Who is Malcom X?

Early years:

Born on the 19th of May in 1925 into a poor family in Omaha Nebraska, Malcolm Little was the middle child of Louise's, Malcolm's Mother, eight offspring. Malcolm's Father, Earl Little, had three other children (Malcolm's half siblings; Ella, Mary, and Earl Jr) from his first marriage.

Malcolm's Father, Earl Little, was a Baptist minister. He was also an active member of Marcus Garvey's "Universal Negro Improvement Association" (UNIA) movement. Malcolm's Fathers involvement in the civil rights movement in the 1920's exposed Malcolm to racism at an early age. He even mentions his first encounter with white supremacist's before he was born. "When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, 'a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our house, brandishing their weapons and rifles, they shouted for my father to come out."

Earl Little's involvement in the UNIA triggered many more encounters of racist attacks. At four years old the local KKK members broke all of the family's windows. The Little family took action and moved to Lansing Michigan. Thinking they were escaping the brunt of racial attacks. This move proved to be futile in avoiding racial abuse. It was not long after moving to Lansing the Little's house and home was burned by a racist mob. Malcolm later recalled this incident, recounting "The white police and firemen came and stood around watching as the house burned to the ground."

In 1931, Malcolm's father's body was found on the local municipal street car tracks. Earl Little's death was officially ruled a suicide by the police.
Malcolm, among others, believed foul play by the local white supremacist group, the Black Legion, citing all the death threats Earl Little received prior to his death. A possible conspiracy for the ruling of suicide was to void the large life insurance police Earl had. The ruling of suicide left Louise and her family with zero monetary settlement from Earl's passing.
According to a local newspaper article, Earl had left his coat (with his wallet in it) on another street car. When he discovered this, while attempting to board a second street car, he went back for his coat and wallet. In the process he fell under the rear carriage of the streetcar, succumbing to his injuries.

After Earl Little's death, in 1937, Louise Little had been dating another man. After Louise informed her boyfriend she was pregnant with his child, the boyfriend vanished. This abandonment, along with all the other tough incidents Louise had suffered, led her to a nervous breakdown in 1938. She was admitted to Kalamazoo State Hospital. Louise's admittance to a psychiatric institution left her children in State care. Malcolm and his siblings were split up, sent to different foster care homes.

Biography.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from Biography.com website: 
     http://www.biography.com/people/malcolm-x-9396195 

brothermalcolm.net/family/eldeath.html. (n.d.). Retrieved from Brothermalcolm 
     website: http://brothermalcolm.net/family/eldeath.html 

brothermalcolm.net/family/mxbirth.html. (n.d.). Retrieved from 
     BrotherMalocolm.net website: http://brothermalcolm.net/family/mxbirth.html

malcolmx.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from malcolmx.com website: http://malcolmx.com