Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little, the son of a Baptist minister, his father was also a follower of Marcus Garvey. His father was murdered after receiving threats from the Ku Klux Klan. His mother was committed to a mental institute shortly after the murder. Malcolm was sent along with his siblings to a foster home, he eventually went to reform school. After reform school, he worked various jobs and he eventually became involved in criminal activities, which got him sent to prison.
Malcolm was sent to prison for burglary. In prison, Malcolm became interested in the teachings of Elijah Muhammed. Elijah Muhammed was the leader of an organization called the black Muslims, also known as the Nation of Islam, who advocated racial separation. Malcolm spent his time in prison educating himself and learning more about the black Muslims. When he was released, he joined a black Muslim temple and changed his name from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X. Malcolm X became to most prominent spokesperson for the black Muslims until he decided to leave the group to form his own group called the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm eventually made a pilgrimage to Mecca and based on his trip there and other places in Africa and Europe, he decided that not all white people were evil like he was taught to believe by the black Muslims. Men who were allegedly connected to the black Muslims eventually assassinated him.
Malcolm X's views on white people varied throughout his life. When he was a child, his father took him to meetings of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association. This association was Malcolm first experience with racial separation, but he was too young to know what to really think of the whites at this time. He even tried to straighten his hair like a white person's when he was a youth.
Malcolm really started disliking whites when he entered prison and was exposed to the black Muslims.
