Nation of Islam

While serving a prison sentence, he joined the Nation of Islam, whose members were also known as the Black Muslims. After his release in 1952, he became a minister under its leader, Elijah Muhammad, and eventually its best-known spokesman. He replaced ‘Little’ with ‘X’ to reject a surname he associated with slavery and represent his lost African family name.

Malcolm X became a prominent speaker through the Nation of Islam, an African American religious organisation which he joined while in prison. During his association with it, he promoted racial separation rather than integration, pride in Black culture, and self-defence, including armed resistance when necessary. He challenged the idea that African Americans should rely on white Americans to grant them equality.