Malcolm X About Some Of The Leaders example essay topic

African American leaders all fought for the same cause. Though, they all did it differently, they all had strikingly similar lives, tactics, and ways of persuasion. Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King, and even Malcolm X all played a large role in African American reform. I had the chance to interview Malcolm X with Alex Haley.

It was unbelievable the things that I learned, finally understood, and took with me to live my life by. All of these leaders took what someone else had done, and amplified it and fit it to their needs. I asked Malcolm X about some of the leaders that he modeled after. He gave a very interesting perspective. He told about me that he was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska.

His mother was a homemaker with a family of eight. His father was a Baptist minister and an extremely strong supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Malcolm had to move twice before his fourth birthday because of death threats his family received from white supremacists. Eventually, their home was burned to the ground and his father was killed.

His brothers and sisters were all split up after his mother lost her mind. Malcolm continued his education and graduated at the top of his junior high class. He knew about Booker T. Washington and how he had become educated. Malcolm wanted to do the same.

After graduating from the Hampton Agricultural Institute in 1875 Washington returned to Malden and found work with a local school (Booker). Malcolm wanted to go on and do something great just as Booker had done by forming the Tuskegee Airman. This stage in his life was the largely effected by Washington. Malcolm dreams soon disappeared when a favorite teacher told Malcolm his dream of becoming a lawyer was no realistic goal for a nigger" (Biography). He lost all interest in school and eventually moved to Boston. He got into crime and was arrested in Boston in 1946.

While he was in prison, his brother visited him and informed him about Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. Malcolm became very interested and when he finally got out of jail, was a devout follower. He than named himself X. After studying for the time that he was in jail, he took a trip to Saudi Arabia to learn more about his religion. He knew that Martin Luther King had done the same by taking a trip to learn more about himself. In 1955, Malcolm heard some news that made him shudder. A young boy had been kidnapped and killed in Chicago.

Till was kidnapped and murdered on or about August 28, 1955 by Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam. The murder occurred after Till purportedly whistled at Bryant's wife, Carolyn, while shopping at the Bryants's tore. Fewer than four weeks after Till's body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River, an all white, all male jury acquitted the two of the murder. They subsequently detailed to a magazine journalist how they beat Till, took him to the river, shot him in the head, tied a large metal fan to his neck with barbed wire, and pushed his body into the river (Justice 1).

The news made Malcolm sick. He did not understand why this young child was treated like he was. He understood that the biggest factor was because of the color of his skin. Malcolm soon became a speaker in front of large crowds. He was appointed a minister. Malcolm was so excited; he was actually living the life of Booker.

Washington had become a national figure when he began speaking. Malcolm wanted to do the same, he wanted to preach to everybody about race..