A man once said, “there is no better than adversity, every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contain is own seed, its own lesson, and how to improve your performance next time”. I fist became aware of those words doing my junior years in high school. As a class project, I was asked to present and individual that has left his or her imprint on the world. Some one, even through death, his or her work and ideas still influence individual today.

Malcolm X, a leader like no other, had such an influence on the live of African-American and white American alike. Malcolm X was born Malcolm little on may 19, 1925. Malcolm was a child was born into unfortunate circumstances. “when my mother was pregnant with me she told me later, a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home brandishing there shotguns and riffles, they shouted for my father to come out”(Malcolm 1). Being born into such a brutal world, one will always wonder how a child will be able to cope with such a world. Malcolm was a bright child, intelligent and focuses. He was always at the top of his class, until his professor told him that he would not be anything in life so he dropped out of school.

After dropping out of school Malcolm became the very thing that all white American were saying about African-American at time, he became worthless in the eyes of others. He became a street hustler, dope peddler, and a thief. I have been reading about Malcolm X for a while now. One of the reasons as to why I became intrigue by him was because he was a man of his word. He once said “if you didn’t stand for something then you would fall for anything” (Malcolm X). In 1946, Malcolm was arrested for robbery and was sentence to 10 year in prison. While he was in jail, he undergoes a transformation. It is there he began to stand for something. As he spends his time in jail, he was introduced to the teaching of Elijah Mohammad, and the nation of Islam. Reading about Malcolm X showed me that even if you’re in the worst possible position, it is up to you to decide whether or not you will remain there. In other words you make your own faith rather then allowing others to make them for you.

As Malcolm gets deeper into the teaching of Elijah Mohammad, he learned that “the white society worked to keep African-American from empowering themselves”. One of the things that made me love to read about Malcolm was what he did once he was out on paroled. After learning about the history of his people, Malcolm decided to change his name “he considered “little” a slave name, and chose “X” to signify his lost tribal name. Form that day forth Malcolm X’s faith had been change by his own hands. To me I feel that changing his name was a huge statement to himself.

Malcolm X has such a big influence on people to day; the some individual has shaped their live base on his ideas and belief. A man, whom, as a child was told by his teacher that he would not amount to anything in life, became such an unmovable force in American history. Because of his passion, I can honestly say that Malcolm X is indeed an Idol.

Work cite

Alex Haley, 1992, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. USA

www. Cmgww.com/history/Malcolm