Malcolm’s Mama Lit His Fire

Malcolm X (left) and his mother Louise Norton Little (right)

By Dr. Julianne Malveaux

Julianne Malveaux

Malcolm X, the fearless leader that the actor and activist Ossie Davis described as one of Harlem’s “brightest hopes,” the “stormy, controversial and bold young captain,” and most movingly, “our own Black shining prince,” would have been 100 years old on May 19. People commemorated that birthday in Harlem, at the Charles Wright Museum in Detroit, at Malcolm X College in Chicago, in his Omaha birthplace, and in many other places. Our icon is best known for his love for Black people, his fiery rhetoric, his unwavering commitment to Black liberation, and his unwillingness to compromise his principles. Assassinated at 39, his influence has increased, not diminished, since his death—and gi