and his mother was put into an institution shortly there after. He dropped out of school, got into trouble frequently and ended up as a “hustler” on the streets of Boston and New York. In 1946, he went to jail for eight years because he slept with a white woman. It was in jail where he became a member of the Nation of Islam and changed his last name from Little to “X.” He believed that the white man was the devil and preached this belief to African-Americans all over the country. Malcolm X excited something in the hearts of the black population. He spoke his truth about how he felt towards white people, which was unheard of in the early 1960’s. He culminated a sense of pride and fear at the same time. His fearless, larger than life attitude challenged African-Americans to follow him in his quest for Black Nationalism. His philosophy was designed to encourage black people to gain complete control over the politics and politicians of their own community. Malcolm X taught African-Americans about their greatness in history and helped them regain a pride that was long lost. After his assassination, it was said of him, “Malcolm was our manhood, our living, black manhood! (Haley)” Anne Moody was a poor, black child who grew up in the south during the 1940s and 1950s. She had a rough childhood. Unlike most children in the twentieth century, Anne was working at a very young age sweeping porches and cleaning houses. She was very mature and intelligent as a child and often asked questions about what she did not know. Despite her need for answers, she was usually shrugged off and given a, “because that’s the way it is” answer. Having been told this all her life, she eventually got fed up and ventured out to find the answers on her own. Because of her determination and willingness to put up a fight, she became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. She organized and parti...
