Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19th, 1925. His father, Earl Little, was a Baptist minister and an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
His mother, Louise Little, was a homemaker. Malcolm had six siblings: Wilfred, who was two years younger than Malcolm; Hilda, who was four years younger; Philbert, who died as an infant; Reginald and Yvonne, who both died in childhood as well; and Earl Jr., who died at age six.
The family moved to Lansing, Michigan in 1926 when Malcolm was six years old. There Earl Little became involved with Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).
In 1931 when Malcolm was six years old his father’s body was found lying across the town’s trolley tracks; it was officially ruled an accident but many believed that he had been murdered by the white supremacist group Black Legion.
Malcolm X went on to become a member of the Nation of Islam and changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz upon conversion to Islam in 1964.
