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Malcolm X - originally Malcolm Little when he was born in 1925 - changed his name in 1952 after he moved to Chicago. The reason driving his change of name was the fact that he joined the Nation of Islam. African American followers of Mohammed knew that their family names were not their true last names, but a name that had been given to their ancestors when they were shipped as slaves to America - the custom at that time was for white slave owners to give their own last name to their slaves as a sign of ownership. Therefore, Islamist African Americans changed their last names to 'X' as a sign that they repudiated the actions of the former slave owners, and as a mark for 'unknown' since their real family name was not recorded. Later in his life, Malcolm earned the Muslim name El Hajj Malik El Shabazz, after the required hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca.
He joined the Nation of Islam
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BeauThe surname "Little" was bestowed upon his ancestors by people who had kidnapped them from Africa and enslaved them, therefore it was not a legitimate name. The name X indicated that he was in some way unknown (like an algebraic variable) to the European-dominated culture of the US.
First, the birth name of Malcolm X was not Martin Little-- it was Malcolm Little. He changed his name when he changed his religion and his entire life: it all began after he got into trouble with the law, and he was sent to jail for stealing. While there, he encountered members of the Nation of Islam, and was attracted to their belief in black pride and black nationalism. He converted to their ideology, and joined their movement. By 1952, he had taken the name Malcolm X-- Black Muslims back then believed that American blacks had no real name or identity of their own--just the name their slave-masters had forced upon them. Many members took the letter X to represent the unknown black ancestors they had never been allowed to know.
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What is malcom x real name?
His real name is Malcolm X because it was changed to that. His birth name Malcolm Little; May 19, 1925 - February 21, 1965.
How old was Malcolm little when he changed his name to Malcolm X?
Malcom X changed his last name from little to X as he believed it was the name of a slave. During slavery, the slaves that were kidnapped from Africa were taken to the west indies where they were kept as slaves. They would have been given the last name of there slave master so the master knew what slaves were theirs. Malcom X changing his last name is also another example of how he believed whites were the creators of everything wrong in the world. - hope this helps
What was Malcolm X surname at birth?
Malcolm X's original surname was "Little". The reason he changed it was because he deemed it to be a slave's name. The "X" represents his lost tribal name that white slavers took away from his family
What was Malcolm X full Muslim name?
Malcolm X's real name was Malcolm Little. He was an outspoken human rights activist. He also went by the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
What was Malcolm X's moms name?
his dad name ws Earl Little and his mom name was Louise Little.
