The Early life of Malcolm X
Author : Chris Mercado
Society traps us in a box that we make for ourselves. Malcolm X was a big part of the Civil Rights Movement in the 50 and 60’s. He had a following of more than 40,000 people. He was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm was the fourth of eight children. His father had three other kids from an earlier marriage.
While Malcolm was still in his mother’s womb, the Ku Klux Klan surrounded their house and threatened his father because he was in a civil rights group. When Malcolm was four, the Klan broke all their windows, so his father decided to have them move to East Lansing, Michigan, where the racism was even worse. One day their house was set on fire,
and all the fire and police men did not do anything. Two years later his father was killed (presumably by a sub section of the Klan).
Malcolm’s mother never recovered from the shock and grief that the death of his father caused. His mom was sent to a mental hospital while most of the children were sent to different foster homes. However, they still stayed close as is explained in his biography.
One day their house was set on fire, and all the fire and police men didn’t do anything.
What’s worse is that two years later his father
was killed
Malcolm’s foster parent was Mrs. Swerlin. She opened up many opportunities for Malcolm. She sent him to a white school, and since she was so respected, many of the kids respected Malcolm too. While Malcolm was at that school, he began excelling academically and eventually became one of the three top kids in his class. Malcolm realized later in his life that he was pretty much a mascot to all his classmates and teachers. He was a great student until his English teacher told him something that really bothered him, “You’ve got to be realistic about being a nigger.” The teacher followed with, “Why don’t you plan on carpentry?”
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