The Struggles of a Leader Malcolm X

In 1965 Malcolm X, one of the greatest black leaders in America, published his autobiography with the help of Alex Haley, a former writer for the Washington Post. In this autobiography Malcolm tells of the many struggles he had to endure in his lifetime. Things such as hate crimes, drugs, and prison.

The autobiography begins with an incident his mother (Louise Little) told him about that occurred while she was still pregnant with him. What happened was that a group of hooded Klan's-men galloped to his parents house in search of his father (Reverend Earl Little). They circled around the house with their loaded rifles shouting threats and saying that "the good Christian white people" were not going to stand for his father's "spreading trouble" among the "good" Negroes of Omaha with the "back to Africa" preachings of Marcus Garvey. They then circle ride around the house and smash in the windows with the butts of their guns. Malcolm was born shortly after on May 15, 1925. Then the book goes through his whole life from the time he was a mere boy to when he was an irresponsible teenager to the time when he was a civil rights leader as an adult. So in other words the book follows his life in chronological order. I find that this made the book more enjoyable to read and easier to understand. This is because books in which they jump around in a person's life it gets very confusing and then you don't know what happened. So I feel this book was very well organized in that it helps you understand what's going on by telling the events in order.

I feel that the purpose of Malcolm X's autobiography is to give people a vivid description of the life and times of the most controversial leader of the Civil Rights Movement in America, it also gives a ringside view of the events that occurred in and outside America. Such as the socio-economic and cultural conditions prevailing in the US during the '40s and the '50's. The tone was full of emotion and drama. I can tell that he cares a lot about the events he writes about and his beliefs. I think reading about Malcolm X will make me a better person and stand up for what I believe in. Malcolm X is a great leader and even a greater human being who accomplished many wonderful things.