Introduction
Malcolm X was born in Michigan State University in 1925. Earl Little's father was a fervent supporter of the civil rights movement, which had common goals of improving social, mental, economic, and spiritual circumstances for all humans regardless of color or ethnicity in America. As a result, Malcolm X was subjected to racism from a young age, even before his birth. For example, his family endured intimidation from white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, forcing the family to migrate following Malcolm's birth (Malcolm and Alex 4). Nevertheless, after they had relocated, their house was set on fire by people who were thought to be white supremacists.
Formative Incidents in Early Life
In fact, his father was found dead near a railroad although accident did not cause his death. Earl's death was associated with activities of the whites as a punishment to him for advocating for the rights of the blacks in the society. Due to poverty, Malcolm ends up being fostered in detention homes where he encounters a lot of racism (Malcolm and Alex 89). For instance, his English teacher tells him not to dream of becoming a lawyer simply because he was a black. The instances are formative and force Malcolm to have a turning point in life. Also, they lay a foundation for his political philosophy in his later life as he preaches equality for all human races despite their color. Therefore, this paper will illustrate formative incidences in the life of Malcolm and discuss how experiences of Malcolm X early life in Michigan, Boston and New York affected his political Philosophy and outlook later in his life.
Malcolm X's Early Life in Michigan
To begin, Malcolm X early life in Michigan influenced his later desire to unite the Blacks and whites in his political career. Racism was rampant even before his birth. His father being a supporter of civil right movement inspired his dream as an activist. For instance, his dad was killed because he supported Marcus Garvey in agitating for the rights of the blacks. Their house was burnt as a punishment for supporting the black movement activities (Malcolm and Alex 36). From his father's death, he learned that it was necessary to unite people of different races. Also, his mother was victimized whenever he looked for a job to sustain her family after the death of Earl little who was the family breadwinner. Notably, his mother became very sick, and she was admitted to the hospital for 26 years which forced Malcolm to spend part of his young life in foster homes. While in Detention home, Malcolm was able to interact with the white students. Although he encountered racism from the fellow students, he used to ignore such kind of incidences. His turning point on white supremacy perception changed when his English teacher failed to support his dream to become a lawyer since he was a black. Instead, the teacher told him to dream of becoming a carpenter which implies that great jobs are only done for the whites. The incidence at school influenced his philosophy on the desire for equality. He dropped out of school and traveled to Boston. The experiences clearly depict how racism was rampant and practiced to a greater extent in American society, and they form a strong foundation for Malcolm's political philosophy.
Malcolm X's Experiences in Boston
On the same note, Malcolm experiences in Boston are very formative and affected his political philosophy. While in Boston, his half-sister Ella managed to get him a job on the railroad. Precisely, it was during the Second World War, and there was a shortage of cooks, waitress, and black porters (Malcolm and Alex 94). The kind of jobs that were available implies that Africans were only granted jobs that do not require any expertise which depicts discrimination and racism. He was able to tour various parts of New York where he later addresses people on equality before his assassination. However, he then lost the job in railroad and was employed at a bar. He engaged himself in drug selling and crimes and was later imprisoned for ten years. While in prison, Bimbi influenced him to learn how to read and write. Also, his brother Reginald played a significant role in changing his life for the better through the Islamic religion. He later became a leader in the nation of Islam, which was a religious and political movement in Michigan. As a leader in the mosque, he gained enough skills to lead people as well as to unite people using Scriptures. Malcolm X was appointed as a minister of Temple Seven where he gained excellent communication and leadership skills which attributed positively to his future life as a political activist. Notably, Malcolm is portrayed as an eloquent man with a real mastery of language in speeches while addressing people during his political activists' career.
The Mecca Revelation
Furthermore, as a leader in the Nation of Islam, Malcolm was able to capture attention from many people such as the newscasters, reporters as well as all kinds of media as he explained to them all about the Nation of Islam (Malcolm and Alex 204). From these incidences, it's clear that Malcolm's communication skills were excellent and it helped him in his political philosophy. However, Malcolm commented on the Elijah Mohammad immoral act and was excommunicated from the religion. Furthermore, he traveled to Mecca for Hajj. People of different colors and race met from various regions of the world and interacted with one another without any discrimination. The Mecca visitation is a significant incidence in Malcolm's life since it marks a turning point in his political career. Precisely, while in Mecca Malcolm X realized that all the white people are not evil as well, African Americans shared similar goals as the Africans. When he went back, he started activating for the equality of African Americans and all humankind without discrimination based on color. He visited several states and countries in Africa to pass his message on the equality of all races.
Conclusion
In summary, the experiences in the early life of Malcolm while in New York, Michigan, and Boston play a significant role in his political philosophy life as well as his outlook on life. Several incidences in Malcolm early life are formative. For instance, he faced racism from a very tender age. Their house is burnt because their father was against white supremacy (Malcolm and Alex 5). On the same note, his father is killed by the whites' movement group due to racism. The incidence affects his political philosophy life since he finds that it's necessary to unite the all races since no race is superior to the other. Also, the incident at school enabled him to realize how intelligent he was and helped him sharpen his leadership skills since he was elected as the class president. The incident of the teacher failing to support his career goal as a lawyer enables Malcolm X to realize how Africans were valued as human beings who cannot do professional jobs and how they deserved less as compared to the whites. Also, the experience as the leader of the Nation of Islam enabled him to commence his career in preaching unity and equality. Finally, the act of visiting Mecca for Hajj marked the climax of his life and resulted in real engagement in his political career.
Work Cited
Malcolm, X. and Alex, H. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As told to Alex Haley. New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2015. Print.
