Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, was a significant figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. He was the fourth of seven children in his family.
After leaving the Nation of Islam in 1964, Malcolm X made the pilgrimage, the Hajj, to Mecca and became a Sunni Muslim. He also founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Unfortunately, his life was cut short when he was assassinated in Washington Heights on the first day of National Brotherhood Week, less than a year after leaving the Nation of Islam.
Historian Robin D.G. Kelley described Malcolm X as having been called many things, including Pan-Africanist, father of Black Power, religious fanatic, closet conservative, incipient socialist, and a menace to society. However, the meaning of his public life, his politics, and ideology, is contested due to the limited body of work he left behind, consisting of only a few dozen speeches and a collaborative autobiography. As a result, Malcolm X has become a tabula rasa, or blank slate, on which people of different positions can write their own interpretations of his politics and legacy.