Malcolm X's Birthday

Malcolm X's Birthday

May 19

Malcolm X, whose original name was Malcolm Little (1925-1965), was an outspoken leader in the black nationalist movement of the 1960s. He converted to the Muslim faith while serving time in prison for burglary, and upon his release began touring the country on behalf of the Nation of Islam, led by Elijah Muhammad. In 1964 he was suspended from the sect and started his own religious organization. But hostility between Malcolm's followers and the rival Black Muslims escalated. He was assassinated at a rally in Harlem shortly after his Pilgrimage to Mecca.
Because during most of his career Malcolm X advocated violence (for self-protection) and had a reputation for fanaticism and racism, his leadership was rejected by most other civil rights leaders of his day. But, as reflected in his The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as Told to Alex Haley, his pilgrimage to Mecca changed his outlook. After performing the pilgrimage rites, Malcolm composed and sent a letter back home. It read, in part: "For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors .... There were tens of thousands of pilgrims ... from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and the non-white."
His birthday, May 19, is still observed in most major American cities with a large African-American population.

SOURCES:
AAH-2007, p. 279
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 374

Celebration day: May 19