The Adolescent Development of Malcolm X
Malcolm Little, known as Malcolm X, lived from 1925 to 1965. He was born into a background of violence and was subjected early in his life to violence against blacks and the violent resistance of blacks. His father, the Reverend Earl Little, was an itinerant Baptist minister and a dedicated organizer for the Garvey resistance. He had seen four of his six brothers die by violence, after his own death by white man's hands, only one of Malcolm's uncles would die in bed of natural causes (Rajiv, 1992, p. 83).
Malcolm was initiated into this world of violence, resistance, and religious rhetoric at a very young age. His father took him to the Garvey meetings that were held in different homes, and Malcolm heard a great deal of talk regarding the acceptance of Africa as the homeland for blacks in America. Malcolm had the powerful influence of his father as a minister and organized resister, and of particular note is the fact that his father favored him because his skin was lighter than that of his siblings. In this way his father had internalized the white prejudice against dark skin. His mother gave him more abusive treatment because of the light skin, probably of how she came to be light herself (Rajiv, 1992, p. 84).
The family came into hard times after the death of Malcolm's father. His mother had no means of supporting the family. She tried to work various jobs but was always fired after the employer discovered that she was a mulatto Negro. The family was destroyed in 1937 when the state welfare workers took over and split up the children, sending them to various different foster homes (Haley, 1965, p. 22). Malcolm felt at this time that the workers viewed the children as things, and he was quite sensitive to the dependence on charity. His mother was proud, and Malcolm retained this same pride, trying not to succumb to the white oppression that broke up the Little family. H...