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[[Category:People]]
[[People::Malcolm X]]

== [[People::Malcolm X]] ==

{{Infobox MobilePerson
| name               = Malcolm X
| colspan            ="2"
| image              = [[File:Malcolmx.jpg|250px|link=|alt=Description|Caption]]
| alt                = Photograph of MalcolmX
| caption            = Malcolm X giving a speech.
| birth_name         = Malcolm Little
| birth_date         = 1925-5-19
| birth_place        = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
| death_date         = 1965-2-21
| death_place        = New York City, U.S.
| death_cause        = Assassination by gunshots
| occupation         = Minister, Activist
| organizations      = Nation of Islam,Muslim Mosque, Inc.,Organization of Afro-American Unity
| relatives          = Louise Little Louise (mother), Betty Shabazz (wife)
}}

'''Malcolm&nbsp;X''' (born '''Malcolm Little''', later '''el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz'''; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an [[African Americans|African American]] revolutionary, [[Islam in the United States|Muslim]] minister and [[human rights activist]] who was a prominent figure during the [[civil rights movement]] until [[Assassination of Malcolm X|his assassination]] in 1965. A spokesman for the [[Nation of Islam]] (NOI) until 1964, he was a vocal advocate for Black empowerment and the promotion of [[Islam]] within the African American community. A controversial figure accused of preaching violence, Malcolm X is also a widely celebrated figure within African American and Muslim communities for his pursuit of racial justice.

Malcolm spent his adolescence living in a series of [[foster home]]s or with relatives after his father's death and his mother's hospitalization. He committed various crimes, being sentenced to 8 to 10 years in prison in 1946 for [[larceny]] and burglary. In prison, he joined the Nation of Islam, adopting the name Malcolm{{nbsp}}X to symbolize his unknown African ancestral surname while discarding "the white [[Slave name|slavemaster name]] of 'Little'", and after his parole in 1952, he quickly became one of the organization's most influential leaders. He was the public face of the organization for 12 years, advocating Black empowerment and [[Black separatism|separation of Black and White Americans]], and criticizing [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and the mainstream civil rights movement for its emphasis on non-violence and [[racial integration]]. Malcolm&nbsp;X also expressed pride in some of the Nation's social welfare achievements, such as its free [[drug rehabilitation]] program. From the 1950s onward, Malcolm&nbsp;X was subjected to surveillance by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI).

In the 1960s, Malcolm&nbsp;X began to grow disillusioned with the Nation of Islam, as well as with its leader, [[Elijah Muhammad]]. He subsequently embraced [[Sunni Islam]] and the civil rights movement after completing the [[Hajj]] to [[Mecca]] and became known as "[[el-Hajj]] Malik el-Shabazz," which roughly translates to "The Pilgrim Malcolm the Patriarch". After a brief period of travel across Africa, he publicly renounced the Nation of Islam and founded the Islamic [[Muslim Mosque, Inc.]] (MMI) and the [[Pan-Africanism|Pan-African]] [[Organization of Afro-American Unity]] (OAAU). Throughout 1964, his conflict with the Nation of Islam intensified, and he was repeatedly sent death threats. On February{{nbsp}}21, 1965, he [[Assassination of Malcolm X|was assassinated in New York City]]. Three Nation members were charged with the murder and given [[Life imprisonment in the United States|indeterminate life sentences]]. In 2021, two of the convictions were vacated. Speculation about the assassination and whether it was conceived or aided by leading or additional members of the Nation, or with law enforcement agencies, has persisted for decades.

He was posthumously honored with [[Malcolm X Day]], on which he is commemorated in various cities across the United States. Hundreds of streets and schools in the U.S. have been renamed in his honor, while the [[Audubon Ballroom]], the site of his assassination, was partly redeveloped in 2005 to accommodate the [[Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center]]. [[The Autobiography of Malcolm X|A posthumous autobiography]], on which he collaborated with [[Alex Haley]], was published in 1965.

