50 Fun Facts About Malcolm X

What was Malcolm X's birth surname?

He discarded it as 'the white slavemaster name' and later took the name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.

According to Malcolm X, what did the 'X' he adopted symbolise?

The Nation of Islam had followers use X until their 'original name' was revealed to them.

In which city was Malcolm X born in 1925?

His family fled to Milwaukee and then Lansing after Ku Klux Klan threats over his father's activism.

Malcolm's parents were admirers and local organisers for which Pan-African leader?

His father Earl led the local Universal Negro Improvement Association and his mother was its branch reporter.

Malcolm's mother believed his father had been murdered by which white supremacist group?

Earl's 1931 death was officially ruled a streetcar accident; a life insurer refused to pay, claiming suicide.

What career ambition did a white teacher tell the young Malcolm was 'no realistic goal' for him?

He had excelled in junior high but dropped out of high school in 1941 after the remark.

What was Malcolm's street nickname in Harlem, based on his hair colour and hometown?

His fellow dishwasher, Chicago Red, later became a famous comedian.

Which future comedian was Malcolm's fellow dishwasher and friend at Jimmy's Chicken Shack in Harlem?

Foxx, then John Elroy Sanford, later starred in Sanford and Son.

How did Malcolm avoid being drafted for World War II in 1943?

He rambled about organising Black soldiers to steal guns, and was declared 'mentally disqualified'.

What sentence did Malcolm receive in 1946 for larceny and breaking and entering?

He was arrested picking up a stolen watch he had left at a shop for repair.

What nickname did Malcolm's hostility to Christianity earn him in prison?

Fellow convict John Bembry inspired his voracious reading, and his siblings introduced him to the Nation of Islam.

What two things did his brother Reginald tell Malcolm to give up in 1948 to 'get out of prison'?

He quit almost instantly, then wrote to the Nation's leader and joined.

Why did the FBI open a file on Malcolm in 1950?

By 1953 the Bureau's focus had shifted to his rapid rise in the Nation of Islam.

Who was the leader of the Nation of Islam whom Malcolm X served as spokesman from 1952 to 1964?

Malcolm taught that Wallace Fard Muhammad was God incarnate and Elijah Muhammad his Messenger.

Which Nation of Islam congregation in Harlem was Malcolm X chosen to lead in 1954?

He had already built Boston's Temple 11 and expanded Philadelphia's Temple 12.

How tall was Malcolm X?

One writer called him 'mesmerizingly handsome... and always spotlessly well-groomed'.

How did Malcolm X propose to Betty Sanders in January 1958?

They married two days later and had six daughters, including twins born after his death.

How many daughters did Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz have?

Qubilah was named after Kublai Khan and Gamilah Lumumba after Nasser and Patrice Lumumba.

The 1957 police beating of which Nation of Islam member first brought Malcolm X to public attention?

Malcolm dispersed a crowd of 4,000 with a hand signal, and a police officer said 'no one man should have that much power'.

What was the 1959 New York TV broadcast about the Nation of Islam featuring Malcolm X titled?

Martin Luther King Jr. later said the title 'points to the nature of Malcolm's life and death'.

Which foreign leader did Malcolm X meet in Harlem in 1960 and call 'the only white person I ever liked'?

After two hours of talk, Castro invited him to visit Cuba.

What did Malcolm X call the August 1963 civil rights march at the Lincoln Memorial?

He also denounced Martin Luther King Jr. as a 'chump' during his Nation of Islam years.

Which boxer did Malcolm X inspire to join the Nation of Islam, becoming close friends with him?

Ali later broke with him and called it one of his greatest regrets.

Which future Nation of Islam leader, then a Boston minister, did Malcolm X mentor?

Farrakhan later wrote that 'such a man as Malcolm is worthy of death' and in 2000 admitted his words may have helped cause the killing.

The Nation of Islam silenced Malcolm X for 90 days after his remark about which event?

He had called it a case of 'chickens coming home to roost'.

