The Autobiography of Malcolm X essays

The Autobiography of Malcolm X essays The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a very powerful and moving book, which describes his early years and the AfricanAmerican struggle for freedom, justice and equality. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm Little was the seventh of eleven children. At age six, Malcolms father was brutally murdered. As a result, his mother later suffered a nervous breakdown and Malcolm was sent to a detention home in Northern Michigan. After leaving school, in the eighth grade, he lived with a relative in Boston, Mass. He shined shoes, worked in a restaurant and on a railroad kitchen crew. In 1942, he moved to a section in New York called Harlem, where he lived as a hustler, cheating people to make money for himself. He also sold drugs and became a drug addict himself. After fleeing Harlem for his life, he ended up back in Boston where he started to rob houses with his friend Shorty and white girlfriend, Sophia. After being caught with possession of stolen goods Malcolm and Shorty were convicted of fourteen counts of robbery and sentenced to ten years in prison. While in prison, Malcolm broadened his horizons by teaching himself how to read and write better. Malcolm was also converted to the Islamic faith and was enlightened by the teachings of Allah and Mr. Elijah Muhammad. Black Muslims in America start the Nation of Islam, which fights for total separation from the White Devil. In being a Muslim, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to the holy city Mecca where he realizes that separation is not the way to go but unity. When he returns to the United States, he separates himself from Mr. Muhammad and the Nation of Islam and starts his own mosque called Muslim Mosque Incorporated. In doing so, he angers the Nation of Islam, who I think later kill him in cold blood in front of his wife and children. At the end of his life, Malcolm was a different man, a man who saw a larger picture where people of all race and religion cou...