{{Infobox DesktopPerson
| name               = Malcolm X
| colspan            ="2"
| image              = [[File:Malcolmx.jpg|250px|link=|alt=Description|Caption]]
| alt                = Photograph of MalcolmX
| caption            = Malcolm X giving a speech.
| birth_name         = Malcolm Little
| birth_date         = 1925-5-19
| birth_place        = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
| death_date         = 1965-2-21
| death_place        = New York City, U.S.
| death_cause        = Assassination by gunshots
| occupation         = Minister, Activist
| organizations      = Nation of Islam,Muslim Mosque, Inc.,Organization of Afro-American Unity
| relatives          = Louise Little Louise (mother), Betty Shabazz (wife)
}}






















== Early years ==
Malcolm Little was born May 19, 1925, in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], the fourth of seven children of [[Grenada]]-born [[Louise Little|Louise Helen Little]] (née Langdon) and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]-born Earl Little.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Watson |first1=Clarence |last2=Akhtar |first2=Salman |author-link2=Salman Akhtar |chapter=Ideology and Identity: Malcolm&nbsp;X |title=The African American Experience: Psychoanalytic Perspectives |editor-last=Akhtar |editor-first=Salman |year=2012 |location=Lanham, Maryland|publisher=Jason Aronson |page=120 |isbn=978-0-7657-0835-9}}</ref> Earl was an outspoken [[Baptist]] [[Laity|lay]] speaker, and he and Louise were admirers of [[Pan-Africanism|Pan-African]] activist [[Marcus Garvey]]. Earl was a local leader of the [[Universal Negro Improvement Association]] (UNIA) and Louise served as secretary and "branch reporter", sending news of local UNIA activities to ''[[Negro World]]''; they inculcated self-reliance and [[black pride]] in their children.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=20–30}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=2–3}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Ted |last=Vincent |title=The Garveyite Parents of Malcolm&nbsp;X |journal=[[The Black Scholar]] |volume=20 |number=2 |date=March–April 1989 |pages=10–13 |jstor=41067613 |doi=10.1080/00064246.1989.11412923 |issn=0006-4246}}</ref> Malcolm{{nbsp}}X later said that White violence killed four of his father's brothers.<ref>{{harvnb|Malcolm X|1992|pp=3–4}}.</ref>

Because of [[Ku Klux Klan]] threats, Earl's UNIA activities were said to be "spreading trouble"<ref>{{harvnb|DeCaro|1996|pp=43–44}}.</ref> and the family relocated in 1926 to [[Milwaukee]], and shortly thereafter to [[Lansing, Michigan]].<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=3}}.</ref> There, the family was frequently harassed by the [[Black Legion (political movement)|Black Legion]], a White [[Racism in the United States|racist]] group Earl accused of burning their family home in 1929.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=4}}.</ref>

When Malcolm was six, his father died in what has been officially ruled a [[streetcar]] accident, though his mother Louise believed Earl had been murdered by the Black Legion. Rumors that White racists were responsible for his father's death were widely circulated and were very disturbing to Malcolm&nbsp;X as a child. As an adult, he expressed conflicting beliefs on the question.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=29}}.</ref> After a dispute with creditors, Louise received a life insurance benefit (nominally $1,000 {{mdashb}}about ${{Inflation|US|1|1931|r=0}},000 in {{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}-1}}){{Inflation-fn|US|group=upper-alpha}} in payments of $18 per month;<ref name="Marable 2011 32">{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=32}}.</ref> the issuer of another, larger policy refused to pay, claiming her husband Earl had committed suicide.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=10}}.</ref> To make ends meet, Louise rented out part of her garden, and her sons hunted game.<ref name="Marable 2011 32"/>

During the 1930s, white [[Seventh-day Adventist]]s witnessed to the Little family; later on, Louise Little and her son Wilfred were baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Malcolm said the Adventists were "the friendliest white people I had ever seen."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blacksdahistory.org/malcolm-x-and-sdas.html|title=Malcolm X and Seventh-day Adventism|website=Blacksdahistory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729224741/https://www.blacksdahistory.org/malcolm-x-and-sdas.html |access-date=June 27, 2023|archive-date=July 29, 2019 }}</ref>

In 1937, a man Louise had been dating{{mdashb}}marriage had seemed a possibility{{mdashb}}vanished from her life when she became pregnant with his child.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=35}}.</ref> In late 1938, she had a [[Mental breakdown|nervous breakdown]] and was committed to [[Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital|Kalamazoo State Hospital]]. The children were separated and sent to [[Foster care|foster homes]]. Malcolm and his siblings secured her release 24 years later.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=35–36, 265}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=33–34, 331}}.</ref>

