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· 01 Dec 2021

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When Was Malcolm X Assassinated?

Introduction
Malcolm X was a key role in the civil rights movement as an African-American Muslim cleric and human rights campaigner. He was a strong proponent for Black emancipation and the propagation of Islam inside the Black population until 1964 when he became the Kingdom of Islam's spokesman.

History of the Malcolm X
Malcolm was born in Nebraska and relocated to Lansing, Michigan with his family when he was a child. Malcolm's father, the Rev. Earl Little, a Baptist preacher and previous follower of early Black supremacist leader Marcus Garvey died while he was six years old after already being struck by a car, probably as a result of whites murdering him. Malcolm's mother, Louise Little, turned to prepare dandelion greens from the streets to nourish her children since the family was so destitute. Malcolm and his brothers were placed in foster families or with family and friends when their mother was confined to a mental institution in 1939.

Why Was Malcolm X Killed?
Malcolm X was a key figure in the civil rights struggle in the United States. He was a religious figure and politician who advocated for black self-determination and independence on a regular basis.

Malcolm was charged with theft and criminal trespass in the late 1940s. He turned to Islam at this time period. He joined the Nation of Islam in 1952 and quickly rose to become one of its most prominent preachers and executives. The Nation of Islam (NOI) was a black nationalist and Islamic movement in the United States.

Malcolm's ideas on black freedom, on the other hand, were widely seen as controversial at the moment. He advocated for black people to build their own economic and power structures, rejecting the then-popular concept of racial integration and acceptance. He notoriously alluded to whites as "blue-eyed demons" and favoured self-defense over the nonviolent demonstrations advocated by colleague civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

However, Malcolm's opinions began to shift in the 1960s. This is due in great part to his travels in Africa, where he met Muslims of many ethnicities. He began to question the NOI's anti-white stance, and he eventually quit the organization in 1964. He also switched to Sunni Islam at this time.

What were the circumstances behind his assassination?
Malcolm's decision to leave the NOI came when tensions with both him and the organization's head, Elijah Muhammad, were rising. The two had opposing viewpoints on the country's political destiny.

After learning of Muhammad's adulterous encounters with women and his numerous children out of wedlock, he became increasingly uneasy. He was also against the NOI's choice not to intervene when the Los Angeles police department committed acts of brutality against Muslims.

Conclusion - How and where did he get assassinated?
During an ill-fated lecture at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan on February 21, 1965, a then-39-year-old Malcolm was assaulted by three shooters who went on stage and started firing in front of his pregnant wife and three daughters.

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