The Enduring Legacy of Malcolm X Essay -- The Life of Malcolm X

If there was any one man who demonstrated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man was Malcolm X. The African American cultural movement of the 1920s lost momentum in the 1930s because of worldwide economic depression. The Great Depression helped to divert attention from cultural to economic matters. Even before the stock market crash of 1929, unemployment and poverty among blacks was exceptionally high. It was under these difficult conditions that Malcolm X experienced his youth in the South. Malcolm X was a very controversial character in his time. He grew up in a very large family. His father hunted rabbits to sell to the white people for money, and his mother stayed home to take care of all the children. Several times when he was young, his family was forced to relocate due to the racist groups that would burn or run them out of their home like the Ku Klux Klan. One of these groups called the Black Legion killed his father by tying him to the railroad tracks. Malcolm’s father had life insurance but was not given to his family because they said that Earl Little had committed suicide. This was quite impossible because his head was bashed in and he tied himself to the railroad. Without his father’s income, Malcolm's family was forced to get government help and food. Applying for this type of assistance brought many white Social Workers into their home. They asked questions and interrogated the entire family. Malcolm’s mother always refused to talk or let them in. This did not stop them and they came in anyway. Malcolm, without family discipline and restrictions, often could be found wandering the streets of Roxbury. Without parental or adult guidance of any kind and due to the poor conditions in his home, Malcolm began to steal food. Finally, he was caught. The police did not make a big deal about it, because it was his first offense. The Social Workers however, began investigating his family even more intensely. They used this incident against the family. They reported that Malcolm’s mother could not take proper care of her children and recommended that they be split up and placed in different foster homes. Malcolm did not realize he was getting government help. He also did not realize that the nice Social Workers who would sometimes slip him treats were really out to put him in a foster home. As a boy Ma... ...g’s preaching to further their shared cause. Without this very important person in our history, things may be very different. He helped the blacks find the path to long sought freedom, and helped the whites see their awful mistakes in the way in which they had conducted their society. Works Cited Breitman, George. By Any Means Necessary: Speeches and Interviews. New York: Pathfinder, 1970. Curtis, Richard. The Life of Malcolm X. Philadelphia: Macrae Smith Company, 1971 Goldman, Peter. The Death and Life of Malcolm X. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1979. Haley, Alex. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Ballantine, 1964. Myers, Walter Dean. Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary. New York: Polaris, 1993 Shirley, David. Malcolm X: Minister of Justice. Langhorne: Chelsea House Publishers, 1994 "Malcolm X." Microsoft Encarta 97 Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation, 1993-1996. The Official Website of Malcolm X. Web. 11 April 2015 http://www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/home.php Malcolm. 1999-2004. http://www.brothermalcolm.net "Biography." Malcolm X Official Website. Web. 11 April 2015 http://www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/about/bio.html.