Biografía

During his early adulthood, he and a close friend were both noted for their reddish brown hair which subsequently led to their both being called by the nickname "Red". In an attempt to distinguish these two men with identical nicknames, their associates prefaced the nickname "Red" with cities these two men had frequented. Subsequently, Malcolm X became known as "Detroit Red", and his friend - a local dishwasher - was called "Chicago Red"; "Chicago Red" later become famous as the comedian known to the world as Redd Foxx.

According to his autobiography, his adapted surname, "X", symbolized his ancestor's original African surname, which he felt his ancestors had been robbed of by being forced into slavery, and therefore, by extension, he had been robbed of this as well.

Following his assassination, he was interred at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Friends took up the gravediggers' shovels to complete the interment themselves. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965, three months away from what would have been his 40th birthday on May 19, 1965.

On February 12, 2021, the house in the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachusetts, where Malcolm X resided with his half-sister Ella Little-Collins and began getting involved into the Nation of Islam, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The house that once stood in Omaha, Nebraska was the first house where Malcolm X resided with his birth family. In 1965, the house was torn down before the current owners knew about the connection with Malcolm X. On March 1, 1984, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is currently identified by the State Historical Marker.

[Speech in New York City on December 12, 1964] I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don't believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn't want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, but I'm not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn't know how to return the treatment.

I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those who do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone, and those who want to continue the system of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don't believe it will be based on the color of the skin...

Ignorance of each other is what has made unity impossible in the past. Therefore we need enlightenment. We need more light about each other. Light creates understanding, understanding creates love, love creates patience, and patience creates unity. Once we have more knowledge (light) about each other, we will stop condemning each other and a United front will be brought about.

In the past, yes, I have made sweeping indictments of all white people. I will never be guilty of that again--as I know now that some white people are truly sincere, that some truly are capable of being brotherly toward a black man. The true Islam has shown me that a blanket indictment of all white people is as wrong as when whites make blanket indictments against blacks.

Education is an important element in the struggle for human rights. It is the means to help our children and our people rediscover their identity and thereby increase their self-respect. Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs only to the people who prepare for it today.