On what date did Malcolm X publicly announce his break from the Nation of Islam?

He said the Nation had 'gone as far as it can' and founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the OAAU.

What was Malcolm X's April 1964 speech telling African Americans to vote wisely or possibly take up arms?

It came weeks after his one and only meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., which lasted just long enough for photographs.

How much time did Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. spend together at their sole meeting?

They met by chance in Washington on March 26, 1964, at the Senate debate on the Civil Rights bill.

Which half-sister paid for Malcolm X's pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964?

He had lived with her in Roxbury, Boston, as a teenager.

Which Saudi royal designated Malcolm X a state guest during his Hajj?

He had been detained in Jeddah because his US citizenship and lack of Arabic made officials doubt he was Muslim.

What did seeing Muslims 'of all colors' on the Hajj lead Malcolm X to conclude?

In a letter from Mecca he wrote that he would 'rearrange' his thinking about race.

What honorary Yoruba title, meaning 'the son who has come home', did Nigerian students give Malcolm X?

He called it his most treasured honour.

Which three African leaders invited Malcolm X to serve in their governments in 1964?

He attended the Organization of African Unity meeting in Cairo as a representative of the OAAU.

Malcolm X's December 1964 debate on 'extremism in the defense of liberty' was held at which institution?

The motion came from Barry Goldwater, and interest was so high the BBC televised it nationally.

Which English town, notorious for a racist 1964 election slogan, did Malcolm X visit shortly before he died?

He said he 'would not wait for the fascist element in Smethwick to erect gas ovens'.

What happened to Malcolm X's house in East Elmhurst, Queens, on February 14, 1965?

The Nation of Islam had sued to reclaim it, and a hearing on his eviction was due the next day.

Malcolm X was assassinated in February 1965 while preparing to speak at which Manhattan venue?

It now houses the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center.

What weapon fired the first shot that hit Malcolm X?

Two other men then charged the stage with semi-automatic handguns; the autopsy found 21 gunshot wounds.

What happened in 2021 to two of the three men convicted of murdering Malcolm X?

A review found the FBI and NYPD had withheld key evidence at the 1966 trial.

Which actor and activist delivered the eulogy calling Malcolm X 'our shining black prince'?

Friends took up the gravediggers' shovels to finish the burial at Ferncliff Cemetery themselves.

Which writer collaborated with Malcolm X on his autobiography, published months after his death?

Malcolm told him, 'If I'm alive when this book comes out, it will be a miracle.'

Which X-Men character did writer Chris Claremont confirm was inspired by Malcolm X?

Martin Luther King Jr. was the model for Professor X; Malcolm also inspired Erik Killmonger in Black Panther.

Who played Malcolm X in Spike Lee's 1992 film?

He had first played the part in a 1981 Off-Broadway play, When the Chickens Came Home to Roost.

Which California city has recognised Malcolm X's birthday as a citywide holiday since 1979?

Malcolm X Day was first celebrated in Washington, D.C., in 1971.

Which Harlem thoroughfare did Mayor Ed Koch rename Malcolm X Boulevard in 1987?

Ankara, Turkey, later named the street of the new US embassy after him in 2016.

Composer Anthony Davis's 1986 opera about the man, revived at the Met in 2023, is titled what?

Davis later won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for The Central Park Five.

The name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz roughly translates as 'Malcolm' surrounded by which two titles?

He adopted it after completing the Hajj to Mecca, though the world kept calling him Malcolm X.

Which secular Pan-African group did Malcolm X found after leaving the Nation of Islam?

He founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. for religious work alongside it, and represented the OAAU at the Organization of African Unity in Cairo.

Which self-educated fellow inmate did Malcolm describe as the first man he saw 'command total respect with words'?

Meeting him in prison started Malcolm's programme of reading that preceded his conversion to the Nation of Islam.

In which Michigan town did Malcolm attend secondary school before dropping out in 1941?

The family had fled to Lansing after Klan threats in Omaha, only to face eviction over a racial housing covenant.