o Roxbury, a predominantly black section of Boston, with his sister Ella and her husband. Malcolm took on his first job in Roxbury as a shoe-shiner. Here, Malcolm learned the role of a hustler. (Haley) In 1942, Malcolm decided to get a job as a railroad dining car porter and settle in Harlem. While in Harlem, Malcolm got mixed up in robbery, prostitution, narcotics, and many other criminal activities. Living the life of a hustler, drug dealer, and pimp made Malcolm notorious on the streets. Malcolm also became addicted to drugs. He was even given the nickname “Red” because of his red hair. Malcolm said jail, jobs, and the army were the three things that worried him the most. (Breitman) After only a year in Harlem, Malcolm moved back to Boston and continued his life of crime. There he created a house-robbing gang. It all caught up with him in February of 1946. He was arrested, convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison in Charleston, Massachusetts for burglary. (Haley) While in prison, Malcolm began educating himself in history, philosophy, religion, and literature. He read the works of de Bois, who founded the NAACP in 1909, Shakespeare, Socrates, and Esop. He also carefully studied the lives of Ghandi and Net Turner. After joining the prison debate team, he was given the opportunity to compete against Harvard and M.I.T. students visiting the prison. Malcolm also decided to become a follower of Elijah Muhammad (Haley). Muhammad was the leader of a small, urban prophet-cult that would later be referred to as the Nation of Islam. “They stressed ethical conduct with other African Americans but taught that white people were “devils”” (Compton’s). The Nation of Islam had branches in Detroit, Chicago, and New York. After being released from prison in 1952, Malcolm moved in with his brother in Detroit, Michigan. He decided to officially join the Nation of Islam and qui...