Malcolm attended West Junior High School in Lansing and then Mason High School in [[Mason, Michigan]], but left high school in 1941, before graduating.<ref name="Dozier">{{cite news |last=Dozier |first=Vickki |date=February 21, 2015 |title=How Malcolm&nbsp;X's murder rippled through his hometown |url=https://eu.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2015/02/20/malcolm-xs-murder-rippled-hometown/23769113/ |work=[[Lansing State Journal]] |location=Lansing, Michigan}}</ref> He excelled in junior high school but dropped out of high school after a White teacher told him that practicing law, his aspiration at the time, was "no realistic goal for a nigger."<ref name="Perry42">{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=42}}.</ref> Later, Malcolm{{nbsp}}X recalled feeling that the White world offered no place for a career-oriented Black man, regardless of talent.<ref name="Perry42" />

[[File:Malcolm X mugshot 1944.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|A Boston police mug shot of Malcolm, following his arrest for [[larceny]] (1944)<ref>{{cite web |title=Timeline of Malcolm&nbsp;X's Life |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/malcolmx-timeline-malcolm-xs-life/ |publisher=[[PBS]] |access-date=December 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109215346/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/malcolmx-timeline-malcolm-xs-life/ |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

From age 14 to 21, Malcolm held a variety of jobs while living with his half-sister [[Ella Little-Collins]] in [[Roxbury, Boston|Roxbury]], a largely [[African-American neighborhood|African American neighborhood]] of [[Boston]].<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pages=21–29, 55–56}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=32–48, 58–61}}.</ref>

After a short time in [[Flint, Michigan|Flint]], Michigan, he moved to New York City's [[Harlem]] neighborhood in 1943, where he found employment on the [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad|New Haven Railroad]] and engaged in drug dealing, gambling, [[racketeering]], robbery, and [[Procuring (prostitution)|pimping]].<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=62–81}}.</ref> According to biographer Bruce Perry, Malcolm also occasionally had sex with other men, [[Male prostitution|usually for money]], though this conjecture has been disputed by those who knew him.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=65–66}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=77, 82–83}}.</ref>{{efn-ua|The accuracy of these accounts has been questioned by some people who met Malcolm{{nbsp}}X later in life or never knew him, including [[Ta-Nehisi Coates]],<ref>{{harvnb|Coates|2011|loc=online}}.</ref> [[Maulana Karenga]],<ref>[[Maulana Karenga|Karenga, Maulana]], "The Meaning and Measure of Malcolm{{nbsp}}X: Critical Remembrance and Rightful Reading", {{harvnb|Boyd et al.|2012|p=18}}.</ref> [[Ilyasah Shabazz]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Malcolm{{nbsp}}X's Daughter Disputes Claims in New Bio on Father |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/04/20/135570322/malcolm-xs-daughter-addresses-controversial-claims-in-new-bio-on-father |access-date=September 7, 2017 |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=April 20, 2011 |work=[[Tell Me More]] |first=Michel |last=Martin |author-link=Michel Martin |archive-date=July 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712034452/https://www.npr.org/2011/04/20/135570322/malcolm-xs-daughter-addresses-controversial-claims-in-new-bio-on-father |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Raymond Winbush]].<ref>[[Raymond Winbush|Winbush, Raymond A.]], "Speculative Nonfiction: Manning Marable's ''Malcolm{{nbsp}}X''", {{harvnb|Ball|Burroughs|2012|pp=105–117}}.</ref> For further information, see Phelps,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Phelps |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Phelps |title=The Sexuality of Malcolm&nbsp;X |date=August 2017 |journal=[[Journal of American Studies]] |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=659–690 |doi=10.1017/S0021875816001341 |s2cid=147843832 |url=http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34331/1/Phelps%20-%20The%20Sexuality%20of%20Malcolm%20X.pdf |access-date=July 11, 2019 |archive-date=December 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212231046/http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34331/1/Phelps%20-%20The%20Sexuality%20of%20Malcolm%20X.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> Polk,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Polk |first=Khary |title=Malcolm&nbsp;X, Sexual Hearsay, and Masculine Dissemblance |date=Summer 2013 |journal=[[Biography (journal)|Biography]] |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=568–584 |doi=10.1353/bio.2013.0029 |jstor=24570210 |s2cid=161615221}}</ref> and Street ''et al''.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Joe |last1=Street |first2=Margaret |last2=Washington |first3=Simon |last3=Hall |first4=Malcolm |last4=McLaughlin |first5=Peter |last5=Bailey |author-link5=A. Peter Bailey |title=Roundtable – Manning Marable, ''Malcolm&nbsp;X: A Life of Reinvention'' |date=February 2013 |journal=Journal of American Studies |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=23–47 |doi=10.1017/S0021875812002605|s2cid=232254323 }}</ref> }} He befriended John Elroy Sanford, a fellow dishwasher at Jimmy's Chicken Shack in Harlem who aspired to be a professional comedian. Both men had reddish hair, so Sanford was called "Chicago Red" after his hometown, and Malcolm was known as "Detroit Red". Years later, Sanford became famous as comedian and actor [[Redd Foxx]].<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=51–52}}.</ref>

