Malcolm X Day 2023

Throughout my life I have been intrigued by Malcolm X. It follows that my interest has caused me to become somewhat of a student of Malcolm X over the years. It wasn't some conscious effort on my part. I simply found our paths intersecting in various projects I assumed during my life and sometimes various studies of him and his work came into play.
 

After reading his autobiography in high school; I always thought his story was both tragic and interesting. Inasmuch as we had similar notions in diverse areas I always wondered if we might have become friends had we known each other. As fate would have it we will never know now.

Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little) and later changed his name to el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz was a American Muslim minister and human rights activist who became prominent during the civil rights movement circa 1954. He was born May 19, 1925 and died on February 21, 1965.

He became a spokesman for the Nation of Islam until 1964. He continued to advocate for black empowerment and the promotion of Islam in the black community.

He was disenchanted with the leader of the Nation of Islam after discovering the philandering of Elijah Mohammad. This corresponded with his departure from the Nation of Islam and subsequent founding of the Muslim Mosque, Inc.

This inspired him to make a pilgrimage to Mecca where he discovered that Islam included all races and he set aside his disdain for whites by and large seeking a cooperative rather than adversarial role.

Upon his return to the United States he began receiving death threats against him and his family by the Nation of Islam and was assassinated on February 21, 1965 while onstage preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. Following the public viewing on February 23–26 at Unity Funeral Home in Harlem — which was attended by some 14,000 to 30,000 mourners — he was buried at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Friends took up the gravediggers' shovels to complete the burial themselves.

He had collaborated with Alex Haley on his autobiography which was released posthumously in 1965.

See Also:

Malcolm X Day 2020