coming two
•
Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Malcolm X, originally Malcolm Little, was born in Omaha, Nebraska. After moving to the Midwest with his family at a young age, he suffered great tragedy with the alleged suicide of his father and the subsequent institutionalization of his mother. After spending his remaining childhood years in foster homes with his siblings, Malcolm dropped out of middle school, and a few years later moved to Boston and found work on the streets as a shoe-shiner, drug dealer, gambler and burglar.
It was while serving a ten year sentence in prison for burglary that Malcolm X became passionately committed to furthering his education. It was also at this time that Malcolms brother alerted him to the teachings of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and encouraged Malcolm to convert to the Muslim faith. Intrigued by the NOI, Malcolm began studying the work of Elijah Muhammad who preached about systemic oppression and fought for a world separate