Summoned by the local [[Conscription in the United States#World War II|draft board]] for military service in World War{{nbsp}}II, he feigned mental disturbance by rambling and declaring: "I want to be sent down South. Organize them nigger soldiers{{nbsp}}... steal us some guns, and kill us [some] [[Cracker (pejorative)|crackers]]".<ref name="Autobiography124">{{harvnb|Malcolm X|1992|p=124}}.</ref><ref name="Carson108">Carson, p.{{nbsp}}108.</ref><ref name="USNews">{{harvnb|Lord|Thornton|Bodipo-Memba|1992|p=5}}.</ref> He was declared "mentally disqualified for military service".<ref name="Autobiography124" /><ref name="Carson108" /><ref name="USNews" />

In late 1945, Malcolm returned to Boston, where he and four accomplices committed a series of burglaries targeting wealthy White families.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=106–109}}.</ref> In 1946, he was arrested while picking up a stolen watch he had left at a shop for repairs,<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=99}}.</ref> and in February began serving a sentence of eight to ten years at [[Charlestown State Prison]] for larceny and breaking and entering.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=67–68}}.</ref> Two years later, Malcolm was transferred to [[Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Norfolk|Norfolk Prison Colony]] (also in [[Massachusetts]]).<ref name="Autobiography181">{{harvnb|Malcolm X|1992|p=181}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=131}}.</ref>

== Nation of Islam period ==
{{Further|Nation of Islam}}

=== Prison ===
{{Quote box|width=23em|{{shy|Between Mr. Muhammad's teachings, my cor|re|spond|ence, my vis|i|tors{{nbsp}}... and my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about being impris|oned. In fact, up to then, I had never been so truly free in my life.}}|salign=right|source=—Malcolm&nbsp;X<ref>{{harvnb|Malcolm X|1992|p=199}}.</ref>}}

When Malcolm was in prison, he met fellow convict John Bembry,<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=121}}.</ref> a self-educated man he would later describe as "the first man I had ever seen command total respect{{nbsp}}... with words".<ref>Malcolm{{nbsp}}X, ''Autobiography'', p.{{nbsp}}178; ellipsis in original.</ref> Under Bembry's influence, Malcolm developed a voracious appetite for reading.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=108–110, 118}}.</ref>

At this time, several of his siblings wrote to him about the [[Nation of Islam]], a relatively new religious movement preaching Black self-reliance and, ultimately, the return of the [[African diaspora]] to Africa, where they would be free from White American and European domination.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pages=127–128, 132–138}}</ref> He showed scant interest at first, but after his brother Reginald wrote in 1948, "Malcolm, don't eat any more pork and don't smoke any more cigarettes. I'll show you how to get out of prison",<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=128–129}}.</ref> he almost instantly quit smoking and began to refuse pork.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=113}}.</ref>

Following a visit during which Reginald detailed the group's teachings, including the notion that White people are considered devils, Malcolm initially struggled to accept this belief. Over time, however, Malcolm reflected on his past relationships with White individuals and concluded that they had all been marked by dishonesty, injustice, greed, and hatred.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=134–135}}.</ref> Malcolm, whose hostility to Christianity had earned him the prison nickname "Satan,"<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=104–106}}.</ref> became receptive to the message of the Nation of Islam.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=136}}.</ref>

In late 1948, Malcolm wrote to [[Elijah Muhammad]], the leader of the Nation of Islam. Muhammad advised him to renounce his past, humbly bow in prayer to [[God in Islam|God]] and promise never to engage in destructive behavior again.<ref name="Natambu138">{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pages=138–139}}</ref> Though he later recalled the inner struggle he had before bending his knees to pray,<ref>{{harvnb|Malcolm X|1992|p=196}}.</ref> Malcolm soon became a member of the Nation of Islam,<ref name="Natambu138" />
maintaining a regular correspondence with Muhammad.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=116}}.</ref>

