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This tidbit focuses on the experiences of being Black in a white-dominated society, and the autobiography of Malcolm X encapsulates these experiences.
Malcolm X was an activist and an African American Muslim minister. He was a vocal spokesman for the Nation of Islam and a lifelong advocate for Black empowerment.
Malcolm X was very famous during the 1954-1968 civil rights movement and advocated for the promotion of Islam within the Black community.
Alex Haley was a renowned writer, author, and journalist. In 1977, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement and the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP.
Michael S. Handler was a veteran news reporter for the New York Times. He investigated the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1960s.
“All of our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient.” ~ Malcolm X
Key points
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The terrible ordeal of the average African American in the United States
African Americans are one of the largest groups in the United States. They belong to an ethnic group of Americans whose progenitors are totally or partially Africans. African Americans migrated to America during the slave trade area in the 16th to the 19th centuries. During this time, white men saw African Americans as inferior and fitting to be no more than slaves; hence, racism became rampant. African American slaves were made to work primarily on rice, tobacco, cotton, and sugar plantations. African Americans were believed not to be able to amount to anything. When African Americans attempted to pursue prestigious careers, they were advised to stop dreaming big and consider manual labor. This inferiority ate so deep into the fabric of the mindset of the average African American, and most of them believed that they would end up on the streets. African Americans were segregated to the ghettos—slums occupied by minority groups—because of illegal discrimination and economic and social pressures.
Every human being deserves equal respect and dignity.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X depicts the experiences of the average African American in the United States. In this summary, you will better understand the Black ghettos and how they shape the lives and thoughts of the African Americans living there.
The Black man in the ghettos, for instance, has to start self-correcting his own material, moral, and spiritual defects, and evils. ~ Malcolm X
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Malcolm X's traumatic childhood experiences and their awful consequences
On the 19th of May 1925, Malcolm Little—later known as Malcolm X—was born in an Omaha hospital in the United States when his mom, Louise Little, was only 28 years old. He was the seventh child of nine children. Malcolm Little's father, Reverend Earl Little, a Baptist preacher, and his family were constantly harassed by the Ku Klux Klan riders—an American white supremacist terrorist hate group—because they were African Americans. In 1931, when Malcolm was six years old, his father was assassinated. At this time, Louise Little was 34 years old, with no one to assist her in taking care of her children. Things were so difficult that Louise started buying things on credit. Then, she had to work to make ends meet. Louise got jobs working for white people, but she constantly got sacked when her employers realized she was an African American; Louise looked like a white woman with straight black hair and a white accent because her father was white.
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Be mindful of the friends you keep; they can either make or break you
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The young and wide-eyed Malcolm Little morphs into Detroit red, the hustler
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Malcolm Little’s high-risk life came at the cost of being run out of town
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Going to prison had some unexpected but interesting outcomes for Malcolm Little
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With an enabling environment and determination, you can change the trajectory of your life
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Living according to purpose makes your life meaningful and productive
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