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Malcolm X was a Symbol of the Civil Rights Movement

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Misunderstood

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

Malcolm X

The 1920’s, or the “Roaring Twenties”, was a time in American history described as the “Wild West”. Prohibition brought controversy and anarchy to the once civilized American society, with mobs and gangs at the peak of their power with leaders such as Al Capone supplying alcohol and guns to the public. This was also a time of heightened racial segregation, with boundaries being set such as only white bathrooms and schools. Malcolm (X) Little was born in this time period, on the 19th of May, 1925, in Northeast Omaha (The Humanities of Malcolm X). Growing up in humble surroundings, with the constant battle with segregation and hate, defined Malcolm as a person and as a leader. With racism growing, Malcolm was influenced by civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., who came to be the symbol of the Civil Rights Movement. Racism became infamous in the 50’s because of the rising popularity of a cult called the KKK, which was known to lynch and torture African-Americans, with no justice being brought upon the group (Malcolm X). All of this bigotry that surrounded Malcolm is what made him have such a passion to become an educated scholar in the ideas of racial segregation and hate. Though Malcolm X was a controversial figure in the eyes of the public, his influence on American society did not go unnoticed, as Times Magazine named Malcolm X

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