In 1950, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] opened a file on Malcolm after he wrote a letter from prison to President [[Harry S. Truman]] expressing opposition to the [[Korean War]] and declaring himself a communist.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=95}}.</ref> That year, he also began signing his name "Malcolm{{nbsp}}X."<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=96}}.</ref> Muhammad instructed his followers to leave their family names behind when they joined the Nation of Islam and use "X" instead. When the time was right, after they had proven their sincerity, he said, he would reveal the Muslim's "original name."<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=139–140}}.</ref> In his autobiography, Malcolm{{nbsp}}X explained that the "X" symbolized the true African family name that he could never know. "For me, my 'X' replaced the white [[Slave name|slavemaster name]] of 'Little' which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears."<ref>{{harvnb|Malcolm X|1992|p=229}}.</ref>

=== Early ministry ===
{{Nation of Islam}}

After his parole in August 1952,<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=98}}.</ref> Malcolm{{nbsp}}X visited Elijah Muhammad in Chicago.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=142, 144–145}}.</ref> In June 1953, he was named assistant minister of the Nation's Temple Number One in Detroit.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|p=168}}.</ref>{{efn-ua|Nation of Islam Temples were numbered according to the order in which they were established.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=141–142}}.</ref> }} Later that year he established Boston's Temple Number{{nbsp}}11;<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=147}}.</ref> in March 1954, he expanded Temple Number{{nbsp}}12 in Philadelphia;<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=152}}.</ref> and two months later he was selected to lead [[Mosque No. 7|Temple Number{{nbsp}}7]] in Harlem,<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=153}}.</ref> where he rapidly expanded its membership.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=161–164}}.</ref>

In 1953, the FBI began surveillance of him, turning its attention from Malcolm{{nbsp}}X's possible communist associations to his rapid ascent in the Nation of Islam.<ref>{{harvnb|Carson|1991|p=95}}.</ref>

During 1955, Malcolm{{nbsp}}X continued his successful recruitment of members on behalf of the Nation of Islam. He established temples in [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], Massachusetts (Number{{nbsp}}13); [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], Connecticut (Number{{nbsp}}14); and [[Atlanta]] (Number{{nbsp}}15). Hundreds of African Americans were joining the Nation of Islam every month.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=122–123}}.</ref>

Besides his skill as a speaker, Malcolm{{nbsp}}X had an impressive physical presence. He stood {{convert|6|ft|3|in|m}} tall and weighed about {{convert|180|lb|kg}}.<ref name="Marable301">{{harvnb|Marable|2009|p=301}}.</ref> One writer described him as "powerfully built",<ref>{{harvnb|Lincoln|1961|p=189}}.</ref> and another as "mesmerizingly handsome{{nbsp}}... and always spotlessly well-groomed".<ref name="Marable301" />

=== Marriage and family ===
In 1955, [[Betty Shabazz|Betty Sanders]] met Malcolm{{nbsp}}X after one of his lectures, then again at a dinner party; soon she was regularly attending his lectures. In 1956, she joined the Nation of Islam, changing her name to Betty{{nbsp}}X.<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|pp=36–45, 50–51}}.</ref> One-on-one dates were contrary to the Nation's teachings, so the couple courted at social events with dozens or hundreds of others, and Malcolm{{nbsp}}X made a point of inviting her on the frequent group visits he led to New York City's museums and libraries.<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|pp=61–63}}.</ref>

