“Malcolm,” before he was X (review)
“Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up To Become Malcolm X,” is a loving portrait of the events and people who shaped Malcolm X, the charismatic African-American nationalist. The author, Illyasah Shabazz, is Malcolm X’s daughter, and an author and activist herself.
“Malcolm Little” begins with his parents, a West India native named Louise Norton, and his father, Earl Little. They met through their mutual interest in Marcus Garvey, who set the stage for the civil rights movement.
Malcolm was born in Omaha, Neb. He was four years old when he and his family ran to escape the fire that ruined their home. It was set, they learned later, by townspeople who disliked the Littles’ passion for universal equality and justice.
The Littles moved to Lansing, Mich., where they built a new home, brick by brick. When Malcolm asked why the house didn’t have glass windows, Earl Little replied, “Son, when we can afford the glass, our frames will be filled. All good things begin with a fundamental structure.” Those words impressed Malcolm with their optimism, and helped sculpt his own understanding of the importance of foundations.
Young Malcolm worked in the garden. Peas were his favorite vegetable. He and his siblings learned French and other languages from their mother. Understanding different words that described familiar things helped him conceive of a world that spread far beyond Lansing’s city limits.
Then Malcolm’s father was murdered by local Ku Klux Klan members, and social service officials split up the Littles’ large family. Malcolm was raised by family friends.
He went to school, and was the only black child in the class. His grades were excellent. When his teacher asked Malcolm what he wanted to be when he grew up, Malcolm’s answer was: A lawyer. The teacher was skeptical, but Malcolm held steady. Not long after that, his seventh-grade class elected him class president, foreshadowing his storied vocation as a passionate leader.
“Malcolm Little” by Ilyasah Shabazz, illustrated by AG Ford (Atheneum, $17.99) Ages 6 and up.