BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Malcolm X was a militant leader of the Nation of Islam, a Black Muslim organization, in the 1950s and early 1960s. In contrast to other black religious leaders of that time who espoused pacifism, he called for achieving equality "by any means necessary." Malcolm X created a secular black nationalist group known as the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Despite threats on his life, he continued to preach this "new religion" until his assassination in 1965.

Malcolm X

Marcus Garvey organized the United Negro Improvement Association as a foundation to allow black Americans to move back to Africa. Failure to secure enough investment caused his ventures to collapse in 1922. Earl Little, the father of Malcolm X, was a supporter of Garvey. Little, who died in 1931, was probably murdered because of his political and social activism.

Marcus Garvey

Author Alex Haley collaborated with Malcolm X on a manuscript about his life that was later published as The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965). Malcolm X had predicted he would not live to see the book published, and his prophecy proved true. He was assassinated in February 1965.

Author Alex 

Malcolm X helped to establish a newspaper called Muhammad Speaks, which became the Nation of Islam's main means of spreading information about its views. In this photograph a Black Muslim in New York City sells a copy of the newspaper with headlines demanding justice for African Americans. During the early 1960s when this photo was taken, racial discrimination had become a volatile issue. Malcolm X took a more militant stand than Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, and eventually Malcolm X left to form his own organization.

Muhammad Speaks
Many radical organizations of the 1960s and 1970s regarded Malcolm X as a hero. One of the more militant of these groups was the Black Panther organization, which advocated Black Power through black self-reliance and, if necessary, violence. In this photograph, a Black Panther member peers from behind a door riddled with bullet holes, but next to a poster advertising the Panther's free breakfast program for children. In his later years, Malcolm X turned away from violence as a means of change, but continued to preach for black self-help and an end to racial injustice.