Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little; May 19, 1925 - February 21,
1965), also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was an American
Black Muslim minister and a one-time spokesman for the Nation of
Islam.
After leaving the Nation of Islam in 1964, he made the
pilgrimage, the Hajj, to Mecca and became a Sunni Muslim. He also
founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of
Afro-American Unity. Less than a year later, he was assassinated in
Washington Heights on the first day of National Brotherhood
Week.
Historian Robin D.G. Kelley wrote, "Malcolm X has been called
many things: Pan-Africanist, father of Black Power, religious
fanatic, closet conservative, incipient socialist, and a menace to
society. The meaning of his public life " his politics and ideology
" is contested in part because his entire body of work consists of
a few dozen speeches and a collaborative autobiography whose
veracity is challenged.... Malcolm has become a sort of tabula
rasa, or blank slate, on which people of different positions can
write their own interpretations of his politics and legacy. Chuck D
of the rap group Public Enemy and Supreme Court Justice Clarence
Thomas can both declare Malcolm X their hero."
