Malcom X, born Malcom Little on May 19th, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. After his father’s passing and his mother’s hospitalization, Malcom bounced around from house to house, he was committed many crimes and was sentenced to 8-10 years in prison in 1946. In prison, he joined the Nation of Islam, where he changed his name to Malcom X. After his parole in 1952, he became a prominent leader in the Nation of Islam, soon becoming the face of it. He was an advocate for Black empowerment, wanting Black and white people to remain separate, he also heavily criticized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his way of handling racial crisis. After some disagreements with the Nation of Islam and its leader Elijah Muhammad, X publicly renounced his affiliation with the Nation of Islam and founded the Islamic Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI) and the Pan African Organization of Afro- American Unity (OAAU.) Days after his assassination, Elijah Muhammad told the annual Savior’s Convention that “Malcom X got just what he preached…” He denied any involvement with his murder. On February 21st, 1965, Malcom X was assassinated in Manhattan, New York at the Audubon Ballroom. He was preparing to address the Organization of African American Unity, some on the audience yelled causing a disturbance, a man ran towards X and shot him in the chest with a shotgun, and two other man fired handguns. X was pronounced dead at 3:30 pm after he arrived at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. His autopsy revealed that he had suffered 21 gunshot wounds to the chest, left shoulder, arms and legs, and ten back shot wounds from the initial shotgun shot. Three men, Talmadge Hayer, Norman Butler, Thomas Johnson, were tried and convicted of his murder in March 1966 and sentenced to life in prison. These men were said to be members of the Nation of Islam. Many people believed that Louis Farrakhan had something to do with X’s murder because of statements he had previously made. In a 1993 speech Farrakhan said, “We don't give a damn about no white man law if you […]
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