Malcolm X For Beginners

Bernard Aquina Doctor

• Publisher: For Beginners
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9781934389041
• eBook ISBN: 9781939994158
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

Powerful narrative and graphics tell the story of Malcolm X’s life, his journey of self-discovery, his far-reaching ideas, his martyrdom, and his impact on an era. Embraced as a righteous prophet of Black power and pride, damned as the voice of violence, Malcolm X emerges as a complex, brave, and brilliant figure with much to teach about the struggle for dignity. 

Malcolm was released from prison after seven years. He joined NOI and moved in with his brother Wilfred who was a minister of a temple in Detroit. He dedicated his life to being a Muslim and a student of Elijah Muhammad.

Malcolm worked in a factory until he found a better job in a furniture store. He felt he had a debt to repay to society for the person he once was and the things he had done. He was determined to make up for a wasted life.

While living with his brother’s family he was touched by the love, respect and sense of togetherness shared by followers of the Nation of Islam. When he wasn’t working, Malcolm assisted his brother at the temple in Detroit.

His hard work “fishing for converts to Islam” won him the favor of Elijah Muhammad and he was asked to speak about his life-experiences at meetings.

In the beginning, Malcolm spoke to small groups at these storefront temples, where he mostly repeated Elijah Muhammad’s preachings, but soon developed his own style. He criticized the negro for wanting to please the white man in hopes he would be accepted.

“There are two kinds of negroes, the house negro and the field negro. One lives in the big house and takes better care of the white man than he does his own family. Then there is the field negro, who lives outside in the field and does everything he can to hurt the white master.”

egro leaders today are too busy fighting one another; it’s become a matter of the “pot calling the kettle black.” “We need to stop letting outsiders see us criticizing one another. It looks bad and it doesn’t help solve our problems. We need to take it off the streets and keep it behind closed doors.”

Malcolm was so successful at increasing membership that he was sent to other cities to start new temples. He was promoted to the post of assistant minister in Detroit.

Elijah Muhammad was often ill and could not travel, so he sent Malcolm or his other ministers to represent him at meetings and rallies. Malcolm excelled as a speaker and his personal appeal made him a celebrity. It was decided that Malcolm be the new minister of Temple No. 7 on the corner of Lenox and 116 Street.

Malcolm was also named spokesman and chief representative of the NOI and heir-apparent to the leadership of the Black Muslim organization. Meetings in the temples were closed to whites. The press and cameras were also banished from these meetings. Malcolm felt whites would distort everything they heard at Black Muslim meetings.

lack Muslim meetings were “for family only.” The first priority of the community should be to pull together and seize our neighborhoods. Control our economy, our security and the education of our young.

Malcolm said that whites can help us by going back to their own communities and work to change their neighbor’s attitudes toward Blacks.

Malcolm stressed Black pride and love of our heritage. “We have been so thoroughly conditioned as a people, we ...

Table of contents

• Coverpage
• Titlepage
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Malcolm Little, Humble, troubled beginnings
• Teenage Malcolm, Homeboy, street hustler
• Malcolm incarcerated, “Satan” and converts to Islam
• Malcolm “X”, Minister and spokesman for NOI
• Separation from the NOI, A leader on his own
• The Hajj, (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz)
• Omowali, Back in the Belly of the Beast
• The Final Days
• Bibliography and Acknowledgements