A Boy Becomes a Man
Malcolm X lived many different kinds of lives: a black boy in a white world, a hip outlaw, a studious jail bird, a disciplined Muslim and a man of the people who brought a message whose time had come. Browse through this gallery of photos from throughout Malcolm X's life.
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Malcolm X's parents, Lousie and Earl Little, were followers of Marcus Garvey. They had qualities that Malcolm would later show: a spirit of independence, a refusal to be intimidated, an innate black pride, and resourcefulness.
Credit: Abdul Aziz Omar -
This is a photo of Malcolm X taken from a class picture, probably in 1935. Malcolm's sister Yvonne said that he was always talking. They'd be working and he'd be lying under a tree telling stories.
Credit: Station Hill Press -
This is Malcolm's third grade class at Lansing elementary school, 1934-35. Malcolm's brother Wilfred said, "we were the only blacks in the school. This had its problems, but we were continuously buoyed by our parents, so we were able to deal with it."
Credit: Station Hill Press -
In 1940 Malcolm, who called himself "a country hick from Mason, Michigan," went to Boston to live with his older sister Ella Collins. Here he poses before leaving with younger siblings Yvonne and Reginald. Arriving in Boston, he said, "I didn't know the world contained as many Negroes as I saw thronging downtown Roxbury at night."
Credit: Abdul Aziz Omar -
Malcolm Little lived a life of crime in the early 1940s. According to author William Strickland, "he dealt drugs and pimped; he stuck people up and became a burglar." In 1946 he was incarcerated for burglary and spent six years in jail.
Credit: Commonwealth of Massachusetts / Department of Correction -
This photo of Malcolm with his daughters Qubilah and Attallah was taken in 1962. Attallah said of him, "my father was my first buddy."
Credit: Robert Haggins -
This is the only photo of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Once Malcolm was out of the Nation of Islam he began to attend to civil rights issues. In 1964 both men went to watch the Senate filibuster of the Civil Rights Act.
Credit: Corbis -
Heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay sought spiritual counseling from Malcolm X before his big fight with Sonny Liston. Malcolm and his family went to stay with him at his Miami compound.
Credit: Robert Haggins -
Praying with fellow delegates to the Organization of African Unity conference in Cairo in 1964.
Credit: Corbis -
Just a week before he was assassinated Malcolm's house in the Queens was firebombed on February 14, 1965.
Credit: Corbis
