Malcolm X

• Malcolm (Little) X, dropped his “slave name”, converted to the Nation of Islam while serving time in jail for burglary and drugs.

• Became Elijah Muhammad’s most famous disciple in 1952.

Elijah Muhammad

•Head of the Nation of Islam or Black Muslims.

•Converted Malcolm X to his teachings.

•Main Teaching: whites were the cause of the conditions in which blacks found themselves.

Malcolm’s Teachings

1. Whites were to blame for the black man’s social problems.

2. Black Separatism: Blacks should separate from white society . Quit trying to act like the white man!

3. African-Americans should have pride in their identity and culture.

Malcolm’s Break

•Malcolm broke from Elijah Muhammad in March 1964 because of differences in strategy and doctrine.

• In April 1964 Malcolm takes a pilgrimage to Mecca and learns that orthodox Muslims believe in equality of all races.

•Malcolm returns to America and radically changes his teachings: it is ok to hate racism and injustice, but it is wrong to hate the white race.

• When he returned, he preacher not just to African Americans- but to all races of the changes that needed to be made.

• Marked for assassination in the NOI after the tension due to his resignation increased.

• While speaking at Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom on Feb 21, 1965 Malcolm was shot 15 times by three men. He was pronounced dead at the scene at the age of 39

• 1500 people attended his funeral on Feb. 27 at the Temple Church of God in Christ

• Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. The three men were all members of the Nation of Islam.

Malcolm’s End

“Ballots or Bullets”

• After returning from Mecca, Malcolm begins to preach a new slogan “Ballots or bullets.”

• Meaning: “If you and I don’t use the ballot, we’re going to be forced to use the bullet. So let us try the ballot.”

Black Panthers

• In October 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party in Oakland, CA to fight police brutality in the ghetto.

• The Black Panthers began to preach many of the violent ideas of the Black Muslims.

Black Panthers Fundraising

• To raise $ for their organization they sold copies of the writings of Mao Zedong, leader of the Chinese Communist revolution.

• Slogan: “Power flows out of the barrel of a gun.”

Black Panthers Wardrobe

•Members of the Black Panthers wore black berets, sunglasses, black leather jackets, black trousers, black shirts, and shiny black shoes.

• “Program for the People”- taking control of the communities in which African-Americans lived, full employment, and decent housing.

• Established day care centers, free breakfast programs and other services in the ghettos.

Black

Panthers

• Stokely Carmichael joined the Black Panther Party in 1967.• The police and FBI had

many shoot outs with the Panthers throughout the years.•Newton was arrested in

1968 on manslaughter charges, but was released in 1970 when it was found that police illegally tapped his phone lines and searched his property.

Black Panthers

•By 1970 the Party had split so many times due to internal problems that it became ineffective.

•Carmichael left the party because he wanted all whites banned from it.

•Seale and Newton resigned in the same year. The party continued for a short time under new leadership providing service projects in the ghettos.