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    The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    Ebook190 pages1 hour

    The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley (MAXNotes Literature Guides)

    By Anita Aboulafia

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    About this ebook

    REA's MAXnotes for Alex Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X MAXnotes offer a fresh look at masterpieces of literature, presented in a lively and interesting fashion. Written by literary experts who currently teach the subject, MAXnotes will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the work. MAXnotes are designed to stimulate independent thought about the literary work by raising various issues and thought-provoking ideas and questions. MAXnotes cover the essentials of what one should know about each work, including an overall summary, character lists, an explanation and discussion of the plot, the work's historical context, illustrations to convey the mood of the work, and a biography of the author. Each chapter is individually summarized and analyzed, and has study questions and answers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherResearch & Education Association
    Release dateJan 1, 2013
    ISBN9780738665467
    The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley (MAXNotes Literature Guides)

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      The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley (MAXNotes Literature Guides) - Anita Aboulafia

      Sources:

      SECTION ONE

      Introduction

      The Life and Work of Malcolm X

      The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the remarkable true story of an African-American man’s rise—from street hustler, dope peddler, and thief—to one of the most dynamic and influential African-American leaders in modern America. The Autobiography of Malcolom X spans four decades: from his birth on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, to his tragic assassination on February 21, 1965 in New York City.

      As one of eight children of the Reverend Earl and Louise Little, Malcolm Little (as he was named at birth) grew up amidst poverty and racial prejudice. His father, the Reverend Little, was a Baptist minister and organizer for Marcus Garvey’s UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association). As Garvey’s disciple, the Reverend Little crusaded throughout the Midwest with his family, preaching and encouraging his congregations to return to their ancestral homeland, Africa.

      In 1931, when Malcolm was six years old, his father was brutally murdered in Lansing, Michigan. Although never proven, it was believed that the Reverend Little had been killed by a local hate group. Life for the Little family changed drastically after that. Their financial problems worsened. In addition, Mrs. Little, suffering from enormous anxiety and stress caused by the responsibility of raising eight children, was eventually institutionalized. Consequently, in 1937, the Little children were separated; they lived with friends, foster families, or on their own in Lansing.

      Malcolm attended school only through the eighth grade. He spent much of his teenage years on the streets of Boston, Chicago, and New York City’s Harlem. In February 1946, at the age of 20, Malcolm was convicted of robbery and sentenced to a ten-year prison term. There he underwent a moral and spiritual transformation when he discovered the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. Known as the Messenger of Allah (Allah is the Muslim god), Muhammad instilled a sense of admiration and self-respect among his black followers by his condemnation of white people. He blamed whites for the abject conditions of black people in North America, and felt that the only way to resolve the longstanding injustices was through black separatism.

      In 1953, upon his release from prison, Malcolm X (the name change X stood for his long-lost African name) was appointed assistant minister for the Nation of Islam movement. He traveled across the United States and eloquently preached about his newfound religion, converting thousands of black people.

      In late 1963, Elijah Muhummad suspended Malcolm X from the Nation of Islam because of their differences on the fundamental precepts and strategies of the Black Muslims.

      In 1964, Malcolm X made his first pilgrimage to Mecca. As a result of this visit, he established the Organization for Afro-American Unity, since he was determined to work proactively in the struggle for racial equality. Rather than adhere to the Nation of Islam’s non-engagement policy, Malcolm was intent on developing political strategies to combat America’s racism.

      Hostilities between Malcolm X and the Black Muslims heightened. He began receiving anonymous death threats.

      On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated. Although three men were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for his murder, the question of who ordered Malcolm X’s assassination remains a mystery. Malcolm X is survived by his wife, Betty Shabazz, and four daughters.

      In 1992, the African-American film director, Spike Lee, made a film, Malcolm X, based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Denzel Washington portrayed Malcolm X in this critically-acclaimed motion picture.

      The Life and Work of Alex Haley

      Alex Haley (August 11, 1921-February 10, 1992) was a chief journalist in the U.S. Coast Guard for 20 years before he began his civilian writing career. He first wrote about the Nation of Islam movement in 1960 in a Reader’s Digest article. Subsequently, he was introduced to Malcolm X and conducted a personal interview with him for an article for Playboy magazine. The Playboy interview was the inspiration for The Autobiography of Malcolm X. This bestselling classic was a culmination of nearly two years of intensive interviews.

      Mr. Haley won literary fame for his exhaustively researched book on his family’s history, Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1976). Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the book traces his maternal ancestry back to Africa.

      Mr. Haley wrote stories and articles for numerous publications and published a novella, A Different Kind of Christmas, in 1988.

      Historical Background

      The Autobiography of Malcolm X chronicles four decades—from the 1920s to the 1960s—of America’s social, political, and economic climates. Up to the mid-1950s, racial segregation was legal. Neighborhoods, schools, and all types of businesses were segregated. A 1955 Supreme Court ruling declared school segregation illegal, by stating that separate but equal is inherently unequal.

      In addition, several states, particularly in the South, demanded a poll tax of African-Americans as a means of preventing them from voting in elections. It was only with the passage of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in 1962, that this poll tax became illegal.

      All Americans experienced grave hardships during the Great Depression, which started in 1929 and lasted through the 1930s. The effects on African-Americans were especially devastating, given their already inferior status in American society.

      By the 1950s, an organized black militancy had emerged—both violent and nonviolent—in which Malcolm X played a pivotal role. He believed that African-Americans had a right and a duty to defend themselves, by any means necessary, against the violence directed at them by the white power structure (which he believed to be racist), and by racist vigilante groups (such as the Ku Klux Klan). Furthermore, he criticized the various civil rights

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