Malcolm X was a prominent African-American Muslim leader in the civil rights movement who preached the ideal of protecting oneself by “any means necessary” from white hostility. He was born into a target At age 6, Malcolm spent his early childhood grieving his father and managing his mother’s mental instability. He spent the remainder of his childhood in foster homes alongside his ten siblings and dropped out of school to sell drugs and steal. It wasn’t till he ended up in jail for 10 years, where he spent time educating himself. He received many letters and spoke to his brother, who brought up the Nation of Islam, a movement that combined the ideals of African American nationalists and Islam. This motivated him to shift towards educating himself by studying dictionaries and practicing writing letters. After his release, Malcolm met Elijah Muhammad in Chicago through the growth of Nation of Islam. They worked together to design temples in large cities and he founded the “Muhammad Speaks”, which intended to publicize the discrimination faced by people of color. He printed copies in his basement and used the Nation of Islam’s members to enforce distribution of the articles. Malcolm was promoted to National Representative of the Nation of Islam and continued preaching his dissatisfaction with the government to large audiences. Also, at this time the most popular African American activist, Martin Luther, was spreading his ideals of civil disobedience and nonviolence. Malcolm X’s values differed from those of MLK because he felt the issue was too large to act silently, protest and vote. Malcolm proposed to his followers the importance of defending oneself by any means necessary. Malcolm’s battle was fought to change their perception of African Americans in a white dominant society. Through actively fighting, he changed the terms in which African American’s were called from “Negro” and “colored” to “Afro-American” and “Black”. Thus, reducing the degradation of people of color in a time of inequality. Although positive advancements were finally being made, there was a disagreement between Malcolm and Muhammad and this altercation eventually led to Malcolm’s dissent from the Nation and formation of his very own Muslim Mosque Inc. Malcolm’s disappearance from his old Nation angered many of the members because they felt betrayed. This ultimately led to Malcolm X’s assassination in 1965, enacted by three members of his previous religious group, the Nation of Islam. Although the unfortunate hatred ended his life early, he is remembered today as one of the most important black nationalist leaders during the Civil Rights Movement. He revolutionized the perception of African Americans through his new ideals of liberation, anti-imperialism, socialism, empowerment and self-defense against discrimination.