Malcolm X: A Man With A Passion
... told him his dream of becoming a lawyer was “no realistic goal for a nigger.” He dropped out of school and started spending time in Boston where he would work a variety of jobs, and then traveled to Harlem, New York where he committed minor crimes. By the early forties Malcolm was organizing various narcotics, prostitution, and gambling rings. As Malcolm moved on with his life he became more involved with crime, doing numerous small house burglaries. Malcolm was convicted of burglary charges with his buddy Malcolm “Shorty” Jarvis and sentenced to prison for 10 years. Malcolm used his 7 years in prison (he was paroled for good behavior) to turn his life in the right direction. He was influenced by family members and letters from Elijah Muhammad (Nation of Islam leader); he then converted to Nation of Islam. Muhammad taught that white society worked to keep black’s from empowering themselves to become successful. Among many other goals, the Nation of Islam fought to become a state of their own, completely separated from white people. By the time Malcolm was paroled in 1952, he was a committed to following with the new last name “X.” He considered “Little” a slave name and chose the “X” to signify his lost tribal name. Malcolm X was appointed minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in four major U.S cities. Malcolm did everything in his power to spread the word to blacks about the Nation of Islam and his astounding charisma, drive and dedication attracted numerous numbers of new members. Malcolm was credited with increasing membership of the Nation of Islam from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963. By this time Malcolm had become an extraordinarily popular around the country, and aroused jealousy with the Black Muslim chain of command, a group for equality and not separation from whites. Malcolm’s faith was dealt a crushing blow at the peak of the civil rights movement. He discovered that Elijah Muhammad had been having relations with up to six women in the Nation of Islam, a teaching that was strictly forbidden by Muslims. You were to remain celibate until marriage. Malcolm refused Muhammad’s request to keep quiet and was deeply hurt by what had happened; he had considered Muhammad as a prophet. Later that year Malcolm was silenced by Muhammad for a comment he had made about President Kennedy’s death, Malcolm suspected he was silenced for another reason. He concluded his relationship with the Nation of Islam and founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. That same year, Malcolm took a journey across the world to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Malcolm was able to meet white people he could call his brot...