Malcolm{{nbsp}}X proposed during a telephone call from Detroit in January 1958, and they married two days later.<ref>Shabazz, Betty, "Malcolm{{nbsp}}X as a Husband and Father", {{harvnb|Clarke|1990|pp=132–134}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|pp=73–74}}.</ref> They had six daughters:
[[Attallah Shabazz|Attallah]] (b. 1958; Arabic for "gift of God"; perhaps named after [[Attila the Hun]]);<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|pp=109–110}}.</ref>{{efn-ua|Attallah Shabazz has said she was not named after Attila, rather her name is Arabic for "the gift of God".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/their-fathers-daughters-19891130 |title=Yolanda King and Attallah Shabazz: Their Fathers' Daughters |first=Ellen |last=Hopkins |date=November 30, 1989 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=June 19, 2016 |archive-date=February 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206190158/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/their-fathers-daughters-19891130 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-QCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 |title=X Patriot |last=Miller |first=Russell |date=November 23, 1992 |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |access-date=June 19, 2016 |archive-date=July 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727125239/https://books.google.com/books?id=3-QCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 |url-status=live }}</ref> }}{{efn-ua|"People have to understand the [''Autobiography of Malcolm&nbsp;X''] was written at a time when indeed African Americans were likening themselves to warriors to underscore our revolutionary fervor. And Attallah was close to Attila the Hun, the warrior. But I'm named Attallah, which in Arabic means 'Gift of God.' I've never been Attila."<ref>{{harvnb|Barboza|1994|pp=205–206}}.</ref> }} [[Qubilah Shabazz|Qubilah]] (b. 1960, named after [[Kublai Khan]]);<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=122}}.</ref> [[Ilyasah Shabazz|Ilyasah]] (b. 1962, named after Elijah Muhammad);<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=123}}.</ref> Gamilah Lumumba (b. 1964, named after [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] and [[Patrice Lumumba]]);<ref>{{harvnb|Assensoh|Alex-Assensoh|2016|p=xxi}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=197}}.</ref> and twins Malikah (1965–2021)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/23/malikah-shabazz-dead-malcolm-x-daughter/|title=Malikah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm&nbsp;X, found dead at her home in New York|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 22, 2021|access-date=November 24, 2021|archive-date=November 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123182000/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/23/malikah-shabazz-dead-malcolm-x-daughter/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Malaak (b. 1965, both born after their father's death, and named in his honor).<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=286}}.</ref>

=== Hinton Johnson incident ===
The American public first became aware of Malcolm{{nbsp}}X in 1957, after Hinton Johnson,{{efn-ua|Some sources, including ''The Autobiography of Malcolm{{nbsp}}X'', give the name ''Johnson Hinton'', but Benjamin Karim (one of Malcolm{{nbsp}}X's top aides) and former ''[[Newsweek]]'' editor and Malcolm{{nbsp}}X biographer Peter Goldman both give the name ''Hinton Johnson''.<ref>{{harvnb|Karim|1992|pp=47–48}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Abdullah |first=Zain |date=Autumn 2012 |title=Narrating Muslim Masculinities: The Fruit of Islam and the Quest for Black Redemption |journal=Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=169 |doi=10.2979/spectrum.1.1.141 |s2cid=162371130}}</ref>}} a Nation of Islam member, was beaten by two [[New York City Police Department|New York City police officers]].<ref name="Marable127">{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=127}}.</ref><ref name="Perry164">{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=164}}.</ref> On April{{nbsp}}26, Johnson and two other passersby{{mdashb}}also Nation of Islam members{{mdashb}}saw the officers beating an African American man with nightsticks.<ref name="Marable127" /> When they attempted to intervene, shouting, "You're not in Alabama{{nbsp}}... this is New York!"<ref name="Perry164" /> one of the officers turned on Johnson, beating him so severely that he suffered brain contusions and subdural hemorrhaging. All four African American men were arrested.<ref name="Marable127" />

Alerted by a witness, Malcolm{{nbsp}}X and a small group of Muslims went to the police station and demanded to see Johnson.<ref name="Marable127" /> Police initially denied that any Muslims were being held, but when the crowd grew to about five hundred, they allowed Malcolm{{nbsp}}X to speak with Johnson.<ref name="Perry165">{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=165}}.</ref> Afterward, Malcolm{{nbsp}}X insisted on arranging for an ambulance to take Johnson to Harlem Hospital.<ref name="Marable128">{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=128}}.</ref>

Johnson's injuries were treated and by the time he was returned to the police station, some four thousand people had gathered outside.<ref name="Perry165" /> Inside the station, Malcolm{{nbsp}}X and an attorney were making bail arrangements for two of the Muslims. Johnson was not bailed, and police said he could not go back to the hospital until his [[arraignment]] the following day.<ref name="Marable128" /> Considering the situation to be at an impasse, Malcolm{{nbsp}}X stepped outside the station house and gave a hand signal to the crowd. Nation members silently left, after which time the rest of the crowd also dispersed.<ref name="Marable128" />

One police officer told the ''[[New York Amsterdam News]]'': "No one man should have that much power."<ref name="Marable128" /><ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=166}}.</ref> Within a month the New York City Police Department arranged to keep Malcolm{{nbsp}}X under surveillance; it also made inquiries with authorities in other cities in which he had lived, and prisons in which he had served time.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=132}}.</ref> A [[grand jury]] declined to indict the officers who beat Johnson. In October, Malcolm{{nbsp}}X sent an angry telegram to the police commissioner. Soon the police department assigned undercover officers to infiltrate the Nation of Islam.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=134–135}}.</ref>