Topic > Malcolm Segregation between blacks and whites was still in full force, African Americans had to drink from different fountains, eat in different restaurants and even shop in different stores than their Anglo-Saxon "neighbors". Many people and organizations have fought valiantly for equality in the United States such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King jr. and the NAACP. The roles they played were pivotal in the civil rights movement, the actions they took included peaceful demonstrations and marches, public speeches, and boycotts such as the one that took place in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. One man stands out among them all these leaders however, Malcolm It is his extraordinary opinions and beliefs that make Malcolm X one of the most important and fascinating African American leaders of the 1950s and 1960s. Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska as Malcolm Little. His childhood was plagued by problems stemming from his father Earl's outspoken views on civil rights and his strong support for black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Constant death threats from the White Supremacist group known as the Black Legion (also known as members of the Ku Klux Klan) forced the family to relocate twice before Malcolm's fourth birthday, but their efforts to keep themselves safe failed when their home in Lansing, Michigan was burned in 1929. Shortly after losing their home, Earl Malcolm was found lying and mutilated on the cart... in the middle of a sheet of paper... declared dead when he arrived at the Columbian Presbyterian Hospital of New York. His attackers, all three members of the Nation of Islam, were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. Extraordinary opinions and beliefs are what made Malcolm 50's and 60's. He was a man who told everyone exactly what he felt and reached a wide audience of people. It was also very interesting in the sense that he was able to change his views after traveling outside the United States and realizing that it wasn't just one thing. whites versus blacks, but it was a problem within American society as a whole. His message of equality is one that, while not immediately effective during his lifetime, helped pave the way for African Americans to live their lives with many of the same advantages as what he saw as white America..