Malcolm X

«  Malcolm X was instrumental in the conversion to Islam of the boxer Cassius Clay, who joined officially Nation of Islam in 1964.

Cassius Clay changed at first his name in Cassius X, in honour of Malcolm, then he took the name of Muhammad Ali on the advice of Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam leader. This name change took place when Malcolm X wasn’t on good terms with his organization.

When Clay took the name of Muhammad Ali, he will criticize Malcolm for his break with Elijah Muhammad.

Subsequently, Cassius followed the example of Malcolm by leaving the organization to join the Sunni Islam. IV) Break with Nation of Islam  In March 1964, Malcolm X left Nation of Islam because he didn’t agree with his leaders for a long time.  He explained the reasons of his break in April 1964 through a public speech. In this speech, he said he wanted to work with Christians, and not only with Muslims or Black people.

But this "opening" doesn’t change his opinion: for him, the white man stays an enemy and he wanted to create a "black nationalism".  On March 26th, 1964, in Washington, Malcolm X met for the first and the last time Martin Luther King.

The meeting was brief; the 2 men led fights radically opposite.  In April 1964, he went to Mecca for a pilgrimage and then he took the name of El-Hajj Malek El-Shabazz. V) Murder `  After his break with Nation of Islam, Malcolm X received many threats, which most of the time were death threats.

These threats were carried out in February 1965.  On February 14th 1965, a bomb exploded in his house.  Malcolm X was murdered on February 21st, 1965, while he gave a public speech.

In the crowd, shots were fired.

The witnesses were able to identify 3 presumed guilty, all of them were Black people.

These three people were convicted and they spent several years in prison.

Other people were also involved in Malcolm X murder which seems to have been commissioned certainly by Nation of Islam. VI) After his death  After his death, his ideas don’t disappear with him.

They were taken back by groups like the Black Panthers, an African American revolutionary movement created in California in 1966, by populations like Soweto, a black suburb in South Africa, or by countries like the Thomas Sankara's Burkina Faso.

These groups are worried about more social equality and justice.. »