Malcolm Little, the fourth of eight children of Earl Little and Louise Norton Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925. His father was a civil rights activist and Baptist minister and his activities caused the family to move often. In 1929 the family's Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground and two years later Earl was found dead on the town trolley tracks. Several years later Louise suffered an emotional breakdown and was committed to a mental institution. The children were split up among various foster homes and orphanages.
Malcolm was a good student with dreams of becoming a lawyer. After being told this was not a realistic goal he lost interest in school and dropped out. He spent the next few years involved with narcotics, prostitution and gambling rings. In 1946 he was convicted of burglary and sentenced to 10 years in prison. His brother Reginald visited and introduced him to the Muslim religion. Malcolm began to study the teachings of Elijah Muhammad the leader of the Nation of Islam. By the time he was paroled in 1952 he had become a devoted follower and changed his surname to X.
Malcolm X was an intelligent, articulate and charismatic spokesman for the Nation of Islam. In 1963 he renounced Elijah Muhammad for not adhering to the teachings of the Nation of Islam. After a pilgrimage to Mecca in April 1964 Malcolm founded a new organization, Muslim Mosque, Inc., adhering mostly to the teachings of the Nation of Islam, but beginning to modify them slightly, advocating political and economic black nationalism. He adopted the Muslim name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
February 21, 1965, three gunmen entered the Manhattan Audubon Ballroom where Malcolm X was speaking and shot him at close range. He was pronounced dead at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. The three gunmen were later identified as members of the Nation of Islam.
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